2011 Trade Deadline recap

Old Faces, New Places: 2011 Trading Deadline

The 2011 NBA trade deadline has come and gone and like every year we go down to the last hour before all the deals are done. The Carmelo Anthony move to the Knicks stole the early week headlines but there was plenty of movement going on by Thursday. The theme of this year’s deadline I would say is “shock and awe,” with some unbelievable trades going on. With no further ado let’s take a look at what transpired.

This trade was the biggest head scratcher for me. The Celtics spent much of the season saying how good they’d be once center Kendrick Perkins fully recovered from knee surgery and how if he was healthy in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals it would be the Celtics celebrating two championships in three years instead of the Lakers, yet they shipped him off to the Thunder along with guard Nate Robinson in exchange for forward Jeff Green and center Nenad Krstic? Boston gets more offense, but now seemingly will have more trouble handling the Lakers’ size if they meet in the Finals. This deal is hard to figure out since Shaquille O’Neal has been unable to stay on the court with a myriad of injuries. Personally I don't agree with this one.

Devin Harris

What a week in New Jersey. They missed out on Carmelo Anthony, but their presence in the negotiations forced the Knicks to bid more than they would have liked. The Nets then turned around and got Deron Williams -- for less than what they were offering for Anthony. And most general managers would choose Williams ahead of Anthony anyway. This came at a price, losing starting point guard Devin Harris to the Jazz.

It was hard for Baron Davis to end up in a worse situation than the one he was in with the Clippers, the eighth-worst team in the league. But some how Davis has found himself in a deeper hole, being dealt along with the Clippers’ first-round pick, to the (11 L - 48 W) Cavaliers for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. It’s not only moving to the league’s worst team that has Davis in the dumps, it’s also the fact that he will now be playing for coach Byron Scott, his nemesis when the two were together in New Orleans six years ago.