Grading the Mid-season 2010 NBA Trades

As a teacher, writer, and basketball aficionado, it seems only natural that I combine these skills by grading the NBA mid-season trades in the 2010 season.

Utah Jazz	;
Added:	Lost:
N/A	G Ronnie Brewer Future 1st Round Pick

Cash/Salary Impact:

They saved some cap space in letting Brewer go to the Grizzlies (2.7 million this season and 3.7 million next season).

Report Card:

This does not do much for them this season, but the Jazz are a decent team and should be able to attract a nice role player in the off-season that could fill his shoes. With the Jazz up to 3rd in the West, they are looking strong.  In this kind of economy, these salary dumps are quite common, but this was not a good basketball move.

C-

LA Clippers	;
Added:	Lost:
G Steve Blake—7.6 ppg and 4.2 apg career F Travis Outlaw—slasher and scorer, 9.6 ppg career F Drew Gooden (9th team)—11.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg	G Sebastian Telfair G Ricky Davis (waived) F Al Thorton C Marcus Camby

Cash/Salary Impact:

The Clippers’ management decided to tighten their belts a little, and how could you blame them with the team’s record so far this season?  They waived Davis’ $2.4 million dollar contract.  Otherwise, it seems as though they basically gave away Camby’s expiring $7.6 million, not getting much in return.

Report Card:

The Clippers were not having a successful season anyhow, so I guess they’ve given up.  The Clippers are not the Denver Nuggets—they’re not trading Camby (their leading rebounder) and somehow still improving.  On the plus side, LA traded age for youth even though it was big for small.  Outlaw is a good, young player and a slasher/shooter that should step in and help replace the loss of Thorton.

C

Memphis Grizzlies	;
Added:	Lost:
G Ronnie Brewer—athletic slasher, 10.4 ppg	N/A

Cash/Salary Impact:

They might sign him to an extension next season, but he got injured in his first game with the Grizzlies.

Report Card:

Hopefully, Brewer gets healthy soon because he’s a nice addition to their bench.

C+

Washington Wizards	;
Added:	Lost:
G Quinton Ross—4.4 ppg career, defender F James Singleton—3.3 ppg career F Drew Gooden (acquired in Butler deal, and then packaged for Thorton)—11.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg F Josh Howard—15.3 ppg career F Al Thorton—13 ppg career (The rights to) F Emir Preldzic (6.8 ppg in Euroleague) C Zydrunas Ilguaskas (who they will presumably waive)—13.9 ppg and 7 rpg 2010 1st Round Pick (Cavs) Future 2nd Round Pick (Kings)	G DeShawn Stevenson F Antawn Jamison F Caron Butler F Drew Gooden F Dominic McGuire C Brendan Haywood

Cash/Salary Impact:

Getting Jamison off the books puts the Wizards in the sweepstakes for a big off-season pickup.  Unfortunately, in the backlash from the Arenas-Crittenton incident, I doubt they’ll be signing any big names in the off-season.

Report Card:

Howard and Thorton are nice young pick-ups that the Wizards can build around.  These moves also provide cap space.  But, these moves also essentially forfeit the rest of the season.  However, the season was “shot” anyway because of Arenas, so this was really the only move for them.  Their grade would have been lower for such downgrades, but, in their position, this was as good as could be expected.  Knowing their situation, other teams were probably looking to take advantage of the Wizards, so that they made some decent moves is impressive.

C+

Chicago Bulls	;
Added:	Lost:
G Ronald Murray—9.9 season/career G Acie Law and 1st round pick F Joe Alexander—4.7 ppg and good athlete F Hakim Warrick—10.2 ppg season/career 1st round draft pick (Charlotte)	F Tyrus Thomas G John Salmons

Cash/Salary Impact:

In the long run, this is helpful to create some cap space for the summer and a potential run at Chicago native Dwayne Wade (or other free agents).

Report Card:

This is a good move looking forward to this summer, but this does very little to improve the team for this season.  Considering that the team is in 6th place in the East, this seems like a downgrade.  This was expected though, as Thomas had recent issues with the coach and Salmons has been under-performing all season.

