Thoughts About The Recent NBA Moves

I decided to wait a few days and take a look at how the players traded before the NBA deadline played with their new teams to rank the trades on best to worst. Without further ado here are my rankings for the best to worst trade that went through.

1. Dallas Mavericks obtaining Jason Kidd - I have already seen the improvement instantly from obtaining one of the top guards in the league. In only a few short games with the Mavs Kidd has become the floor general he always has been. No look pass here, rebound quick pass there, and always close to a triple double come fourth quarter. Kidds transition to the Mavs has been seamless and has given more opportunities to the great shooter dirk. He will also be able to dish the ball to Howard at the rim for a quick alley-op anytime. I really believe that the a great guard is needed for anytime to make a run and the playoffs and with Kidd at the helm the Mavs should meet up with the Spurs to decide who will be coming out of the West this year.



2. Cleveland Cavaliers getting Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, & Delonte West - At first I thought this was just a move to try and calm down King James from getting mad about every other team pulling strings and adding players. Now a few games in the trade seems to be much more than that and has put the Cavs right back up there with the Stones and Celtics. Wallace was horrible in Chicago where it was probably the worst fit of any team. I see Wallace getting more rebounds with defenders coming off of their man to go after James. He will also get a few more baskets in the paint because of this. They were also able to unload Larry Hughes and his contract, but did pickup the overpriced contract of Wallace as well. In the end I would rather have Wallace's contract. Szczerbiak is also a great shooter who has yet to return to the form he once had with the Timberwolves. He will also feel the affects of playing with Lebron though and get more open looks than he was getting with the Sonics. In the end I see the Cavs losing to the Celtics in the second round. This move will make the team better and Lebron happy for awhile but he will still end up in NY with either the Nets or Knicks unless the Cavs do more in the coming years. Don't forget the Yanks hat he likes to were Cleveland fans.

3. L.A. Laker finally getting Kobe a another star with Pau Gasol - Kobe is still in L.A. despite the soap opera the media wanted everyone to watch, but everyone knew wouldn't lead him going anywhere. I used to be a Kobe hater but think he is the best player in the game when he is on fire. With the addition of Gasol and Andrew Bynum getting healthy the Lakers could be the spoiler in the West come playoff time. Gasol is a good addition to play against the other big men in the West with Bynum at his side. If Bynum comes back and is playing with the energy he had before getting hurt I can see the Lakers at least getting to the second round depending on who they play in the first (Mavs or San Antonio they will lose). Kobe is playing through a torn ligament in his finger and knows that without him there their team will sink out of the playoffs in the close playoff race the West has going on.

4. Phoneix Suns winning the services of Shaq Diesel - Even though the diesel they got could be compared to the old broke down one you see for sale at the corner with a cardboard for sale sign on it, Shaq has brought some energy that I didn't think he had left. Looking at the past few games though it is hard to see that Shaq will make the Suns that much better after being stormed off their home court by the Pistons. I believe that the Suns may have been better off without Shaq, but the Matrix wanted out of Phoenix and this was the best they could do?? I don't think the Suns will make it past the second round just like Shaq's old friend, Kobe, but if they are able to get more out of Shaq than he was giving in Miami they may make it to the second round. If I were however ranking by most entertaining player acquired Shaq would be #1.





I know there were a few other trades in the NBA with Mike Bibby going to the Hawks, Kurt Thomas going to the Spurs, Bonzi Wells & Mike James going to New Orleans, and the blockbuster that is Juan Dixon coming to the Pistons. While I do think that all of these acquisitions sure up the depth of the teams they are going to I don't see the Hawks making a run with Bibby or any of the other players having as big of impact as the trades I ranked.

In the end my prediction for the finals this year: 4-2 Pistons over the Mavericks