A Trade Deadline Tribute to Roger Ebert



I was always a big fan of the show Siskel and Ebert. These two movie critics gave brutally honest appraisals of movies with a good cop/badcop approach. Roger Ebert was the bad cop. Sort of a Simon Cowell with a pot belly and glasses. Yet, deep down he was a big mush. Put him in front of Terms of Endearment and he'd blubber like an infant. These days Roger is suffering from cancer. Its cost him his ability to speak. But it has not cost him his ability to write. Esquire Magazine just did a feature on him and frankly his spirit is an amazing inspiration. So as a tribute to the chubby, bespectacled movies' version of Simon Cowell, I will adopt the thumbs up thumbs down approach patented by Siskel and Ebert as I break down one of the more interesting trade deadlines in recent memory.


The Dallas Mavericks earn themselves a thumbs up with the acquisition of Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood. They shipped out Josh Howard and a handful of expiring contracts, right before Howard blew out his knee. Haywood will do for Dallas what they would love to get from Erick Dampier, but Dampier just isn't healthy. And Haywood and Butler help the Mavs match up better with the Lakers, which is crucial for a team in the West with title aspirations. The one caveat we have to say about the Mavericks is that the willingness to spend a lot of money is an enormous advantage in being able to add talent when so many teams in the league are bleeding cash.

The Washington Wizards also earn a thumbs up. I have been extremely critical of Wizard GM Ernie Grunfeld for his draft day trade last season that amounted to a lost opportunity at acquiring Ricky Rubio. But Grunfeld's ability to extricate the Wizards from the contracts of Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison will certainly accelerate the rebuilding process. Now if Ernie were a true magician, he's wave a magic wand and make the $90 million owed to Gilbert Arenas just vanish away. And the players that he added, Josh Howard and Al Thornton have some upside. The Wizards had a free look at both of them, until Howard went out for the year. If Thornton can lose the attitude, they may have something.

I'm going to give the L.A. Clippers a thumbs up as well. As lopsided as the Marcus Camby for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw looked, it wasn't terrible when you realize that they were not planning on bringing Camby back and they get a free look at Outlaw, who they may keep or use in a sign and trade after the season. And their participation in the Antawn Jamison trade, essentially shedding Al Thornton's contract and making themselves a player in this year's free agency class makes the Clippers winners this week. So Clipper fans can enjoy he next few months until the reality sets in that no star player in their right mind would choose to go to the most cursed franchise in all of sports. And if you think I'm being extreme, inject Blake Griffin with some truth serum and see if he agrees.

The Portland Trailblazers land themselves a thumbs up also. Their acqusition of Marcus Camby fills a gaping hole in the middle created by injuries to Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla. The Oden draft decision over Kevin Durant from 2 1/2 years ago is looming as Sam Bowie/Michael Jordan light. And Przybilla needs to go on Wheel of Fortune to buy a vowel, but I digress. Camby will give Portland a chance to win a round or maybe two in the playoffs as long as Brandon Roy is healthy. And since the two players they gave up both had expirng contracts (Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw) and play positions where Portland has lots of depth, this was a smart redeploying of assets by Blazer GM Kevin Pritchard. And considering that Camby's contract is expiring as well, Pritchard played this real well. Unfortunately for the Blazers, with the Lakers, Nuggets, and Mavericks in the West, its kind of a moot point.

I'm going to go against some conventional wisdom here and give the Milwaukee Bucks a thumbs down on their acquisition of John Salmons from the Bulls. Considering the fact that the best the Bucks can hope for is to put up a decent fight in the first round against the Cavaliers or the Magic, is it really that helpful to take on Salmons $5.8 contract? Granted, they didn't give up much. Joe Alexander and Hakim Warrick were only collecting splinters in their fannies on the end of the Milwaukee bench. But I just don't see how taking on Salmons money is going to help the Bucks make it to the next level.

