NBA Trades: Which Teams Improved and Got Worse at the Trade Deadline?
After a wild week of NBA trades, the Eastern Conference has become the power conference. Carmelo Anthony finally was traded to the New York Knicks on Monday, a deal which set the table for the week to come.
New Jersey made a blockbuster move of their own by acquiring Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz, giving the New York City area two new superstars.
The most shocking move of the trade deadline was Boston's decision to send Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic.
Celtics fans are not happy about the deal; Perkins' defensive talents were well appreciated in Boston.
Many other trades were completed this week, and tons of players and first-round picks were swapped.
With the dust starting to settle, let's look at the which teams improved and got worse from a historic week of NBA trades.
Oklahoma City Fixed Its Biggest Weakness
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The Thunder were the biggest winner of the trade deadline.
General manager Sam Presti has waited and waited to acquire a physical, defensive-minded center, and he finally found his man.
Presti acquired center Kendrick Perkins and guard Nate Robinson from Boston for forward Jeff Green and center Nenad Krstic, a move that shocked the basketball world.
Kendrick Perkins is exactly the player Oklahoma City needed. He will bring toughness and rebounding to a Thunder team that has lacked a true center since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City.
Green's defensive ability has been questioned lately, and he has fallen out of favor in Oklahoma City.
He did not develop as quickly as the Thunder had hoped, and with his contract expiring after this season, OKC needed to get something in return for the athletic winger.
Oklahoma City fixed their biggest weakness, the center position. Now they have two quality players at the two most important positions on the court, point guard and center.
Memphis and Houston Improve Depth in Shane Battier Trade
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A player like Shane Battier is always coveted at the trade deadline. He is a great defender and a very smart player.
He does not demand the ball, either, as he is not a prolific scorer. But Battier is an excellent outside shooter who stretches the floor.
Rudy Gay's injury concerns put Memphis' playoff hopes in question, so they responded by acquiring Battier from Houston, sending former second-overall pick Hasheem Thabeet and a first-round pick to the Rockets.
The Rockets told any team interested in trading with them that a big man had to be included in any proposal.
Memphis was willing to cut ties with the 7-footer Thabeet, who has not become a quality NBA player since being drafted No. 2 overall out of UConn in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Memphis now has a true small forward to play in Gay's absence, and Houston has a big man they can develop for the future.
Both teams win in this deal.
The New York Knicks Overpaid for Carmelo Anthony, and Sacrificed Future
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The New York Knicks finally acquired Carmelo Anthony on Monday, but the price to obtain the former Nuggets superstar was far too steep.
The Knicks now have little room under the salary cap, and with the new CBA likely to include a smaller cap, New York could find itself in a difficult situation soon.
Anthony is a great player, but his defensive skills are weak and he does not have a playoff pedigree.
New York did not get any better defensively at the deadline, which still is a major weakness of theirs.
Madison Square Garden will be exciting in the coming seasons, but the Knicks will have a difficult time assembling a championship roster.
Gerald Wallace Won't Make Portland a Better Team Come Playoff Time
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The Portland Trail Blazers are gambling that Gerald Wallace will make them a stronger team going into the playoffs.
It's a gamble they shouldn't have made.
Wallace is having a poor season, and with Brandon Roy missing significant time this year due to injury, Portland needed scoring.
Wallace is a good defender, but he won't put Portland in a better position come playoff time. The Blazers needed size to keep pace in the West, and giving up center Joel Przybilla doesn't help.
Wallace can score from the outside and take the ball to basket with force, so the offensive gains will immediately be felt.
Portland also sacrificed a lot of their future, sending two first-round picks to Charlotte as part of the Wallace deal.
The Blazers are hoping Wallace can make them a contender in the Western conference, but that is hard to believe with the poor season Wallace is having.
In the end, Portland gave up too much of their future for a player that won't make them better than the Western Conference elite.
Hawks Still Don't Have a True Center, a Weakness that Haunts Them in May
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The Atlanta Hawks have not progressed to the Eastern Conference finals the last few seasons because they have lacked a true center.
All star Al Horford has done a nice job playing center, but his natural position is power forward. Horford is undersized at center, and is unable to matchup against real centers like Dwight Howard of Orlando.
The Hawks made a serious offer to Shaquille O'Neal last summer to fill their void at center, but Shaq chose Boston instead.
Atlanta acquired Hilton Armstrong in a trade with Washington that also netted them guard Kirk Hinrich, while sending guard Mike Bibby, guard Jordan Crawford, forward Maurice Evans and their 2011 first-round draft pick to the Wizards.
The Hawks did not acquire a rebounding center, and their lack of a physical paint presence will once again haunt them in the playoffs.
Utah Improves Team After Realizing Deron Williams Likely Wouldn't Re-Sign
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The Utah Jazz traded the face of their franchise, point guard Deron Williams, to the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday, after realizing Williams was unlikely to sign with Utah long-term.
Utah received young point guard Devin Harris and this year's third overall draft selection Derrick Favors, along with two first-round picks in exchange for Williams.
The Jazz downgraded at point guard, but the dropoff from Williams to Harris isn't massive, and Favors has the potential to be a very good player someday.
With Favors, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, Utah has a very formidable front line. Utah added players who will help them now, and draft picks to improve in the future, making them one of the biggest winners of the deadline.
The Lakers, Bulls and Magic Made No Effort to Improve
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The Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers were among the few elite teams that made no trades on deadline day.
The Lakers are hoping they can get their full roster back for the playoffs, and Phil Jackson knows his team needs health more than a new player(s) right now.
The defending champs have depth in all areas, and with San Antonio so far ahead of them in the West standings, L.A. may rest players in the stretch run.
Chicago asked Houston about young shooting guard Courtney Lee, but were unwilling to part with young center Omer Asik. The Bulls are a deep team and the decision to keep Asik, who has good potential, was probably a better move than to trade him for another guard.
Orlando did not find a trade that would improve them, and their best bet to strengthen their lineup will be through veteran players who will be bought out in the coming days.
To be fair, Orlando's major move happened earlier in the season, when they acquired Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu in a multi-team blockbuster trade.
But Orlando still hasn't addressed its need for a backup center to give Dwight Howard a rest. Until the Magic find a quality backup center, they won't compete for a title.
Neither team made a serious effort to mix things up, and with so many fresh faces on each team, team chemistry is already an issue for each.
Time will tell if the decision to stand pat was a smart move for these elite teams.
Celtics Used Frontcourt Depth to Improve Future Salary Cap Possibilities
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The Boston Celtics' shocking decision to trade Kendrick Perkins was not received well in Boston, nor in the Celtics locker room.
Yahoo Sports reported that many Celtics veterans were unhappy with the move. Perkins was a vital part of the Celtics defense, which has been their trademark since 2008 when the Big Three arrived.
In exchange for Perkins and guard Nate Robinson, the Celtics acquired forward Jeff Green and center Nenad Krstic.
While Krstic will not provide the defensive capabilities Perkins can, he is a better offensive player than Perk, and can shoot well from the outside.
Celtics general manager Danny Ainge must have felt that Perkins was not likely to re-sign at the end of the season, or that his multiple knee injuries made the Celtics think twice about re-upping him.
Boston is also well-positioned to make a run at Dwight Howard, who is a free agent in the summer of 2012, a summer when the Celtics will have just three players under contract—Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Avery Bradley.
Jeff Green will give the Celtics a versatile wing player they've never really had, and he will provide scoring and defense to multiple positions on the court.
A deal like this, with so many future implications involved, cannot be judged for many years as a success or failure.
