Trade deadline days for any sport has always been a day that defines a team, whether it be them selling or buying. This deadline for the NBA was a little quiet, but had a few fireworks and a minor explosion before the deadline from the West. The deadline reveals a lot about a team, and how it perceives its standing in the league. It’s kind of like a personal snap shot for an organization’s leaders and forces them to take a cold, hard look at where they stand on the NBA Landscape.
More telling than the teams that were active at the deadline might be those who stayed pat. The Bulls put their head into the deadline waters, but like the Miami Heat, and Oklahoma City Thunder stuck there head out when they realized there team’s success. Much of this success from these three teams comes from years of playing together, which have developed into a brand for each team. Although each team lacks something somewhere on the roster, it wasn’t worth separating the teams.
For the two tenants of the Staples Center battling for the Pacific Division crown and also the prestigious home court in the first round of the post season, so when the trade opportunities presented themselves for the Lakers and Clippers they obliged. Both who are near contenders in the wild wide –open West. The Lakers brought in the point guard that could complete there championship run this season if there is one left, as they brought in Ramon Sessions from the Cavs.
But with a happy story, there’s always a sad ending, as the Lakers had to ship long time Laker Veteran Derek Fisher in a separate deal to the Rockets for Jordan Hill. The Clippers also haven’t been the same since they lost the ageless Chauncey Billups, so they looked to the Washington Wizards and acquired Nick Young, who will fill the void that Billups left and will give the Clips some needed size on the wing.
When a team isn’t working anymore, there’s only one thing to do and that is just dump the roster. That is what the Portland Trail-Blazers did; they fired their coach, and released the often injured former no. 1 draft choice Greg Oden. It’s never easy for a franchise to dump their roster and get a new one, but when you were considered “promising”, the franchise must rebuild, and hopefully the Blazers will get back on track next season.
The Denver Nuggets had many contemplative moves on the trade deadline day. They took a sober look at their aging, often injured and said they had enough basically. Difficult as it always is trading away players on this day, the Nuggets traded away veteran centre Nene and acquired the young and cheaper option in JaVale McGee. And, like Portland, they’ve improved their prospects for the future.
The Bucks and Golden State Warriors probably made the bigger splash before the deadline. The Warriors traded away all-star guard Monta Ellis to the Bucks for a package of players. Adding more insult to injury for the Warriors, the always crafty San Antonio Spurs dealt them Richard Jefferson for their recently acquired Stephen Jackson from the Bucks trade, setting themselves up for some serious savings a summer from now.
As soon as the Nets saw that Dwight Howard was off the board, they had to do something, and something they did. The Nets traded away a lucrative pick to Portland for the skilled forward Gerald Wallace, still clinging to a chance they can retain the services of Deron Williams and possibly lure Howard in the summer. It’s a real dice rolling chance there taking, but it’s a true reflection of the organization’s character.
Meanwhile, a few other teams did some minor deals here and there. The Rockets continue to stockpile picks for the future and capitalize on opportunities to improve at low costs. Indiana and Philadelphia both did something and gave up nothing.
Organizational identity is a funny thing in the NBA, and, for most teams, there are only a few moments over the course of the year when that nature comes to the surface. We won’t know until the playoffs if any deals would benefit any team, but we learned more yesterday about team’s courage, and ambitions.
That’s all for now folks! Follow me on twitter @kevincawthra. Make sure to like the article and share it with your friends and family! Thanks for reading my article, and till next time….
YOU STAY CLASSY VANCOUVER!
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