The Chicago Bulls, on the other hand, earned themselves a thumbs up. Team president John Paxson understands that no matter how well they play in the second half of the season, the odds of them making it past the first round of the playoffs are extremely slim. So by dumping Salmons contract for two expiring deals, they will now have enough cap space to add a maximum contract. That, combined with their promising young core of Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah, should make them major players in the 2010 free agency bonanza. This gets a little more intriguing when you consider the fact that Dwyane Wade is part of this illustrious free agent class and Chicago is his home town. And more importantly, if they don't get a max player, they are well positioned with cap space and draft picks to improve this team in the next few years. And as I'll discuss a little later, not everyone was smart enough to put themselves in this kind of position. They also traded Tyrus Thomas and his expiring deal ro Charlotte for Flip Murray and Acie Law, which was cap neutral and qualifies as addition by subtraction for the Bulls

The Cleveland Cavaliers also fall into the thumbs up category. They accomplished two very important things by acquiring Antawn Jamison for Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a first round pick. The first rounder is not very valuable because its guaranteed to be a late first rounder. And with Ilgauskas' expiring contract, he'll be bought out by the Wizards with the ability to go back to the Cavs in 30 days. Which, by the way, is the worst personnel loophole in the history of team sports. The fact that a team can trade a player and get the same player back on their team in 30 days compromises the integrity of the entire league. A rule like that would be grounds for me to drop out of a fantasy league and it goes on in the NBA every year. The Pistons did it with Antonio McDyess last year. The Celtics did it with Gary Payton in 2005. David Stern needs to have this closed up in the next CBA. The good news is that coaches are starting to speak up. Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers both enthusiastically pointed out this injustice to the media this week, but I digress.

The second thing the Cavs accomplished is that they addressed one of the main things that got them sent home early in last year's playoffs. Last year's Cavaliers were not athletic enough to match up with the Orlando Magic. Which is one heck of a statement considering they have the best athlete in the world on their team. Antawn Jamison makes them more athletic and he can match up with Rashard Lewis of Orlando. Lewis was an enormous problem for Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals last year. These two teams look like they're on a collision course to meet again. Jamison will make Lewis work hard defensively and his ability to score will loosen the offense in the half court. Jamison will help create more perimeter jumpers for Cleveland's shooters and more space for LeBron. The only problem with this deal is that Jamison is signed for this year and two more at $14 million a year. If LeBron leaves, Jamison's contract is a significant rebuilding impediment. Unfortunately for the Cavs, they do not have the luxury of operating with a Plan B in mind (i.e LeBron leaving). If they do, that becomes a self fulfilling prophecy for them and LeBron goes bye-bye. They did what they had to do and increased their chances of winning a title in the process.

The Charlotte Bobcats join the parade of thumbs ups. They acquired Tyrus Thomas from the Bulls for Flip Murray and Acie Law. Law doesn't play and head coach Larry Brown believes that this past year's first round pick Gerald Henderson is ready to contribute to replace Murray. And Thomas gives them an athletic insode presence that they sorely lack because of Tyson Chandler's inability to stay healthy. If Thomas continues to act like am unruly child, his contract expires at the end of the year and they didn't give up very much. Its a nice cheap free look for the Bobcats.

I will once again defy all of the conventional wisdom I have seen and give the New York Knicks an emphatic thumbs down for their deadline dealings. The Nate Robinson to Boston deal was really immaterial unless you're Mike D'Antoni and you're over the moon that you don't have to deal with Sideshow Nate every day. However, I just cannot agree with all of this effusive praise for what it truly cost the Knicks to unload Jared Jeffries contract. The Knicks' end of this three way deal amounted to acquiring Tracy McGrady and his mammoth expiring contract and guard Sergio Rodriguez for Jared Jeffries, last season's ill advised lottery pick Jordan Hill, Larry Hughes' expiring contract, the right for Houston to swap first rounders in 2011(protected if its the 1 pick), and the Knicks first rounder in 2012 (protected if its a top 5 pick). The whole object of this deal for the Knicks is to create enough salary cap space to sign two free agents to maximum contracts this coming offseason, with an obvious eye on LeBron James.

This deal is being lauded in basketball circles as being a stroke of genius by Knick president and GM Donnie Walsh. The Knicks are definitely one of two teams that will be in a position to sign two max players. But, ultimately the cap space is only as good as your ability to get someone to sign with your franchise. It is unpredcedented in NBA history for a team to ostensibly trade the equivalent of 3 first round picks (2009, 2011, and 2012) just to dump a contract. The Knicks have become the equivalent of a Texas hold em player who's sitting on a King-3 and goes all in hoping to flop a King or two (pun intended). If the Knicks are not successful in signing LeBron James, they have crippled their franchise for another 5 years. The worst part is that they didn't need to put all of their eggs in the LeBron basket to have a chance at him.

