m33p0
01-04-2008, 07:20 AM
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7629258
Trade deadline needs for each team
by Randy Hill
Veteran columnist Randy Hill is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
Now that we've survived a disturbing throw-back fashion statement from the L.A. Lakers, it's time to zero in on the NBA's next crucial event.
We're going to pass on All-Star Weekend, which has fallen under the purview of law enforcement. So with gimmicky skills contests out of the equation, I suppose we're left with to build the hype crawling up to the NBA trading deadline.
Scheduled to expire Feb. 21, the trading deadline has cobbled a fine history of underwhelming basketball around across the globe. But despite its potential for letdown, the NBA trading deadline has provided enough juice to move hotshots of the caliber of Baron Davis and Gary Payton.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics: Their wish list begins with a back-up point guard capable of handling the ball and running an offense better than Eddie House and ends with a reserve center with more offensive skill than Scot Pollard. Gee, that could be anyone.
Toronto Raptors: Since nobody seems to be giving away starting-caliber centers, it might be nice if the Raps could acquire a wing shooter who is also capable of guarding someone (yeah, that's a shot Jason Kapono).
New Jersey Nets: They need to find a team within range of contender status that's still willing to give up a good young player or two for Jason Kidd.
Philadelphia 76ers: It might help if the Sixers had the resources to acquire a power forward who is good enough to nudge Reggie Evans over to his proper role — backup power forward.
New York Knicks: Short of hiring Harvey Keitel's character (The Wolf) from Pulp Fiction to clean up this mess, it might be interesting to see how much some other high-minded team might cough up for center Eddy Curry. Sure, 7-footers with skill are rare, but 7-footers with skill and an interest in rebounding don't reside in New York. It also could be worth a shot to bestow most of the inside minutes to a couple of power forwards (Zach Randolph and David Lee) who actually hit the glass.
Central Division
Detroit Pistons: Personnel man Joe Dumars has done a pretty nice job of setting up the Pistons bench, although it might be swell to add another big capable of giving them more than young Amir Johnson has provided.
Indiana Pacers: This is another team screaming for a backup point guard with enough quickness to get into the lane and keep the guy he's defending from doing the same.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Cavs fans have been grouchy about adding another shooter, but it might be a fine idea to employ a guard with the ability to create a few scoring opportunities if LeBron James has to sit down. Can they tempt anyone by offering Larry Hughes at two years and $13 million?
Chicago Bulls: If any team was prepared to unload a low-post scorer, we no longer have faith that general manager John Paxson would have the chutzpah to pull off such a deal.
Milwaukee Bucks: It would be tough to find any team with worse defenders at the forward positions, so the Bucks might be wise to sniff around the D-League for anyone hungry enough to guard somebody.
Southeast Division
Orlando Magic: When your No. 2 rebounder is Hedo Turkoglu, the hole to be filled is big enough for you to be standing in.
Atlanta Hawks: I've never been much for mathematics, but yet remain convinced that one rookie backup point guard plus two veteran backup point guards does not equal one starting point guard.
Washington Wizards: Their challenge is to find someone willing to give them what Etan Thomas gave them or convince Andray Blatche that a commitment to the dirty work might be worth more than 18 minutes per game.
Charlotte Bobcats: They could use help everywhere, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to remind their famous personnel guy that not every athletic 6-foot-6 player is worth trading tall prospects to acquire.
Miami Heat: Man, what this team wouldn't give for a 7-2, 320-pound center who felt like dominating at both ends. That may be tricky to attain, so Pat Riley could consider upgrades for playmakers (ahem) Jason Williams and Smush Parker.
Western Conference
Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets: With plenty of double-team-demanding hotshots in their lineup, the Nuggets are advised to acquire a guard with the credentials to make their lives easier. Hey, we have a theme — pass-first point guards. We now advise moms and dads to pull their kids out of the tennis academies and have them study Steve Nash (on offense only).
Portland Trail Blazers: They have plenty of guys to handle the point, so while the NBA's hottest team waits for Greg Oden, someone who bangs with more gusto than Channing Frye might be in order.
Utah Jazz: The addition of Kyle Korver might persuade teams to think twice about zoning, so the next move would be a hypnotist to convince Mehmet Okur that he's a rebounding and defending beast.
