As you know, today was the NBAs trading deadline, and as a fan of the Sonics, the Kurt Thomas trade interested me. The Sonics traded Thomas to the San Antonio Spurs for Brent Barry, Fransico Elson, and a 1st rounder. Good trade for all. The Sonics got a size with Elson, another pick to add to the pile (Sam Presti now has 12 picks over the next 3 years, 6 of which are in the 1st. Not to shabby for a guy who thought he was too young for the job), and the sharpshooting abilitiy of Barry to go along with his expiring contract. The Spurs got a guy that can really help Timmy down low when times get rough, which they will. But then today, they took part in a trade that falls into the same spectrum has a lot of the moves that have gone down recently. These are the moves that make me go "The hell?"
I mean the Kidd deal, the Shaq trade, the Pau trade from Memphis' end. Now, my boys have taken part in a 3 way deal with the Cleveland LeBrons and the Chiago Bulls. The Cavs are getting Ben Wallace (really?), Joe Smith (REALLY?), Wally Sczcerbiak (kinda glad to see him go), Delonte West (damn you Presti!), and a future 2nd rounder from Chicago. The Bulls are getting Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmions, and Shannon Brown. Wow...that sucks. And the Supes? They get Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall, and Adrian Griffin. Wait...so they give up an idiot who thinks he's Kobe and very solid combo guard to get Donyell Marshall and dead weight? Really? Wow...
But, again, this is the nature of the deadline this year. It all started when the Grizzlies gave up Pau Gasol for Javaris Crittenton and a box of Oreo's. That made everyone else in the West panic. The Suns got Shaq, who's been in the twilight of his career since his last ring with the Lakers, the Mavs gave up WAY to much for a guy who QUIT ON HIS TEAM earlier this year, and the Hornets, who are leading the West mind you, trade for 2 total nutjobs in Bonzi Wells and Mike James. All these trades will end badly for the teams I mentioned, save the Grizzlies because they just wanted Pau off the books.
The Suns are still gonna lose in the Conference Finals, like they do EVERY year it seems like, until they can get a young, defensively minded center to put next to STAT.
The Mavericks aren't gonna go anywhere until they too get a legit big man.
Sooner or later, Mt. Bonzi is gonna explode and Mike James(WHAT?)MIKE JAMES is gonna start bitching because he's not the starting PG.
And because of these reasons, I'm going to be watching the last leg of this season and the playoffs with a lot closer eye. It'll be fun to see these teams implode because of the need of the GMs to out do each other, to make the bigger splash, to get the longer time slot on SportsCenter. Stay tuned, and feel free to bash me if I'm wrong. I really doubt I will be though.
