The NBA is starting to look a lot different than it did a couple of years ago, or really a couple days ago for that matter. In the past few weeks we have seen Pau Gasol traded to the Lakers, Shaquille O’ Neal to the Suns, Shawn Marion to the Heat, Mike Bibby to the Hawks, Jason Kidd to the Mavericks, and both Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak to the Cavaliers. These moves follow last season’s trade of Allen Iverson from the 76ers to the Nuggets and an off-season where Rashard Lewis was traded to the Magic, Jason Richardson to the Bobcats, and both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were traded to the Celtics. It seems the landscape of the NBA has changed from years past where many teams were reluctant to shake up their respective cores, many were unwilling to bet their futures on a move that may only make them a championship contender for the rest of only one season. The moves that were made and the moves that were not made may very well have implications come April...
The most talked about and scrutinized trade has to be the “big fella” Shaquille O’ Neal going to the Phoenix Suns. Many have called this a bad trade for the Suns because they think that O’ Neal is over the hill and that he will slow down an offense that gains the majority of their points from running the floor, however, I like this deal for both teams. The idea that O’ Neal will slow the team down is ridiculous, obviously he is seven feet tall and has never been known for his speed, but I can’t remember the last time I saw all five players make it down the court on a fast break? Am I wrong or did Shaq slow down those old Lakers teams as well, didn’t they get three championships out of it though? Let’s not forget how fastbreaks occur, someone has to grab that rebound or block that shot to set it up in the first place which is exactly what Shaq does. O’ Neal will aid a team that has failed to capture a title because when they are not running, there may not be a “worse” team with actual championship aspirations in a half court offense. Also, Phoenix is not dominant on the defensive side of the ball either. O’ Neal obviously isn’t what he was once was in Los Angeles, old age gets the best of everyone, but the guy is still seven feet plus and was once arguably the most dominant player of all-time in his sport. O’ Neal will still command double teams at times, which will result in Amare Stoudamire getting open under the basket and making it that much more difficult to box him out on the boards. O’ Neal can still pound the ball in down low for twenty or so points on any given night, but will aid the team most defensively where he was brought in to prevent Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, and Yao Ming from dominating the Suns in potential playoff match-ups. O’ Neal is still more than capable of holding his own, and can still dominate those players occasionally come playoff time.
By making this deal, the Suns admit that they can not win a title by just running the floor alone, much like the Mavericks did a few years ago. All they had to do was give up Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for one of the greatest players of all-time. Banks wasn’t playing anyways, and Marion is a very good player, his stats are there, but the Suns have enough guys who can score, and needed someone to help them get over that hump. Marion is very talented but the Suns have enough players who can platoon to cover his stat line. Marion wanted to be moved anyways, he’ll be a great addition to a Miami team who needs to get younger in order to build for the future around Dwayne Wade. Yea, O’ Neal quit on Miami, but he delivered the title he promised them when he arrived, and the Suns will grossly overpay him with $40 million for the next two years, but if he gets them the title they want, I doubt they will mind signing those checks for another couple of years.
I love the trade the Lakers made to get Pau Gasol. The Lakers traded a couple future first round picks, the rights to Gasol’s brother, Kwame Brown, and some magic beans to the Grizzlies to get Gasol. If nothing else, the Lakers got rid of Brown who may be the biggest bust of all-time in any sport, the Grizzlies probably have a better chance of getting the “magic beans” to average eight points at this point than Brown. The Grizzlies clearly made this move to cut payroll, otherwise they could have got a lot more for Gasol. The Lakers were already a competitive team just because they have the best player in the league in Kobe Bryant. It will be interesting to see what happens when their young and potentially dominant center, Andrew Bynum, returns from injury. Pairing Gasol with Bynum should help the Lakers dominate the paint on offense and keep opposing offenses away from the hoop on the opposite side of the court. Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom will continue to score like they always have, but this move should help give Bryant the peace of mind he has needed as far as being willing to spread the ball around when he does not have the shot he wants late in games, making the Lakers a legitimate title contender for the first time since Shaquille O’ Neal’s departure.
I have mixed feelings about the Mavericks acquhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.bold.gif
insert bold tagsiring Jason Kidd. The Mavericks gave up two first round picks, cash, Keith Van Horn’s contract, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, DeSagna Diop, and Devin Harris for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, Antoine Wright, and Nick Fazekas who they immediately waived. The Mavericks have clearly lost confidence in themselves after blowing the championship a couple years ago against Miami, and losing to the Golden State Warriors in the opening round of last year’s playoffs. Jason Kidd is a hard-nosed leader who directs offenses better than anyone, and will give you his all every night. Kidd gives the Mavericks what they need, he is an experienced point guard who has played in the Finals twice. He is one of the best passers of all-time and will help the Mavericks score at the end of games where they had previously struggled in games that count in May and June. This move definitely makes the Mavericks a stronger candidate to win the championship, even though their chances were pretty good before the trade, but if they were going to make it, they should have done it earlier. I would have preferred to see this trade made before the season or earlier on so Kidd would have everything down by the playoffs, but he’ll pick most of it up by season’s end regardless. The problem is, is the Mavericks give up Devin Harris, who they acknowledged as the point guard of the future, many calling him the next John Stockton. Kidd is 34 and will take a huge bite out of the salary cap, and could easily see his skills diminish in a couple of years like so many players in their mid-30's. Harris would have made them better for years to come at the age of 24, and will now help the Nets in their inevitable rebuilding process. Also, the Mavericks gave up Diop who has been a solid defender and held his own against many of the other big guys in the Western Conference. The Mavericks were already thin in the big-man department to begin with. It will be interesting to see how much losing Diop effects the Mavericks when they meet offenses like the Suns and Spurs come playoff time. The Mavericks may have traded a bright future with Harris for a championship this year, but if they win a championship, that is what you base every move you make on, like originally drafting Harris in the first place.
