Well, the biggest game of the year college basketball-wise (Xavier visiting Dayton) is coming up this weekend, but I've been working on that enough lately that it's time to take a break. The NBA trade deadline was today and as always, it didn't disappoint. Teams looking to fill a void on their roster, clear some cap space or get a good draft pick were all making moves as 3 p.m. closed in. The major deal between the Knicks and Nuggets involving Carmelo Anthony is still obviously the blockbuster deal of the ongoing season, but plenty of interesting storylines still unfolded today.
Big Winners: Utah Jazz and New York Knicks
Everybody's clear on why the Knicks are winners, right? Right. Because they got Carmelo, and as Bill Simmons tweeted when the deal happened, they now have two of the 10 guys who started the All-Star game. Only the heat can also say that. Sure, they lost their starting point guard in Raymond Felton, but they also got Chauncey Billups. Now, all the Knicks have to do is find another good guard in the next few years before Billups is washed up. Great deal for them.
As for the Jazz, they dropped one of the premiere guards in the league, but these days, guards are not as hard to come by. Plus, the Jazz got a pretty good guard in Devin Harris, and one of the premiere prospects of last year's draft in Derrick Favors. So, trading a guy who was great but starting to be a cancer to your team for an acceptable replacement and a lottery pick? Yeah, that's a win.
Meh, Middle of the Road: Cleveland Cavaliers
Maybe the best thing anybody will have to say about the Cavs this season. Sure, they are getting Baron Davis, a very capable guard who's play will deteriorate as he realizes Blake Griffin is no longer his teammate. Davis will get lazy and do nothing for the organization, but the fact is nobody was really doing anything for the team. So, might as well get a lottery pick out of the deal as well. Now, the Cavs will have two of the top picks in next year's draft. If they hit gold with both? Maybe you're talking about a different situation in Cleveland in the years to come.
Losers: Boston Celtics
The Celtics made a real head-scratcher with the Oklahoma City Thunder (which I'm hoping will work out for the Thunda come playoffs time). They got rid of what seemed to be their big advantage over the Heat and their main answer for Dwight Howard when they traded away Kendrick Perkins. Jeff Green is an excellent young player and is the type of guy who could one day average 22 points and 8 rebounds per game, but the Celtics have a lot of age on their team, and their veterans will not be around when Green is playing that well. They took a huge gamble in believing Shaq and Nenad Krstic will get the job done in the middle.
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