B-

Houston Rockets	;
Added:	Lost:
G Kevin Martin—a great shooter and scorer, but recovering from an injury.  19.8 ppg this season, but 24.6 last season (and over 20 ppg in the last 3 seasons) F Jordan Hill—Rookie, 8th pick, 4 ppg F Jared Jefferies— a long defender, 5.3 ppg and 4.4 rpg F Hilton Armstrong—3.5 ppg career 2011 first round pick, option (Knicks), 2 picks total	G Tracy McGrady F Carl Landry

Cash/Salary Impact:

Tax relief, cap space

Report Card:

This would have been a solid trading season for the Rockets, or at least a wash, but the Rockets had to, begrudgingly, include the coveted Carl Landry in the deal for Martin.  Landry was a good building block for the future, and he’ll be missed.  Nonetheless, the Rockets have done better than most expected this season—despite the absence of T-Mac, Yao, and Artest—so, they should have no problem attracting free agents over the summer.  Swapping McGrady for Martin was a smooth move, but losing Landry makes the deal a little less-sweet.

B-

Sacramento Kings	;
Added:	Lost:
F Carl Landry—scorer, rebounder, 16.1 ppg and 5.5 season F Joey Dorsey—1.3 career G Larry Hughes—injured, scorer, but inconsistent, 9.6 season, 31 games	G Kevin Martin G Sergio Rodriguez

Report Card:

They essentially made a decent move.  Both Martin and Rodriguez are effective players, but getting Landry is a good pick up.  Can they get out of Hughes’ contract this summer?  That could help them acquire some other talent.  Essentially, they traded small for big, or Martin for Landry.  Hughes is a nice throw-in although he is inconsistent and has been injured.  This should really be a C+, but with the emergence of Rookie of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans, he’s made Martin expendable, at least in the eyes of the Maloof Brothers.

B-

New York Knicks	;
Added:	Lost:
F Tracy McGrady (and his expiring contract)—one of the greatest scorers of the last decade, McGrady averages 21.9 ppg career, but 3.2 ppg in 6 games this season G Sergio Rodriguez—a slasher, scorer, 3.9 career, 6.0 season G Eddie House—7.3 ppg, 39% 3’s (season) F J.R. Giddens—1.1 ppg F Bill Walker—1.0 ppg F Brian Cardinal—5.4 ppg career	G Nate Robinson G Larry Hughes F Darko Milicic F Jordan Hill F Jared Jefferies

Cash/Salary Cap Impact:

• Over $9 million in salary cap space
• Possibility to add two max-contract players in the summer of 2010; however, it has also been suggested by New York Times writer Howard Beck that in order to sign 2 max free agents, the Knicks would have to let go of David Lee.

Report Card:

Overall, the Knicks moves were very good.  They’ve got McGrady’s expiring contract, and a chance to resign him for less.  The Darko-Cardinal swap was essentially swap although Cardinal’s I.Q. could play well into Coach Mike D’Antoni’s system, although it seems as though the Knicks do not plan to retain Cardinal as he does not appear on the Knicks’ official roster.  Thus far, T-Mac’s 26 points in his first game as a Knicks indicates that he might really be ready to play some ball.  However, in the next game, he was held to 15 points and banged his knee, making him questionable for their next game.  Before we will know for sure what he has left, we’ll have to see some consistent play from T-Mac.

B

Charlotte Bobcats	;
Added:	Lost:
F Tyrus Thomas—7.9 ppg and 5 rpg this season. C Theo Ratliff—good shot blocker, 13th time being traded.  7 ppg and 6 rpg in his career	G Ronald Murray G Acie Law Future Draft Pick

Cash/Salary Impact:

The addition of Thomas’ contract (this season and next combine for over $10 million)

Report Card:

Adding some solid size to this team was the right move.  Adding Ratliff and Thomas was decent, albeit perhaps more than they wanted to pay.  Thomas is a good player and should be a nice, young addition.  So far, Ratliff and Thomas have looked like the defensive presence the Bobcats have lacked.  While Thomas and Ratliff are not like adding McGrady or Martin, the Bobcats did not give up much to acquire them.  This increased size will help them make the playoffs, and, perhaps, win a game or two.