Seattle SuperSonics: Yeah, having a 6-foot-10 guard is really neat, but GM Sam Presti and coach P.J. Carlesimo should find a two-guard, then move Kevin Durant to small forward ... where he might stand a chance on defense.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Here's another team with no center and a GM who (among other things) drafted Brandon Roy and traded him for Randy Foye. Maybe the rhyming confused Kevin McHale.
Pacific Division
Phoenix Suns: The solid reserve play of veteran "big" Brian Skinner means the Suns' first priority should be a spot-up shooter with a reasonable chance to guard another team's back-up, spot-up shooter, right? Well, based on the recent scoring salvos against the Suns by Andrew Bynum, Chris Bosh and Al Jefferson (just for starters), it seems that Skinner either needs to play much more or Amare Stoudemire should look in the mirror. Oh, I would mention backup point guard, but only 24 or so other teams need one.
Los Angeles Lakers: Well, they have a back-up point guard, so the pressing need is to resist the urge to deal Kwame Brown's valuable and expiring contract unless a real player is offered in return.
Golden State Warriors: The Warriors have everything they need to thrive in coach Don Nelson's system. Unless defense is added to the system, I doubt there's any deadline deal that can get them where they want to be.
Sacramento Kings: Trade chips Ron Artest (bone chips in his elbow) and Mike Bibby have been hurt, but they still should be more than enough to bring back a player or two who can REBOUND.
Los Angeles Clippers: With high hopes for the returns of Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston, now is not the time to make any deal that might harpoon their lottery status.
Southwest Division
San Antonio Spurs: The defending champs have plenty of depth; they just need to keep the graybeards healthy.
Dallas Mavericks: When a team's leading dime-dropper averages less than six per game on a team like this, the Achilles' heel in Dallas is obvious.
New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets have a decent starting lineup, but don't seem to have the resources to grab the kind of reserves they lack — a wing shooter and a serious rebounder.
Houston Rockets: The league's most puzzling team didn't solve PG and PF issues by adding Mike James and Luis Scola, so the Rockets might as well take a stab another glaring weakness — perimeter shooting.
Memphis Grizzlies: After trading down at the GM spot, should we even care what the guy who drafted Kedrick Brown at No. 11 (for Boston) might accomplish? We probably shouldn't, but Pau Gasol might.
Trade deadline needs for each team
by Randy Hill
Veteran columnist Randy Hill is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
Now that we've survived a disturbing throw-back fashion statement from the L.A. Lakers, it's time to zero in on the NBA's next crucial event.
We're going to pass on All-Star Weekend, which has fallen under the purview of law enforcement. So with gimmicky skills contests out of the equation, I suppose we're left with to build the hype crawling up to the NBA trading deadline.
Scheduled to expire Feb. 21, the trading deadline has cobbled a fine history of underwhelming basketball around across the globe. But despite its potential for letdown, the NBA trading deadline has provided enough juice to move hotshots of the caliber of Baron Davis and Gary Payton.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics: Their wish list begins with a back-up point guard capable of handling the ball and running an offense better than Eddie House and ends with a reserve center with more offensive skill than Scot Pollard. Gee, that could be anyone.
Toronto Raptors: Since nobody seems to be giving away starting-caliber centers, it might be nice if the Raps could acquire a wing shooter who is also capable of guarding someone (yeah, that's a shot Jason Kapono).
New Jersey Nets: They need to find a team within range of contender status that's still willing to give up a good young player or two for Jason Kidd.
Philadelphia 76ers: It might help if the Sixers had the resources to acquire a power forward who is good enough to nudge Reggie Evans over to his proper role — backup power forward.
New York Knicks: Short of hiring Harvey Keitel's character (The Wolf) from Pulp Fiction to clean up this mess, it might be interesting to see how much some other high-minded team might cough up for center Eddy Curry. Sure, 7-footers with skill are rare, but 7-footers with skill and an interest in rebounding don't reside in New York. It also could be worth a shot to bestow most of the inside minutes to a couple of power forwards (Zach Randolph and David Lee) who actually hit the glass.
Central Division
Detroit Pistons: Personnel man Joe Dumars has done a pretty nice job of setting up the Pistons bench, although it might be swell to add another big capable of giving them more than young Amir Johnson has provided.
