This year’s trade deadline was a weak one in terms of star power, but it did include one of the top candidates for the NBA Sixth Man Award in J.J. Redick, who was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a six-player deal.
Like Redick, many top-notch bench players have been battling injuries for some time now, and the All Star break brought a very convenient period for players such as Jamal Crawford and Gordon Hayward to nurse their injuries and prepare for the rest of the season.
The break is over. The deadline has passed. Now all we have left is what’s left of the regular season as teams try to push their way into the playoffs.
No more breaks, no more player movement. All that’s left is basketball.
Redick’s situation in Milwaukee will stay the same as it was in Orlando. With Monta Ellis cemented as the starting shooting guard, Redick will come off the bench and likely continue to light it up as he did for Orlando. Whether he will fit in with a shoot-first backcourt of Ellis and Brandon Jennings is another story, but typically a spot-up shooter like Redick has an easier time adjusting than most.
While Kyrie Irving may have stolen the show, Ryan Anderson was still able to put up a solid performance in the Three-Point Shootout. He actually tied Irving for the second-best showing in the first round with 18 points, but due to the East vs.West rules put in place this year, he was eliminated, with San Antonio’s Matt Bonner putting in 19 in the opening round.
The Hornets weren’t really in any trade talks this week outside of some minor Eric Gordon speculation. So for the most part, Anderson was able to rest easy.
One team that did make a little noise a day ago were the New York Knicks, dealing defensive specialist Ronnie Brewer to the Thunder for a second-round pick.
While Brewer’s minutes had dropped much more than most expected when he signed with New York this summer, it still opens up some playing time at the wing, much of which may end up going to J.R. Smith – if he is able to break out of his self-inflicted funk.
Moving Brewer freed a roster spot for the Knicks to sign Kenyon Martin. It also may also somewhat come into play for OKC’s Kevin Martin. Both Martin and Brewer play the same position, and while it is expected that Martin’s minutes won’t change much, if at all, it’s hard to say how a player will do in a new situation.
On to the rankings.
Good to see the recognition for Jarrett Jack. Maybe it’s just the Golden State games I’ve seen, but every time I watch it he looks like the 6th Man of the Year winner in the making- making clutch shots and clutch passes, the playmaker down the stretch a la James Harden for OKC last season. For me that role trumps Crawford’s role of being the volume shooter for the 2nd unit while the Clippers’ other scorers sit. Crawford’s very good at the job (as he proved back in his Atlanta days) but he’s still not what you’d call efficient and he is mostly featured against other teams’ benches. Jack has to take on the best.