I love the trade deadline. I really do. Watching contenders load up for the playoff run, watching inept GMs heinously screw up, it's really a great time. Anyway, now that the wheeling and dealing is done, I thought I'd go back and review this year's midseason trades (leaving a few out because, frankly, they're boring and not of great consequence).

Utah gets Kyle Korver
Philadelphia gets Gordan Giricek and a 1st round pick.

It passed with very little fanfare at the time, but in the wake of Utah's 19-3 record since acquiring Korver, people are starting to notice. One of the Jazz's big problems during a terrible December was that they couldn't score against zone defenses. Enter Kutcher...I mean Korver. He's one of the league's better spot-up shooters, and he (along with the return of Mehmet Okur) has really given the Jazz the ability to stretch defenses, and their offense has been blistering along ever since.

For Philadelphia, they get rid of a slightly overpaid piece who wasn't part of their future plans, and they pick up a draft pick. That's about as good as you're going to get for someone like Korver, and trading him opened up more minutes for stud rookie Thaddeus Young.

Solid trade for both sides

Lakers get Pau Gasol and a 2010 2nd round pick
Memphis gets Javaris Crittenton, Kwame Brown Aaron McKie, the rights to Marc Gasol and 1st round picks in 2008 and 2010.

This deal has been well chronicled already, so I won't say too much. The Lakers getting Gasol without having to give up any stud prospects or any of their solid rotation players was an absolute steal.

Memphis gave away Gasol for much less than his value, and it ended up not only hurting them here, but also in other trades as the deadline got closer. The net result of this trade is a young point guard who they didn't need (they had two excellent young points already), salary cap relief, 2 draft picks in the low 20s and a guy who would go in the back end of the first round if he were in it this year. Think about it, with the way late first-rounders are a crapshoot, the Griz might not end up with any solid rotation players from this trade. None! How do you trade away an All-Star caliber big man and get no sure-fire rotation players in return? Crittenton has potential, but is he better than Lowry? Because he took so little for Gasol and was grilled for it, Chris Wallace demanded more for Mike Miller and Lowry and wasn't able to get anything for them. So you lose Lowry at the end of the year for nothing because you can't keep all three guards. Why not make this trade closer to the deadline and see what other teams would offer? Were they afraid that the Lakers would take their 30 cents on the dollar offer off the table? Even if ownership was pressuring him to cut salary, this was a terribly mismanaged trade by Wallace.

Phoenix gets Shaquille O'Neal
Miami gets Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks

I'll have some more observations on Shaq later, but I'll say that I'm not as down on this trade as everyone else is. I didn't think Phoenix was a championship contender with Marion, and I think Shaq could possibly give them a puncher's chance. Between the widespread criticism of the deal, playing on a quality team and Phoenix's top-notch medical staff, there's a fairly good chance that Shaq turns back the clock a few years and  improves the team. If nothing else, everybody on the team is re-energized in a way that they've been lacking all year.

The deal was a slam dunk for Miami. They get cap relief and don't have to buy out Shaq's enormous deal, and they get an All-Star caliber forward in return. If Marion opts out, they get huge cap space. If he doesn't, they get another year of Marion who can help them contend for the playoffs in the East or they can ship him to a contender for future assets.

Atlanta gets Mike Bibby
Sacramento gets Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue and a 2008 2nd round pick

STOP THE PRESSES!!!!! The Hawks made a deal? And it was a good one??? Now, Bibby isn't an All-Star, but he's way better than what the Hawks had at the point. They didn't give up much, Williams wasn't going to get any burn with Horford around, and Bibby might be enough to push Atlanta into the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade.

Sacramento starts the rebuilding process by getting Williams, who can potential add some post toughness off the bench, and by getting out from under Bibby's salary. They also get more minutes for Beno Udrih and John Salmons. It's a pretty decent return on Bibby all things considered. I'm sure they wish they could've gotten something for Ron Artest too, but getting Bibby's contract off the books was the biggest concern.

Dallas gets Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright
New Jersey gets Keith Van Horn, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, Desagana Diop and 1st round picks in 2008 and 2010.

I'm one of the few people who doesn't really like this trade. Listen, I like Kidd as a player and I think he's had a fantastic career, but I think people are really overlooking the areas in which he has declined over the last few years. He isn't a threat at all to get to the rim and finish, and he has declined as a defender. Kidd used to be a defensive terror, but he can't keep up with quick guards anymore and basically has to guard shooting guards. So you're left with Jason Terry trying to guard Paul, Williams, Parker and the rest. Do I think Kidd will be better with better teammates around him? Yes, but I don't think it's going to be nearly as big a difference as everyone thinks due to Dallas' lack of athletes to finish on the break and their isolation-heavy offense. Dallas is hoping that Kidd's veteran presence and toughness is enough to make a big difference, and it's certainly going to help. However, they also gave up their best post defender in Diop. I just don't know if Dallas improved all that much as a team with this trade.

The Nets ended up with a solid young point guard, two first rounders and expiring contracts. Considering how some superstars have been been traded for much less value recently, you have to consider that a pretty good haul for the Nets. The rebuilding process has a long way to go, but that's a heck of a start.