B

Milwaukee Bucks	;
Added:	Lost:
G John Salmons—9.2 ppg career.  He has been averaging over 18 ppg the last three years, but this season he’s down to 13 ppg G Royal Ivey—3.7 ppg G Jerry Stackhouse—18.2 ppg career, but has not averaged over 10 ppg since 2008. C Primoz Brezec—7.4 ppg, but he has not averaged over 10 ppg in 5 years.  0.7 ppg this season 2nd Round Pick, 2010	G Jodie Meeks F Joe Alexander F Hakim Warrick C Francisco Elson

Report Card:

Considering what they’ve given up, the Bucks made some nice moves.  The addition of Salmons may be helpful to stem the tide until Michael Redd is healthy.  Also, since Redd is a pure shooter, and Salmons is a slasher/scorer, they could play well together.  So far, Salmons seems to be relishing in his change of scenery.

B

Boston Celtics	;
Added:	Lost:
G Nate Robinson—12.5 ppg career F Marcus Landry—6’7 Rookie, 2.6 ppg	G Eddie House F J.R. Giddens F Bill Walker

Report Card:

This is a definite up-grade, but Robinson is a show-time performer, a one-man show.  How will his style of play affect the chemistry of the Celtics?  In the long run, there’s enough veteran leadership on this team to keep the 4th year guard in line with the team-first concept.  Perhaps more importantly, House is a good shooter, especially from 3-point range where he can occasionally make timely buckets.  That skill may be missed because while we know Robinson can shoot the three, he does not shoot as well as House, and Robinson has no playoff experience.

B

Portland Trailblazers	;
Added:	Lost:
C Marcus Camby—10 ppg and 10 rpg career, and currently one of the NBA’s leading rebounders	G Steve Blake F Travis Outlaw

Cash/Salary Impact:

They now have Camby’s expiring contract.

Report Card:

Camby more than replaces the oft injured Greg Oden, but only in the short-term as Camby is 35 years old.  For this season, though, they are still in the playoff hunt.  The loss of Outlaw, however, may hurt them in clutch situations, especially when they need another option besides the talented Brandon Roy.

B

Dallas Mavericks	;
Added:	Lost:
G DeShawn Stevenson—8.1 ppg career F Caron Butler—16.7 ppg and 6 rpg, career C Brendan Haywood—He is almost averaging a double-double this season (7 ppg and 6 rpg career).	G Quinten Ross F James Singleton F Drew Gooden F  Josh Howard

Report Card:

The Mavs gave up a lot to make this trade work, but they got even more in return, including Caron Butler, the former Laker, who always has something to prove every time he faces off against Kobe Bryant and his former team.  Nice upgrade.

B+

Cleveland Cavaliers	;
Added:	Lost:
G Sebastian Telfair—7.8 ppg and 3.9 apg career F Antawn Jamison—19.9 ppg and 8.1 rpg career.  This season, his numbers are up from that.	F Emir Preldzic C Zydrunas Ilgauskas 2010 1st Round Pick (to Wizards)

Cash/Salary Impact:

In a tough economy, the Cavaliers made the tough, but ultimately good, decision to add salary.  While I like Jamison the player, the Cavs cannot be happy about his contract.  The man is 34 and he’s being paid about $39 million over the next two seasons, including this one.

Report Card:

Although Jamison is still playing like an all-star, he is getting old in basketball years.  This move, as has already been seen, will temporarily alter the chemistry.  In time, he’ll fit in nicely with the Cavs.  He is, however, 34, which makes him a temporary upgrade.

A-

Most of these recent NBA trades show that many moves have been made to set teams up better for the summer of 2010.  One thing seems clear:  teams have set themselves up to pursue an Amar’e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, LeBron James, or Dwayne Wade-type player.  It is still unclear if, like Shaquille O’Neil, any of these players will really commit to changing teams and cities?

R.S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. One of his life-long pursuits has been writing and covering anything related to sports, specifically the NBA. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.

ESPN’s Greg Anthony Gives His Coach of The Year Candidates

Former UNLV Runnin Rebels and NBA great Greg Anthony has become quite an accomplished television analyst for college basketball on CBS and the NBA on ESPN, as he also serves as the resident NCAA hoops expert at Rivals.com. Like a number of former players, Anthony has made the transition from the hardwood to the announcing booth upon his retirement from the NBA after the 2002 NBA season.

As you may remember, Anthony was the starting point guard on the now legendary ‘89-’90 National Champion UNLV Rebels squad which featured coach Jerry Tarkanian and had a number of future NBA talents like Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon. In the NBA, Anthony played for 6 teams over 12 years, most memorably with the NY Knicks in the early 90′s.

