Tag: NBA Trades

Bring the Thunder | The Ewings | Donnie & Darko?

Round 2 of everybody’s favorite party game: What do Berkeley and Seattle sports fans have in common this week? Answer: They both absolutely detest the sound of “Thunder.” The Oklahoma City Thunder (nee Seattle Supersonics) officially unveil their new name and logo. (I guess the Oklahoma City Whirlwind might still have been considered in poor taste.)

On the Knicks side of the ledger: As Patrick Ewing enters the Hall of Fame — and his son, Patrick Ewing Jr., comes to Knicks training camp — is new GM Donnie Walsh really thinking of picking up former Detroit bust Darko Milicic? I know we want to unload Zach Randolph’s contract at all costs before 2010, but aren’t we a big enough joke around the league without adding the Frederic Weis of #2 picks to our roster?

D’Antoni Balks.

The Knicks lose their Gamecock on the bench: Energy player Renaldo Balkman is traded to the Nuggets for peanuts (a 2010 second-rounder, Taurean Green, and Bobby Jones, both of whom will be waived.) “Balkman became expendable with the addition of first-round pick Danilo Gallinari. The Knicks also have an increased role in mind for Wilson Chandler at small forward.” (What about Q-Rich?) That’s too bad…I always liked Balkman. You can’t teach hustle.

Rocket R-Test | Manny on the Run.

“‘I’ll be a kid in a candy store,’ Artest said. ‘I’ll be a kid in a store with a lot of candy. I’m going to dance with the stars.‘” T-Mac, Yao, and the Houston Rockets try to keep pace in a loaded West by trading for talented head case Ron Artest. (They gave up aging vet Bobby Jackson, new pick Donte Greene, a 2009 first-rounder, and cash.) Interesting…that’s a pretty solid trade for Houston. It’s not Boston’s Big 3, but even in a crowded conference Artest should be enough defensive help to finally get ’em out of the first round. And so far he’s saying all the right things.

Also, I don’t really follow baseball until, I dunno, mid-October, but this even made my radar. The inimitable Manny Ramirez is gone from the BoSox. He’s now a Dodger (and, the Grant Hill of the MLB, Ken Griffey is now on the White Sox.) Alrighty then.

D’Antoni goes Duhon.

“The chance for Chris to be a starter was too much to pass up.” The Knicks sign Bulls backup PG Chris Duhon to a 2-year deal, meaning that the “Starbury” Era at MSG looks to be on its way out. “Bradbury said the Knicks have made it clear that Duhon could start, which could mean that Stephon Marbury’s days with the Knicks are numbered. Marbury is in the final year of his contract.” Update: Marbury talks the talk.

The Court of King James.

Senators Obama and Clinton aren’t the only people sending reinforcements to Ohio. At the trade deadline, Lebron James gets some much-needed help in Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Delonte West, giving up Drew Gooden and the underperforming Larry Hughes to Chicago and Donyell Marshall to Seattle. Elsewhere in the league, Bonzi Wells and Mike James went to N’Orleans, and former Knick Kurt Thomas ended up in San Antonio (which will help take the sting out of the Spurs winning another championship, if that’s in the cards, around these parts.)

Speaking of the 16-38 Knicks, they…stood pat. I must say, it’s been a tough season to be a Knicks fan. My TiVo conscientiously tapes all of their losses for me, so I caught the second half of Wednesday’s 40-point stinker against the lowly Sixers, 124-84. Look away! It is hideous.

Kidd returns to Dallas.

Another blockbuster NBA trade: Jason Kidd is set to go to the Mavericks for Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, and a gaggle of expiring contracts. I don’t ever want to count out the Spurs, but that should make a 7-game Phoenix-Dallas series in the West very interesting. Update: Wait a tic: Journeyman Devean George puts a damper on the trade.

Superman under a Red Sun?

“‘It looks like it’s going to happen,’ said one source close to the situation. ‘We should know for sure by [Wednesday].” Is Shaq headed to the Phoenix Suns? Strange…and unexpected. Granted, Shawn Marion has been pushing for a trade, but — in the manner of all great centers — Shaq’s aging in dog years at the moment, and he’s not exactly what you’d call a master of the fast break. I guess Phoenix wants to get a ring before they become one of those classic contenders that never made it, a la the old-school Trailblazers or the Vlade-Bibby-Webber Sacramento Kings. Still, it wouldn’t seem to make much sense on paper. Update: It’s done — Shaq’s in Phoenix.

Beantown and Da Kid?

Lone Timberwolf Kevin Garnett to end up in Boston? (Marc Stein explains the math.) An Allen-Garnett-Pierce starting trifecta for the Celtics might just make Boston the team to beat in the East…for about a season and half. But, I guess the thinking is they weren’t going anywhere anyway, so why not roll the dice on an all-or-nothing championship bid, while the Atlantic remains definitively dismal? Still, it reminds me of the ultimately failed Barkley-Olajuwon-Drexler experiment in Houston. Update: Sportsguy loves the deal, and also cites the Houston precedent. Update 2: It is accomplished — KG is now the Beast of the East. (Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph better up their D…)

Oden Days | Zach to the Future?

As expected, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant went 1 and 2 respectively at last night’s 2007 NBA Draft. Bigger news on the local scene, however, was the Knicks acquiring Portland’s talented, troubled PF Zach Randolph in exchange for sophomore SF Channing Frye (a good player, but he slumped considerably last year) and veteran “superstar” PG Steve Francis (a wildly overpaid underachiever with an awful, bloated contract — I can’t believe Portland took him, frankly.) All in all, I’m pretty happy with this trade. Randolph’s clearly a bit of a loon, and a cluttered Randolph-Curry frontcourt makes about as much sense as the Marbury-Francis backcourt — it’s a fantasy team line-up with no sense for team chemistry. How are Marbury, Crawford, or Robinson going to drive into the paint with both Curry and Randolph drawing double-teams in the low post, and no real shooters to spread the floor? Still, losing Francis was addition by subtraction, and, while’s Randolph’s contract is also pretty hefty ($61 million over 4 years) at the very least, Randolph is still young. (The move was definitely better than the Celtics’ obvious panic-trade for Ray Allen. I love Jesus Shuttlesworth, but shooting guards over 30 — particularly those who just had two ankle surgeries — age in dog years, and he, like Pierce, has a tendency to disappear sometimes.)