Many inside the league, and even many members of the media, didn't think much would happen before this year's trade deadline because teams were so concerned with the upcoming labor negotiations and the impact they would have on each club's ability -- or inability -- to rebuild a team.
Well, so much for that. So which teams engineered the best deals and which ones will regret their moves? Let's take a look:
WINNERS
Cleveland Cavaliers
• What they got: F Antawn Jamison, G Sebastian Telfair
• What they gave up: C Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 2010 first-round pick, rights to Emir Preldzic
• Skinny: One can only assume that LeBron James pressed general manager Danny Ferry to acquire either Jamison or Amar'e Stoudemire. To Ferry's credit, he got the guy who was the best fit, a player who can stretch the floor and whose game does not necessarily conflict with that of Shaquille O'Neal when they are on the floor together. Plus, the Cavaliers may still get back Ilgauskas if he is bought out by the Wizards. A true judgment of this deal cannot be made until two things happen, however: The Cavaliers win the championship and James re-signs. If neither happens, then the move will have been a failed gamble by Ferry, who also gave up a 2010 first-round pick. For now, we'll assume Ferry knows something we don't know and give him the benefit of the doubt.
New York Knicks
• What they got: G Tracy McGrady, G Sergio Rodriguez, F Brian Cardinal, G Eddie House, G J.R. Giddens, F Bill Walker
• What they gave up: F Jordan Hill, F Jared Jeffries, G Larry Hughes, G Nate Robinson, F-C Darko Milicic, 2012 first-round pick (top-five protected)
• Skinny: The Knicks picked up a two-month rental policy of McGrady, which should give them an idea whether they want to bring back for a longer period what once was a phenomenal player. More important, the Knicks hope McGrady will become their third or fourth option on a multitalented team. By acquiring McGrady and jettisoning Jeffries, the Knicks have effectively dismantled the roster that Isiah Thomas haphazardly put in place and will now have enough cap space to sign TWO max players -- LeBron and Chris Bosh perhaps -- plus re-sign McGrady and David Lee and build around them with draft picks and other, lower-end free agents. It certainly is easier to get rid of players than to acquire players; we'll see how Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni do at that task.
Houston Rockets
• What they got: G Kevin Martin, C Hilton Armstrong, F Jordan Hill, F Jared Jeffries, 2012 first-round pick (top-five protected) from Knicks, the right to exchange first-round picks in 2011 (top-one protected) with Knicks
• What they gave up: G Tracy McGrady, F Carl Landry, F Joey Dorsey
• Skinny: The Rockets picked up some pretty decent talent for a player who was not even in town, a shrewd move by GM Daryl Morey. What remains to be seen is whether these decisions were done for the immediate future, with Houston in ninth place in the West and currently out of the playoffs, or for when Yao Ming returns from his injury. Jeffries should fit in surprisingly well in coach Rick Adelman's offense, which has a proclivity for exploiting the high post, a place Jeffries can thrive. And Martin is, as he showed in Sacramento the past few seasons, a talented scorer.
The only problem is that Martin either has not been pleased with playing second fiddle to Tyreke Evans or, as Kings coach Paul Westphal said Wednesday night, his internal timing device has not kicked in after missing extensive time with a wrist injury. The Rockets can't afford to wait for that to happen if they hope to make the postseason. Beyond that, the Rockets gave up a promising talent in Landry, losing one of their best interior scorers. That is a void that will not be filled by Jeffries. Still, to add talent for a player not playing always helps.
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