We’ll know better in a few months the winners and sinners in the NBA’s midwinter trading frenzy, which had 20 teams, more than 50 players and a dozen or so draft picks involved in trades. It’s clear the Lakers were the big winners with the acquisition of Pau Gasol from Memphis, which still pales somewhat compared to the preseason Boston massacre of Seattle and Minnesota with the trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. That got all of this going in what has become one of the league’s most entertaining seasons in years.
We’ll find out about the Suns and Shaquille O’Neal, the Mavs and Jason Kidd, the Cavs and Ben Wallace and some help for the Hornets and Spurs. But the biggest losers could be the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors, who now appear to be battling for the short straw as the team that will go down in NBA history as maybe the best ever to miss the playoffs.
The Houston Rockets missed in 2001 with a 45-37 record. This season seems more like 1971-72; while the Lakers set a league record with 33 consecutive wins, the Suns missed the playoffs at 49-33 and Lenny Wilkens’ SuperSonics were left out at 47-35.
“It’s tough when you have a season like that to not even get into the playoffs,” Wilkens said.
In the East that season, the Bullets won their division at 38-44 and Atlanta made the playoffs at 36-46.
Those in the West now whining about the unfairness of it all should recall that the Western teams were the ones getting free passes to the playoffs all through the 1980s when the East was king.
The Rockets went to the Finals in 1981 after a 40-42 regular season. The bottom was the Spurs making the playoffs in 1988 after going 31-51, and a 35-47 Spurs team had qualified in 1985-86. Thirteen teams from the West reached the playoffs despite sub-.500 records in the 1980s. They were usually swept by the Lakers at some point.
There are now nine West teams on pace to win 50 games, and Denver and Golden State are on the edge. They could be the losers in the big trading frenzy after pretty much standing pat, especially the Nuggets, who were blown out by the Bulls on Friday and blew a 23-point lead in losing in Milwaukee on Saturday.
The Nuggets, who were angling for Ron Artest and Mike Miller, are in a particularly bad position as the team scheduled to pay the second-biggest luxury tax at about $16 million. And missing the playoffs? What, does James Dolan also run them?
They have a disastrously mismatched team with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony still unable to mesh and merely taking turns. They rarely run plays for one another, and their defense is passive, allowing 104.9 points per game, 28th in the NBA.
The Nuggets were said to be reluctant to part with Linas Kleiza and Eduardo Najera, the latter with an expiring deal, perhaps because George Karl has told friends he learned his lesson in Milwaukee.
At the end of what was a terrific run there, Karl demanded the team acquire Anthony Mason for toughness. Mason disrupted and essentially destroyed the chemistry, and Karl later admitted it was his mistake, thus making him wary about Artest and Zach Randolph.
The Nuggets, who failed to address their weakness at point guard, are now hoping Nene and Chucky Atkins can return and make a difference.
Nervous Nellie
The Warriors are in somewhat better shape because of careful management. Their payroll is in good shape, and they may finally have persuaded coach Don Nelson to begin using talented rookie Brandan Wright.
“I didn’t know he’d be ready this year, but he may have proved me wrong,” Nelson said after Wright was impressive in a loss to Atlanta. “Maybe we should start looking at him and see what he has to offer.”
It appears Nelson has about had it with Al Harrington, who’ll likely be available this summer. “Whatever momentum we had, [Harrington] always seemed to be there to miss a shot or make a turnover or a foul or something,” Nelson said after that loss.
Neither is the Chris Webber experiment working out particularly well for the Warriors. They are 3-3 in the games he has played (they couldn’t play him against the Suns pre-Shaq) and he’s averaging 4.3 points and 3.7 rebounds and slowing everything down while shooting just 46 percent.
So much for size. I want my small ball back.
Hardly Magic
Another team that looked like it needed to do something and didn’t was Orlando, which messed around trying to get Kurt Thomas. The Magic earlier traded reserve forward Trevor Ariza to the Lakers for Maurice Evans and Brian Cook.
It appears the Magic, after a 40-42 season, is satisfied to win its worst-in-the-NBA division and perhaps make the second round of the playoffs. “You don’t want to mess up what you have,” general manager Otis Smith said.
The Bulls thought that way for a while as well. With Dwight Howard, Orlando is thinking it can be patient, but the Bulls’ experience proves you never quite know what you have, and when there’s a chance you need to take it.
Moving day
Saturday is the next big day for player movement in the league. Not for trades, but for a view of what players think of your franchise. Players have to be released by March 1 to be eligible for the playoffs with a new team. So teams will be watching what the Clippers do with Sam Cassell and the Timberwolves with Antoine Walker.
