phyzik
02-23-2008, 04:19 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080223-24
Ranking The West's Power Moves
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
An astonishing nine teams in the Western Conference awoke Friday on a 50-win pace.
Eight of those teams made a notable alteration to the roster before Thursday's trade buzzer sounded.
You see where this is headed. Right?
So many good teams made major midseason changes -- more teams that were already considered title contenders than ever before -- that we were inevitably moved to pick out five and determine who traded best.
The five trades in the West that will make the greatest impact:
1. Pau Gasol to the Lakers
Did someone say impact?
Getting Gasol influenced the thinking of every team around them in the West, immediately vaulted L.A. into the league's top tier of teams and, most of all, lifted Kobe Bryant to new levels of intensity while also giving him no reason to even think about forcing his exit any time soon. No matter what happens this season.
When you remember that the deal with Memphis, as we keep saying, also cost the Lakers none of Phil Jackson's 10 favorite players and you are forced to wonder: Can a trade get any better?
The new Lakers have quickly convinced lots of smart folks in this league that they can win the championship on their first attempt, even with Andrew Bynum still out indefinitely and Kobe allegedly vulnerable with a pinkie injury that didn't seem to be troubling him too much in Phoenix on Wednesday night. If it doesn't happen right away? Bryant doesn't turn 30 until August, Bynum doesn't turn 21 until October and Gasol is just 27.
Either way, I already find myself backing off my Power Rankings premise that the Lakers have too much going on health-wise and newness-wise to get out of the West this June, especially after a serious scolding Friday from a trusted Western Conference scout who said: "They've replaced Smush Parker with Derek Fisher at the point, which is a huge upgrade, and nobody's talking about Lamar Odom. If Lamar is the third-best player on your team, you're really good. And he might be the Lakers' fourth-best player."
2. Shaquille O'Neal to the Suns
This was the boldest of the 14 trades we've seen since Opening Night and honestly one of the gutsiest ever. I'm a little skittish about putting it this low.
The Great Gasol Robbery is in a category unto itself because there's absolutely no downside for the Lakers -- and when does that ever happen in trades? -- but the O'Neal deal is bound to have a Shaq-sized impact because of the Shaq-sized extremes involved.
"It has the most potential upside and creates the most uncertainty," said one rival GM. "We just don't know for sure until we see."
Yet as someone who has observed the Suns from a fairly close vantage point over the past few years, what I'm quite sure I do know is that Steve Nash has been reenergized by the possibilities, knowing that he (a) no longer has to expend energy policing the locker-room whims and whines of Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion because Marion is gone and Shaq is Amare's new mentor; (b) no longer has to drag his body through a pick-and-roll on every grinding possession in the postseason because the Suns have a legit low-post diversion to let Nash have some possessions off and keep some gas in the tank; and (c) no longer has to hear or fear how soft the Suns are or that the point guard is their toughest guy.
O'Neal has to prove he can stay healthy, true, but his mere presence makes them tougher than ever if he does. While O'Neal should indeed stop the years of abuse Phoenix has absorbed in the low post, the worrisome flip-side is that his arrival makes them far more vulnerable defensively on the pick-and-roll, which was already troublesome for the Suns and which generally ranks as the first priority for any team's D.
If Shaq's presence really does cut down on the second-chance points Phoenix habitually concedes and he keeps providing the expected boost in the locker room and in the half-court offensively when the game slows down in the playoffs, you're going to hear lots of those doomsday opinions retracted.
But if a defense that was already somewhat suspect just went down a notch because of the pick-and-roll vulnerabilities that will come with playing Nash, Shaq and Amare together ... tick, tick, tick.
3. Kyle Korver to the Jazz
This deal happened in December and it happened in Utah, making it twice as likely to be overlooked amid all the February Madness. But that doesn't mean it wasn't brilliant.
The Jazz won the Korver Sweepstakes, such as they were, because they were the only suitor willing to package a first-round pick with an expiring contract. In return, Utah got its best 2-guard since Jeff Hornacek.
"For years they've been trying to find a 2 who can fit," said one West scout. "Korver fits everything they do, won't say a word and is much more athletic than people give him credit for."
Throw in Utah's 19-3 record since Korver got there and it sounds like an impact player to us ... although we concede that he's not going to make Utah's suspect defense any stingier.
