NBA Trade Deadline 2012: Ranking the Most Surprising Deals from Thursday

As expected, the NBA trade deadline was a totally nutty affair.

About the only thing deadline day was missing was a Dwight Howard trade. He ended up staying put with the Orlando Magic, allowing the world to go back to spinning and the rest of the teams around the NBA to go about their business. 

And go about their business they did.

Quite a few deals went down on deadline day, including a couple shockers. But, no need to look them up.

Here's a rundown of the most surprising deadline day deals.

4. Golden State Warriors Trade Stephen Jackson for Richard Jefferson

Golden State Got: SF Richard Jefferson and future first-round pick

San Antonio Got: G/F Stephen Jackson

Link: San Jose Mercury News

When it was announced that Stephen Jackson was coming to the Bay Area as part of the Monta Ellis trade, heads started to shake.

Jackson was a member of the Warriors just a few years prior, and he did not leave the team on good terms.

That the Warriors turned around and traded Jackson wasn't the big surprise. What was surprising about Thursday's deal is that the Warriors actually managed to find a taker for S-Jax, and that they were able to make a pretty good deal.

In return for S-Jax, the Warriors are getting a player in Jefferson who is an above-average three-point shooter.

More importantly, they stand to gain a first-rounder in the 2012 draft, as a Warriors source told the San Jose Mercury News that there is a "90 percent chance" the Warriors will turn the conditional pick into a 2012 first-rounder.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are getting a veteran forward who is occasionally pretty good.

Only occasionally, though.

3. New Jersey Nets Acquire Gerald Wallace

New Jersey Got: F Gerald Wallace

Portland Got: F/C Mehmet Okur, G/F Shawne Williams and  2012 top-three protected first-round pick

Link: Yahoo! Sports

The Nets made out pretty well in this trade, as they're getting a player in Gerald Wallace who will fit in well alongside Deron Williams.

But this trade reeks of a deal designed to set the Nets up for the future, not the present.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein noted that New Jersey's strategy is to pile up talent and picks for the purposes of making a run at Dwight Howard or some other star later on. Wallace is part of that plan.

As for the Blazers, they're getting two players in Okur and Williams who are both hurt, though Okur's expiring contract will come in handy.

This deal is a straight salary dump for Portland.

The true ramifications of this deal won't be known for several months. It came together in a hurry on Thursday, and it was a shocker when it was announced.

2. Los Angeles Lakers Trade Derek Fisher to Rockets

Los Angeles Got: F/C Jordan Hill

Houston Got: PG Derek Fisher and 2012 first-round pick (via Dallas)

Link: Los Angeles Times

The Lakers made a deal for Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Ramon Sessions, but that wasn't a huge surprise—the Lakers had been linked to him for weeks.

But I suspect few of us expected the Lakers to ship out Derek Fisher at any point this season

Fisher's not much of a player anymore, but he's a team leader and a true Laker. When word came out that he had been traded, there were a lot of raised eyebrows.

This was a savvy trade by the Rockets, though.

With Kyle Lowry out with a bacterial infection, they need stability at point guard. Fisher doesn't bring much to the table, but stability is something he can handle.

The Lakers are a better team after deadline day, and so are the Rockets.

Good deal for both teams.

1. Three-Team Deal Between Washington, Denver and Los Angeles Clippers

Washington Got: F/C Nene, F Brian Cook and future second-round draft pick.

Denver Got: C JaVale McGee, F/C Ronny Turiaf

Los Angeles Got: G Nick Young

Link: Yahoo! Sports

This one came out of nowhere.

The one thing that caught everyone's attention is the fact that the Nuggets basically swapped Nene for McGee, which is a considerable downgrade.

McGee has talent, but he doesn't have much else, aside from appearing on blooper reels.

The Clippers are getting a problematic shooting guard in Young, but at least they didn't have to give up much to get him. They made out pretty well in this deal.

The same goes for the Wizards, who got one of the NBA's best centers while ridding themselves of two players who weren't helping their cause.