Indiana Pacers: This is another team screaming for a backup point guard with enough quickness to get into the lane and keep the guy he's defending from doing the same.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Cavs fans have been grouchy about adding another shooter, but it might be a fine idea to employ a guard with the ability to create a few scoring opportunities if LeBron James has to sit down. Can they tempt anyone by offering Larry Hughes at two years and $13 million?
Chicago Bulls: If any team was prepared to unload a low-post scorer, we no longer have faith that general manager John Paxson would have the chutzpah to pull off such a deal.
Milwaukee Bucks: It would be tough to find any team with worse defenders at the forward positions, so the Bucks might be wise to sniff around the D-League for anyone hungry enough to guard somebody.
Southeast Division
Orlando Magic: When your No. 2 rebounder is Hedo Turkoglu, the hole to be filled is big enough for you to be standing in.
Atlanta Hawks: I've never been much for mathematics, but yet remain convinced that one rookie backup point guard plus two veteran backup point guards does not equal one starting point guard.
Washington Wizards: Their challenge is to find someone willing to give them what Etan Thomas gave them or convince Andray Blatche that a commitment to the dirty work might be worth more than 18 minutes per game.
Charlotte Bobcats: They could use help everywhere, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to remind their famous personnel guy that not every athletic 6-foot-6 player is worth trading tall prospects to acquire.
Miami Heat: Man, what this team wouldn't give for a 7-2, 320-pound center who felt like dominating at both ends. That may be tricky to attain, so Pat Riley could consider upgrades for playmakers (ahem) Jason Williams and Smush Parker.
Western Conference
Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets: With plenty of double-team-demanding hotshots in their lineup, the Nuggets are advised to acquire a guard with the credentials to make their lives easier. Hey, we have a theme — pass-first point guards. We now advise moms and dads to pull their kids out of the tennis academies and have them study Steve Nash (on offense only).
Portland Trail Blazers: They have plenty of guys to handle the point, so while the NBA's hottest team waits for Greg Oden, someone who bangs with more gusto than Channing Frye might be in order.
Utah Jazz: The addition of Kyle Korver might persuade teams to think twice about zoning, so the next move would be a hypnotist to convince Mehmet Okur that he's a rebounding and defending beast.
Seattle SuperSonics: Yeah, having a 6-foot-10 guard is really neat, but GM Sam Presti and coach P.J. Carlesimo should find a two-guard, then move Kevin Durant to small forward ... where he might stand a chance on defense.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Here's another team with no center and a GM who (among other things) drafted Brandon Roy and traded him for Randy Foye. Maybe the rhyming confused Kevin McHale.
Pacific Division
Phoenix Suns: The solid reserve play of veteran "big" Brian Skinner means the Suns' first priority should be a spot-up shooter with a reasonable chance to guard another team's back-up, spot-up shooter, right? Well, based on the recent scoring salvos against the Suns by Andrew Bynum, Chris Bosh and Al Jefferson (just for starters), it seems that Skinner either needs to play much more or Amare Stoudemire should look in the mirror. Oh, I would mention backup point guard, but only 24 or so other teams need one.
Los Angeles Lakers: Well, they have a back-up point guard, so the pressing need is to resist the urge to deal Kwame Brown's valuable and expiring contract unless a real player is offered in return.
Golden State Warriors: The Warriors have everything they need to thrive in coach Don Nelson's system. Unless defense is added to the system, I doubt there's any deadline deal that can get them where they want to be.
Sacramento Kings: Trade chips Ron Artest (bone chips in his elbow) and Mike Bibby have been hurt, but they still should be more than enough to bring back a player or two who can REBOUND.
Los Angeles Clippers: With high hopes for the returns of Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston, now is not the time to make any deal that might harpoon their lottery status.
Southwest Division
San Antonio Spurs: The defending champs have plenty of depth; they just need to keep the graybeards healthy.
Dallas Mavericks: When a team's leading dime-dropper averages less than six per game on a team like this, the Achilles' heel in Dallas is obvious.
New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets have a decent starting lineup, but don't seem to have the resources to grab the kind of reserves they lack — a wing shooter and a serious rebounder.
Houston Rockets: The league's most puzzling team didn't solve PG and PF issues by adding Mike James and Luis Scola, so the Rockets might as well take a stab another glaring weakness — perimeter shooting.
Memphis Grizzlies: After trading down at the GM spot, should we even care what the guy who drafted Kedrick Brown at No. 11 (for Boston) might accomplish? We probably shouldn't, but Pau Gasol might.