[Izulde]

Milwaukee Bucks receive
PG Kelvin Brown

Golden State Warriors receive
C Mario Florence

What this means for the Bucks
Brown's 33 and a curious case of a good passer with inept ballhandling skills. He's an average bench option on offense and respectable on defense.

What this means for the Warriors
Florence is a mediocre center at 34, with his greatest asset the fact that he doesn't complain about playing time.

Winner: Draw
Doesn't give an upgrade to either team, really and it's an odd move for Golden State, who are trying to snap a 14 year playoff drought, the longest in the NBA for anyone not named the New Orleans Hornets.

New Jersey Nets receive
SG Georgi Dimov

Miami Heat receive
SF Leroy Freeman
New Jersey Nets 2024 1st round pick

What this means for the Nets
The #1 overall pick in the draft shot a horrendous 39.1% in Miami, causing the Heat to dump the 20 year old Bulgarian quickly. He won't ever be a great defender, but if he can develop a more accurate shooting stroke, he's got the ballhandling and rebounding skills (for a guard) to become an impact player. He's also averaging 15.3 points and 1.3 blocks in his rookie season, which is nothing to sneeze at. Dimov steps in as the new starting SG for the Nets, who are vying for a playoff spot.

What this means for the Heat
Want to know why Miami's only had two playoff appearances since GM Jestor entered the league, with only one division title, the last time they made the playoffs, in 2014? It's because of stupid moves like getting a 30 year old mid-bench defensive specialist in Freeman and a mid 1st round pick for the player drafted #1 overall. The Heat just guaranteed a throwaway season and a higher pick for the Nuggets next draft, after actually looking mildly competitive the first couple months.

Winner: New Jersey
The Nets now have an exciting young backcourt in Corey Neal and Dimov and had to give up comparatively little to do it. Miami's 8 year playoff drought is going to extend to 9 this season and they're quite likely to hit the double digit mark, such is the repair job needed on the team.

Toronto Raptors receive
SF Ladrick Battle

Utah Jazz receive
PG Brandon Brooks
Toronto Raptors 2024 1st round pick

What this means for the Raptors
Battle's got some upside as an outside shooter and a rebounder and his ceiling suggests he could be a very nice, versatile bench player if the 23 year old fills out his development. He also injects sorely needed youth on a Raptors team that has a grand total of two forwards or centers under the age of 30 and both of them are bottom feeders.

What this means for the Jazz
Native son and Utah Sixer Brooks returns home at 37 years old, in his 16th season. The old man's still got pretty good all-around game though, particularly as a passer and ballhandler. But the Jazz are struggling after Scott Palmer broke his arm and Brook is blocked on the bench by Cedric Caldwell and Carlton Goree. The first round pick is a surefire late selection.

Winner: Toronto
The Raptors address a major need area and given the poor quality of recent draft classes, they might not get a player of Battle's possibility in next year's go-round.

Memphis Grizzlies receive
SF Lannce Dudley

Los Angeles Clippers receive
C Chris Washington
Memphis Grizzlies 2024 2nd round pick

What this means for the Grizzlies
Dudley's a great player to have on the bench. Able to cover every spot on the court but center, he has a sweet jumper, good scoring instincts and ballhandling and lockdown defense. It's curious that he's never been a starter in the NBA, because he has the game to be.

What this means for the Clippers
Washington has good hands for a big man and can shotblock well, but that's about it. On the other hand, that's an upgrade for a second bench big compared to the other roster fodder the Clippers have in Josh Daniels.

Winner: Memphis
The Grizzlies pick up a player in Dudley that can propel them to the playoffs, whereas the Clippers tread water and possibly even taken a small step back in their pursuit of a repeat division title.

Not as hectic as December's dealing insanity, but still a pretty busy market in January. I love what New Jersey did, not only because it helps us out, but because it shows the Nets have a team-building plan. Then again, with Tim Duncan in the GM chair, you knew that was going to happen. I mean, look at the beaut of a job he did with the Knicks.

Jim O'Brien gets a 3 year contract extension and an honestly well-deserved $1.3 million a year raise. 3rd assistant Monty Williams takes a small paycut for another three years of job security.

Andy Sola gets the surprise start at SF in our first game in February and goes from 1 for 13 his first two games to 4 for 6 in this one. We blow out Golden State 122-106, running them ragged in the fourth quarter. Mateen Yeaton and Tim Butler score 26 points a piece and two benchmen match in points as well, with Justin Cherry and Darrell James each scoring 14.

