Trade grades from Hollinger:
[h3]Feb. 24: Clippers trade Baron Davis to Cleveland[/h3]
L.A. Clippers trade Baron Davis and the Clippers' 2011 first-round draft pick to Cleveland for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon.
• View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine
Cleveland: A-
I've always wondered what the cash price of a lottery pick was. In this case, it seems to be about $12 million -- the difference in what's owed over the next two years between Davis and Williams. Cleveland effectively paid the Clippers that amount for their first-round pick, which is completely unprotected in the 2011 draft and could end up being first. In fact, it's possible the Cavs will have the first two picks in the draft, which certainly could accelerate the post-LeBron rebuilding. Give a tip of the hat to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert for agreeing to use his checkbook to speed up the process.
In the short term, this trade may make Cleveland even worse. Although Davis is the more talented of the two players, Williams played fairly hard for a miserable Cleveland team, and nobody expects Davis to do the same, especially because he's reunited with coach Byron Scott. (The two clashed in New Orleans.) Look for Cleveland to deal him again at the first available opportunity.
Capwise, however, the Cavs' logic is airtight. Cleveland wasn't going to have cap space in the summer of 2011 no matter what; and even with Davis' fat contract on the books, it'll still have plenty of space in the summer of 2012.
L.A. Clippers: C+
Take our point guard ... please. The Clippers wanted to be out from under the weight of Davis' contract so badly that they gave away their lottery pick in this year's draft.
I'm not crazy about this tactic, but I should point out that this move isn't just run-of-the-mill Clippers cheapness. The strategic part is that the trade cuts just enough salary to make the Clips something of a player in this summer's free-agent market. They won't have enough space for a max deal but could easily make a play for L.A. native Tayshaun Prince or one of several other promising free-agent small forwards -- the one position that's holding the Clips back at the moment.
Additionally, Williams is likely a much better complement to Blake Griffin than Davis was because of his sweet outside shot. The Clips now have two deadly outside shooters at the guard positions in Williams and Eric Gordon, and with Griffin's potent passing ability, they've set themselves up to be extremely difficult to defend in the half court.
Jamario Moon is also in the deal and has an expiring contract; I expect the Clips to let him walk and pursue better options in free agency.
[h3]Feb. 23: Troy Murphy to Golden State[/h3]
Nets trade Troy Murphy and a second-round pick in 2012 to the Warriors for Dan Gadzuric and Brandan Wright.
• View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine
New Jersey: B-
I'm not sure who did the more spectacular job of destroying a useful power forward's value: New Jersey with Murphy or Golden State with Wright. Ironically, in each case the team gave up a quality shooting guard in the original acquisition: Murphy cost the Nets Courtney Lee, and Wright cost the Warriors Jason Richardson.
New Jersey, at least, ends up with a good player out of this in Wright, who can take over Derrick Favors' minutes at power forward and should team with Deron Williams to provide a long finisher diving to the basket on pick-and-rolls. He's injury-prone and doesn't defend much, but he'll help the Nets offensively. At the effective price of a second-round pick, this was a very solid addition; he's a restricted free agent with a prohibitive qualifying offer, but New Jersey should be able to re-sign him cheaply if it's interested.
About the only faint praise I can offer for Gadzuric is that he might not be as bad as Johan Petro. He has an expiring contract and won't be back.
Golden State: C+
Even if the Warriors didn't want to keep Wright, they gave up his Bird rights (the ability to re-sign him at a cost that would put them over the salary cap) for shockingly little -- a 2012 second-round pick from New Jersey -- and actually took on money in this trade unless they can squeeze Troy Murphy for favorable buyout terms. On the other hand, if you look at it as a straight purchase of a second-round draft pick, the terms aren't bad -- Golden State paid only about $400,000 and could move into the black on this deal if it gets favorable buyout terms from Murphy.
[h3]Feb. 23: Hawks add Hinrich[/h3]
Washington trades Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to Atlanta for Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans and a 2011 first-round draft pick.
• View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine
Atlanta Hawks: B
As far as need goes, it's tough to do better than this. Atlanta Hawks fans who have spent half a decade watching their point guards get torched night after night will now have to cope with the shocking sight of Hinrich competently defending opponents at either guard spot. Also, I'm looking forward to watching Hinrich squirm with his goggles in person every night. I may need to create a goggle-adjustments-per-minute stat just for him.
Hinrich isn't as good a spot-up shooter as the departed Mike Bibby but he's better at everything else, and his ability to play off the ball should make him a solid backcourt cohort with Jamal Crawford or even Jeff Teague. Look for Joe Johnson to also benefit, as he'll no longer be spending his nights chasing all the point guards that Bibby couldn't contain.
The Hawks also send out 2010 first-rounder Jordan Crawford and a 2011 first-rounder while saving the Washington Wizards about $2.5 million in salary next season. That's probably the most surprising part: Atlanta added 2011-12 salary, when spies had told me the Hawks were looking to cut money (it's possible they still could by dealing Marvin Williams or Zaza Pachulia).
Oh, Hilton Armstrong is in the trade too. He'll make Jason Collins and Josh Powell feel better about themselves in practice.
Washington Wizards: B+
I haven't been a big fan of what Washington has done recently, but the final accounting on the Hinrich era is hard to argue against. Washington walks away with three first-round picks (counting Crawford) merely for having Hinrich on its roster for two-thirds of a season. Subtracting the cash they received from the Bulls and the money they paid Hinrich, and remembering that even late first-round picks typically cost $3 million, they came ahead by at least a first-round pick.
None are high picks, but the Wizards' rebuilding project will happen by acquiring good young players, not 30-year-olds. Crawford has been erratic as a rookie, but Washington will take a chance on his ability to provide scoring off the bench, while the first-round pick from Atlanta should be around No. 20.
As for the other players: Bibby still has a year left on his deal after this one and obviously is of little value to Washington, meaning a buyout is one potential outcome. Evans could seek a buyout too, especially if he could finagle a return to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he served as mentor to Andrew Bynum during his previous stint.
[h3]Feb. 23: Hornets Swap Thornton for Landry[/h3]
Sacramento trades Carl Landry to New Orleans for Marcus Thornton and cash considerations.
• View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine
Sacramento Kings: B
This is probably about as well as the Sacramento Kings of Anaheim could have hoped to do for Landry, who has an expiring contract and had no intention of staying in Sacramento. Or Anaheim. Although his defense is suspect and he can be too single-minded at times, Thornton is a good prospect who can really score. He'll be most useful when Tyreke Evans is off the floor, where he can indulge his scorer's mindset as a sixth man. Sacramento also gets cash, which it will use to tip the movers.
While Thornton is a free agent after this season, he's restricted and has a minimal cap hold, which means the Kings can easily keep him without cutting into much of their cap space.
New Orleans Hornets: A-
The New Orleans Hornets give up a valuable young player in Thornton, but he wasn't playing and New Orleans badly needed help for its frontcourt. On that front, this was a huge success, as the Hornets' flagging bench gets a go-to scorer. Landry is absolutely perfect in this role and can destroy second-line power forwards with his combination of mid-range shooting, aggressive drives and offensive boards -- much as he did with the Houston Rockets for two seasons before his trade to the Kings.
This is also a signal that the Hornets are going the opposite way of the Utah Jazz in handling their 2012 free-agent point guard. New Orleans has aggressively moved to add veterans such as Landry, Jarrett Jack and Trevor Ariza in the hope of surrounding Paul (and West) with a championship-contending core. One presumes the Hornets will try hard to keep Landry when he's a free agent this summer; owning his Bird Rights and having a solid role for him, they should have an advantage.
[h3]Feb. 23: Jazz ship D-Will to New Jersey[/h3]
Utah trades Deron Williams to New Jersey for Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first-round draft picks and cash considerations.
• View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine
New Jersey Nets: Incomplete
This trade can't be evaluated until we learn whether the New Jersey Nets can get Williams to agree to an extension. If he does, it's an A. If not, it's an F. There is no in between. The Nets could trade Williams again, but they're not going to get as much as they gave to the Jazz; if somebody out there had been willing to do so, he wouldn't be a Net right now.
Unless the new collective bargaining agreement has a franchise tag, Williams also can hold up New Jersey's free-agency push this summer until he decides whether to extend his contract. (He's eligible to do so beginning July 9.) Williams would be a major lure for other free agents, but only if they knew he was staying. Ironically, the best free agent this summer appears to be New Orleans' David West, who could wind up ditching Chris Paul to play with Williams.
Utah Jazz: B-
I can't give the Utah Jazz too high a grade when they did the equivalent of punting on fourth-and-1 from midfield. It's not certain that Williams would have left in 2012, and they might have had a franchise tag to protect themselves under an eventual 2011 labor agreement. And if that turned out not to be the case, they simply could have traded him later (albeit for less). Additionally, it's not as though other stars are clamoring to come to Utah; when a team like the Jazz gets one, it needs to hang on for dear life the way the Hornets have done with Paul.
With all those caveats, Utah made a heck of a deal. Favors may never wow us offensively, but he's going to be a rock-solid defensive player who stabilizes the Jazz's good-hit, no-field frontcourt, and the two first-round picks (along with Utah's own) should help the Jazz recover quickly. Additionally, Harris is a fairly good player in his own right, and his contract is fair, so he'll cushion the blow of Williams. In the short term, it leaves the Jazz a mediocre team but by no means an awful one. If they draft well (which they haven't of late), the path to recovery could be short.
But you'd still rather have Williams.
[h3]Feb. 22: Raptors land Bulls' Johnson[/h3]
Chicago trades James Johnson to the Raptors for a first-round draft pick.
Toronto Raptors: C+
It says everything you need to know about Johnson's career thus far that he was the No. 16 pick in the 2009 draft, and was traded two years later for what's likely to be one of the last picks in first round. (The pick the Toronto Raptors gave the Chicago Bulls comes from the Miami Heat in the Chris Bosh sign-and-trade. In an abundance of caution, the Heat lottery-protected it.)
And even then, one suspects the Raptors overpaid. Johnson has turned the ball over in enormous quantities in his limited NBA minutes and has done little else of note. He's also already 24 years old, so his upside is fairly limited compared with some other prospects. Even with a late first-rounder in what many anticipate will be a weak draft, the Raptors may still have been able to do better.
We'll know the answer soon, as Johnson should get meaningful minutes in Toronto right away. The Raps can plug him as either a 3 or a smallish 4 -- I suspect his best position is the latter, but Toronto has a greater need at the former -- and see if he can turn his flagging career around.
Chicago Bulls: B+
This is a small deal, obviously, but I like it for the Chicago Bulls because they generate two assets -- increased cap space and a draft pick. Neither is a game-changing piece, but both put them in a better position to make a more notable move in the next 48 hours. They also can take these assets into draft day and see what they're worth then. They could do this because Johnson wasn't playing anyway. Overall, the Bulls basically give themselves a do-over on their 2009 draft pick.
