Written by Chris O’Dell
Almost half the league’s teams were involved in some sort of deal before the NBA trade deadline last week. However, despite a massive number of deals around the league, few trades were significant enough to impact the championship race this season.
With the smoke now clear from the headline trades, let’s take a further look at how the deadline deals impacted the landscape of the NBA.
The first blockbuster deal to go down was between the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards. After struggling through the start of 2010, the Mavericks clearly needed an infusion of energy to the team. With Mark Cuban as the team’s owner and the noticeable feud between Josh Howard and the Mavericks, there was a trade waiting to happen in Dallas.
The Mavericks sent Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross packing in return for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson from Washington. Despite the deal involving seven players, it mostly came down to the Mavericks cutting ties with Howard, and the Wizards sending Butler and Haywood to Dallas in return for cap relief.
At first glance, this trade might not have looked like a major impact for either team. However, the deal might have been exactly what the Mavericks were looking for. In fact, with Howard’s history of injuries, lack of effort and love for outside jump shots, the Mavericks might have gotten better by simply getting rid of the unreliable and troubled forward. Couple that with the fact that Caron Butler is an immediate upgrade over Howard at guard or forward, and you have instant improvement in Dallas.
Butler is one of the more underrated players in the game and is capable of going for 25 points any given night. Aside from the perimeter scoring Butler provides, he also brings solid defense and a sense of toughness that the Mavericks have lacked for quite some time.
However, don’t forget about Haywood. One thing the Mavericks have lacked in recent years is a true defensive presence in the lane. Although Erick Dampier is capable of protecting the paint at times, the veteran center gets into foul trouble too often and sometimes forgets how big and strong he truly is.
With Haywood now starting at center, the Mavericks have one of the top defensive big men in the league. The former North Carolina Tar Heel is also a much better offensive player than Dampier. Haywood is a finisher in the lane and goes up strong when he gets the ball down low.
With Haywood and Butler in Dallas, the Mavericks have definitely improved their chances at a championship race. The only problem is that the Lakers might have been so far ahead of everyone else in the west to begin the year, that it still might not be enough to take out Kobe and company.
Only time will tell if the trade was good enough to allow Dallas to challenge Los Angeles in a 7-game series. However, the Mavericks are now in prime position to finish with the No. 2 spot in the western conference and make a run at the NBA Finals. Besides, a starting lineup of Jason Kidd, Caron Butler, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Brendan Haywood is definitely a dangerous one. If L.A. falters in the playoffs, Dallas might now be the team ready to pounce.
Another trade that went down just before the deadline was a three-team deal between the Cleveland Cavaliers, L.A. Clippers and Washington Wizards. The Cavs received forward Antawn Jamison and guard Sebastian Telfair while losing only Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a first-round pick. Fans in Cleveland thought the acquisition of Shaq in the offseason would be enough to put the Cavs over the top. Now the team adds another scoring threat to go with LeBron James and Mo Williams.
Jamison is a very solid forward with the ability to score from anywhere on the court. Unlike Shaq, Jamison should be able to spread the floor and allow LeBron the room to attack the basket, while also giving “King James” the option of kicking it out for an open three.
The former Wizards’ forward also averages about nine rebounds per game, which is a good number for his size. That may be extremely useful for Cleveland if the Cavaliers are not able to get Ilgauskas back after 30 days. With “Big Z” departing in the trade, the Cavs will be short on big men until they sign a center to replace him.
However, Jamison should be a good fit in Cleveland and gives the Cavs an even better shot at defeating the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals and the L.A. Lakers in the championship. The Cavs possibly put themselves in position to get LeBron his first ring in the NBA and also made the team the hands-down leader to re-sign their franchise player in the offseason.
Despite numerous deadline deals last week, these two trades remain head and shoulders above the rest. The Mavericks and Cavaliers both managed to upgrade their teams last week. With the blockbuster trades pulled off by those two, L.A. might not be the league’s clear No. 1 team anymore. Kobe and the rest of the Lakers now have at least two more teams nipping at their heels in the race for the championship.
