Gargantuan Trade Shakes Eastern Conference; Sonics Tread Water Out West

 

While LeBron should sleep like a baby after watching his team acquire four new members of its rotation, the rest of the Eastern Conference will probably have to have a scotch or twelve to get some shut eye tonight.

This trade is so gigantic it’s hard to even get your head wrapped around it without a graphic portayal.  So, here’s the trade machine breakdown, with an additional second-round pick headed to Cleveland from Chicago.

Phew.

OK, so I’m going to breakdown the rosters of the three teams now, and try to give some insight into what all this means, but my head might start doing 360s The Exorcist style so hopefully it makes any sense whatsoever at the end:

Here’s the new Cleveland depth chart with players worthy of any thought listed at their possible positions:

1. Daniel Gibson/Delonte West/Damon Jones
2. Wally Szczerbiak/Delonte West/Sasha Pavlovic
3. LeBron James/Wally Szczerbiak
4. Joe Smith/Anderson Varejao
5. Zydrunas Illgauskas/Anderson Varejao/Ben Wallace

I’ll discuss the impact of this deal on Cleveland’s long-term picture some time in the future, but as of now we’ll stick to current ramifications.  Cleveland now has a cast of shooters to surround LBJ with in the backcourt, as well as a solid foursome of rebounders and defenders on the blocks.  This puts the team firmly in line for the third spot in the conference, and given LeBron’s ability to handle entire teams by himself, the Cavs are now very serious contenders in the East.

On to Chicago:

1. Kirk Hinrich/Chris Duhon/Larry Hughes
2. Ben Gordon/Larry Hughes/Thabo Sefolosha
3. Luol Deng/Andres Nocioni
4. Drew Gooden/Andres Nocioni/Tyrus Thomas/Joakim Noah
5. Joakim Noah/Aaron Gray/Tyrus Thomas

Chicago gets younger with the trade and creates a tiny bit more financial flexibility, although not much, by way of turning Ben Wallace’s behemoth contract into Larry Hughes’ marginally less mammoth deal ($15 million per year for Big Ben versus $12 AAV for Hughes).  However, Gooden and Hughes have a much greater chance of improving or maintaing their performances throughout the length of their contracts than do the players sent off, Wallace and Joe Smith.  In that sense this is a small victory for the Bulls. 

Although a modest improvement for Chicago, this trade changes nothing in the big picture.  The Bulls are still stacked with promising young guys and several underachievers.  They have contract extension issues looming over their heads, and the roster is still mediocre–you only play five guys at once and usually no more than eight guys can get real, meaningful minutes, so having 11 possible rotation members and not one star isn’t going to get this team past the first round of the play-offs no matter what.  Consequently, while the trade helps long-term, there isn’t a whole lot to be gained this season, and the Bulls remain a team with no real identity, no real leader.

Lastly, the SuperSonics:

Seattle doesn’t deserve a depth chart, because it clearly has no intention of building a team for the time being.  Other than Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, the Sonics don’t have anyone who I’d bet on being on the team more than a year or two more.  The trade nets Seattle some more cap space this summer as opposed to next, but given their ownership situation and their imminent departure from the Pacific Northwest, why would any major free agent want to sign with the Sonics?  

The SuperSonics have about 98 first-round draft picks (note that Kurt Thomas brought the Sonics three first-round picks in less than one season on the roster!) coming over the next several years, and GM Sam Presti will have a shot at building a dynamic young core, but this franchise is going to be bad for a long time.  Draft picks alone won’t get the Force Launching Durants back on track, and while this trade certainly didn’t hurt the franchise, I can’t say I think it did much to help it get back to winning basketball games.

Spurs and Hornets Beef Up for Post-Season

I found this picture when I googled “NBA Trade Deadline.”  How great a deadline must that year have been!  Vashon Lenard!  Vitaly Potopenko!

There have been only two deals reported prior to today’s 3:00 p.m. NBA trade deadline, but more could trickle in once paperwork is taken care of.  Here’s a quick anlysis of the two trades already consumated.  More thoughts later should other trades be announced.

The Spurs Acquire Kurt Thomas for Expiring Contracts and a First-Rounder

• The Sonics managed to net only a late first-round pick from the Spurs in exchange for one of the most sought after low-post defenders available at this year’s deadline.  The two players heading to Seattle are nothing more than cap filler, as both Brent Barry (who is actually a pretty good player when healthy; unfortunately, healthy he’s not) and Francisco Elson come off the books at season’s end.  Landing a solid defender and rebounder to pair with Tim Duncan at such a low cost–especially considering Kurt Thomas’s contract expires this summer as well–was nothing short of a steal of a deal for San Antonio.  The Spurs seemed destined for an earlier-than-expected exit from the dogfight that has become the Western Conference play-offs this year, but their smart maneauvering has vaulted the ageing defending champs back into title contention.  This deal has many basketball fans and execs wondering if Sam Presti’s loyalty to his former employer caused him to accept a less-than-stellar package in return, a la Kevin McHale this summer.

Hornets, Rockets Tinker with Rotations

• While this deal techincally involves the Memphis Grizzles and a whopping eight players and picks, there are really only three names to worry about: Mike James, Bonzi Wells, and Bobby Jackson.  Most importantly, James and Wells head to New Orleans, where they will supplement a weak bench for Chris Paul’s first-place sqaud.  Wells is the best player in the deal, and adding him to an already strong starting line-up while finding a mostly adequate short-term replacement for Jackson as well is a nice move for the Hornets.  On the other hand, Houston gets itself another mediocre option to throw against the wall along with its 87 other failed point guard options in Bobby Jackson.  While not a true point man, Jackson can still score a little bit, and could mesh well with the Rockets under former Sacramento coach, Rick Adelman.  While this deal helps New Orleans increase its rotation to a solid seven on most nights, it still leaves the team short on depth and experience for the post-season.  For Houston, Jackson should do a better job than James has, but he won’t propel them into legit contender status, and losing Bonzi Wells takes away another guy who can score–something the team needed to add instead of lose.