All Star weekend has ended and the NBA is back up to its normal schedule. With roughly a quarter of the season left to work with, GM's around the league are not hesitant to make moves to help their teams now and in the future. Teams that are in the race look to add veteran help to go deep into the playoffs, while teams that are dwellers look to ship out what is not needed for their teams in the future. Teams that are on the fence have the roughest time, deciding whether to buy and make a push for the playoffs, or sell and restock for the following year. Feb 19th has come and gone and teams have made significant improvements that they will benefit from this season and those that follow.
Orlando receives G Rafer Alston from Houston for F Brian Cook.
Orlando is a true "Beast from the East". Having one of the best records in the NBA, the Magic find themselves in a spot to contend for the NBA Finals. But with their starting point guard Jameer Nelson lost to season ending shoulder surgery, the Magic had to make a trade to keep their playoff dreams intact. On the other hand, Houston has been doing well this year. Coming into this season, the Rockets ambitions were high due to the acquisition of F Ron Artest. This on paper gave Houston possibly the best defensive team in the NBA. But with most of their best players past their prime, injuries became a problem for them and thus leading to inconsistency on their part. With Ron Artest's contract ending this year, Houston made a wise choice in departing with the talent that they have now and try to develop their young players now under the guidance of the veterans while they are still around.
Positives: Orlando receives a legit point guard that will take over for the injured Jameer Nelson. Alston will provide Orlando with leadership and skills that will help the players around him to improve. Houston now can allow recently acquired Kyle Lowry to develop into their starting PG along with Luther Head.
Positives: Orlando receives a legit point guard that will take over for the injured Jameer Nelson. Alston will provide Orlando with leadership and skills that will help the players around him to improve. Houston now can allow recently acquired Kyle Lowry to develop into their starting PG along with Luther Head.
Negatives: Houston's ambitions of making it past the first round in the playoffs have halted as they now don't have a strong enough leader on the floor with McGrady out for the rest of the season and with Alston gone.
Chicago Receives G John Salmons and F Brad Miller from Sacramento for F Andres Nocioni, F Drew Gooden, C Michael Ruffin and F Cedric Simmons
This must be Chicago's lucky year. First, they win the draft lottery with a messily 1.7 chance going on to acquire hometown boy Derrick Rose. Then they pull off possibly the best trade this year. WOW. Acquiring two of the Kings starting players for about nothing is absolutely a steal for the Bulls. The Bulls now have a solid starting rotations of player that will help them push for a playoff spot. The Kings did not go away empty handed though. They did receive some good players in the trade that will complement Kevin Martin in Sacramento but Chicago still comes out the winner in this trade.
Positives: Chicago receives great talent from the Kings and Sacramento becomes deeper with an overall better lineup. Chicago also received forwards Tim Thomas and Jerome James in a trade that sent seldom used G Larry Hughes to the Knicks.
Positives: Chicago receives great talent from the Kings and Sacramento becomes deeper with an overall better lineup. Chicago also received forwards Tim Thomas and Jerome James in a trade that sent seldom used G Larry Hughes to the Knicks.
Negatives: Sacramento loses two of its top scorers, leaving the Kings Kevin Martin as the true leader of the team.
Toronto receives F Shawn Marion and G Marcus Banks for C Jermaine Oneal and F Jamario Moon.
Aghhh. This trade has seemed to been speculated since the beginning of time. Finally the deal went down that sent Marion and his travelling buddy from his days with Phoenix to the Raptors in exchange for Jermaine Oneal and Jamario Moon. The Raptors coming into this year had high expectations to compete in the East and challenge the Bostons and Clevlands of the NBA. But after a torrid start, the team ceased to function as a group casting them in the meantime to the bottom of the NBA. The experiment with Bosh and Oneal did not pan out as expected due to many factors including the resurgence of former first overall pick Andrea Bargnani. With Bargnani playing at a level that the Raptors expected of him, Oneal became expandable, allowing them to shop him around. Luckily, the Raptors found a taker and in return, they received a proven NBA player that has all the talents and skills the Raptors need to be successful. Miami get in Oneal a inside presence to go along with Dwyane Wade that they have lacked since Shaq left for Phoenix.
Positives: Toronto receives a proven player that will help them defend perimeter players better while Miami receives an inside presence that they have lacked since the departure of Shaq and Mourning. Each player involved in this trade benefit from this change of scenery as the talents that they possess fit the team they are going to better than their first team.
Negatives: What makes this trade different from the others is that its is a swap of two proven all stars. Both teams are going to have to adjust to fit in the needs of each player on the court. The Raptors though, might have a slight advantage due to the fact that Marion does not need many plays for him to be successful on the court. He is a rugged player that hustles and plays hard regardless of his position.
Toronto receives F Shawn Marion and G Marcus Banks for C Jermaine Oneal and F Jamario Moon.
Aghhh. This trade has seemed to been speculated since the beginning of time. Finally the deal went down that sent Marion and his travelling buddy from his days with Phoenix to the Raptors in exchange for Jermaine Oneal and Jamario Moon. The Raptors coming into this year had high expectations to compete in the East and challenge the Bostons and Clevlands of the NBA. But after a torrid start, the team ceased to function as a group casting them in the meantime to the bottom of the NBA. The experiment with Bosh and Oneal did not pan out as expected due to many factors including the resurgence of former first overall pick Andrea Bargnani. With Bargnani playing at a level that the Raptors expected of him, Oneal became expandable, allowing them to shop him around. Luckily, the Raptors found a taker and in return, they received a proven NBA player that has all the talents and skills the Raptors need to be successful. Miami get in Oneal a inside presence to go along with Dwyane Wade that they have lacked since Shaq left for Phoenix.
Positives: Toronto receives a proven player that will help them defend perimeter players better while Miami receives an inside presence that they have lacked since the departure of Shaq and Mourning. Each player involved in this trade benefit from this change of scenery as the talents that they possess fit the team they are going to better than their first team.
Negatives: What makes this trade different from the others is that its is a swap of two proven all stars. Both teams are going to have to adjust to fit in the needs of each player on the court. The Raptors though, might have a slight advantage due to the fact that Marion does not need many plays for him to be successful on the court. He is a rugged player that hustles and plays hard regardless of his position.
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