Trade Deadline

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed during the 2013 NBA trade deadline. No real big names were mentioned, and I thought for sure we’d see some. There is a major reason for that. The new CBA rules, that were produced during last years semi lockout. Teams and their respective organizations are far more worried about the financial impact of their team, especially the salary cap in which each team has.

Sacramento & Houston

Sacramento said goodbye to power forward Thomas Robinson, who is now a Houston Rocket. Great trade for Houston and better trade for Robinson. With the Kings, Robinson didn’t see much court time, infact he mainly stayed on the bench. Now that Patrick Patterson has been shipped out, there isn’t much competition for the position of power forward.

Boston & Washington

The Boston Celtics have had a tough time this season, they lost Rajon to an torn ACL, and then again with Barbosa. They just didn’t have any luck. They managed to get Jordan Crawford from the Washington Wizards, for Barbosa who has a torn ACL and another player who was averaging 1.2 points per game. Crawford has the ability and talent to put the points up, which should take the pressure of the vintage – err.. veteran line up. The one thing I don’t understand is why GM Danny Ainge didn’t trade Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce, they need to rebuild this team, get some fresh eyes and hands on the court. If you wait too long, it will be much harder to rebuild.

Orlando & Milwaukee

Orlando Magic’s J.J. Redick was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, for less than he was worth. Orlando should have shopped around a bit more before the deadline, they could have gotten so much more for him. He’s an asset, just like he was for Duke University. They might regret that trade in the upcoming years when the three expendable pieces: Doron Lamb, Tobias Harris, and Beno Udrih don’t do much for you. Josh Smith from the Atlanta Hawks would have been a better trade. What was Orlando thinking?

Toronto & Memphis & Phoenix

Before the trade deadline was even around the corner, the Toronto Raptors acquired Rudy Gay from the Grizzlies. Since coming to play for Toronto, Gay has made a significant difference. He’s dynamic offensively, averaging 25 points a game, and a great defender. He might actually be able to lead this team to the playoffs. They also acquired Sebastian Telfair, from Phoenix for center Hamed Haddadi (came with the Rudy Gay trade). Telfair will give the Raptors a third point guard, with Kyle Lowry and John Lucas.

I honestly thought I would see more players being traded, other than the few right at the deadline. No doubt, there will be some big trades, but that won’t happen until the season is over. A few teams need a total face lift, as the players get older, the more spots need to be filled. “Cough” Boston, San Antonio, Lakers “cough”.

Honorable Mentions

Speaking of the Lakers, congratulations to the “Black Mamba” aka Kobe Bryant on reaching yet another milestone in less than three months. Yes, it took Kobe 3 months to score 1,000 points. He broke through 31,000 points against the Dallas Mavericks, this past Sunday. He is just one of five, yes.. you guessed Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and Wilt Chamberlain. He is now within 500 points (1.5 months) of passing Chamberlain to become the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history. He is 7,000 points away from away from the all-time leader Abdul-Jabbar, but he will definitely pass Chamberlain, and Jordan’s record in no time. He’s only 34, he still has at least 6-7 years to go.

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony’s jersey was retired in Syracuse this past weekend. He played as a freshman in 2003, and led the orange to a national title against Kansas that year. He was named the MVP of the 2003 Final Four. He was only a part of the team for a year, but made a significant impact that will be forever remembered in history. He donated $3 million dollars to the university to construct a training center for both the men and women’s basketball teams. He was honored in front of 35,012 members of the crowd, as his jersey was hoisted into the rafters.