San Antonio gets Kurt Thomas
Seattle gets Brent Barry, Fransisco Elson and a 2009 1st round pick

Great trade for the Spurs, who are still my favorites to win the title and will be unless Tim Duncan breaks his femur. Not only did the Spurs get a fantastic post defender and veteran who can hit the mid-range jumper, but they keep other contenders from picking up the guy who played the best defense of anyone on Tim Duncan last year. Lastly, the Spurs left themselves just far enough under the luxury tax to sign someone to the veterans minimum, maybe even someone like Brent Barry (who was waived by the Sonics right after the trade).

For those of you keeping track, that's 3 first round picks that Sam Presti has gotten for practically nothing. First, the Magic traded a 2nd round pick to Seattle in a sign and trade for Rashard Lewis, creating a huge trade exception for the Sonics. Phoenix then traded Thomas and two 1st rounders for that 2nd round pick in a salary dump. Now, Thomas turns into another first round pick. That, my friends, is fantastic work.

New Orleans gets Bonzi Wells and Mike James
Houston gets Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska
(other assorted stuff that no one cares about to Memphis)

I love the trade for New Orleans. Rasual Butler has played well enough to make Jackson expendable, and they desperately needed some post help off the bench. Wells isn't a great player, but he's a tough, veteran guy who can create his own shot and get to the line, and that's something you want come playoff time. I'm still not sure if they're legit contenders, but this is a step in the right direction.

Houston had basically no need for Bonzi with the emergence of Carl Landry (more on him later), and Jackson should help with their backcourt depth. Mike James had fallen out of favor, and Jackson should take some of the load off Rafer Alston.

Not a groundbreaking trade, but both teams traded guys they don't need anymore for guys who should help them, and that's a good trade.

Cleveland gets Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace, Delonte West, Joe Smith and a 2009 2nd round pick
Chicago gets Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown
Seattle gets Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall and Adrian Griffin

I love the deal for Cleveland, absolutely love it. One thing that people have been overlooking this year is the fact that the Cavs have been a mediocre defensive team so far, a far cry from last year. Wallace isn't the dominant defender that he once was, but he's still an above average rebounder and a guy who can alter shots and gets in position for steals as well as any post in the league. He and Smith (who doesn't suffer Gooden's constant mental lapses) should improve their interior defense. Offensively, Smith is an upgrade over Gooden because he's such a good mid-range shooter, and Wally is a fantastic shooter. LeBron was easy to game plan for last year because he didn't have shooters around him. You space the floor out with shooters and who's going to stop LeBron the way he's playing right now? I think the Cavs just got upgraded to having a puncher's chance as a title contender.

I have no idea what the Bulls are doing. They got rid of Wallace only to bring in Larry Hughes' terrible deal. I suppose this is good because they get more playing time for their young bigs (Noah and Thomas), but they aren't really going anywhere. For a team that looked like they had everything going for them the last few years, the Bulls have fallen hard.

Seattle is just shedding salary again. I love what they're doing. They're creating cap space and stockpiling draft picks to build around Green and Durant.

Other Thoughts

- I watched the Rockets the other night and was really impressed. A few things really stand out.
    1) T-Mac looks WAY more comfortable with Rick Adelman's offense than he did at the beginning of the year. He's forcing things far less, and he's making good decisions to get his teammates open looks. He's still being used in the pick and roll and they can still go to him with the shot clock winding down, but they're running far less isolation plays for him. He's tall enough to pass over most guys, and that makes him really effective setting guys up in this offense.
    2) The Rockets play help defense as well or better than any team in the league. Individually they aren't all exemplary defenders, but they slide in to help and rotate over so well that they don't give up a whole lot of open shots.
    3) I panned the Carl Landry pick, and I'm eating my words right now. Landry is a really good player. He's really strong, has great hands and finishes strongly at the rim almost every time. He can also shoot a decent mid-range jumper and he's a very solid post defender. He moves really well in the flow of their offense to get a lot of open shots.
    4) Not so much about Houston, but this video o####uy proposing at halftime of a Rockets game is just painful. Can you imagine a more awkward situation? The NBA, it's where amazing happens.

- I'm not going to jump to any conclusions, but just one thing to point out about Shaq's term in Phoenix so far. The Suns have a negative rebounding differential on the year, but they've outrebounded their last two opponents by 18 and 13. Remember that reducing second chance opportunities is a facet of defense too, and if Shaq can help Phoenix do that then he might have the kind of defensive impact that the Suns want.

- Does anybody use the behind-the-back dribble as well as Manu Ginobili? Ginobili has taken a huge leap forward this season. He was good last year, but he's been awesome this year, carrying the Spurs on many occasions. He's as versatile a scorer as you're going to find, he shoots threes, midrange jumpers, finishes at the rim and gets to the line.

- One of the winners at the trade deadline might be the Celtics. Sam Cassell didn't get traded, which means he's probably going to get bought out. A bought out Cassell means a veteran backup point guard in Boston, and that's good news for the Celts.