07-22-2018, 05:07 PM
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#88
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Retro NBA Nut
OVR: 19
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Ireland
Posts: 1,525
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NBA Trade Deadline 2002
 Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors go all in at deadline, Sonics get younger.
February 8th, 2002 | by espn.com
What a night, three blockbuster trades, and a few minor but underrated ones. Our man Bill Simmons breaks the trade's down in detail:
Blockbuster #1
Utah gets Latrell Sprewell, Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson and Lavor Postell.
New York gets Byron Russell, Donyell Marshall, John Starks, Greg Ostertag and a 2003 #1 pick.
The Utah Jazz who are currently 5 games out of the playoffs have made a trade to swing for the fences. They gave up 3 players on expiring deals, along with Ostertag and a 2003 unprotected first round pick for the playoff tested duo of Sprewell and Marcus Camby. Incase those two athletes weren't enough, the Knicks threw in another vet in Mark Jackson. Sprewell will likely switch to Shooting Guard and form an interesting backcourt with John Stockton, now much more athletic. Rookie Small Forward Andrei Kirilenko will now get a chance to start after a solid showing so far this year.
Marcus Camby will be a massive upgrade over Greg Ostertag at Center. Camby's defense and aerial threat around the rim will certainly thrive with John Stockton running pick and rolls. The Jazz now have two of the best Pick and Roll big men in the league.
The Knicks are clearly done with their current roster, and Owner James Dolan is unhappy at being stuck with the highest payroll in the league. The Knicks have had Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy already walk out this season, and now disgruntled stars Sprewell and Camby are gone too. Is James Dolan finally weeding out all the bad karma from the Knicks? The unprotected 2003 first round pick could be a good one, or it could be bad, but the Utah Jazz feel they can give Stockton and Malone two more good runs before they retire.
Blockbuster #2
Toronto gets Rashard Lewis
Seattle gets Keon Clark, Mo Peterson and Dell Curry.
Seattle replaces Lewis with Mo-Pete and Desmond Mason (Mason has shown a lot of promise this year). Clearly Seattle is looking to get younger and build a new core (More on this later...) Clark gives them a much-needed frontcourt boost. There isn't a more underrated player in the league right now than Keon Clark. I'm not kidding. I kept writing this and nobody listened to me, until now. If he plays 40 minutes a game, he'll be a 20/10 guy, night after night.
Anyway, the Sonics need to shoot 50 percent or higher to beat anyone good, because they can't crash the offensive boards or grab a big rebound when it matters. Clark would change that. The Sonics won't win much more this year, but they now have 3 solid youngish guys to build around with Radmanovic and Mason too.
As for the Raptors, Clark is expendable because they still have Hakeem, Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams, and he's a free agent after the season (and they're already over the $53 million mark, with Vince's contract kicking in next July). More importantly, they need another scorer who can take pressure off Vince (the Raptors play too many games where Vince scores 35 and the next highest guy has 11). Lewis isn't aggressive enough and hates going inside (Part of the reason Seattle were so poor this year); on Toronto, he could hang outside and feast on those open 3s that Vince creates. Perfect team for him.
Blockbuster #3
Portland gets Gary Payton
Seattle gets Damon Stoudemire
Change of scenery for both guys, even though they could probably commute to work from their current homes.. Payton may just fit in better with the older more mature.. Sorry older, more immature Blazers... Either way, Payton is a force to be reckoned with, and now he's surrounded by older guys who want to win and fight maybe.. The Blazers are currently in 5th place two games behind the Mavericks and this could give them a final push to crack the top four seeds and get home court for the playoffs again.
Seattle get a few years younger with Stoudemire who is well able to run a team and score. He should thrive with this team, and the Sonics need a fresh start. They certainly should have that after this trade deadline. If Stoudemire decides to just shoot 20 plus shots a night, well it helps the Sonics get a good draft pick and then he only has one more year remaining on his contract. Sonics new owner Howard Schulz needed to get Payton off the team, he was causing too much strife behind the scenes, and now they can establish a better environment going forward.
Underrated Solid Trade.
Boston gets Charles Oakley.
Chicago gets Walter McCarty, Randy Brown and Joe Forte.
Can you believe McCarty cracked the $3 million barrier this season? Amazing. They should create an expansion team filled with all the mediocre to crappy players that Rick Pitino made rich during his disastrous stint in Boston (either by signing them or bumping up their market value by courting them) Was there a worse judge of talent in the history of the league? I mean, ever?
Anyway, the lone Celtics trade basically amounts to Oakley for Forte, since McCarty's contract expires after the season and Brown is headed for retirement (he has one of those Fred Taylor groins). Oakley doesn't belong on the Bulls; he belongs in the playoff race, playing 20 minutes a game, banging bodies and protecting young guys like Pierce and Antoine.
WTF Trade?!
Orlando gets Penny Hardaway
Phoenix gets Darrell Armstrong, Bo Outlaw
Ok, so Penny left Orlando like 2 seasons ago in a sign and trade from the Magic because.... Penny was broken down and Phoenix thought they could mend him... And Orlando now thinks, Phoenix mended him, lets bring him back on over $11million a year?! I know Grant Hill is done for the season but what a way to lose the plot. Orlando is heading for one of the worst records in the league, and have some cap space in the offseason, so surely you stay with the Status Quo... Unless there are some secrets within the Magic that are being kept underwraps, this trade just doesn't make sense for them. I mean, who is going to wear #1 now? Penny had a case to eventually have his number retired with the Magic, but now McGrady is wearing it pretty well, another needless problem for the hapless Magic.
On the other hand, Phoenix knew Penny is a shell of his former self, they signed him to a massive 7 year deal in 99 and they cannot believe they have gotten out of it so easily... Armstong and Outlaw are two solid players. Armstrong could start at the point and shift Marbury to Shooting Guard, maybe they could get more out of him that way. Outlaw may even start at Power Forward over Gugliotta who has been steadily decling this season. Phoenix win this trade by a landslide.
Last edited by RMJH4; 07-23-2018 at 11:46 AM.
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