As the NBA approaches mid-season, championship contenders scramble to stay at the top of the hill, fringe contenders gamble to get there and terrible teams jockey for prime lottery position. The remarkable result of these three powerful forces is the beautiful chaos known as the NBA trade season. What happens in and around the All-Star break can determine whether a team breaks away from the pack or simply breaks down.
Western Conference power brokers have already been busy at work. The Dallas Mavericks kicked things off in December by acquiring Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics. Though I’ve already proclaimed that deal with net the Mavericks their second championship other teams out West aren’t just standing pat. The Memphis Grizzlies, the Rodney Dangerfields of the West, became the second team to cash in on the Celtics’ fire sale by prying away Jeff Green. The talented, versatile forward brings badly needed athleticism to the Grizzlies front line. The addition should cement their status as a legitimate Western Conference contender, presuming any chemistry kinks are worked out by the playoffs.
Speaking of chemistry, the Houston Rockets signed Josh Smith after he was released by the Detroit Pistons. While the signing was a no-brainer in terms of getting something for nothing, I’m not quite sold on the Rockets as legit title threats. James Harden is the unquestioned leader of the team. After him, I’m not certain there are enough basketballs to go around to satisfy Dwight Howard, Smith and upstart PF Donatas Motiejunas. Smith signed with the Rockets after being assured a starting role. That lasted all of five games before Motiejunas supplanted him in the lineup. How long before a frustrated Smith goes all Kevin Garnett on someone and drops a nasty noggin onto one of his teammates? Only time will tell.
Wrapping up the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder made a moderate splash by acquiring Dion Waiters from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-way deal. Waiters was brought in to bolster the bench as the Thunder is still seeking a dynamic bench player to get buckets likeHarden did. Of course the health of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are the key to the Thunder’s chances, but they’ll need Waiters and backup PG Reggie Jackson to step up if they want to make it back to the Finals. That’s assuming that Jackson makes it past the trade deadline. Word on the streets is that Jackson isn’t too happy losing minutes to Waiters and might want out.
In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team to deal with the idea of actually improving. LeBron James and Co. have been off to a disappointing start to the season. A new coach, new players and injuries to James and Anderson Varejao have kept the team hovering around .500. The Kevin Love experiment is not yet working out, mainly because Love plays D as well as I play the clarinet (I don’t) and the team has been lacking a defensive presence in the post. Waiters, an isolation player on the offensive end, also struggled to play without the ball in his hands before being dealt to OKC.
To combat those shortcomings, the Cavs acquired shooting guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert from the New York Knicks and center Timofey Mozgov from the Denver Nuggets. The Mosgov pickup was sorely needed. While he’s not a star player, the 7’1” center is competent on both ends of the floor and should certainly help out on the opposing players who blow by Love on a nightly basis. Mosgov just missed a double-double in his team debut and notched one in his second night out.
Smith and Shumpert add depth and athleticism to the Cavs. Smith is a certified gunner, capable of shooting his team in and out of games. When healthy, Shumpert is a solid two-way player.
I’m still not yet sold on the Toronto Raptors or the Atlanta Hawks as true contenders in the East, therefore the Cavs moves get them closer to where they need to be to challenge the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. Are they there yet? No, but neither is the trade deadline. Expect several more teams to jump into the fray between now and the trade deadline, approximately one month away. If the trade winds are blowing this hard, this early, expect the deadline to be one of the dizziest in recent memory.
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