Today's the day to make your move in the NBA, the Jazz made a move (see Guru's post). I wouldn't have minded shipping CJ or Korver instead, but Korver is starting to play well and CJ is full of potential (oh, wait, that was four years ago).
But other teams have made moves that may affect the Jazz this season. Let's recap:
Cavs: Cleveland brought in the perfect Jazzman, Antawn Jamison, to complement Lebron. The Cavs are going to be tough to beat and, in my opinion, are a virtual lock for making finals. They might have trouble matching L.A.'s size now that Big Z is gone, however. Luckily, the Jazz are done with Cleveland for the year, so this won't affect the team.
Kings: How do the Kings affect the Jazz, you ask. Well, aside from the fact that we play them in two weeks, it would be nice to see the Kings go on a nice win streak to catch the Knicks in the ping-pong ball standings (see below). The Kings dealt Kevin Martin (and Hilton Armstrong) and acquired Carl Landry, Carl Dorsey and East St. Louis' own Larry Hughes. While Martin is easily the best player in this deal, the Kings have been much better this year when KMart has been hurt. Here's hoping Tyreke Evans can get them playing better ball.
Wizards: Same story here: the Wiz are fighting the Knicks for ping pong balls. Unfortunately, they just got a lot worse. Jamison and Caron Butler are gone while Josh Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskus, and Drew Gooden are in DC. That's not a good move from a (basketball) talent perspective; musically, it's a nice trade. This team is going to take a nosedive (on purpose).
Mavs: Mark Cuban made another bold move, dumping Josh Howard's expiring deal for Caron Butler (another guy that would fit in great with the Jazz), DeShawn Stephenson (another guy that would not fit in well with the Jazz, mostly because he is a bad basketball player) and Brendan "I'm playing for money" Haywood. The Mavs have been looking creaky lately, so this is an upgrade, especially because Haywood is SO much better than Dampier in the post. Butler has had a terrible year, but the change of scenery should show whether his decline was a result of being stuck on a terrible Wizards team, or whether he's lost a step. I doubt this makes the Mavs serious contenders, but they definitely improve.
Rockets: Houston made out like a frat party. Not only did they unload the most overpriced, overhyped "All-Star" in the league, but they picked up Kevin Martin, Jared Jeffries, rookie Jordan Hill AND allegedly the Knicks 2011 and 2012 first round picks! Are you kidding me? Those picks alone are more valuable than McGrady. Houston loses Landry, who is a stud, but Jeffries and Hill combined should make up for that loss. Martin gives the Rockets a legitimate scorer, something they've been missing this year. Suddenly, the West is looking fearsome.
Knicks: Finally, our beloved Knicks. You have to give this team credit, they are going balls to the wall with their long-term strategy. They are putting all of Wall Street's money on red, and in this case red means Lebron and Bosh. They have gutted their team of bench scoring (trading Nate Robinson for one-trick pony Eddie House), post defenders (Jared Jeffries and 5th overall pick Jordan Hill), first round draft picks (not until 2013!), and tear drop tattoos (Larry Hughes: two). In exchange they get an aged, overhyped superstar in McGrady and a ton of cap space to spend next summer. If they don't get Lebron, Bosh, Wade or some combination, you can write off the Knicks franchise for the next decade.
But, more importantly for Jazz fans, they have very little talent left to compete with this year. The Knicks are currently tied for 7th place in the lottery with Detroit. But, they are only a game and a half out of dropping into the 4th spot. Now, there is no way they are catching the Nets, T-Wolves, or Warriors. But if Sacramento, Washinton, Detroit, and the Clippers can steal a few victories in the next few weeks, the Jazz will be sitting pretty in the draft. Of course, those teams are all about to enter full-blown tank mode, whereas the Knicks have no reason to lose more than they have to. But, with a starting five of Chris Duhon, Tracy McGracy, Danilo Galinari, David Lee, and Wilson Chandler, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!!
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3 comments:
Adding McGrady will not help the Knicks this year. The season is more than half over and he basically hasn't seen floor time, plus he's joining a new team that has nothing to play for. He's going to be out of shape and unmotivated, sort of like Memo Okur every September.
Pretty helpful info, lots of thanks for this article.
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