The NBA trade deadline was full of surprising twists, leaving the feeling that almost every player in the league got traded. Many organizations added star players, while others tried to clear up salary cap space.
First and foremost, let’s start with the Boston Celtics, who traded Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. This was, without question, the most surprising trade in the NBA that left people wondering, “What on earth Danny Ainge was thinking?”
Perkins had recently returned to the lineup after being out all season, and was looking to help bring the Celtics back to the NBA Finals. Robinson had been a decent bench player, a spark plug who brought high energy to each and every game.
Now, the Celtics have Green, a player they drafted No. 5 overall in 2007 before dealing him for Ray Allen. Green started in every game for Oklahoma City this season, and averaged over 15 points per game Now, he will be coming off the bench as a Celtic, so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts.
Krstic has been an average player his entire career, and will be expected to carry the role and have the same intensity that Perkins did.
Time will tell whether this was a good move for the Celtics, but right now I’m not buying it. A team that holds the No. 1 spot in their conference shouldn’t trade players unless it is guaranteed to help their club, and this trade definitely doesn’t guarantee improvement.
Another team that made big moves days before the trade deadline was the New York Knicks, who acquired Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, and also got Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter, and Corey Brewer.
Anthony, Billups, and Amare Stoudemire will now try to match up against the big three of the Celtics and Heat. The Knicks already proved that their new big three could defeat the Heat this past weekend, and it will be great to see how Paul Piece, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen play against the Knicks on March 21.
The Denver Nuggets didn’t give up Anthony and their other players for free, however, as they acquired Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufus, the Knicks’ first-round pick in 2014 or later, the Warriors’ second-round picks in 2012 and 2013, and $3 million.
Anthony was a problem for the Nuggets, so it’s good to see they got rid of him and got competent pieces in return.
The Utah Jazz traded Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, one 2011 first-round pick, one 2012 first-round pick, and $3 million. This deal was great for the Jazz, as it will be help them build their team for the future. The Nets, on the other hand, got a self-centered All-Star while giving up way too much in return.
The trades that went down in the NBA are going to have huge outcomes in just a couple months. It’s going to be awesome to see the clubs that succeed with the new players and interesting to see if any general managers lose their jobs for giving up too much.
