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Mixed Bag
Posted by: Stephen Loveless on February 25th, 2011
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.It’s finally over. The 2011 NBA trade deadline has come and gone and the dust is starting to settle around the league leaving us with a view, if only slightly less murky than before, of what’s in store for the rest of the year and the seasons to come.
First and foremost I want to wish a farewell and all the best to Deron and his family. I could not be happier that with this trade but I do not hold any hard feelings for Deron. I simply think this was the best move for the team as a whole. Whether Deron had anything to do with Sloan’s resignation is irrelevant. We are a grudge-holding fan base and Deron was never going to be our shining white knight again, regardless of his actions or desires.
A previous post of mine made clear my dissatisfaction with Deron’s performance. The grit, the drive, the “one-upped-ed-ness” he used to have is gone for whatever reason. Frankly, I don’t care what those reasons are so I won’t go there.
I’ve long held that Devin Harris would make a great point guard here in Utah. Saying that has become a little more difficult for me now that it’s actually going to be put to the test. It will be interesting to see how quickly, or slowly, he takes to the offense. A new head coach with a couple new players can make for excellent growth and great communication. Of course, it can also create the opposite.
Favors should be fun to watch. The kid has all the potential in the world and Utah’s a good environment for him to blossom in. The down side is that the line-up riddle has not become any easier to solve.
All in all I’m thrilled with what Kevin O’Connor has done. Let’s give this team over to Al. He’s young, very excited to be here, and willing to learn and work.
For me the big shocker was Kendrick Perkins. The Celtics have been anxiously awaiting his return all season and then they ship him off after just over ten games. On the other hand it’s not like they are left wanting at the center spot. The Thunder finally get someone that fits the name. Is there a more terrifying man in the league?
Carmelo to NYC was anything but a surprise. The personnel involved was a little bewildering to me but you do what you have to for a player of his caliber. Moving Felton and Billups was not something I anticipated but, again, they should be fun to watch and their respective teams.
I was happy to see Shane Battier go because it gave me a small glimmer of hope that Jazz fans would finally give up on him coming to Utah. Sure, he’s a great defender and a genuinely nice guy. What do you people see in him though? Give me Artest any day.
Gerald Wallace is headed to Portland. I’m calling for Portland to be an awfully big thorn in the rest of the west’s side late in the season and into the post-season. He is an explosive player and I look for him to instantly click with Aldridge, Roy, and Matthews. Now if only they had a big young center…….
Bottom line: Trade deadline is past and the Jazz traded up. You can quote me.
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Wallace to Portland makes me scratch my head a little. I’m not sure how he’ll fit in but I guess he can only make them better. I can’t stand Battier’s game. His arrogant attitude after he takes a charge is annoying and his shot looks like my little sisters.
Following the trades, there were a lot. Some thoughts:
* Houston might get better, if they can de-bust Thabeet and hit on their lottery pick. The odds on that aren’t good. Things won’t look good there for a long time. Yao killed them.
* Celts might be a little better. Robinson is a diva ball hog and Perkins’ best asset was a stinky glare. Green is a good young player. Kristic isn’t good, but is really big. They didn’t have that. Thunder look dumb, that young team was growing up together and they were the face of the side of the NBA that isn’t about diva-ism.
Which is great since I hate them. One-finger salute from all the people that grew up in the NW, or appreciate tradition in sports.
* For Cleveland to get a lottery pick for that trash (Mo & J Moon) was nice. Too bad they had to take on B-diddy. I remember when he was good, which makes me old.
* Hawks made themselves an awesome trade. Bibby flat-out sucks and Hinrich doesn’t. Not having a good PG was killing them. KH is going to do them a lot of good.
* Hornets got a little better getting Landry for Thornton, I won’t pretend I know a lot about the players involved, but trading a bench guard for a bench big is a plus for a team that is really lacking in bigs.
* Warriors got another shooter in Murphy. Probably not what they really needed. Nets got an intriguing young prospect in Wright, and nobody has to mistake him for the other Wright on GS anymore, which is good for everybody.
* Raptors got James Johnson from the Bulls for Miami’s #1 this year, which will be really late. He’s a young guy that has been pedestrian. He will fit right in up there.
* The huge deal between NYK and Denver was painful to see. The best benefit is that not only does Carmello get a garbage coach to keep him from ever winning, but also Denver just got jobbed on that trade. Gallinari has nothing even close to Melo’s talent, plus they had to get rid of their hometown hero in Billups. Just bad Ju-Ju. Forget about Denver competing in the foreseeable future. Sucks for Karl who is a great coach.
* By comparison the Williams trade is fabulous. Thank the basketball gods that Melo is such a single-minded child. If Utah had to take the NY trade we would all be swimming in vomit. I’m really glad for D-Will that he didn’t have to go to NY and play with that fraud Amare and his crime-against-basketball coach, D’antoni. If anybody thinks that crap is going to work in NY, I would point to the D’antoni Suns, who had a 2 time MVP, Amare, J-Rich and some other peices yet couldn’t get past serious teams that play defense.
Back to Utah, it’s a big relief not to have to worry about being held hostage by one guy. As others have pointed out AK’s contract was the main chokehold on the franchise. The team from bleeding all the talent it developed. Okur’s injury sealed the deal and without him Utah was paying basically 30 mil for AK. That’s just crushing. I love Andrei as a player but he’s obviously not worth that.
Moving forward Utah will not have anyone on a max contract next year, 2 of the top 10 picks from last year, and a lottery pick this spring to build for Corbin. We can re-sign or let go at our whim, have great ammunition between Millsap, Al, and Favors to acquire what we want, and possibly only tanking a throwaway partial lockout year to develop that talent. From where the team was headed a week ago this is a great situation.
Love that wrapup paragraph at the end. Yeah, we will kind of suck for this half of a season and for next season (which will be half a season), and we’ll be completely reloaded. The thing we WON’T be is the 2011 Denver Nuggets (held hostage and drama) / Cleveland Cavaliers (tanking it) / Raptors (tanking it).
That’s a good thing, Jazz fans.