We split the divisional doubleheader. Utah gets pounded 117-87 as Andy Sola scores 22 and Lawrence Smiley and David Jackson combine for 10 and 18 points off the bench. But the next night, Minnesota, who's given us fits all season, downs us 113-86 as we can only come up with Mateen Yeaton's 25 points and Zelipe Gama's cheapskate double-double of 10 points, 10 assists.

Andy Sola's finally starting to pay off dividends as he gets used to our offense, scoring 28 in our 106-87 beatdown of the Cavs. Justin Cherry and David Jackson power the reserves with 17 and 12 points respectively and it sure feels nice having 50 Ninja backing us up.

New Jersey's improved, but they can't compete with Mateen Yeaton's 29 points, not when they're paired with now at PF Andy Sola's 20 points or David Jackson's 15 bench points in our 110-101 victory. The Nets' time will come; it's just not here yet.

The Hawks hose our win streak, cooling us off for a 106-90 loss in spite of Andy Sola's 22 points and Zelipe Gama's 14 points and 13 assists, but we bounce right back the next night in Charlotte for a 103-97 win on 3 players with 20+ points: Mateen Yeaton (27), Tim Butler (20) and Andy Sola (20), as Timmy B and Sola switched forward spots again to more natural positions. For those keeping track, that's four straight 20+ point games for the newest Nugget. Zelipe Gama contributed a double-double of 12 points and 11 assists.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with our 5-2 record for the month heading into the All-Star break, particularly since five of those games were on the road, something we had big problems with last year and earlier this season.

The Sophomores smack down the Rookies 104-90. It's pretty amusing seeing no less than 4 former Nuggets on the second years, including two starters in Deon Sterley and Kevin Bradford. Darren Hare and Jermaine Trask were the other two. As for current Denver representation, Justin Cherry makes it as a reserve, but has a surprisingly quiet 1 rebound and 1 assist in 11 minutes, going without taking a shot. Contrast this to Wendel King, who led all scorers with 25 points. Tom Singletary, a second-year Hornet, won MVP with 21 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, a block and a steal.

Mateen Yeaton gets snubbed by the All-Star Game, which really burns me up and makes me unable to enjoy the West's 92-83 besting of the East. Keith Attaway won Game MVP only because he led in scoring with 25 points. The last time Mateen made the All-Star game was two years ago and to me, there's just something seriously wrong with that.

Anger energizes Mateen Yeaton to 28 points, but we come out flat and fail to rally for the comeback in a 104-98 loss to the Celtics in our first post All-Star break game. Of course, it didn't help that Andy Sola got a really nasty gash in his calf and played just five minutes.

I rummage around at the trade deadline, looking for cheap, good pass-first PG help. I find a possibility, but have to pay a steeper price than I'd like to get him.

Denver Nuggets receive
PG Higgins Malone
Minnesota Timberwolves 2025 2nd round pick
Minnesota Timberwolves 2026 2nd round pick

Minnesota Timberwolves receive
SG Darren Davis

What this means for the Nuggets
Denver needed more PG help and in the 25 year old, third season Malone, the Nuggets get a young man with very good ballhandling skills, a diverse shooting range, average scoring instincts with upside, decent defense and a smart player with some more room for growth. Not a premiere passer, but his skill set looks to be the sort that can be a valuable reserve if the former 2nd round pick (7th pick, 2nd round - 2021 - Clippers) re-ups with Denver. The second rounders bring much needed trade bait.

What this means for the Timberwolves
Davis has tantalizing potential as a lockdown defender and an instinctual scorer with a great ceiling for understanding the game. But the 21 year old appeared in only 16 games this season at 2.8 minutes a game and it's worth noting that GM Jestor declined to give Davis his fourth year option. So it seems that he'll never reach his ability, because he gets even less PT with the T-Wolves, chained to the inactive list.

Winner: Denver
Jestor's done it again, making the kind of small deadline move that'll pay off dividends in the long run. Nice bonus with the 2nd round picks and Malone being more polished than Davis and a greater need makes this a slam dunk for the Nuggets.

I hated giving up Davis, but when I didn't exercise his fourth year, I had a feeling I wasn't going to be bringing him back anyway. This way, I get a couple freebie 2nd rounders and the chance to audition Malone to see if he's worth returning next summer.

