The Deal

One of my favorite times of the NBA season is the time around the trading deadline, which was yesterday. I will only talk about the major deals that could change the tide of this season for a couple of teams.

The most talked about deal sent Baltimore native Carmelo (Melo, my man - The Roots: Sorry, can't help it.) Anthony from the Nuggets to the NY Knicks, joining other superstar Amar'e Stoudemire to give the Knicks their best chance to make the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade. Readers of my blog know of my championship formula for post season greatness. They have the superstar in Anthony(certified, even though Stoudemire would work in a pinch). They have a couple of guys that could be the third guy that could give them 20+ points a game, led by veteran Chauncey Billups. Other little tracked guys to keep an eye on include backup point guard Corey Brewer and rookie guard Toney Douglas from Florida State, who scored 23 points in the first game after the trade. Their real issue will be at the defensive end. The Knicks give up 105.8 points a game, third worst in the league. Still like the trade, though.

The one that blew me out of the water was the Celtic-Thunder deal that send big boy Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City in exchange for Hoya Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. As Chucky from the HBO series OZ would say, this looks like a win-win. The Celts get a little taller (Krstic is a 7 ftr.) and a little more athletic with Green. The Thunder get the legitimate big man they need for their playoff run. I'm a Nate Robinson fan; any guy who is shorter than me that could dunk on me gets respect. I still feel that game 7 of last year's championship series would have been different if Perkins was available. Thunder championship check: Superstar, check (Durant), 11th worst in team defense (ehhh.) Three 20+ guys (Durant, Westbrook, ????) Green was third averaging 15 a game before he left. Stay tuned.

The biggest deal was done by the (New) New Jersey Nets, who snagged arguably one of the top guards in the league in Deron Williams from the Jazz. The Nets, who were determined not to be left out of this year's sweepstakes, gave up a all-star guard of their own in Devin Harris, rookie Derrick Favors, three 1st round picks (including a #3) and cash for Williams. Having said that, I like the deal. They get a top 3 guard that they hopefully can convince that they want to build a championship team around. I think that center Brook (or is it Robin) Lopez will be better for the deal and it's a good start. For Deron's part, he is saying all the right things and has not ruled out the Nets making a playoff run for this year. Having said that, it's a bit too early for a championship check.

They say variety is the spice of life. We'll see which teams get a case of heartburn in this year's post-season.

Have a NBA-Fantastic weekend!!! This week's Friday Freeze Jukebox is a totally different flavor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3TPGfCz5LM&feature=autoplay&list=FLHStSLkDL0H0&index=11&playnext=3