Recently, Greg gave us who he thinks are his leading candidates for NCAA Coach of the Year Award. As expected, Kentucky’s John Calipari and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim are at the top of the list as both of their squads have been in the Top 5 all season. One surprise is Anthony’s dark-horse selection of Gonzaga’s Mark Few as a possible winner of the award.

If I had a vote, I would add Kansas State’s Frank Martin, who has the Wildcats in the Top 10, Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings, who are nipping at Kentucky’s heels in the SEC, and Pitt’s Jamie Dixon, who has the Panthers overacheiving in the Big East despite losing 3 players(DeJuan Blair, Levance Fields, and Sam Young) to either the NBA or graduation.

Who would you add to the list of candidates?

Check Out Details of Anthony’s Selections:

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

The Sixers May Part Ways With Allen Iverson

As if things weren’t bad enough in the City of Brotherly Love, with everyone still digging out from almost 3 feet of snow that dropped over the past two weeks, word is that the Philadelphia 76ers are considering cutting ties with fan favorite,  Allen Iverson. While A.I. has played well(14 ppg, 4 ast) in his second go-around with the club, he has missed a significant amount of games due to a number of nagging injuries and most recently, a family illness to his youngest daughter.

Iverson left the team for personal reasons just before the All-Star break and was gone for roughly 2 weeks tending to his ailing 4 year old daughter who has an undisclosed illness. In a surprising move, Allen even skipped out on his starting spot in the All-Star Game and 5 straight games after the break where his teammates won 4 of the 5 games during that stretch. Then he returned for their last 3 games, scoring a total of only 24 points and 9 assists. Now, in news out of Dime Magazine, that Iverson again has left the Sixers to be with his family for an indefinite length of time.

Speculation in Philadelphia has run rampant whenever A.I. misses games or practices, as he has had a history of giving some rather lame excuses for missing team sponsored events during his first stint with the club. On a number of occasions in the past, certain members of the media had seen Iverson out partying way too late and skipping practice, team meetings, or even his own charity events the next day. While on one hand it’s almost wrong to doubt Iverson’s motives and reasons for leaving, we must also remember that the NBA is a business and runs on profits and losses at the end of the day.

Upon Iverson’s return to the Sixers earlier this season, many questioned the team’s reasons for bringing back the former league MVP considering his history and slightly diminished skills in his 14th season. After all, the team had already anointed Lou Williams as their starter at the point since Andre Miller is now in Portland and the club just selected their point guard of the future, Jrue Holiday, in June’s NBA Draft. Before sending Royal Ivey to the Bucks for Jodie Meeks at the trade deadline, the 76ers had 4 point guards on the roster. Playing Iverson 25-30 minutes per night has generally slowed down the progress of Williams’ and Holiday’s development. The club obviously brought back Iverson partly because no one else wanted him and to boost attendance and jersey sales.

With the team mired in mediocrity at 21-34 and 5.5 games out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot, the last thing this once proud franchise needs is to part ways with one of their all-time great players on bad terms. After all the fan-base is already upset that management has left the trade deadline pass without making a serious move to improve the club by ridding them of some horrific long term contracts(Elton Brand and Sam Dalembert).

As a lifelong Philadelphia 76ers and Iverson fan, I feel we should all give Allen the benefit of the doubt, especially when it comes to family illnesses. Let’s just hope that the last that we see of “The Answer” isn’t a 13 point and 3 assist effort in a 30 point blow-out loss to the Bulls.

‘Skool’ 4 Ballerz: Pre-Game Advice – Confidence & Shooting

Each episode of The Hoop Doctors “Skool for Ballers” we will bring you tips, analysis, or drills on various aspects of the game to help guide your training to be the best damn baller you can be! Don’t forget, being a GREAT baller takes as much work off the court as it does on!

It’s podcast time people! The University of North Florida All-Time Leading Scorer, Coach Koran Godwin in this edition of ‘Skool’ 4 Ballerz talks about his pre-game 101 theory and how you can use it to perform better during the game.

If you enjoyed this podcast and can’t wait to listen to the next podcast from Coach Godwin on The Hoop Doctors ‘Skool’ 4 Ballerz, you can subscribe to his podcast feed by clicking here.

