Trade Deadline Countdown.....

With the all-star weekend festivities behind us, the next 36 hours in the NBA will be very interesting. The trade deadline is Thursday and teams like Cleveland and Miami are actively trying to add talent for a post season run, while teams like New Orleans and New Jersey are trying to shed payroll given their financial situation. Lets take a look at the two major trades that happened in the past week.

Miami/Toronto (2/13)
Miami gets: Jermaine O'Neal & Jamario Moon
Toronto gets: Shawn Marion & Marcus Banks

The two main principals of the deal (O'Neal & Marion) get a chance to salvage their seasons by making an impact on two potential playoff teams. Toronto was hoping O'Neal would pair nicely with Bosh but that wasn't the case. Miami is now hoping that DWade can motivate O'Neal enough, who's instantly inserted into the starting lineup at center. It will certainly add a little depth, and while Moon looks like a throw in, he too is now a starter and will add some length and athletisicm to the Heat. A good move to help make that playoff push.

Marion heads up north and balances out Toronto's starting five, and hopes to add some spark and get this team back into this years playoff race. It will also free up $17M in cap space this summer to give them flexibility to build around Bosh going into the summer of 2010. I don't think this team will help Toronto in the short term, this deal was made for this summer and getting out from under O'Neals large contract.

New Orleans/Oklahoma City (2/17)
New Orleans gets: Chris Wilcox & Joe Smith
Oklahoma City gets: Tyson Chandler

This move comes as a complete shocker to me. It has basically told the entire New Orleans fan base "screw you, we aren't going to do what it's going take to get over the hump this year". This deal was a salary dump, as both Wilcox and Smith have expering contracts and with Chris Paul's extension kicking in next year it's a move they felt they had to make. The remainder of the year doesn't look promising for them.

Oklahoma City wins this deal because Chandler will help this team mature instantly. I don't expect them to make a run at the playoffs, but I think his leadership will help mature Durant, Green and Westbrook (the cornerstones of this franchise). While it will probably only bring them a couple of wins this season, this move is a solid move for Oklahoma City.


So what else can we expect from teams out there. Cleveland would love to bring in another guy and have Wally's expiring contract to use as bait. Do they try and get Jamison from the Wizards or a two guard like Kevin Martin from Sacramento that can cover Kobe in the playoffs? Vince Carter is another hot name out there, all three Texas teams are looking at him as well as Portland. I don't understand San Antonio wanting to break up a good, thing, having to give up Mason, George Hill and Oberto. Houston probably has the best shot at getting Vince.

It appears that Phoenix is no longer interested in trading Stoudamire, which is a good move. He's the only thing they have to build around for the future. I hope they read my blog a couple of weeks ago and they trade Shaq to LA. You may also see Chicago make a move, they need to shake things up over there, whatever Paxson is doing just isn't working.

Teams like Boston, who don't have much room for movement via trade, will have to wait for guys to be bought out of their contract. It was widely expected that the Celtics would sign Joe Smith (who would have been released if he wasn't traded) or Marbury (who still hasn't been released yet).

There is still plenty of time to shake things up, mold teams for the playoff run, and retreat and save money going into next season. With the economy hitting the NBA as well, you should see an interesting mix of both in the next couple of days.