Both have talked about buyouts, but with $9 million due him next season, Walker says he isn’t walking away so fast. “I’m not willing to give up a lot of money. I’m too good a player [to sit],” Walker said.
Already released and waiting are Jamaal Magloire (New Jersey), Flip Murray (Detroit) and Brent Barry, who has become the big prize after being traded from the Spurs to the Sonics and immediately released. Barry, who’s injured, would have to sit out 30 days before returning to San Antonio. Phoenix, Boston and Golden State also are interested.
In this era, one of the ways to determine the best franchises is to see who gets the so-called free player, a released veteran who can sign anywhere. The big ones thus far have gone to the Spurs (Damon Stoudamire this season, Michael Finley before) and the Suns (Tim Thomas and Grant Hill).
Eclipsed
That was a brutal loss for the Suns on Sunday. The Pistons beat them by 30 at home, and they were booed often.
Detroit can lull you into a stuck-in-mud type game. But what’s been most obvious in the brief time since Phoenix’s acquisition of O’Neal is the blazing Suns cannot score anymore. They did lose 130-124 to the Lakers in O’Neal’s first game, but they have scored 85 point (in a win) and 86 since. The team was averaging 109.6 point before Sunday, second in the NBA.
With O’Neal, the Suns have gone to more half-court play, so they aren’t getting as many easy shots. While they are bigger and can rebound better with O’Neal, the offense has stalled because he clogs up the lane, which they always preferred to keep open.
They’re still a work in progress, but that can be dangerous in the West. The Lakers now lead the Pacific Division, and the Suns are fourth in the conference but just 3 1/2 games out of ninth. There’s not much time for a shakedown cruise.
The Kidd’s all right?
Kidd came to Dallas and was immediately torched by Chris Paul: 31 points, 11 assists and nine steals. Kidd probably is no longer an All-Star anymore in the Western Conference, likely ranking behind Paul, Phoenix’s Steve Nash, Utah’s Deron Williams, San Antonio’s Tony Parker and Golden State’s Baron Davis.
Not that they were piling on, but Parker said: “To be honest, I’m really happy for that trade. [DeSagana] Diop was doing a job on us. And Devin Harris, most of the time, he played well against us. So I thought it would be good for us. No disrespect to Jason Kidd — he’s a great point guard. But those guys who left always gave us trouble.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson is always glad to tweak Mavs owner Mark Cuban. “I was a Devin Harris fan, so I’m happy to see him in the East,” Jackson said. “He’s a good player, took a lot of charges, an improving player, one of those young kids with good energy. Got the ball back for his team a lot. I know they’ll miss him.”
LeBron James, though, had lobbied for Kidd and admitted being somewhat disappointed about the trade the Cavs did make. “This isn’t the type of deal I expected,” James told Cleveland media. “You guys heard what I wanted, but I am grateful for the situation. We’ve got some good-caliber guys coming in.”
James also explained his dunk on Dirk Nowitzki in the All-Star Game: “I was mad at Dirk because he stole my point guard.”
Recount?
If they took the All-Star vote now with Portland slipping and unlikely to make the playoffs, Brandon Roy would likely be out and Manu Ginobili in. Ginobili is averaging a career-high 20.7 points and has carried the Spurs to the top of the division this month by averaging 26.3 points, 7.0 assists and 5.9 rebounds and shooting 51 percent on three-pointers. The Spurs are 8-1 in the month. … The Lakers have gone 10-1 and Lamar Odom has flourished with the arrival of Gasol. Odom is averaging 15 points and had double-figure rebounds in nine of the last 11 games. … Former Bull Linton Johnson from Providence-St. Mel joined the Suns on a 10-day deal after working out at the Berto Center the last few months.
Team officials are watching to see what effect Bonzi Wells and Mike James will have on the young, enthusiastic Hornets. Wells is an indifferent defender, and both have had issues with previous teams. … Miami’s Dorell Wright said his son will be named Devin Quentin Dwyane Wright for his Chicago buddies Dwyane Wade and Quentin Richardson. “Those are my boys who took me under their wing when I started working out in Chicago,” Wright explained. Wright passed up a commitment to DePaul to go to the NBA. … Miami coach Pat Riley was willing to take on Brian Cardinal’s bad contract to get Mike Miller, but Memphis didn’t want to deal. Word is the Grizzlies were so shocked by the negative reaction to the Gasol deal they’re holding off dealing Miller until summer.
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sasmith@tribune.com
