The trade deadline in the NBA was last Thursday and while the number of moves might not be overwhelming, we can see certain plans for many franchises materialize through the additions of new talent. So, there are a few “Lessons Learned” (all the consultants just sighed with exasperation) to be gained from successful trades and unsuccessful trades.
Lesson #1: Short memories best suited for trading
A very interesting aspect of this trade deadline: the awful long-term memories of GMs at play. Many teams traded players despite huge financial commitments to said players only 8-10 months ago. For example, Nene Hilario inked a 5-year, $67 million contract in December (4 months ago) but found himself moving from a playoff team in Denver to the Washington Wasteland. This trade likely will work out for all involved, but I always find myself wondering if GMs watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest before the deadline, since they seem to forget everything. Sure, long-term flexibility makes sense, but to shift your team’s path after only 4 months might end badly and displays too little patience.
Lesson #2: The West remains a dartboard, but watch LA
Determining the top four Western teams after Oklahoma City was always hard. The deadline did very little to change that, but LA as a city created some buzz.
The Lakers, often underachieving and raising doubts, finally jettisoned Derek “I’m slower than Charles Barkley” Fisher, upgrading by acquiring Ramon Sessions from Cleveland. Certainly Sessions can create more offense than Fisher, but the hole in veteran leadership left by Fisher might prove important come playoff time. While we continue to give the Lakers credit for playoff experience, only four players on their current roster have championship rings. On the flip side, Pau Gasol can sleep easy knowing he won’t be on the rumor mill for at least three months. Expect a boost in his production as a result.
The other Staples Center team can sympathize with losing a veteran presence. Since Chauncey Billups of infinite playoff and championship experience went down with injury, the Clips have played like their former selves. Adding Nick Young from the Wizards might boost production, but don’t expect the mental toughness to improve on this team. Young plays “me-first” basketball, clashing with the creative powers of point guard Chris Paul.
Lesson #3: The Nets are scrambling
The deadline opened the floodgates on the struggling Nets, who now have too many leaks to worry about before moving to Brooklyn next season. Dwight Howard and Deron Williams will not play together this season, partially eliminating any hype the franchise might bring to fans before next season. The front office, however, cannot really think Gerald Wallace, acquired from the Blazers, will give the team any kind of boost in preparation for next year. Would you want to have a conversation with Gary Busey or Nick Nolte? Wallace’s game about matches the mental abilities of both those guys right now. Now you know how D-Will feels. He should, and will, abandon the Nets at season’s end.
Lesson #4: Dwight Howard should run for Congress
Very few are as good at kicking the can down the road than the U.S. Congress. Howard’s decision to stick with the Magic this year sounds great. No longer will we wake up to more conflicting reports and contradictory rumors from Ric Bucher or RealGM.com…until this time next year. Howard has shown the decisiveness of a French military commander not named Napoleon, changing his mind every five minutes. I do not expect that to change and we will have to hear more about him for the next year until he signs a long-term deal with someone.
Lesson #5: Teams not concerned with draft picks
For the most part, the trades this year show a trend of “adding the extra piece” as opposed to “adding a draft pick or two.” For example, the Indiana Pacers added Leandro Barbosa from Toronto for a second round pick even though Barbosa hasn’t played well since Phoenix and the Pacers likely can’t beat Miami or Chicago in a series. I don’t think this will last long, however, as many teams will move towards stockpiling more draft picks during the summer. We may see a huge flurry of trades soon, with so many teams clearing salary cap space for a fewer amount of free agents.
I’m going to devote more time to Bits this post, since many have not been addressed over the last few posts.
Bit #1: Don’t lose track of the NHL
Yes, I am plugging my favorite sport here, but the NHL could create some fun drama towards the end of this season. As of today, 21 games remain in the season and teams in East and West have a chance to make some noise.
In the East, the Penguins welcome back Sidney Crosby nipping on the Rangers’ heels for best record in the conference. In their same division, however, the Flyers are only two points behind the Penguins so likely two of the three teams will meet in an exciting 4v5 first round series. In the Northwest, the Bruins as defending champions do not look good, losing many down the stretch. I shouldn’t mention the Southeast, but the Caps will probably be the 8-seed, spelling a likely exit from the playoffs early.
Similar story in the West. The Central Division, like the Atlantic in the East, will probably feature two of the best three teams in the 4v5 series from Detroit, Nashville, and surprising leader St. Louis. That kind of series would be worthy of a conference final. The bottom provides similar intrigue, with 5 teams within three points of the 8-seed.
Bit #2: Champions League sets up nicely
In Europe last week, the draw for the Round of 8 placed defending champ Barcelona and Spanish rival Real Madrid on opposite sides of the draw. While anything can happen in the tournament, some matches immediately jump out. Barcelona may have their hands full early with AC Milan, while Chelsea (amazingly back after Napoli’s inability to play defense) could give them fits in the semis. Madrid has an easier road, playing a hard-working but outmatched Cypriot team first and then Bayern Munich, no cake-walk but still not a matching squad. With all luck, we will see a great final between the Spanish teams come May.
Bit #3: Best aspect of March Madness
As I said on Friday, the NCAA Tournament provides some crazy excitement, most especially on display after I wrote that post. 15 seeds Lehigh and Norfolk State beat 2 seeds in a true sports anomaly. 15 seeds had a 4-104 record coming into the tournament and now we could see two in the Sweet 16, a first for any school ranked that low. Very fantastic stuff, and something the NBA can never ever match. I realize this isn’t a terribly insightful Bit, but anytime something this improbable occurs in sports it should be celebrated as much as possible.
Bit #4: March 16, 1872 – First FA Cup Final
For those who don’t follow soccer, the FA Cup is the tournament open to all teams in the English Football Association (FA). The tournament, often one of the biggest events in England, allows teams from the lower leagues to play against each other and advance upwards against Premiership teams (those in the highest league). It is the oldest tournament in soccer, dating back to 1872, 140 years. In addition, the FA Cup accentuates one of the best aspects of European soccer: the prevalence of domestic and international tournaments, like the Champions League. And unlike a tournament to determine a Super Bowl, soccer tournaments in Europe have longer histories and traditions.
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