Lay it up: What was the best individual deal made during this trade season? What was the worst?
Jeremy Bauman: If J.J. Redick was under contract for longer, I’d say the Bucks pulled off the best deal because they got a solid shooting guard at a mid-level price.
But his contract ends after this year, and no matter how the Bucks finish up, I doubt he ends up staying in Milwaukee unless he’s overpaid (which is possible, considering Ellis will probably leave after the season).
The Oklahoma City gained a cheap ($1 million) and valuable defender in Ronnie Brewer while the Boston Celtics added disgruntled Wizards scoring/playmaking guard Jordan Crawford for about $2 million for center Jason Collins (what does he do, exactly?) and the injured Leandro Barbosa.
Maxwell Ogden: The best trade saw the Celtics acquire Crawford from the Wizards. They gave up an injured player’s expiring contract and an aging center for a 24-year-old scorer who fills an immediate void in the backcourt. That’s trade deadline mastery, folks.
As for the worst trade, that would be the Kings. They gave Robinson, the fifth overall pick eight months ago, to the Rockets for financial reasons. All they got back was Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas.
What a mind-boggling move by a disturbingly irresponsible franchise.
On that note, how about that steal for Houston? If the Morris twins aren’t the ultimate winners, Houston certainly is. Jeremy Lin, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Thomas Robinson and Omer Asik is a very nice starting five for the future.
Ben Baroff: The best deal made during this trade season? Probably the Cavaliers fleecing the Memphis Grizzlies for two productive bench players and a first-round pick.
And kudos to the Raptors for coming in and snagging Rudy Gay while the Grizzlies were grieving. Let the Grizzlies be a lesson to us all. Never go back out on the dating trade market shortly after a breakup.
Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington have bolstered a bench in desperate need of support. The pick will be a very valuable asset moving forward for an up-and-coming team led by Kyrie Irving.
(Cut to Grizzlies fans nodding).
Oh, and Gay is flourishing in Toronto now that he has a little breathing room on the court.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_glkRhfGAk]
(Cut to Grizzlies fans seething)
Their only hope for a silver lining was that some other delusional GM genius would pull off an even worse trade before the deadline.
What’s that, there hasn’t been an ownership change in Sacramento yet?
But you’ve already heard enough about that.
Jeremy Bauman is an aspiring scout and shooting coach who writes columns and blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Maxwell Ogden is a sports journalist and aspiring scout who writes columns for SheridanHoops.com & Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @MaxwellOgden.
Ben Baroff is an aspiring sports journalist and marketing professional who blogs and writes columns for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.