Cody's Blog

Now that the dust has settled from the trade deadline and new uniforms have been handed out, it is time to give out grades to the various teams that either helped or hurt their chances at making a playoff run. When all was said and done, 35 players and three draft picks were exchanged between 11 teams in both conferences.

Western Conference Grades

1. Dallas Mavericks- anytime you can add three solid scorers and depth at both the guard position as well as in the post all at one deadline you deserve a good grade. The Mavs grabbed a guard with great scoring prowess in Caron Butler, a solid backup in DeShawn Stevenson, as well as Brendan Haywood in the post while unloading the contract of regressing player Josh Howard. My Grade: A-
2. Portland Trailblazers- Marcus Camby. What more can be said? While he only scores 7.7 points per game, he is a vacuum on the defensive end and on the glass, as he is second in the league to Dwight Howard at 12 rebounds a night (with his season high being 25) and blocks anywhere from 1-3 shots a night. And all they had to give up was a role player in Travis Outlaw, and a decent guard in Steve Blake to get it done. My Grade: B+
3. Houston Rockets- Although they had to part with sixth man Carl Landry, they did add a 19 point per night scorer in Kevin Martin while adding forwards Jordan hill and Hilton Armstrong as well as guard Jarred Jeffries. They also accomplished their main goal; dumping Tracy McGrady’s enormous contract from the payroll. My Grade: C+
4. Sacremento Kings- Aside from nabbing Carl Landry, all they did was unload a big time scorer in Martin and grab mediocre guard sin Larry Hughes and Joey Dorsey. My Grade: C

Eastern Conference Grades

1. Cleveland Cavaliers- After pursuing Amare Stoudemire, the Cavaliers struck a deal for the hard working, all-around talent of Antawn Jamison for, essentially, nothing. The Cavs gave up Emir Preldzic and a first rounder as well as Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but can get Ilgauskas back in 30 days, as he will probably be waived by the Wizards. The Cavs added a great talent to the best team in the NBA, and were by far the most efficient team at this year’s deadline. My Grade: A
2. Boston Celtics- Although the Celtics missed at unloading Ray Allen and realing making a big move, they did add solid bench contest and Dunk Contest machine Nate Robinson for a back up guard in Eddie House. Only House gave the Celtics a godd three-point presence off the bench, Nate the Great is a much better scorer and will mak a bigger impact the rest of the way. My Grade: B
3. Charlotte Bobcats- Acquiring potential ridden Tyrus Thomas and Theo Ratliff. Although these moves may not pay off this year, it definitely will in the years to come as they add two solid players to Gerald Wallace, Tyson Chandler, Boris Diaw, and Stephen Jackson. My Grade: B-
4. Washington Wizards- The Wizards effectively gave up their franchise in dealing Jamison and Butler, and have starting rebuilding. They did pick up Drew Gooden, Josh Howard, and two bench players in the Cavs deal, but dealt Gooden to LA for Al Thornton. Simply put, the team is in complete and total rebuilding mode. My Grade: C-

Category: Basketball | Tags: