1. Wizards-Timberwolves My hometown Wizards trade a bunch of garbage (Etan Thomas, Oleksiy Pecherov, Darius Songalia) and the #5 pick to the T-Wolves in exchange for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.
Results: The Wizards do something right!! With the addition of Miller and Foye, the Wiz go from a lottery team to a team that should make the second round in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference. For the T-Wolves it is all about the future. They eat some terrible contracts of terrible players but now have 4 first round draft picks on Thursday (# 5, 6, 18, 28). Congrats, T-Wolves, you are hanging your future on four picks from the worst draft in the last 10 years. Have fun building around Tyreke Evans and Johnny Flynn. And you will love Pecherov. He provides the most unintentional humor of any NBA player and he never got the recognition he deserved. You will be missed, Oleksiy.
How it affects the Jazz: Not in the least. Although, now that I think about it, the T-Wolves are probably the worst team in the NBA at this point. They are also in our division which means we play them a lot and at important times. So we might not lose at home to them late in the year when playoff seeding is on the line.
2. Spurs-Bucks The Spurs trade Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas for Richard Jefferson.
Results: The Spurs are contending for championships. Again. You have to hand it to San Antonio, they make the right moves. This pushes them into luxury tax land, but it also makes them (in my mind) the clear cut #2 team in the West. And I don't think they are too far behind the Lakers. For the Bucks, they remain a terrible team with no identity.
How it affects the Jazz: Our nemesis lives. The Spurs unload an old Bruce Bowen and an ancient Kurt Thomas for an athletic wing player who had a career 3-point shooting year. Plus, after the Bucks cut Bowen he will likely resign with San Antonio. Not good.
3. Spurs-Pistons-Bucks: What? Didn't hear about this blockbuster? The Spurs sent Fabricio Oberto to Detroit (who should be cut within the hour) in exchange for Amir Johnson who is headed to Milwaukee.
Results: For the Pistons, they are giving up on their project power forward. Detroit saves $1.5 million and the Bucks get a low-priced big man. Win-win.
How it affects the Jazz: Surprisingly this is the most relevant trade to the Jazz' lineup. The Pistons cleared cap space and dealt a young power forward, meaning they have $1.5 million more to throw at one of the Jazz' young power forwards. To me, this move indicates that the Pistons are definitely making a play for either Millsap or Boozer. The question now is which one.