Coach Koran Godwin is the founder of JumpStartHoops.com, a basketball instructional website. He is the All-Time Leading Scorer at the University of North Florida and author of the book “Everyone Hates a Ball Hog but they Love a Scorer: The Complete Guide to Scoring Points On and Off the Basketball Court.” The Hoop Doctors are big fans of Coach Godwin, as we consider him to be one of the leading basketball minds when it comes to taking that step from being just an average player, to becoming the leading scorer. Everyone wants to be the big man on campus, well if you follow the directions of Coach Godwin, we are sure you’ll get there.

Fan Shakes His Moneymaker as Distraction [Video]

I’m just going to come right out and say it. This is THE MOST RIDICULOUS FAN i’ve ever seen. And trust me i’ve seen some doozies. In an effort to distract Idaho Vandals center Marvin Jefferson from making a free throw in a game against the Utah State Aggies, a Utah St. fan got up on the courtside platform, stripped down to his boxers, and gyrated around like there was no tomorrow.

Obviously, Jefferson missed the free throw. Which is unfortunate as hell for Utah State, as this will no doubt encourage more public displays of this sort from this Superfan. Seeing this made just about everyone say ‘Mama No!’:

Tracy McGrady Hurt In Only Second Game With Knicks

It is no surprise to anyone in the know, that the sight of McGrady limping off the floor in pain is precisely the reason why the Houston Rockets were seeking to trade Tracy McGrady. Most teams wouldn’t want to have so much money tied up in a player, regardless of the cap relief their salary represents. But the New York Knicks aren’t most teams. They are willing to gamble, they are willing to take calculated risks at scoring big in the summer 2010 free agency period.

But that aside, it still had to burn NY Knicks fans to see Tracy McGrady limping off the floor clutching his knee in only his second game with the team. McGrady had a solid debut with the team, racking up 26 points infront of an electric crowd. He had fans dreaming big, of having the McGrady cap relief to get a big superstar franchise player, and having McGrady sign for the minimum and play like a superstar himself for years to come. But that didn’t last long, as McGrady brought the Knicks fans back to reality last night against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 83-67 blowout loss.

Here is what the NY Post had today on the McGrady injury:

Tracy McGrady’s comeback took a troubling turn when the new Knick limped off the court in the final minutes of his second game.

The cursed Knicks limped to a horrifying 83-67 loss to the Bucks and were booed off the court by a surly Garden crowd after scoring their season low.

McGrady said afterward he knocked knees twice and wouldn’t guarantee he’ll be healthy enough to face the Celtics tonight in Boston.

“Hopefully it’s not sore [today],” McGrady said. “Maybe I’ll lace them up and play, but we’ll see. We’ll see how it feels before the game.”

Is anyone really surprised about the latest knee pain McGrady is feeling? Everyone and their mother knows that McGrady is injury prone. Between his back, his knees, and his ankles he’s the real life Mr. Glass. So when I saw McGrady for the first time in months during his Knicks debut, I couldn’t help but notice he looked like he’d packed on a few pounds.

That’s when I knew it was only a matter of time. People talk all the time about how Shaquille O’Neal used to show up for training camp overweight and then ‘play himself into shape’ throughout the season. Well Shaq is an anomaly and must have joints of steel.

Given all the pounding of the floor, jumping up and down, and banging on drives to the hoop, a guy who is prone to injuries to his joints and back like McGrady is should never try to ‘play himself into shape’. A guy like McGrady should really have gotten himself into tip top shape and then attempted to make a comeback.

And you know what? The New York Knicks trainers should have known better.

I hope for Knicks fans McGrady’s knee pain subsides and he stays on the court, cause after all the catastrophe’s New York has had to deal with over the past few years, they don’t need another ‘situation’ to develop now with McGrady….

Former Michigan Baller Tries To Out Swim Police….NUDE!

I saw the most hilarious/whack bit of news today on a great sports blog called You Been Blinded. If you don’t know YBB, you should head over there and get to know their site. It’s always got fresh sports content that entertains and lightens the mood. Anyhow, what I was reading on YBB was about the recent arrest of former University of Michigan baller, Dommanic Ingerson, and how he tried to evade police by jumping in Oakland’s Lake Merritt and swimming away from them.

