The trade deadline has passed today at 3pm, so let's take some time to review the big name trades that have come to fruition over the past few weeks. The western conference has been having an arms race to see who is top dog and prepare themselves for the post season. I'll start things off with the "Big Acquisition", aka Shaquille O'Neal:
After watching last night’s game when the Phoenix Suns battled the L.A. Lakers in the debut of the big fella, the Suns were missing Shawn Marion. Yes, Shaq had a decent game scoring 15 points and collecting 9 rebounds and his presence opened things up for others, resulting in a 37 point 15 rebound performance for Amare Stoudamire. However the Suns gave up 35 points in the fourth quarter in route to a 130-126 loss. The Suns brought in Shaq to rebound, block shots and play defense and at this stage of his career that is not what he is equipped to do. The Suns will not make it to the NBA finals, as the window of opportunity will continue to close on their hopes for a championship.
Jason Kidd to Dallas:
This was an excellent trade for New Jersey, but for Dallas.... not so much. Bringing in a new point guard at this point in the season is like bringing in a new Quarterback to your football team at week 10. It will require a bit of time for all parties to become acclimated with each other and get used to how everyone plays. Jason Kidd is one of the best point guards of his era and he will definitely makes life easier for Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and Josh Howard, but it will be his defense that will be his undoing. In the playoffs, defense is what matters. Teams that run up and down the court, and run people out of the building in the regular season, magically cannot do that come playoff time. Jason Kidd was once a great defensive player, but at 34 years old he is going to need help playing against the point guards out west. This was proven in Kidd's debut when Chris Paul went off for 31 points, 11 assists, 9 steals, and 5 rebounds. It won't get any easier for Kidd, he will play against other point guards like Baron Davis, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, and Tony Parker. Devin Harris, who was traded to New Jersey had the youth and foot speed to match up against all of those players. Dallas also sent DeSagana Diop to New Jersey, which is another player they need in the playoffs. His presence will be missed when the Mavericks will need someone to bang with Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Pau Gasol. The pressure will be on Dirk to help in that category, and that is something he does not want to do, and is not capable of doing. Dirk is a finesse player and cannot hang with the true big men of the NBA.
Pau Gasol to LA:
This was more like grand theft than it was a trade. The Lakers sent off Kwame Brown to Memphis and got back a star. Pau Gasol has made the Lakers one of the favorites to make the NBA finals. With him, the Lakers now have a front court of three seven footers in Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom (ok, Odom is just 6'11" but I'll count it). Kobe Bryant said everyday is like Christmas after previously demanding to be traded. The Lakers are 6-1 since the acquisition of Gasol, and as long as Kobe Bryant's finger holds up, we could very well see them hoisting the O'Brien trophy at seasons end. This trade sent the entire western conference into a panic. If it were not for this trade, the Dallas and Phoenix trades would never have happened. With this one move, the Lakers have forced everyone else to play catch up.
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