Lets Make A Deal!

Now that the trading deadline in the NBA has passed there are articles all over the place "grading" the deals made. Here at White Hat Sports I thought I should do my own version of all the trades that have gone down since Christmas.

December 29th: The Utah Jazz acquire Kyle Korver from the Philadelphia 76er's for Gordan Giricek and a protected first round pick.
This is my favorite trade of the season. The Jazz got one of the best shooters in the game in Kyle Korver, while only giving up a late first round pick and a player who probably shouldn't even be in the league anymore. Before this deal the Jazz had a hard time stretching the court, with teams focusing in on Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. Now they have a guy in Korver that can burn you just about every time you leave him open. I give them an A. The Sixers on the other hand essentially traded off Korver for a 1st round draft pick and got some cap space after this season with Giricek's expiring contract. This means they have slightly more room to sign a good free agent in the coming seasons. I give them a B.

February 1st: The Los Angeles Lakers trade Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol, Kwame Brown, Aaron Mckie and two first round draft picks, one this year and one for 2010 for Pau Gasol and a 2010 second round pick from the Memphis Grizzlies. Clearly the Lakers got the better of this deal. Gasol is an all star caliber player that can be a difference maker, and the Lakers gave up next to nothing off their current team to get him. My concern is how the team will function when Bynum gets back and Kobe has three other players in Gasol, Odom and Bynum that will want the ball. If he can be a distributor as much as he is a scorer then this a huge win for them. For now, I give them an A because they gave up so little to get him, but I'm still not sold on it working. The Grizzlies got a lot less than they could have in this deal, so I give them an F. Crittenton could be good, but they have Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley Jr. already so they don't need him. The draft picks they got are both probably late round picks, and Brown is a bust. Unless Marc Gasol can develop into a good player this trade is horrible for them.

February 4th: The New Jersey Nets acquire Stromile Swift from the Memphis Grizzlies for Jason Collins and cash.
Stromile Swift has talent but has never done anything with it, and he is a cancer in the locker room. Jason Collins has very little talent but works hard, and is considered a good locker room guy. I give the Net's a D for this, because they don't get much better, and they give Sean Williams a horrible role model to look at in Stromile Swift. That is the last thing Williams needs after being kicked off his team at Boston College. The Grizzlies got a little cash and an average player for a guy in Swift that was already suspended by them, so I give them a C+.

February 6th: The Phoenix Suns trade Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O'Neal.
The jury is still out on whether Shaq is the right fit or not in Phoenix, but we won't really know if it was a good decision till playoff time. The fact that Steve Kerr is willing to take such a chance is great, because their team only has a few years left in Steve Nash's legs and needs to win now. We'll see if it was the right choice over time. For now, I give them a B. The Heat got the expiring deal of Shawn Marion and a decent player in Marcus Banks. If they can resign Marion then it's a good deal, if they can't then it's an average deal. For now I give them a B+ because they got rid of a huge contract in Shaq while acquiring a good player in Marion.

February 16th: Atlanta acquires Mike Bibby from the Sacramento Kings for Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue and a 2008 second round pick.
I said in my NBA power rankings that the Hawks needed a point guard, and they got a pretty good one in Mike Bibby. Bibby is still only 29, and is only a few years removed from being considered one of the top guards in the game. I think with the great young talent on the Hawks roster he has a chance to revive his career and cause some havoc in the playoffs. They could definitely make a playoff run now, and they have the talent to be a title contender within two or three years. I give them an A. As far as Sacramento, they got nothing in this deal. Lue, Johnson and Wright are below average players, and Shelden Williams is definitely on his way to the same fate. The fact that they only got a second round pick makes it even worse. The only good thing about the deal is the expiring contracts, but they should have at least gotten some talent back, but they got none. I give them an F.

February 19th: The Dallas Mavericks get Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright from New Jersey for Devin Harris, Keith Van Horn, Trenton Hassell, Maruice Ager, Desagna Diop, first round picks in 2008 and 2010 as well as cash.
The Mavericks made this trade for the big name factor. Jason Kidd can't shoot, turns the ball over too much, and is close to retirement. He's shooting 36% from the field this season, and he averages 3.7 turnovers a game. Furthermore, Devin Harris was a good player for Dallas, and is arguably almost as good as Kidd now. Regardless, the Mav's needed Shaq or another big man, and when they got traded elsewhere they went for the next big name and overpaid vastly to get him. I give them an F. The Nets get an A, because they got a great young guard in Harris, plus two first round picks and a couple decent role players, and all they gave up was an aging unhappy veteran and a couple average players.

I'll get into the rest of the trades later in the week, so be sure to stay tuned.