Here is what You Been Blinded had to say about the arrest:

Former University of Michigan basketball player Dommanic Ingerson jumped in Oakland’s Lake Merritt to swim away from police only to be arrested when he got to the other side. Police were chasing Ingerson because he reportedly robbed two women in downtown Oakland. He went into the water wearing black shorts but he was naked when he left the lake 35 minutes later.

Police held Ingerson on suspicion of robbery and grand theft and later transferred him to a psychiatric hospital which is the best move. Any brotha trying to swim away from the police needs his head checked.

Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

All of the trades are in and most players who have switched jerseys have had a game or two under their belts with their new clubs. Some of the players that we all thought would be moved stayed put(Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer) while a few others went where we didn’t expect(Kevin Martin and Caron Butler). Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a step back an evaluate which team made the right moves and who has us scratching our heads.

Winners

NY Knicks

It’s not often that we get to mention the Knicks and good personnel moves in the same sentence, so let’s give GM Donnie Walsh his props for finally making a move that makes sense. In every possible scenario, things could not have worked out better for the NY Knickerbockers. After being sent to the principal’s office banished from all team activities in Houston, Tracy McGrady played 30 minutes and tallied 26 points and 6 assists on 10-17 shooting against the Thunder and in the final minutes of a loss, had the fans at the Garden chanting,“We want T-Mac!” It looks like McGrady can still play after all and could create enough buzz for the rest of this season to warrant a spike in attendance and jersey sales. Behind the scenes, NY finally cleared enough cap space to make them major players in the free agency market next Summer. By ridding themselves of Jared Jeffries bloated contract($7 million), they now can afford to bring in two max players for 2011 like Lebron and Wade. As a side note, T-Mac officially stated that he would return to NY next season for the veterans minimum which has to help both financially and to help lure free agents and as an added bonus, coach D’Antoni finally rids himself of Nate Robinson.

Houston Rockets

Without having to part with their nucleus(Brooks, Ariza, Scola), the Rockets gave up very little to get a proven 20 ppg scorer in Kevin Martin. Although they lose some cap space for the foreseeable future, Martin is an excellent 1st or 2nd scoring option on a team that is offensively challenged. Having some tremendously talented players on the defensive side of the ball(Battier and Ariza) allows the Rockets to ignore Martin’s shortcomings defensively. Surely they will have to hold their breath that Martin stays healthy, which has been tough throughout his career, or they will be right back in the same situation as McGrady(paying a player in street clothes). If Yao Ming can return to form next season, Houston could move up the standings as a Top 4 team in the Western Conference.

Cleveland Cavaliers

In an apparent move to keep Lebron in Cleveland past this season, bring in Antawn Jamison is a risky gamble for the Cavs. While Team Lebron hopes that Jamison is the missing piece to push them over the top this season, how will team chemistry be affected for a team which just won 13 straight games? In his first game with Cleveland, Jamison went 0-12, as it appeared that his new teammates either refused to pass him the rock or they flat out missed him when he flashed to the basket. Adding a 20-10 proven All-Star who can run the pick and pop like Ilgauskas is a definite plus. With Mo Williams injury and Delonte West’s off court antics, getting Sebastian Telfair as a throw-in, is excellent insurance in the backcourt. Surely Big Z will be bought out by Washington and may return to the Cavs for the post-season.

Dallas Mavericks

After the Mavs hit their mid-season funk, everyone knew that Mark Cuban would play Let’s Make a Deal with anyone who would listen. Essentially replacing the problematic Josh Howard with Caron “Tough Juice” Butler is definitely an upgrade since Howard has spent more time off the court than on it over the past two years with injuries and Butler has a bigger upside. Although considered a knucklehead at times, Deshawn Stevenson is an excellent backcourt defender when he wants to be. The hidden gem in the deal for the Mavs is Brendan Haywood, who should give them 15 pts, 10 rebs, and 2 blocks every night, which is an upgrade over the now ancient Dampier at center. Dallas gets younger and better on paper but is it enough to get past the Lakers or Nuggets?

