BREAKING NEWS: Thunder swap Petro with Denver....

[pr0wler]

Petro isn't that bad actually I think you guys might like him. He's a big body down there with reasonable skills and still developing. He won't be anything special but I think he could be a decent backup in a year or two, and he's at least a viable 3rd string big man at the moment at only age 22.

[ivDT]

i like this trade for denver.

they get rid of a player with one of the squarest names in the NBA and get back a player who just has to have one of the top 5 coolest names in the NBA.

johan petro sounds like he could be the front man for a scandinavian rock band or something.

[planaria]

The trade fill a need for the Nuggets (backup center for garbage time), but where Nuggets really win is in the non-court factors.

1. The trade put Nuggets under the tax limit. So, it´ll be 1,5m saving more about 3m incoming to the team in the offseason. Really hard to have a winner team under the tax limit. Great job FO!

2. We´ll lost some spots in 2009 draft, but who cares? It´ll be like 7 or 8 spots in the late "first round", since OKC pick will be the #31 pick for sure. With a draft so weak, it could be an advantage have the first non-guaranteed pick from the draft. It means Denver can draft an european prospect with high buyout clausule (see Anderson Varejão) instead of simply loss the pick like Spurs did with Tiago Splitter.

[mattle]

OKC traded their 2009 2nd rounder to Charlotte for Kyle Weaver.

Denver got OKC's 2nd rounder from New Jersey in the Mikki Moore trade. So it isn't as good of a pick as you guys believe.

I still think OKC got the best of this deal.

Denver sent enough cash to cover Atkins remaining salary and his $750,000.00 buyout next year thus making him an expiring. They also got Denver's first rounder that I think will be closer to the 17th pick than the 27th by the time the playoffs start.

Denver gets New Jersey's 2nd rounder and Johan Petro.

[MelosMileHigh]

OKC traded their 2009 2nd rounder to Charlotte for Kyle Weaver.

Denver got OKC's 2nd rounder from New Jersey in the Mikki Moore trade. So it isn't as good of a pick as you guys believe.

I still think OKC got the best of this deal.
Denver gets New Jersey's 2nd rounder and Johan Petro.

Even OKC's own site says it is their first rounder:
http://www.nba.com/thunder/#/news/archi ... kins090106

And ESPN spells it out:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3817136
"The second-round pick Denver gets from Oklahoma City is potentially a very valuable chip at the trade deadline because the Thunder is on pace to finish with the league's worst record. Because second-rounders make significantly less money and teams don't have to guarantee two years of their contract as they do first-rounders, the 31st pick is the wild-card in the NBA draft deck."

So I'm not sure where you are getting the Nets pick.

Denver currently is tied for the 5th best record in the L, at 25-12. Currently the 17th pick would be around Milwaukee, at 17-20. Denver might slip with Melo out, but I doubt they are falling off a cliff like they would have to to slip that far.

[Maritimer]

MelosMileHigh has it right. The Bobcats are the team getting the Nets pick.
http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=1584

[Idunkonyou2]

just shook up the balance of power in the nba.

i wonder what the lakers and celtics will do to counter.

Try to go after Marbury of course.

Don't you understand that Marbury is a cancer? The mere mention of him going to the Celtics has already put them in a tail spin. If he actually signs with the Celtics, that will make the failure complete.

[eslr]

Trade Exception/Free Agency Flexibility
-Next season, this takes $2 million off the Nuggets cap. This greatly enhances the Nuggets ability to use their $10 mill TPE or re-sign Kleiza while staying under the lux tax

My understanding was that basically all of Atkins' deal was unguaranteed for next year, am I wrong?

He is guaranteed about $700,000 and the 23rd pick is guaranteed about $1.3 mill so it saves about $2 mill total.