The Trade Deadline

by Alfonso Colasuonno

Well, this year's trade deadline has brought some interesting changes to various teams. First off, I have to start with the trade everyone's been buzzing over. Yes, James Johnson is leaving the Bulls to go to the Raptors for a draft pick!!! (It's so exciting, it warrants more than one exclamation point!!) I firmly believe that this is the trade that will catapult the Raptors over the top of the Euroleague. In reality, who is James Johnson?

In other exciting trade news, the Bobcats are giving up any hope of contending for the playoffs. Joel Pryzbilla, AKA "The Big Solution", and two first-round picks are going to Charlotte for Gerald Wallace. While I don't think Gerald Wallace is in the level of a Carmelo Anthony, or even at an all-star level, he's a good player and will help make Portland a deeper team. A potential starting line of Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden is pretty formidable. All are hard-nosed players who give a tremendous amount of effort on the court. If Oden and Roy can stay healthy (yeah, right) and Batum, Fernandez, and Matthews keep developing, and Camby doesn't let age catch up to him, this is a team that has a chance to do some things in the future or even this season.

Charlotte also made another move, trading Nazr Mohammed, a solid player, for Morris Peterson (a used to be) and DJ White (a never was), formerly of the Thunder. First Nazr Mohammed can be part of the multi-headed center of the Thunder with Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic (just think, it's an upgrade over the years as the Sonics with Mohammed Sene and Robert Swift manning the middle).

Now Charlotte has always been one of the hardest to watch teams in the NBA. The blame can't be placed on former coach Larry Brown though. While his teams (think the Pistons of Chauncey Billups and the Sixers of Allen Iverson) have always been about defense, hustle, and work ethic; the talent at Charlotte just is absymal. This is a team that's overachieved by even being in consideration for a playoff spot or making the playoffs the last few years. When Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson are your best players, you know this is the team David Stern needs to promote as where amazing happens. The "amazing" being that anyone actually pays for a ticket to their games. I guess there's only one opportunity a year to see Kobe for folks in Charlotte.

On to the big trades....Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, draft picks, and cash are going from the Nets to Utah for Deron Williams. Mikhail Prokhorov, owner of the Nets, had to do something to take some of the attention in the New York metro area away from the Knicks blockbuster trade for Carmelo. Deron Williams is a definite upgrade from Devin Harris. I think Devin Harris doesn't fit well with Avery Johnson's system. Either that, or he just plain doesn't like Avery Johnson. Devin Harris has gone from an all-star to a solid player under Avery Johnson. If they didn't make the trade, I wouldn't mind having Jordan Farmar usurp the role of starting point guard from Devin Harris, because it's clear the best effort of any Nets players is coming from their bench, namely Kris Humphries, Sasha Vujacic, and Jordan Farmar. Deron Williams now brings his act to Newark to help develop Brook Lopez. I really like Brook Lopez, I think he can be one of the dominant centers in the league. However, I think he is too laid-back. He seems like the type of guy who'd be more at home surfing than fighting for a rebound. If he can develop a killer instinct, he can become dangerous, and right up there with Dwight Howard for the best center in the league. Deron Williams coming to the Nets doesn't really spell any immediate gains for them, though. At best, it makes them win about half of their remaining games, but I wouldn't even count on that.

As for Utah....first Deron Williams drives out Jerry Sloan, then he gets shipped out. Utah's GM had a "gut feeling" that he wouldn't stay in Utah. If Devin Harris can recapture the form that made him an All-Star, and Derrick Favors can develop into a good athlete in the post to back up Jefferson and Millsap, the trade will be a good one for Utah, especially since Deron most likely wouldn't resign with Utah. As for the Jazz, I think they seem to be trending downwards. I think without Jerry Sloan's leadership and Deron Williams' talent and will, the Jazz will miss the playoffs this year, and for the foreseeable future.

OK. Carmelo. At first I was skeptical of the Knicks trading half the team to Denver for Carmelo, Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, and Renaldo Balkman. The problem with the Knicks isn't their starting line, but their depth. Landry Fields is a smart, hard-nosed, talented rookie (probably the fourth best rookie behind Blake Griffin, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins, not bad for a 2nd rounder) who is a great glue player. Chauncey Billups is a proven winner and leader. Carmelo and Amare are superstars. Ronny Turiaf, though undersized, is a great energy and effort guy, and do you need 5 scorers on the floor with Carmelo and Amare wanting the ball? The problem for the Knicks is that their bench is abysmal. Toney Douglas is inconsistent, Shawne Williams is a one-dimensional three point shooter, Shelden Williams, Bill Walker, Corey Brewer, Anthony Carter, Roger Mason...are these names striking fear in your heart? While the Knicks will surely be more entertaining in the wake of the trade, I don't know if they will be markedly better. I think the biggest mistake in this trade for the Knicks was including Timofey Mozgov. Mozgov has shown flashes of brilliance. He's a young European rookie adjusting to the speed and talent of the NBA game, and will only get better. In trading Felton, Chandler, and Gallinari, you know what you're giving up. I doubt any of those players will develop much, if at all, beyond how they've played this season. Raymond Felton is an average starting point guard, Wilson Chandler is a talented sixth man, and Danilo Gallinari is arguably the best pure shooter in the NBA, but not a star in the making. Mozgov is the great unknown. He can develop into a formidable center.

As for Denver, this trade makes them incredibly deep! Of their 14-man roster, they have 12 guys who can legitimately ball (sorry Melvin Ely and Kosta Koufos). They'll probably score a ton of points and hang on to a playoff spot, but they lack the star power to move them to the marks of an elite team, or the team-first mentality to get away without having a star (see the Detroit Pistons of a few years ago). While the Nuggets should be fun to watch, I think come the summer they should trade some of their intriguing pieces for a superstar. The question is who would be available? Chris Paul? Personally, I think Chris Paul is overrated and not a guy who is going to bring a franchise over the top. I guess all Denver can do is wait for a superstar to get disgruntled and then throw their chips where they may fall.