4. Jason Kidd to the Mavericks
Of all the contending teams out there that took the rare step of making a big move largely to replenish its spirit and the fans' passion -- like Phoenix and Cleveland -- Dallas needed its big splash more than anyone else.
They never wanted to admit it, naturally, but these Mavs were likewise never going to recovery emotionally from their playoff humiliations against Miami and Golden State without a drastic change. Gasol, though, was never made available to Dallas. And Shaq is at the stage in his career where he needs to feed off a guy like Nash as opposed to carrying a stale, wounded franchise. Having longed for a return to Dallas for months, Kidd was the best-fitting sidekick for Nowitzki, who has endured without a real point guard -- and without complaint -- for more than three years but could no longer wait for the help.
You wouldn't have been able to convince me otherwise had Dallas lost by 40 to Chris Paul's Hornets in Kidd's debut, mainly because it wasn't long ago that Paul shredded Devin Harris just as easily. You likewise can't convince me that the Mavs have given up too much when Harris clearly needed a change of scenery to reach his full potential and when they've instantly made Nowitzki's life easier and happier ... on the floor, in the locker room and late in playoff games when he gets swarmed more and more tightly every year.
Yet even I -- after lobbying in print for this trade almost from the minute Dallas was ousted by Golden State last May -- have to admit that I'd rank it higher if I knew for sure that Kidd and Nowitzki will get the offensive free rein that Mavs coach Avery Johnson has given no one in Big D previously, Nowitzki included. Johnson himself acknowledged the issue earlier this week when he cracked, "I was wondering how long it was going to take you guys to ask that."
The Mavs will find another big man to fill the DeSagana Diop void; Jamaal Magloire is the clear front-runner for the rest of the season. Attracting vets to fill in the Mavs' cracks is unlikely to be an issue with a setup man extraordinaire like Kidd back in town.
Yet if there's skepticism around the league about this move, it's starts with Johnson's willingness cede decision-making responsibilities to any QB, even one as accomplished as Kidd, and whether Kidd can indeed "impose his style on us," as Nowitzki describes it.
"All of our butts are always on the line," Johnson said Friday on his weekly ESPN Radio show in Dallas. "Me first."
5. Kurt Thomas (and Damon Stoudamire) to the Spurs
Facts is facts: San Antonio badly wanted Mike Miller before the trade deadline and couldn't get him. But lots of teams wanted Miller and no one could get him away from the Grizz.
Furthermore ...
As an accomplished post defender who can also routinely drain elbow jumpers, Thomas is far more than a consolation prize. That's especially true if the Spurs can bring back Brent Barry by beating out Phoenix, Golden State, Houston, Dallas and everyone else hoping to sign Barry now after Seattle promptly waived him.
I suppose you can argue that this is the season San Antonio needed more than Thomas or an insurance-policy signing like Stoudamire. Rest assured that the Spurs know they need an infusion of youth and athleticism sooner rather than later.
But what they really wanted at the deadline (and still seek) is the knowledge that sustained health is forthcoming for Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. With the most accomplished core trio in the game -- which is saying something just looking at the various threesomes and foursomes in the West now -- San Antonio has earned the right to believe that this might be a good postseason to rely on its been-there, done-that, seen-it-all continuity, so long as it's coupled with good health.
Missed the cut
New Orleans' acquisition of Bonzi Wells has promise because Hornets coach Byron Scott has been openly complaining about his lack of bench options and because the Hornets are so thin behind the starting frontcourt duo of Tyson Chandler and David West. Yet even if Wells is an effective big forward in the playoffs for them, as he's been for other clubs, swapping Bobby Jackson for Mike James isn't likely to change much. The Hornets, as a result, aren't sufficiently deeper to crack our top five.
The Rockets, meanwhile, were more motivated by finances than on-court concerns in making this swap, having found a greater comfort level off the bench with youngsters like Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry. So they weren't even a consideration here. Nor were the other two teams in the West's ridiculously tight top nine, one of whom did make a recent addition (Golden State and the inconsequential-so-far signing of Chris Webber) and another (Denver) that surrendered 135 points to the offensive lightweights from Chicago in its first game after coach George Karl felt it wiser to pass on a trade for Ron Artest.