Jared Jeffries is not signed to a 5 year contract or even a 3 year contract. Jeffries contract runs through the end of next season. Lets say the Knicks had not decided to attach 3 first round picks to Jeffries contract and had stayed put. They would still have their max cap slot for this offseason. After next season they would have another max slot and more in terms of cap space with Jeffries and Ready Eddy Curry going free. Plus they would have their first round picks in 2011 and 2012, which could be lottery picks just in case they can't get anyone to take their money and they still stink. And by the way, the 2011 free agent class doesn't exactly stink either with names like Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul due to become free agents. Back in November, I published an open letter to Donnie Walsh on this site, http://hoopscritic.blogspot.com/2009/11/open-letter-to-new-york-knicks.html, essentially asking Donnie what plan B was going to be if LeBron decides that living in New York is better as a concept than a reality. Walsh has emphaticly answered that question. There isn't one. And the worst part about it is that every other team with max cap slots all have a plan B in place in case they don't cash in on a prize the calliber of James, Wade, Bosh, and Joe Johnson. The only team without a plan B is the Cavaliers and they can't have one. A plan B for the Knicks is imperative. And as a Knick fan, the really bothersome things is that if Donnie's all-in bet fails, Donnie's going home to Indiana to retire and we need to start looking towards the 2015-2016 season.

I am going to give the Sacramento Kings a thumbs up for their trade of Kevin Martin for Carl Landry and cap space. Martin and Tyreke Evans were a mismatched backcourt for the Kings, Personally, I'm not as impressed with Martin's game as many others are. Although he's a good shooter and an efficient offensive player, he is a very soft defensive player. And I like Landry a lot more than most. He's a 55% shooter from the field, and 87% free throw shooter. He averages 16 points a game in 27 minutes a game. He is a very athletic and versatile defender and he makes only $3 million a year. He is a long term piece to build around. If the Kings can get themselves a good point guard in place before next season, they could have it turned around quick.

It is impossible not to give the Houston Rockets a thumbs up. GM Daryl Morey's heist on New York would make Tony Soprano proud and Phil Leotardo gargle drano. Even though the Rockets are committed to a few long term salaries, they have a ton of draft picks and are loaded with young assets. My only criticism of Morey is that Carl Landry is a guy I would not have traded. If it was my choice between Landry and Rocket forward Luis Scola, I would have kept Landry. But its impossible to be critical of a deal that gives up Landry and the expiring contract of Tracy McGrady (who Houston sent home), and their middle to low first rounder for Kevin Martin, Jared Jeffries' contract, Jordan Hill and two number one picks that have a likely chance to be lottery picks. If Morey knows what's good for him, he'll remember to pay his tribute and kick upstairs.

The Boston Celtics earned themselves a thumbs down. The acquisition of Nate Robinson is misguided at best and potentially disastrous to team chemistry at worst. The main player they traded in the deal, Eddie House, is a much better fit with the Celtics. The Celtics will quickly tire of Sideshow Nate's selfish preening after a dunk or three pointer as the man he's suppossed to be guarding runs down the court passed him for a layup. They will have very little tolerance for his childish sideline antics. They will soon find that even if he's willing to attempt to play defense, he's so poor fundamentally that he's a liability a team that values half court defense cannot afford. And with the Celtics having rumored chmistry issues (old guys vs. young guys), Nate hasn't exactly always been a unifier. And while we're on the Celtics, when did Rasheed Wallace get breast implants? He needs to call Cosmo Kramer for a bro, or as Frank Costanza would call it, a manzeer, but I digress.

Three teams get thumbs ups from me for doing absolutely nothing at the deadline. The Orlando Magic are deep and talented and are starting to gel together. So much of how far the Magic go will be decided by the play of Vince Carter and Mickael Pietrus. Those two are starting to hit their stride. The East appears to be a two horse race bewteen them and the Cavs.

The Denver Nuggets were in the market for an extra big man. In the end, they didn't add one, which I thought was the right thing. What could help the Nuggets would be more minutes for the Birdman, Chris Anderson. The Nuggets athleticism up front is their biggest asset this side of Carmelo Anthony. Even if they did bring in another big, they function best with two of Nene, Kenyon Martin, and the Birdman on the floor at the same time. They are the only team that I would give a realistic chance in the West to beat the Lakers in a playoff series.