Washington Wizards

With the Wizards clearly in rebuilding mode, and freeing up salary by ridding themselves of Jamison, Butler, and Haywood, the Wizards will have plenty of time to evaluate the young players on their roster and make a push for a top free agent next Summer and get two good players in the NBA Draft(their pick plus Cleveland’s late first rounder). Former BC stand-out Al Thornton was once thought of a building block for the Clippers and could provide a little bit of everything up front. Undoubtedly Ilgauskas will be bought out, allowing players like Andray Blatche, who has excelled in the starting line-up(21 ppg), JaVale McGee, and Nick Young to show what they’ve got. Now if they could only get rid of Gilbert Arenas’ contract!  Although it looks bleak now, the Wizards will now have the oportunity to get much better next season.

Portland

Portland got exactly what they needed in proven shot-blocker Marcus Camby, to replace Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbylla down low.  They made the deal by giving up two players who will be free agents this offseason in Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw, who may have a bright future ahead of him.  Even in his old age Camby is still good for a double-double in points and rebounds to go along with 2 blocks per game.  the move also opens up more playing time for Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless in the back-court.

Losers

Boston Celtics

Essentially replacing Eddie House with Nate Robinson makes the Celtics both younger and more explosive off the bench, but how will Nate mesh with a team with such proven winners and leaders in Pierce, Allen, and Garnett? Remember, KG has been known to make even Big Baby cry. It is unlikely that Nate will be able to take and make as many crucial shots late in games like Eddie House. The Celtics needed to make a deal, but I’m not sure this was the right one. As a side note, Robinson receives a $1 million bonus if the team he is on makes the playoffs, which is an absolute lock at this point.  Kryto-Nate now gets to wear green uni’s to go with his green ball in next year’s dunk contest.

Sacramento Kings

For weeks, Kings management insisted that Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin could co-exist together in the back-court. By shipping Martin to Houston, they essentially dumped salary and once Larry Hughes contract($13,6 million) expires at the end of this season, they have the flexibility to be players in free agency next Summer. But will the top tier prize players want to play for the small market Kings? They do get a, above average player in Carl Landry(16 ppg), who provides added toughness and scoring down low but he has a team option for next season and may not return for 2011 if the Kings decide to cut more payroll. The jury is still out on Joey Dorsey, who was a monster rebounder and shot-blocker at Memphis but has toiled in the D-League most of the season. There a re very little short term results for trading away a once thought of franchise player.

Utah Jazz

In what has to be a salary cap dump($3.6 million), the playoff bound Jazz have lost a player in Ronnie Brewer who has helped them solidify their two guard position for the past 2-3 seasons. Although they have excellent depth in the backcourt(Korver, CJ Miles and rookie Wes Mathews), none of those players are as good defensively or has the wealth of experience that Brewer provided in the starting line-up. The Heat reportedly tried their hardest to pry Carlos Boozer from Salt Lake, but were unsuccessful.  It appears that the Jazz may now lose him for nothing in return this off-season.  In receiving Memphis’ ’11 second round pick, it is unlikely that the Jazz will be able to get a player of Brewer’s talents in the draft.

LA Clippers

In what is a re-occurring theme, the Clippers have one again traded away proven talent(Marcus Camby) and a once promising high draft pick(Al Thornton) for cap flexibility. While Camby wasn’t necessarily helping the Clips win games, he was a valuable commodity by protecting the paint and gobbling up rebounds in absence of #1 pick Blake Griffin. Now even more pressure is put on Chris Kaman to hold down the fort down low until Griffin returns next season. On the flip side, the Clippers will likely buy out Drew Gooden to give them even more money for next Summer. It sounds good on paper, but honestly, will any top flight free agents want to play for LA’s other team?

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have accomplished their goal of freeing up salary to entice native son, Dwyane Wade, to play in the Windy City next season. While not an exciting player, Salmons(13.4 ppg, 4 rebs, 3 ast) was a steadying force in the backcourt and his great overall production will be missed in the short term. He has already impressed in Milwaukee by averaging 19 ppg with his new squad. Getting back Flip Murray, who can play a little and Hakim Warrick, who has always been a player without a position(SG, SF, or PF?) will do little to help the Bulls win games for the rest of this season. Everyone knew they were looking to dump Tyrus Thomas, despite his enormous potential. Freeing up a ton of cash has Bulls management putting their eggs in one basket of landing a big fish next Summer. What if Wade stays put or goes elsewhere?

