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Magic and Cavs Swap Guards
In a seemingly pointless trade for the Magic the team shipped off lockdown defender and energizer Mikael Pietrus in exchange for troubled Cleveland guard Delonte West.
While West has proven on occasion that he can turn a game, his off court troubles seem to affect his on court performance far too often. Replacing the ever calm and chemistry building Pietrus with this wildcard did not seem logical for the Magic.
While Orlando potentially saved roughly $5m in the 2011-2012 season it was probably not worth it considering that cutting back luxury tax was probably not on the owners win-now mind at the time.
Cleveland meanwhile continued to gather the pieces they needed to make a championship bid, adding another wing scoring option as well as a top defender to play alongside James.
Bulls take gamble on McGrady
Could T-Mac be the answer for the Bulls trounbles? Or is this just another stop on his tour of the NBA?
In the big deadline deal of the year the Chicago Bulls decided they would be the ones to roll the dice and take a gamble on the once superstar, Tracy McGrady.
A day before the close of the trade deadline the Bulls aquired the 12 year pro in a 7 player deal which saw them send Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas along with Jerome James' contract in exchange for McGrady, Chuck Hayes and Othello Hunter.
With the Rockets actively shopping McGrady there was a lot of interest for the Bulls to contend with, however the Bulls were offering something that other teams weren't... Playing time.
Whilst the Rockets could have decided to send McGrady off somewhere else, they did right by their once go-to man and found him a home where he had a potential future and a chance to prove himself once again.
The Bulls were obviously looking to change things up and bring in another scorer to play beside Luol Deng and Derrick Rose, but they had to give up a lot to get their man.
Trade Analysis
Rockets
The Rockets finally managed to ship off T-Mac in a deal that benefited them at the time and into the future. Instead of seeing McGrady walk for nothing they got Hinrich, a solid PG who can start or come off the bench, another scoring swingman in Salmons, to help cover for Trevor Ariza's offnights and an athletic rebounding big in Thomas to put beside Yao.
They also only halved roughly half of their expiring contract total, with Jerome James' and Tyrus Thomas coming off the books at the end of the year they still looked to shed roughly $11m in salary as opposed to the $23m they would have shed from McGrady's salary, this will however reduce their chances of being a player in the offseason's big FA market.
Overall this trade was a mix of talent and exprirings for the Rockets and gave them a chance at making a push for the playoffs (25-26, 8th in the West) by adding depth and ability.
Grade: B (The Rockets added depth for a playoff push at the cost of being players in the up coming FA market)
Bulls
The Bulls had to make a move, either to try take on more expirings for the offseason or to try rescue a season that was quickly going down the drain (17-34, 15th in the East). In trading for McGrady they did both.
Bringing in McGrady's $23m contract and Hayes' $2m in exchange for the four out going players effectively saved them $14m going into the offseason but shakying up the roster also gave them a glimer of hope that the season could be resurected.
The Bulls were entrigued with McGrady and had heard on all accounts that he was 100% fit so decided that with the season in such dire straits they could afford to take a look at him for half a season and then decide whether to part ways or continue the journey together.
Admitedly the Bulls did lose a lot of depth, but they were never going to keep Thomas, James hadn't played a game all season and Salmons was being dangled around the league just waiting for a bite. Hinrich was the only player they were reluctant to let go, but in the end losing his large contract was an added bonus.
Grade: A+ (The Bulls effectively take McGrady on a half year trial, save $14m for the upcoming offseason really all for the loss of Hinrich and 3 players they were either looking to move or willing to lose anyway)
Tue Feb 16, 2010 8:40 pm
Buzzy wrote:I can see LaMarcus Aldridge and T-Mac.
XxHyperDunk24 wrote:I think I see Brandon Roy above the E in the first THE, and can clearly see Shaq in there too. Good luck with this one. I will surely be following it.
Thierry wrote:I saw LaMarcus Aldridge and T-Mac, if true, great players. Also great team selection bro! Good luck!
Martti wrote:It looks like Noah-Aldridge-Deng-T-Mac-Rose.
That's great. Good luck! I assume you lost Tyrus? He doesn't usually want to stay
Rip32 wrote:I see Shaq too! Good Luck Mark!
Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:18 pm
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