Ranking The West's Power Moves
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
An astonishing nine teams in the Western Conference awoke Friday on a 50-win pace.
Eight of those teams made a notable alteration to the roster before Thursday's trade buzzer sounded.
You see where this is headed. Right?
So many good teams made major midseason changes -- more teams that were already considered title contenders than ever before -- that we were inevitably moved to pick out five and determine who traded best.
The five trades in the West that will make the greatest impact:
1. Pau Gasol to the Lakers
Did someone say impact?
Getting Gasol influenced the thinking of every team around them in the West, immediately vaulted L.A. into the league's top tier of teams and, most of all, lifted Kobe Bryant to new levels of intensity while also giving him no reason to even think about forcing his exit any time soon. No matter what happens this season.
When you remember that the deal with Memphis, as we keep saying, also cost the Lakers none of Phil Jackson's 10 favorite players and you are forced to wonder: Can a trade get any better?
The new Lakers have quickly convinced lots of smart folks in this league that they can win the championship on their first attempt, even with Andrew Bynum still out indefinitely and Kobe allegedly vulnerable with a pinkie injury that didn't seem to be troubling him too much in Phoenix on Wednesday night. If it doesn't happen right away? Bryant doesn't turn 30 until August, Bynum doesn't turn 21 until October and Gasol is just 27.
Either way, I already find myself backing off my Power Rankings premise that the Lakers have too much going on health-wise and newness-wise to get out of the West this June, especially after a serious scolding Friday from a trusted Western Conference scout who said: "They've replaced Smush Parker with Derek Fisher at the point, which is a huge upgrade, and nobody's talking about Lamar Odom. If Lamar is the third-best player on your team, you're really good. And he might be the Lakers' fourth-best player."
2. Shaquille O'Neal to the Suns
This was the boldest of the 14 trades we've seen since Opening Night and honestly one of the gutsiest ever. I'm a little skittish about putting it this low.
The Great Gasol Robbery is in a category unto itself because there's absolutely no downside for the Lakers -- and when does that ever happen in trades? -- but the O'Neal deal is bound to have a Shaq-sized impact because of the Shaq-sized extremes involved.
"It has the most potential upside and creates the most uncertainty," said one rival GM. "We just don't know for sure until we see."
Yet as someone who has observed the Suns from a fairly close vantage point over the past few years, what I'm quite sure I do know is that Steve Nash has been reenergized by the possibilities, knowing that he (a) no longer has to expend energy policing the locker-room whims and whines of Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion because Marion is gone and Shaq is Amare's new mentor; (b) no longer has to drag his body through a pick-and-roll on every grinding possession in the postseason because the Suns have a legit low-post diversion to let Nash have some possessions off and keep some gas in the tank; and (c) no longer has to hear or fear how soft the Suns are or that the point guard is their toughest guy.
O'Neal has to prove he can stay healthy, true, but his mere presence makes them tougher than ever if he does. While O'Neal should indeed stop the years of abuse Phoenix has absorbed in the low post, the worrisome flip-side is that his arrival makes them far more vulnerable defensively on the pick-and-roll, which was already troublesome for the Suns and which generally ranks as the first priority for any team's D.
If Shaq's presence really does cut down on the second-chance points Phoenix habitually concedes and he keeps providing the expected boost in the locker room and in the half-court offensively when the game slows down in the playoffs, you're going to hear lots of those doomsday opinions retracted.
But if a defense that was already somewhat suspect just went down a notch because of the pick-and-roll vulnerabilities that will come with playing Nash, Shaq and Amare together ... tick, tick, tick.
3. Kyle Korver to the Jazz
This deal happened in December and it happened in Utah, making it twice as likely to be overlooked amid all the February Madness. But that doesn't mean it wasn't brilliant.
The Jazz won the Korver Sweepstakes, such as they were, because they were the only suitor willing to package a first-round pick with an expiring contract. In return, Utah got its best 2-guard since Jeff Hornacek.
"For years they've been trying to find a 2 who can fit," said one West scout. "Korver fits everything they do, won't say a word and is much more athletic than people give him credit for."
Throw in Utah's 19-3 record since Korver got there and it sounds like an impact player to us ... although we concede that he's not going to make Utah's suspect defense any stingier.