Philadelphia Sixers

Both the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets were banging down the 76ers door to relieve them of some of the worst long term contracts in the entire NBA. Reportedly the Rockets were willing to trade T-Mac and his expiring contract to Philadelphia in exchange for Andre Iguodala and either Elton Brand and Sam Dalembert, both of which are under contract for multiple years at monsterous money even though their production is nowhere near what they are paid. Then Phoenix was willing to trade Amare Stoudemire for essentially the same players. In both deals, GM Ed Stefanski refused to pull the trigger, instead making a statement that he was “only willing to do deals that make the club better.” Sitting in NBA purgatory of not being good enough to make the playoffs yet not bad enough to earn a lottery pick will undoubtedly be the future of a once proud franchise which rivals the Clippers in terms of spoiled draft picks. Can anyone say Sherone Wright or Shawn Bradley? Iguodala has proven he is at best a #2 or #3 option on a good team, Brand is way past his prime by averaging a paltry 13 pts and 6 rebs while Dalembert usually has more fouls than points. Getting Stoudemire, even if for only the rest of this season or T-Mac and his expiring $23 million, while ridding themselves of another long term contract in Brand or Dalembert, would have made Philly a player in next Summer’s free agency and possibly increased their odds of moving up in the lottery while allowing their bevy of young talent(Young, Speights, Williams, and Holiday) to prove themselves.

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

Andrew Bogut, Overrated or Underrated?

Covering hoops in Australia is a difficult thing, because the sport gets such limited exposure. The only aspect of the league you can guarantee to be consistently covered is Andrew Bogut. In 2005, Bogut was taken as number one in NBA draft, the first Australian to do so. Since the draft, Bogut’s career has been riddled with underachieving and injuries. Andrew Bogut is not going to be as good as he is supposed to be. At least that’s the story we should be hearing. In Australia we are drilled about Bogut’s 15 point 8 rebound performance that has once again proven he is among the elite of NBA centres and how despite his excellent events Milwaukee is slumping. If this sounds exaggerated, do you want to hear an example? When Brandon Jennings scored 55 early in the season, the news made no mention of it whatsoever, oh but they did include Bogut’s box stats.

I’m not saying we should think less of Bogut globally. While he is hardly an elite centre, his name was somehow omitted from All-Star reserves debate, which was really surprising. He’s averaging a respectable 15 points and 10 rebounds this season and while it’s a stretch to make Dwight Howard comparisons, I think there should of been more whispers about how close he was to a reserves place, keep an eye on him because he is rapidly improving and on the rise.

Don’t take this the wrong way and think I believe he should’ve got the nod from Stern over David Lee, but the silence from Milwaukee spoke for itself. What do you think? Should Bogut get more recognition or is there someone else you think is underrated? Leave a comment and let me know!

Reece is an Australian student currently spending his time split between studying and following the NBA coverage received in his nation.

MSG Contest: Which Big East School Has The Best Fans?

Anyone who watches college basketball knows that NCAA fans are hands down way more fanatical and demonstrative spectators than their counterparts in NBA arenas. Student sections across the country are donning face paint, dressing up in outlandish outfits in their home team colors, and chanting for a game’s full 40 minutes. Almost everyone has heard of Duke’s Speedo Guy, Georgia’s Peanut Butter Kid, and Utah State’s Shirtless Bill.

Are you or your friends some of the Big East Conference’s best fans? If so, the folks over at MSG.com are having a promotion where they are looking for the conference’s biggest fans. Each week, leading up to the Big East Tournament on March 9th, they select four schools and they invite you to submit your best photos, showing off your school’s spirit and give them good reasons of why your school is tops in the Big East. Then, in a weekly poll, they will allow the fans to vote on which university has the best fans in the conference. The four winners from each week will be featured in a Final Four poll, where fans ultimately decide the winner.

Last year, the Cincinnati Bearcats were selected as having the best fans in the Big East. This season, Rutgers won out over DePaul, St. John’s, and Marquette in week 1. Week 2 runs from Feb 15th through the 21st with choices between Seton Hall, South Florida, UConn, and Providence. Log onto MSG.com to find out which schools to vote on or to submit for week 3 starting on Monday, February 22nd. They even have a forum where you can interact with other fans to argue which school is the best.

Check out a video of MSG’s John Rothstein describing the Best Fans Contest:

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

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