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Grading the trades Posted: Friday February 22, 2002 1:51 PMUpdated: Thursday February 28, 2002 5:09 PM
It wasn't a particularly busy trading deadline, but the few trades that were made could go a long way in deciding the playoff race. Let's take a quick look at the winners and losers of the last-minute activity. Boston acquires G Tony Delk and F Rodney Rogers from Phoenix for F Joe Johnson, G Milt Palacio and G Randy Brown Boston: A The Celtics took a step forward in the wide open Eastern Conference. Boston got two much-needed scorers, one big and one small, in forward Rodney Rogers and guard Tony Delk without having to give up any key pieces. Rogers and Delk should feast off the many open looks created by Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. Delk, who has experience running the point, is also insurance should Kenny Anderson struggle. Rookie Joe Johnson is a nice prospect, but his productivity had been declining as opponents figured him out. Meanwhile, salary cap ramifications are negligible. Rogers is a free agent this summer, while Delk has four more years totaling a relatively modest $12.2 million.Phoenix: C In terms of on-court talent, the Suns definitely did not get equal value in this deal. Joe Johnson, the 10th pick in last year's draft, is an intriguing talent with fine ball skills, but he still has a long way to go. Meanwhile, Randy Brown is on his last legs. But Phoenix did get Boston's first-round pick in this year's draft, and it intends to use it to help build a faster quicker team around Stephon Marbury, Shawn Marion and Johnson. The Suns also got rid of Delk's long contract and can clear Brown's $2.7 million off by next summer. It won't get them under the salary cap, but it will help them stay under the luxury tax threshold. As for this season, the Suns have basically thrown in the towel. By giving up their only good big man in Rogers, Phoenix's already-weak interior just got even worse. Chicago acquires F Jalen Rose, G Travis Best, G Norman Richardson and a conditional second-round draft pick from Indiana for C Brad Miller, F Ron Mercer, G Ron Artest and G Kevin Ollie Chicago: B Though he gave up his three leading scorers, Bulls GM Jerry Krause did what he had to do. He acquired a true go-to guy in Jalen Rose, who despite his warts can still score 30 points on any given night and draw double teams all over the floor. Perhaps most important Krause cleared playing time for youngsters Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Trenton Hassell and the soon-to-be-healthy Jamal Crawford. Chicago can now get on with the rebuilding and find out which kids can play, instead of losing with a bunch of old vets. The Bulls also gained some salary-cap flexibility. With the contracts of Mercer and Miller off their books, and Charles Oakley ($7 million) and Travis Best ($3.4 million) both free agents, they could be some $10 million under the cap this summer. If they hadn't given up budding star Ron Artest, we'd have given this deal an A. Indiana: A Like Boston, Indiana improved its chances in the wide-open East without having to give up too much. Brad Miller gives the Pacers one of the few true centers in the East and allows all-star Jermaine O'Neal to slide over to his more natural position at power forward. Meanwhile, Ron Mercer and Ron Artest provide a nice 1-2 punch at small forward. Along with Reggie Miller and Jonathan Bender, the Pacers now boast a deep corps of perimeter players. Most important, Miller's size in the middle and Artest's tenacious ball-hawking should radically improve their defense. The Pacers will miss Rose at times, but he was not fitting in well with Isiah Thomas and his massive contract was becoming an albatross. If rookie point guard Jamaal Tinsley can handle the playoff pressure, this will turn out to be a terrific move. Dallas acquires G Nick Van Exel, G Avery Johnson, G Tariq Abdul-Wahad and F Raef LaFrentz from Denver for F Juwan Howard, G Tim Hardaway, F Donnell Harvey, cash and a first-round pick Dallas: B The Mavericks added two key weapons to help attack the Lakers. Mavs coach Don Nelson is counting on the 6-foot-11 LaFrentz to help his team better match up with the Lakers by using his 3-point shooting to pull Shaq out of the lane while adding a shot-blocking dimension on defense. Van Exel, meanwhile, is an explosive scorer who loves to stick it to the Lakers. However, the loss of Howard leaves Dallas without any real low-post scoring threat to draw double teams. Also, who knows how well the moody Van Exel will take to sharing time with Steve Nash at the point and Greg Buckner and Adrian Griffin at shooting guard. As for salary cap ramifications, even deep-pockets Mavs owner Mark Cuban has to be a little wary. The Mavs took on some bloated contracts, including the last five years and $38.5 million of seldom-used shooting guard Tariq Abdul-Wahad. Denver: B Although he threw in the towel on this season by giving up his two best healthy players, Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe took a bold step forward in rebuilding. Vandeweghe cleared more than $100 million in contracts, most of them left over from the Dan Issel era. With Juwan Howard's monster contract expiring after next season (he'll make $20.5 million), Denver could have loads of cap room to pursue free agents like Tim Duncan and Jason Kidd in the summer of '03, or to act as a conduit in trades between now and then. By starting over, Denver also gives injured center Antonio McDyess reason to stick around after next season when a loophole in his contract allows him to opt out. In the meantime, the Nuggets virtually ensure themselves of a high lottery pick this season. Minnesota acquires C Marc Jackson from Golden State for C Dean Garrett and a second-round draft pick in 2007 Minnesota: B The Timberwolves have been looking for a quality big man to help Kevin Garnett for a long time, and they might have found one in Marc Jackson. The 6-foot-10 forward/center isn't exactly a low-post scoring demon, but he can make shots and he's got some size in the middle. Along with the improved Rasho Nesterovic, Minnesota now has a couple legit big men to help KG and Joe Smith match up with all those big Western teams. Best of all, GM Kevin McHale only had to give up seldom-used backup Dean Garrett and a second-round pick to get him. The T'Wolves lost some financial flexibility by taking on Jackson's six-year $24 million deal, but it clearly was worth the risk. Considering the T'Wolves were reportedly going to send Garrett to Chicago for backup point guard Greg Anthony before this deal fell into their lap, Minnesota has to be thrilled. Golden State: D After all that fuss, the best the Warriors could get for Jackson was Dean Garrett and a second-round pick? Couldn't the T'Wolves at least have thrown in a bag of balls and a cooler of Gatorade? Sure, Jackson handcuffed the Warriors by not expanding his list of acceptable teams until way too late in the process. But Warriors GM Garry St. Jean at one point could have made a deal with the Suns for John Wallace, cash and a lottery-protected first-round draft pick. The good news is that Garrett is a free agent after the season, meaning the Warriors get out from under Jackson's long-term deal and thereby get some relief from the luxury tax. It's something positive, though it still doesn't seem like enough. But, hey, maybe that's why they're the Warriors. Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
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