A fourth quarter meltdown translates into a heartbreaking 112-109 loss in Memphis. Tim Butler scores 26, Mateen Yeaton 20 and Zelipe Gama garners 17 points and 11 assists, but it's amazing how much weaker a team we are without Andy Sola in the lineup. He's making a strong case for us to re-sign him.

The Hornets are a godsend and we get a major confidence-boosting victory in New Orleans, winning all four quarters en route to a 121-98 rout. Tim Butler explodes for 36 points, Mateen Yeaton adds 23 points and we get dinky double-doubles from Andrew Bynum (10 points, 13 rebounds) and Zelipe Gama (12 points, 11 assists). Justin Cherry scores 13 off the bench.

Tim Butler has his second straight 30+ point game with 32 in our 120-108 revenge victory over the Hawks. Mateen Yeaton plays a great second with 28 points, Andrew Bynum is right behind with 27 points and Zelipe Gama is the knifeman, carving Atlanta for 18 points and 12 assists.

With those two consecutive wins, we jump up to 38-19 and a deadlock with Portland atop the Northwest. It's us and the Trailblazers, as the Jazz are 15 games back in third place.

Dallas is actually being challenged by the Grizzlies, but 34-22 still gives the Mavericks a 4.5 game lead. Evidently Memphis knew what it was doing though, because they've shot up to a 30-27 record.

Fun dogfight in the Pacific, where 36-23 Sacramento is a game up on Golden State, 1.5 half on the Clippers and 3 on the Suns, Phoenix the biggest surprise of the season.

40-14 isn't enough for Chicago to retain their lead on the #1 seed, because the Raptors are rampaging at 43-14. The Bulls and Toronto both wield leads in excess of 10 games over the Cavaliers and Celtics though. The reverse is true in the Southeast, where Charlotte's 36-19, a game in front of Atlanta and Orlando's hanging around at 4.5 back.

NBA Leaders

Scoring
1. Justin Richler (TOR) - 28.4
2. Gaylen Drayton (DET) - 26.7
3. Filip Mikulic (HOU) - 26.5
4. Mateen Yeaton (DEN) - 25.1
10. Marcelino Augusto (DAL) 23.0

Assists
1. Bernard Kelly (MEM) - 14.2
2. Kenny Graham (SAC) - 12.1
3. Keith Attaway (IND) - 11.8
5. Zelipe Gama (DEN) - 11.1
8 players with 10+ assists

Rebounds
1. Greg Oden (TOR) - 14.3
2. Dontay Williamson (LAC) - 14.1
3. Oswaldo Apolonario (ATL) - 13.5
4. Jonte Jones (SAC) - 12.4

Blocks
1. Dontay Williamson (LAC) - 3.7
2. Martin Beerbohm (BOS) - 3.6
3. Sonny Boxler (POR) - 3.3
6. Marcelino Augusto (DAL) - 2.9

Amazing... a swingman #3 in the league in blocks. Man, was I ever wrong about Boxler.

Steals
T1. Brian Brown (GSW) - 1.9
T1. Bernard Kelly (MEM) - 1.9
T1. Jermaine Butler (BOS) - 1.9
T1. Pete Latham (SA) - 1.9
T1. Kyle Smith (CLE) - 1.9

Rookie Leaders

Scoring
1. Georgi Dimov (NJ) - 15.4
2. Michael Woods (PHO) - 12.1
3. Justin Cherry (DEN) - 10.4
4. Wendel King (CLE) - 10.1

Assists
1. Wendel King (CLE) - 5.1
T2. Georgi Dimov (NJ) - 3.7
T2. Scott Miles (BOS) - 3.7
6. Justin Cherry (DEN) - 2.1

King's numbers are obviously inflated by being a terrible PG for the Cavaliers.

Rebounds
1. Scott Costello (SEA) - 7.7
2. Michael Woods (PHO) - 7.1
3. Georgi Dimov (NJ) - 4.0
7. Justin Cherry (DEN) - 2.2
9. Wendel King (CLE) - 1.7

Blocks
1. Georgi Dimov (NJ) - 1.3
2. Scott Costello (SEA) - 1.0
3. Michael Woods (PHO) - 0.7
T5. Justin Cherry (DEN) - 0.4

Steals
1. Georgi Dimov (NJ) - 1.3
T2. Justin Cherry (DEN) - 0.8
T2. Michael Woods (PHO) - 0.8
T4. Wendel King (CLE) - 0.7

Makes you wonder what Cherry's numbers would look like if he were starting like King is.