The NBA trade deadline is on March 15th, and it is one of the busiest times in any sport. There are big moves made every single year in the NBA that will change the outcome of the playoff situation. Let’s look back at the biggest trades in the past few seasons.
2011: One doesn’t need to think too hard to remember that the Carmelo Anthony trade from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks was the biggest trade during that season. This trade involved 3 teams (Knicks, Nuggets, and Timberwolves), along with 13 players, 4 draft picks, and $6 million in cash. Both the Knicks and the Nuggets made the playoffs last season and all three of these teams are competing for playoff spots this year. In addition, Chauncey Billups was traded from Denver to New York. Billups stated that he wanted to finish his career in Denver, so if he wasn’t traded to the Clippers, he would most likely have re-signed with Nuggets. Before Billups suffered a season ending injury he was able to provide leadership to a young Clippers team.
2010: The 2009-2010 season was an exception for the trade deadline due to the fact that a lot of teams wanted to save their money for free agency. Remember that Wade, Amar’e, LeBron, Bosh and Scalabrine were all free agents that season. The most influential trade was probably Chicago sending Tyrus Thomas to Charlotte for Flip Murray, Acie Law, and a 2012 first round draft pick. The first round draft pick will only help the Bulls catch up to the talent that Miami has. However, the problem is that it is a protected draft pick, meaning that if the pick is in the top 14, which is going to happen, the Bulls will have to wait another year to use it.
2008: The Pau Gasol trade dominated the headlines. Everyone criticized Memphis for giving away Pau, but this trade worked out for both teams. Memphis got a lot back, including the rights to Marc Gasol. Pau would not have stayed with the Grizzlies for long even if he hadn’t been traded, but Marc still is with Memphis. The Lakers won a title with Pau, and now Memphis is a great young team. Memphis could have done better with the two first round draft picks the Lakers gave them, but Marc Gasol looks to be a very promising center, and I think he will have a better career than Pau.
2007: The Allen Iverson trade happened a bit before the deadline, but it still changed the landscape of the NBA. Iverson led the league in scoring 4 times in Philadelphia, and he even averaged 33 points per game in a season in which he did not lead the league. He is one of the best scorers of all-time, and it was a big deal that he was leaving the city in which he had played his entire career. It was a franchise that he brought back to life by advancing to the NBA Finals pretty much by himself, and he even managed to take the first game from the Lakers in Los Angeles.
So what can we expect this year from the NBA trade deadline. Big names like Dwight Howard, Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo have been thrown around in trade talks, but who will change teams? I think that Dwight is staying put in Orlando, but don’t be surprised if the Magic make a trade for someone like Steve Nash. The Magic may lose Howard after this year, so they have to make a run at a Championship now. Deron will not be traded, because the Nets have a good center in Brook Lopez, and they will possibly have two first round draft picks in 2012. They have a bright future in Brooklyn, and Williams needs to be part of it. Rondo is more of a mystery though. He is probably the Most Valuable Player this year, and although he won’t win the award, think about where Boston would be without him. The Celtics are an old team, and I think the best trade for them to make is to trade Rondo for Russell Westbrook.
Rondo for Westbrook helps both teams. The Celtics will need a player that can win them games and lead this team after their Big Three are gone, and Westbrook is that player. He is one of the most explosive point guards in the league, and who knows what he will do when he is the best player on his team. One the other hand, the Thunder would be getting the best passer in the league. I don’t care about Rubio’s flashy passes, I’ll take Rondo any day. Adding the best passer to a team that already has the best scorer in the league is scary to think about, and Oklahoma City would be very dangerous.
I have been avoiding the Lakers on purpose, because the situation deserves its own paragraph. The Lakers have two good big men, but lack a point guard. Kobe doesn’t have too many years left, so they need to win now. Can they win with the team they have now? YES. I think there are about 5 teams in the NBA that can win the title right now and the Lakers are one of them. But I don’t think the Laker organization thinks it can win with the players it has right now. I think they will go after a point guard, but won’t want to give up enough for Rondo or Stephen Curry. So I think their best options are Raymond Felton and Ramon Sessions. Both are currently the backups for their teams, and can start for the Lakers. If the Cavs are only asking for a first round pick for Sessions than the Lakers should jump on that, because getting Sessions without giving up Bynum or Gasol will immediately make the Lakers one of the favorites to win the West.