The Phoenix Suns shopped Amare Stoudemire everywhere. In the end, they assumed the risk that Stoudemire could leave at the end of the season and kept him, primarily because they didn't see an offer that was fair value for him. They made the right call. Because Stoudemire is somewhat of a difficult guy, the Suns have a tendency to focus on what Amare doesn't do as opposed to what he does well, like score 22 points a game and pull down rebounds a game playing in an up tempo system that does not necessarily fit his talents. Stoudemire's skill set is actually much more conducive to a slower half court type of system. If they can successfully mend fences with him, because the constant trade rumors do offend him a bit,their best bet is to sign him to an extension. Stoudemire and Robin Lopez can be an imposing front court for the next 5-7 years.

Two other teams get thumbs down for not making moves. The San Antonio Spurs are in trouble. They made their big move in the offseason by trading for Richard Jefferson and Jefferson has been an abject failure. They frankly did not get the player they thought they were getting. Jefferson hasn't been that player since he was with Kenyon Martin and Jason Kidd on the Nets. And the Spurs got stuck holding the bag with Antonio McDyess, who looks like he doesn't have it anymore. They had the expiring contract of Roger Mason to move if they wanted to bring in a reinforcement. But they chose to stand pat as Tim Duncan's championship window closes on their fingers.

This last thumbs down is kind of unfair. With that said, I'm giving the Lakers a small thumbs dcown for not deciding to add Kirk Hinrich and his expensive contract. I will acknowledge that its somewhat obnoxious to expect Laker owner Jerry Buss to continue to add to the highest payroll in the league. Sounds like a Yankee fan mentality, which is something I do not condone. But Hinrich was the perfect player to give the Lakers the separation they need from the pack. Playing point guard next to Kobe Bryant only requires a specific skill set. Next to Bryant, the Lakers need an adequate ball handler, a quick tenacious defender and an accurate outside shooter. Hinrich would have been the perfect guy to harass Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd, to bring the ball up, and to drain all the open threes Kobe creates for him. The good news for The Lakers is that they have a guy who can do all these things fairly well in Shannon Brown. Brown stepped up his game nicely when Bryant was injured and gives the Lakers a sharp shooting athlete to play next to Bryant instead of the washed up Derek Fisher who looks like he should be playing in an over 40 league at the local "Y".

Giddyap. Y'all be cool.

With the All-Star break behind us, some things I see surprise me....others not so much.


I am surprised that the Denver Nuggets have played as well as they have without Carmelo Anthony. I figured they would struggle to score, but the pu-pu platter of Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin, and J.R. Smith has picked up the slack. I'm particularly surprised with Billups. Everytime I start shoveling dirt on him, he resurrects himself and proves me wrong. I know I've said it before, but as long as Billups doesn't channel his inner Iverson at playoff time, the Nuggets will challenge the Lakers to win the West.

I'm surprised that Shaquille O'Neal has played as well as he has for the last month. I will stop short of saying that he looks like the Shaq of old. The Shaq of old couldn't share slacks with Andre the Giant, like this version of Shaq can. But Shaq is doing a lot more for the Cavs than I ever thought he would.

I'm very surprised that the Sacramento Kings have played so poorly with Kevin Martin back from injury. The problem is obvious and clear. Moving rookie phenom Tyreke Evans from a wing to point guard is a tactical error. Evans can be a star in this league at a wing. Just because he can play the point capably does not mean its best for him or for the team to have him there. Head coach Paul Westphal will get this solved. The Kings have a very bright future ahead of them.

I'm not surprised that the Bulls have righted the ship. The trade deadline will be a very interesting time for them. If they want to add two big players in free agency in the offseason, they need to rid themselves of Kirk Hinrich and John Salmons. There should be a market for both players. However, with the way they've turned things around, do they want to remove two important rotation players for a return that probably will not be equal present basketball value. If they were guaranteed to bring in Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, or Joe Johnson, its a no brainer. But the cap space doesn't mean all that much if you can't get star players to sign on.

