Taj Gibson

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Trade Deadline: Much Ado About Nothing.

The NBA. Where deadline induced blueballs happen. Nobody moved! That was so disappointing.

List of players whose name were linked to possible trades: Josh Smith, Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, Monta Ellis, Kris Humphrie’s contract.

List of player’s that actually did move: JJ Reddick, Eric Maynor, Thomas Robinson, Ronnie Brewer, Jordan Crawford

List of player’s that moved that will affect the championship race:

In other words, we all got duped. Regardless, here’s a take on a few of the trades that did happen.

Boston gets G Jordan Crawford

Washington gets C Jason Collins, G Leandro Barbarosa

So basically Washington was so fed up with having Jordan Crawford they traded him for a guy who has a torn ACL and who’s contract will end before he recovers1.
Even though Boston really had nothing to lose in this trade can someone please
tell Danny Ainge that no number of combo guards will make up for the loss of
Rondo come playoff time. Their back court now consists of Avery Bradley, Jason
Terry, Courtney Lee, and Jordan Crawford.That being said, I actually kind of
like the move. Crawford has proven to be an irresponsible shooter, but if KG
can scare him into a smarter shot selection his scoring could come in handy at
some point. The guy has shown that he can put up points in a hurry if he
catches fire while the other three can’t create their own shot (in the case of
Jason Terry he just hasn’t meshed in Boston). Best Case Scenario. Worse case scenario: he provides nothing which puts him right on par with what Barbarosa was going to give this
season.

Orlando gets G Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih, and F Tobias Harris

Bucks get JJ Redick, C Gustavo Ayon, and G Ish Smith

I’m sad that this was the biggest trade of the deadline. Milwaukee, trying to hang on to their opportunity to get swept in the first round by Miami, goes out and gets Redick, a guy who can stretch the floor and has really improved as a passer this year. Does this make them a threat in the East? Absolutely not. But when you can make a move to ensure you have the worst defensive backcourt in the league you have to pull the trigger. This move would have made a lot more sense if they traded Ellis as well, started Redick, and ended this failed experiment2 that is starting two score-first point guards.

Sacramento trades Thomas Robinson

Did the Maloofs forget that they used a 5th overall pick on this guy just eight months ago?! So Robinson struggles a little his ROOKIE year on a team where the locker room and overall situation is a complete disaster and you just give up on him? I hope this team is taken away from the Maloofs so that things like this don’t happen anymore. Great move by the Rockets though. Robinson, if nothing else this year, can bring a little toughness to a talented, but soft team. Next year he has the chance to become a key member of a young team on the rise.

 

  1. Assuming no deer antler spray is involved.
  2. I realize this isn’t big news I just wanted a reason to post this video.
  3. Ellis was coming off two straight 24+ ppg seasons with Golden State (and was scoring almost 22 at the time) before being shipped to Milwaukee. This year he has failed to crack 20 in 34 of 57 games. I bet an offer of Ellis and Larry Sanders would have got serious looks. Maybe even Ellis and John Henson too.