Trade Deadline Re-cap

Gotta say right off: the Reddit NBA page was waaaaaaay more useful than NBA.com, an oversight for a league that ought to be setting the standard. Okay, the deals.

Pistons gets Tobias Harris; Magic get Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova
Pistons added to the long term core by bringing in a solid scorer in the SF position and all they gave up was the guy they were going to trade anyway (Jennings) and a nice vet who isn't really part of the long term (Ilyasova). StanVan pulled off a good one, I think. As for the Magic, they bring a crazy shoot-first PG (who will probably move on in the summer) and some nice veteran depth (to replace Channing Frye, as it turns out). The Magic signed Harris to a big time contract just last summer because, for whatever reason, free agents don't want to come to Orlando, so like the Jazz they have to give big money to whoever they've got right now. But they clearly had misgivings because a Jennings rental and a nice vet PF represent selling low to my mind. I think Harris is the best contract among the bunch and the Magic probably would've been better off holding on to him. We'll see.

Pistons get Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton; Rockets get Joel Anthony and a 2016 top 10 protected 1st round pick.
Frankly, I think Motiejunas is a badass player (when healthy) and Thornton is a solid vet off the bench and getting both for a 1st round pick isn't a bad move. The Pistons are now rolling with Jackson, KCP, Tobias, Morris, Drummond with Thornton, Motiejunas, Stanley Johnson, and Meeks off the bench. That should get them into the playoffs in the East, thus that 1st round pick wasn't so valuable anyway. Rockets get back into the 1st round (but if they're letting go of Motiejunas, Terrence Jones and giving no playing time to Dekker or Harrell, then who cares about their draft picks?) and a dumpable contract in Joel Anthony (who hasn't played for years in this league, keep getting them checks!). Pistons made two moves and got the better of both of them. Brought in Harris, Motiejunas and Thornton for Jennings, Ilyasova, Anthony and a so-so 1st round pick is a solid upgrade.

Grizzlies get PJ Hairston, Birdman Andersen, 2 Hornets 2nd rd picks, 2 Heat 2nd rd picks; Hornets get Courtney Lee; Heat get Brian Roberts
Hornets needed to bring in some perimeter offense to fill in for MKG to make a playoff push, not sure Lee is the thing that puts them over the top but getting rid of Hairston is probably worth it (although I suspect this move was meant to set up other moves that haven't yet happened). Heat dumped some salary...and that's all. Grizzlies bring in a bunch of 2nd round picks, move on from Lee, get an interesting young shooter in Hairston and some veteran toughness in Andersen. Grizzlies are tough and getting tough (notice I didn't say 'good and getting better').

Grizzlies get Lance Stephenson; Clippers get Jeff Green
The Clippers move a headcase for a rental on a guy who's good every once in a while. Jeff Green is at least a guy the Clippers can rely on to not be an idiot, though he's not actually any better than Stephenson. As for the Grizzlies...man, tough and getting tougher. Look at the roster: Zeebo, Birdman, Lance, Matt Barnes, and Tony Allen. Man, not gonna win a playoff series but they're gonna leave some bruises on whoever they play. And for Coach Joerger, in trying to save your job here's Lance and Hairston to help you out. Good luck with that.

Heat get a 2nd rd pick; Pelicans get Jarnell Stokes
I was impressed with Stokes in NCAA, maybe the Pelicans will finally give him a chance to play. (Doubt it, but maybe) With the health concerns of Chris Bosh, the Heat were probably hesitant to make a move at the deadline other than just dumping salary.

Cavs get Channing Frye; Magic get Jared Cunningham, Blazers 2nd rd pick (and a $7m or so trade exception); Blazers get Anderson Varejao, Cavs 1st rd pick
Cavs get rid of the awful Varejao contract and a not particularly valuable draft pick for Frye, a guy that can come off the bench and give them some good offense. The Magic ditch a veteran contract for the sheer sake of saving money--but why? Why are the making the Cavs stronger for cap space they don't even need anyway? Giving up Frye to make room for Aaron Gordon is fine but Frye is a valuable enough asset that they could've gotten more than a trade exception. I don't get it. As for the Blazers, Varejao's contract can be cast off in the summer (I think) and they get a free draft pick just for playing along. No worries for the Blazers.

Jazz get Shelvin Mack; Hawks get Kirk Hinrich; Bulls get Justin Holiday, Jazz 2nd rd pick
This is just a paper shuffling deal, I guess. The Jazz get a 3rd string PG, the Hawks get a 3rd string PG, the Bulls get a slight upgrade on a 2nd round pick. If the Hawks were going to move Teague, then bringing in Hinrich might make sense...but they didn't move Teague. If the Jazz were going to move Trey Burke then bringing in Mack might give some roster depth....but they didn't move Burke. If the Bulls wanna make a playoff run having a reliable backup PG might make sense...but they just gave away their 2nd string PG. Uhh, I don't get this deal at all now that I think of it.

Thunder get Randy Foye; Nuggets get DJ Augustin, Steve Novak, 2 2nd rd picks
The Thunder are really just looking to dump some salary and perhaps they like Foye a little better than Augustin or Novak. The Nuggets are taking back some salary (but both guys are free agents in the summer) and they get a coupla 2nd rounders for their troubles. Is Foye an upgrade for OKC? I guess, maybe. Foye's a better finisher than Augustin and a better ball handler than Novak and he costs half as much as the two of them put together. Hard to imagine this deal makes any difference in the long run.

Wizards get Markieff Morris; Suns get Khris Humphries, Dejaun Blair, 2016 1st rd pick
The Wizards get an interesting young PF, who may (or may not) fit in well with the Wizards going forward. The Suns get rid of a headache and bring in a decent 1st rd pick, a solid veteran in Humphries and an okay-when-he's-not-hurt veteran in Blair. For the Suns this is bittersweet: it feels like they could've done better for Markieff, but they definitely could've done worse. Humphries is an underappreciated player who should give the Suns some solid dirty work, Blair was once upon a time a Spur-killer (though its hard to imagine that matters any more), and that draft pick could turn out to be pretty good if the Wizards falter in their attempt to get into the playoffs. As for the Wizards, well, if Markieff plays, he'll be a nice tough young scorer to smoosh between Gortat and Beal; or maybe he'll be an unbearable pain in the ass. The Wizards have decided to roll the dice. We'll see.

Sixers gets Joel Anthony, 2nd round pick; Rockets get rights to a foreign player (Chukwudiebere, I presume?)
The Sixers are still available to hide the NBA's dead bodies. I assume Anthony will be bought out and I suspect that's the last we'll ever see of Joel Anthony (hey, he won a ring with the Heat and even had moments where he played, not bad for a dude that never played basketball before).

Blazers get Brian Roberts and Heat 2nd rd pick; Heat get....(uh, nothing I think)
Heat continue to dump salary, Blazers continue to absorb other peoples' garbage contracts for bonus 2nd round picks.