2011 NBA Trade Deadline Analysis: The 5 Biggest Swaps Last Week

Another NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and if you’re still frantically trying to process everything, stop panicking because we’re here to help. Aside from the blockbuster Carmelo Anthony deal that had us painfully blue-balled for weeks, many of the deals that were pushed through Thursday morning came with little or no warning. Let’s run through the transactions that should have the greatest implications, both real and fantasy.

LA Clippers get Mo Williams, Jamario Moon; Cleveland Cavaliers get Baron Davis, first-round pick

The Clippers definitely get a little stronger here. Assuming Williams can get healthy, his substantially superior (over Davis’) perimeter shooting should come in handy with the attention that Blake Griffin and Chris Kaman will attract down low. Moon’s athleticism and defensive mindset off the bench should also serve them well.

As for the Cavaliers, they inherit Davis’ fat…contract. All jokes aside, Davis had actually elevated his level play, averaging 17 points and 7.5 assists in January and February before his knee flared up, causing him to shoot 3-18 in his last two games. But let’s not kid ourselves; a gimpy, overweight Baron Davis is not going to change anything in Cleveland.

Fantasy outlook – Mo Williams stands to benefit the most from this deal, as he now gets to play alongside one of the league’s most exciting talents in Griffin. Baron Davis isn’t quite as lucky. He has a terribly sore knee, a new coach that he historically has had a hard time getting along with, and a new team that ranks as one of the worst in NBA history.

Even if he’s able to overcome these factors, he’ll have to take the starting job from Ramon Sessions, who’s balling out of his mind right now (19.9 ppg, 8.7 apg, and 1.9 spg in February).

New Jersey Nets get Deron Williams; Utah Jazz get Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, two first round picks

Deron Williams was, in my opinion, the best overall point guard in the league (that is, before Derrick Rose disappeared into a phone booth last summer and returned as Derrick Rose, MVP candidate). Call me spiteful, but if D-Will really was the reason for forcing one of the legendary coaches in professional sports to resign, then he may have gotten what he deserved.

Believe it or not, this move makes sense for both sides. New Jersey lands one of the top point guards in the league and finally has a legitimate superstar to build around. Utah barely looked like a playoff team this year, and was clearly going nowhere in the stacked Western Conference. With Harris, Favors, and two first round picks, they’ve added, and will continue to add solid, young pieces in their rebuilding process.

Fantasy outlook: D-Will is the stud of this transaction, but his numbers should hold as he is now the offensive focal point in New Jersey. Harris will take the reins in Utah, and will have an opportunity to reestablish himself as a premier point guard on a much better team. Favors was irrelevant as a starter in New Jersey, and will continue to be irrelevant as a reserve in Utah.

Boston Celtics get Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic; OKC Thunder get Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson

The Celtics seem convinced that they would have won the championship last year had Perkins been healthy. They desperately missed his size, rebounding and shot blocking against the Lakers’ gigantic front line, and simply ran out of gas in an exhausting seven-game series. Why they would turn around and trade him for a jumpshooting center and an underachieving swingman is something I’m still trying to figure out.

The O’Neal’s should eventually get healthy, but whether or not they’ll stay healthy is a different question. The Thunder, on the other hand, are ecstatic about getting Perkins, as they finally have a legitimate 7' bruiser to help contend against the Lakers.

Fantasy outlook: Not much to report here. Once Perkins gets his knee right and takes the starting center job, owners can realistically expect something close to 10 points, 10 boards, and two blocks. Green goes from a minor factor to a complete non-factor.

Portland Trailblazers get Gerald Wallace; Charlotte Bobcats get Joel Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, two first round picks

The Bobcats have struggled all season and are clearly in rebuilding mode. The Blazers, however, have impressively stayed in the playoff hunt despite of slew of injuries to key players such as Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, and Marcus Camby. The arrival of Wallace will likely move Nicolas Batum to the bench, making Portland a deeper, more formidable threat in the West.

Fantasy outlook: Wallace’s departure from Charlotte frees up the starting small forward spot for Gerald Henderson, who should be able to put up a very useful 15 points, 5 boards, and a shade under a block and a steal per game.

Wallace joins a Portland squad with plenty of offensive options, so expect his scoring to dip, but he’ll retain most of his value in terms of rebounding and defense. Batum’s soon-to-be bench role will marginalize him as a fantasy option, but don’t jump ship on Wesley Matthews. His value is contingent on Brandon Roy, not Wallace.

New York Knicks get Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman, Corey Brewer; Denver Nuggets get Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos; Minnesota Timberwolves get Anthony Randolph, Eddy Curry

At last, the blockbuster we’ve all been waiting for. The Knicks made this deal to contend with the star power of the Heat and the Celtics in the East. They added an NBA champion point guard in Billups, and an unstoppable one-on-one scorer in Anthony, but sacrificed a great deal of depth to do so.

The trade gives New York two bonafide superstars in Stoudemire and Anthony, but let’s hold off on calling them championship contenders just yet. Anthony is an awesome offensive weapon, but he doesn’t exactly make anyone around him better, and has very little to offer defensively.

Billups is one of the best clutch shooters of his era, but is quickly getting up there in age. On the other end, Denver adds some very promising young talent in Chandler, Gallinari and Mozgov, but I’m baffled as to why they chose to retain Felton when they had every intention of making Ty Lawson their starting point guard.

On the bright side, having Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith and Al Harrington off the bench makes Denver quite possibly the deepest, most balanced team in the league. And finally, the 14-46 Timberwolves get two busted bigs who have played a combined 127.5 minutes this season. Good for them.

Fantasy outlook: Anthony and Billups will both retain their starting roles in New York, so their values should remain the same. Since Denver opted to keep Felton, both his and Lawson’s playing time will unfortunately be capped around 25-30 minutes per night. Gallinari is the starter (for now) over Chandler, but both should have plenty of opportunities to produce with the combined 33 field goal attempts that Anthony and Billups leave behind.