4. Jason Kidd to the Mavericks
Of all the contending teams out there that took the rare step of making a big move largely to replenish its spirit and the fans' passion -- like Phoenix and Cleveland -- Dallas needed its big splash more than anyone else.
They never wanted to admit it, naturally, but these Mavs were likewise never going to recovery emotionally from their playoff humiliations against Miami and Golden State without a drastic change. Gasol, though, was never made available to Dallas. And Shaq is at the stage in his career where he needs to feed off a guy like Nash as opposed to carrying a stale, wounded franchise. Having longed for a return to Dallas for months, Kidd was the best-fitting sidekick for Nowitzki, who has endured without a real point guard -- and without complaint -- for more than three years but could no longer wait for the help.
You wouldn't have been able to convince me otherwise had Dallas lost by 40 to Chris Paul's Hornets in Kidd's debut, mainly because it wasn't long ago that Paul shredded Devin Harris just as easily. You likewise can't convince me that the Mavs have given up too much when Harris clearly needed a change of scenery to reach his full potential and when they've instantly made Nowitzki's life easier and happier ... on the floor, in the locker room and late in playoff games when he gets swarmed more and more tightly every year.
Yet even I -- after lobbying in print for this trade almost from the minute Dallas was ousted by Golden State last May -- have to admit that I'd rank it higher if I knew for sure that Kidd and Nowitzki will get the offensive free rein that Mavs coach Avery Johnson has given no one in Big D previously, Nowitzki included. Johnson himself acknowledged the issue earlier this week when he cracked, "I was wondering how long it was going to take you guys to ask that."
The Mavs will find another big man to fill the DeSagana Diop void; Jamaal Magloire is the clear front-runner for the rest of the season. Attracting vets to fill in the Mavs' cracks is unlikely to be an issue with a setup man extraordinaire like Kidd back in town.
Yet if there's skepticism around the league about this move, it's starts with Johnson's willingness cede decision-making responsibilities to any QB, even one as accomplished as Kidd, and whether Kidd can indeed "impose his style on us," as Nowitzki describes it.
"All of our butts are always on the line," Johnson said Friday on his weekly ESPN Radio show in Dallas. "Me first."
5. Kurt Thomas (and Damon Stoudamire) to the Spurs
Facts is facts: San Antonio badly wanted Mike Miller before the trade deadline and couldn't get him. But lots of teams wanted Miller and no one could get him away from the Grizz.
Furthermore ...
As an accomplished post defender who can also routinely drain elbow jumpers, Thomas is far more than a consolation prize. That's especially true if the Spurs can bring back Brent Barry by beating out Phoenix, Golden State, Houston, Dallas and everyone else hoping to sign Barry now after Seattle promptly waived him.
I suppose you can argue that this is the season San Antonio needed more than Thomas or an insurance-policy signing like Stoudamire. Rest assured that the Spurs know they need an infusion of youth and athleticism sooner rather than later.
But what they really wanted at the deadline (and still seek) is the knowledge that sustained health is forthcoming for Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. With the most accomplished core trio in the game -- which is saying something just looking at the various threesomes and foursomes in the West now -- San Antonio has earned the right to believe that this might be a good postseason to rely on its been-there, done-that, seen-it-all continuity, so long as it's coupled with good health.
Missed the cut
New Orleans' acquisition of Bonzi Wells has promise because Hornets coach Byron Scott has been openly complaining about his lack of bench options and because the Hornets are so thin behind the starting frontcourt duo of Tyson Chandler and David West. Yet even if Wells is an effective big forward in the playoffs for them, as he's been for other clubs, swapping Bobby Jackson for Mike James isn't likely to change much. The Hornets, as a result, aren't sufficiently deeper to crack our top five.
The Rockets, meanwhile, were more motivated by finances than on-court concerns in making this swap, having found a greater comfort level off the bench with youngsters like Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry. So they weren't even a consideration here. Nor were the other two teams in the West's ridiculously tight top nine, one of whom did make a recent addition (Golden State and the inconsequential-so-far signing of Chris Webber) and another (Denver) that surrendered 135 points to the offensive lightweights from Chicago in its first game after coach George Karl felt it wiser to pass on a trade for Ron Artest.