Jazz, Lakers among winners in NBA trades

By Jake Ipson

February 27, 2008 | As the NBA's trade deadline has come and gone, I would just like to put my opinion out there about some of the trades.

This was a very good year as far as trades went. I can't remember a time when so many big names were traded all at one time. There were a total of 14 trades that happened in the NBA this year. Although I will not talk about all of the trades, I would like to talk about some of the more major moves. Most of the trades that happened, happend to help the teams out West, which should make for a very interesting final couple of weeks in the NBA.

The first trade was one that may be overlooked a little bit when the Utah Jazz traded for Kyle Korver. The Jazz sent Gordon Giricek to the Philadelphia 76ers. This trade really helped the Jazz by giving them one of the best shooters in the league. Since the trade happened, the Jazz have gone on to win 19 of 22 games. But one of the biggest factors was getting Giricek out of Utah since he seemed to not be listening to coach Jerry Sloan any more. Korver has come and fit right in to the Jazz system.

Another excellent trade was the Lakers getting Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. This ended up being a great trade for the Lakers just because they got a former all star for pretty much nothing. They gave up Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron Mckie and two future first round picks. This was such a good move th ough because Gasol fits right in to the triangle offense that the Lakers run. When their starting center returns, t hat will give the lakers one of the tallest front courts in the league if they move Gasol over to power forward and Lam ar Odem to small forward. That would be a hard match up for anybody especially when you team that with the best player in the game right now in Kobe Bryant.

The second best trade of the season probably has to go to the San Antonio Spurs. Quietly, they just picked up one of the best defending big men in Kurt Thomas from the Seattle Supersonics. Both t eams really won in this trade though, cause the Spurs were able to pick up someone who can relieve Tim Duncan for a whi le or play right along side Duncan. Thomas has always been a great defender but what is overlooked sometimes is his offens ive game. Although he probably won't go out and get 20 or 30 points a game anymore, he still has a very nice jumpshot that he can make consistantly. The players they traded for Thomas were Francisco Elson whos contract expires after this sea son and Brent Berry who they have already cut. So if no one signs Brent, there is a chance he can return to the Spurs after 30 days.

Then there were three more huge trades that are more of a wait and see how things turn out. The first of the major trades that would be in this kind of catagory would be the Phoenix Suns trading for Shaquille O'Neal. This trade could go any way. The Thing is, they had to give up Shawn Marion. Marion was the Suns most versitile player on offense and defense. O'Neal is on the dow nward end of his career and not nearly as athletic as Marion. Marion was the one that allowed the Suns to play the t ype of ball that they played. But the reason that this trade is so compelling is that Shaq probably won't hurt the Suns on th e offensive end. Sure, the Suns will have to adjust to Shaq to play a more slow game, but the one problem that I think t he Suns will have is on the defensive end. Shaq has trouble moving his feet on defense. The problem is, the Suns gave up one of their best defenders, if not their best defender on a team that does not play too much defense anyways. Now the Su ns move Amare Stoudemire over to the power forward and he is not a great defender either. But if Shaq can come in and play un selish basketball by playing hard on defense and get rebounds, then this trade might work out. If he plays hard on defense, the Suns should reward him by giving him his touches on the offensive end of the court.

The other trade that is intriguing is the Dallas Mavericks trading for Jason KIdd. I think it was a great move to go out and get a player like Kidd. But the only problem with this trade was the pieces the Mavericks had to give up in order to get him. The Mavericks traded away, Devin Harris who is a point guard who is 10 years younger then Jason Kidd. But they also had to give up center DeSagana Diop. This is a big deal because with all the ot her teams going out and trading to get bigger, the Mavericks traded away a big body that can defend pretty well. Dallas a lso realizes that there are some pretty good point guards that they will have to deal with out west. I know the Mavericks are hoping that Jason Kidd can provide the leadership that the Mavericks have been missing. Jason Kidd will make things easier on Dirk Nowitzki and he really needs help so he doesn't have to carry so much of the load. If Erick Dampier can stay out of foul trouble or Juwan Howard can give them solid minutes, then this could be a very good trade.

The other big trade that happened was probably the best head scratcher of all the trades. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and the Seattle Supersonics were all involved in a trade that happene d one minute before the 3 p.m. eastern time trade deadline. The trade included 11 different players. The Cavaliers aquired Ben wallace and Joe Smith from the Bulls and Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from the Sonics. The Sonics received Ira Newbl e and Donyell Marshall from the Cavs and Adrian Griffen from the Bulls. The Bulls got Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Cedric Sim mons and Shannon Brown. The trade was made because the Cavs felt like they could not compete with the other elite teams in the Eastern conference. But I don't think this trade really helped the Cavs. They lose a lot on the defensive end of the court. They do pick up Ben Wallace who is a four-time defensive player of the year, but he has also slowed down quite a bit since his days of playing with the Pistons. But they lose a lot on the perimeter defense by giving up Hughes. And they gave up G ooden, who at this time is probably a better player then Wallace. Gooden has a much better shot then Wallace and rebounds just as well too. The Sonics did the trade to get under the salarie cap and they are hoping to be able to relocate the team within a couple of years, so that is their reasoning behind the trade. But I think the ones that got the best out of this trade was the Chicago Bulls. They have been missing a low post scorer and they picked up a decent one in Drew Gooden and adding Larry Hugh es will give the Bulls a go to player in the clutch and a great on the ball defender. Plus, they were able to get rid of Ben Wallace, who really wasn't doing all that much in Chicago anyway. I do think that the Cavs will make the playoffs and the Bulls won't, but that doesn't mean that the future doesn't look a little brighter for the Bulls.

The other trades were not as significant as these but who knows, maybe s omeone found a diamond in the rough player. Only time will tell with some trades. But it's playoff time when players really have to earn their paychecks, and these trades will make or break their team. These trades have made the chase one for the ages though. Hopefully the playoffs will will match the intensity of the trading deadline.

MS
MS