Speaking of cap space not meaning all that much if you can't get people to sign on, I am thouroughly surprised that Knick GM Donnie Walsh has reportedly refused to throw Jordan Hill or Toney Douglas into a deal that would shed Jared Jeffries contract. The only player on his roster he should be reluctant to deal is Danilo Gallinari. Hill was a mistake and Donnie turns the pick into a productive one by using the player to create more cap space. However, Donnie should come up short of trading those first rounders the Rockets keep liberally asking for. If he does part with even one, he becomes Isiah Thomas with grey hair and a nicotine habit.

I am not surprised that the Wizards are tanking their season. GM Ernie Grunfeld made a monumental mistake by trading last year's first round pick for Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Ernie has been a very good GM over the years, but this butcher job he's done on the Wizards should be the end of the road for him. And although having players turn the locker room into the OK corral is not exactly Ernie's fault, at one point or another he needs to be held responsible for the character of the players he has brought in.

I am also not surprised that the Mavericks traded Josh Howard to Washington. Howard brought some negative attention onto the Mavericks last offseason with some careless remarks about his intimate relationship with marijuana. And then when he returned from injury, he did not fit in basketball wise with their revamped roster. Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood will do wonders for the Mavs. They will allow the Mavs to match up with anyone if they play big or small.

I will be very surprised if someone besides Jeff Van Gundy or Rick Pitino coaches the Nets next year. Despite the mocking of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Nets job is actually a very attractive job. The Nets will most likely be playing in a 2 year old building in Newark next year and will do much better attendance wise just based on location. There is a move to Brooklyn on the horizon in a yet to be built state of the art facility. They have a brand new Russian billionaire owner who has a reputation for being ultra competitive and being willing to spend money. The Nets are guaranteed a top 3 pick in next year's draft with a 25% chance to win the John Wall sweepstakes. They have a legitimate building block in 7 foot center Brook Lopez. And they have a boatload of cap space. For Van Gundy, it will be an opportunity to get back on the sidelines in the New York metropolitan area with a generous owner. Frankly, there's no where to go but up. For Pitino, the appeal is similar but with an added bonus. Pitino gets to leave Louisville and the sloppy scandal he created for his family. Furthermore, Little Ricky gets out of dodge before it becomes thouroughly apparent that Kentucky coach John Calipari is beating his backside recruiting wise. Pitino's denials sound alarmingly like Nick Saban's did when he was with the Miami Dolphins as he vehemently denied interest in the Alabama job.

I am very surprised that the Cavaliers are pursuing Amare Stoudemire so aggressively. Last time I checked, Shaq was their starting center and lets face it, the Shaq-Stoudemire pairing was an abject failure for Phoenix last year. As readers of thiis space know all too well, I am a big fan of Stoudemire's game. But the Cavs would be quite smart not to put the two of these guys together. Matter of fact, it would not surprise me if Stoudemire is brought in, Shaq and his monstrous.....expiring contract are moved out of Cleveland. (to Indiana with a first rounder for Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster) What did you think... I as going to make another fat joke about Shaq??

I will be very surprised if Celtic general manager Danny Ainge doesn't do something. The window is closing fast for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics are tied to Pierce and Garnett for big money for the next two years. They are a team in desperate need for some young blood. Ray Allen has a lot of value because of his expriring contract. There have been a lot of rumors about Allen going to Sacramento for a Kevin Martin package, but I'm not sure if that is worth it for Boston. What could be interesting is if the Celtics and Philadelphia could get together on a Allen-Andre Igoudala trade. A deal like Igoudala and Samule Dalembert for Allen, Kendrick Perkins and a first rounder would work under the cap and satisfy everyone. Not sure if the Celtics would part with Perkins, but its truly the kind of shakeup they need.


I will be surprised if Kirk Hinrich isn't pursued by the Lakers come Thursday's trade deadline. As rich as his contract is for what he does, he's a unique player and L.A. is a contender who cannot resist. Something tells me he's going to be wearing Laker purple. As expensive as it is, it fills the Lakers last remaining whole. Two expiring contracts like Adam Morrison and the washed up Derek Fisher would work under the cap mand would offer the Bulls the salary relief they desire. The toughest obstacle will be Philosophical Phil parting with his karmic security blanket.

Be back next week to sort out deadline results. Giddyap. Y'all be cool.