Marcus Camby to Rockets: 5 Surprise Implications of the Deadline Deal

Marcus Camby was dealt by the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday in an 11th hour deal that sent point guard Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet from Houston in exchange for the veteran center, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Camby will be a nice addition for the Rockets, giving Houston a dominant low post prowess from the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year.

Meanwhile, Blazers fans will have to wonder what team wants out of Flynn and Thabeet.

The move certainly helps Houston in the short run, but what other implications does it have?

Portland Trades Themselves out of Contention.

It might come as a bit of shock that Portland would assist a team that they were competing with for a playoff seed just a month ago, but the Camby trade, along with sending Gerald Wallace away to New Jersey and giving Nate McMillan the axe, it appears that the Blazers are throwing in the towel this season,

Portland is reeling with a sub-.500 record at the deadline, and likely have just sold their playoff pipe dream to the Rockets.

Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet No Longer Have Value

Flynn and Thabeet were both lottery picks in 2009, with Thabeet selected second overall and Flynn sixth. When Houston took on both players from their respected clubs, they were both viewed as reclamation projects with big potential upside.

However, as they are both dealt away to their third team for the aging Camby, it’s become apparent that the two are both NBA busts with little chance at filling the roles expected of them when they were drafted.

Flynn and Thabeet are both free agents at the end of the season, and while some team might gamble on them, both players could find themselves out of the league sooner than later.

Houston Isn't Well Prepared for the Long-Run

Camby is a nice addition at the deadline, but the team must have some concern about what their future holds. Camby will be 38 at the end of the month, and by dealing for another aging role player in Derek Fisher at the deadline, Houston needs to address their future roster.

Fortunately, for the Rockets, Camby has an expiring $11 million deal at the end of the season, and could in turn lock up a key free agent in the summer with their cap flexibility

Portland Is Clearly Rebuilding

The Blazers essentially gave away Camby by moving him for non-impact expiring contracts in Flynn and Thabeet, and along with the other moves the Blazers made at the deadline it’s become evident Portland is cleaning house to build for the future.

Portland will have ample salary cap space this offseason, and it’ll be interesting to see who the Blazers can lock up over the summer

Houston Is Chasing Home Court Advantage in the Playoffs

Houston obviously thinks they can make more than a mediocre push for the playoffs this season, attempting to move from bubble team to bona fide contender with their moves at the deadline.

Camby and Fisher are solid additions, and sitting just a game-and-a-half behind the clippers for the fourth seed in the West, Houston might actually have a shot.

Still, the Clippers made a key roster move themselves by acquiring shooting guard Nick Young from the Wizards to replace the injured Chauncey Billups. Houston will have to really step it up during the second half if they want to elevate up the conference ranks.