The team who made the best deal is the Cleveland Cavaliers. They were involved in a three-way trade with the Sonics and Bulls, the Sonics ended up with Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall, and Adrian Griffin, the Bulls got Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, and Shannon Brown, and the Cavaliers ended up with Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and a future second-round pick. The Sonics probably should have tried for draft picks like they have been stockpiling for the last year, since their going young anyways, but this move was more cap space minded and will help them none the less. The Bulls made this deal largely to get rid of Wallace’s huge contract, based on the fact that they could move a 33 year old who can’t score, I’m sure they consider the move a success. They also pick up a solid defender in Drew Gooden, and if Larry Hughes ever gets healthy could help give them more depth at the guard position. Lebron James has begged for a supporting cast since arriving in Cleveland, outside of his short time playing with former teammate Carlos Boozer, and what was supposed to be help in the form of signing Larry Hughes a while back (who has been largely ineffective due to being oft-injured), James really has not got the help he needs until now. It was painstakingly obvious last June when the Cavaliers miraculously advanced to the Finals after being down 3-0 to the Pistons, that the only consistent legitimate threat on the team was James. While Ben Wallace was mostly ousted from Chicago for his huge contract, he will greatly help the Cavaliers in the playoffs. It is no secret at this point that Wallace is scoring-challenged when it comes to putting the ball in the hoop, however, the reason he got that huge contract is because he is one of the best when it comes to keeping the ball out of the hoop. Wallace will bring his championship experience and toughness to a team that could greatly use it. Outside of James, who doesn’t strike me as a total-package type of leader yet, the team doesn’t have that overly motivational player on the team. “Big Ben” is one of the best defensive players in the history of the game and ranks fourth in history in rebounding average during the playoffs. Joe Smith is a seasoned veteran who will bring playoff experience to a young team in need of leadership in the playoffs. He will most likely come off of the bench and will step in and score when called upon to do so. Szczerbiak may be the best part of this trade for James though, while he may not be considered a superstar, he has averaged more than 15 points per game for his career, and can score the ball from any part of the floor. Lebron needs somebody he can count on to take and make big shots throughout the course of a game because of the coverage he draws, Szczerbiak will welcome these opportunities that he gets in Cleveland. Szczerbiak would be a welcomed addition as a role player on any team with championship aspirations, I’d argue that if it weren’t for him, Kevin Garnett probably would not have won more than 40 games without him when they were in Minnesota together. I will be interested to see how this team plays the Pistons in the playoffs, seeing as how I felt the Pistons beat themselves four straight games last year. Even if the Cavaliers do not make the Finals this year, I think once this team gels together for a full season, they could be the favorite barring any big moves in the East, to make the Finals the following year.
Even with all these trades, I can not remember a season where I found it more difficult to pick who would be playing in June. In the East, I had promised two years ago that the Orlando Magic would be the best or second best team in the East by the time this season arrived. Even though the Celtics look like the best team in the East, and looked to run away with the best record earlier on, I still like the Pistons to win the conference. The Pistons have all the experience and may not run away from everyone in the regular season, come playoff time they step up more than any team I’ve seen since the Chicago Bulls dynasty. The Magic and Cavaliers are legitimate threats, but both are young teams and will falter against a team like the Celtics or Pistons. The Celtics have an amazing “big three” in Garnett, Allen, and Pierce, but I doubt all three will be healthy during the playoffs, and outside of them I do not love anyone else on the team, they also should have found a way to resolve their lack of having a point guard problem, so I think they’ll fall just short of a title this year.
Anyone who tells you they know for a fact who will win the West this year is a liar. A lot of times people say so and so division or conference is wide open, but this year that could not be more true. I will reluctantly take the Mavericks. It is hard to bet against the Spurs who really did not make a big splash other than adding veteran Kurt Thomas at the deadline, but like the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” They did sweep the Cavaliers to capture another title last year, and I love their experience, but I also have health concerns with their guards in the playoffs and think that their overall older age has shown more and more through the last couple of seasons, which I think will hinder them from winning it all this year. I would not be shocked to see the Suns win it all either, they were a legitimate threat to take it all before, and adding Shaq to a team that can already score in the hundreds on a regular basis should scare every team in the league, in the past they have tired themselves out keeping up with players like Kobe Bryant in the earlier rounds and struggling to put together four wins in a row later on once they got closer to a potential Finals has been the result. The Lakers are much better too, but I think injuries in the form of Bynum missing time this year and Bryant acknowledging that he will continue to play with a finger on his shooting hand that needs surgery, those injuries will send the Lakers home short of the Finals. The Mavericks still have a bad taste in their mouth from beating themselves in the Finals two years ago, and then being shocked by the Warriors last year, should be motivation enough for the team to get it done this year. Unlike in years past, the Mavericks are not tiring themselves out by trying to get to 70 wins or blowing opponents out during the regular season, they have finally added someone who will get the ball in the hands of Nowitzki and Howard in Kidd, and still boast a great amount of depth on their bench. Nowitzki was the MVP of the league last year, and I think he will get the MVP of the Finals this year. No matter what happens, more than any other year since Jordan’s tenure with the Bulls, NBA fans are in for a treat starting in mid-April.
No comments:
Post a Comment