The NBA trade deadline last Thursday came and went just as many of those in major sports as of late — no big names moved, and much of the anticipation that built up to it didn’t end up coming to fruition. But there were some teams that made some noise and for those that did, it’s now just a waiting game to see if those moves will pay off. Here’s a recap of what happened on the NBA trade deadline day.
- The biggest story was that Denver Nuggets traded Nene to the Washington Wizards for JaVale McGee. The deal also included the move of Nick Young, who will be leaving Washington to play for the L.A. Clippers.
- A huge story leading up to the trade deadline was that of Stephen Jackson, who was acquired by the Golden State Warriors along with Andrew Bogut for Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown. Jackson may not have even had a chance to slip on the Warriors jersey though, before the team traded him to the San Antonio Spurs for Richard Jefferson and a conditional first round pick.
- The Portland Trailblazers made a few huge splashes, but those might be the only noise we hear from them for a while, as they are clearly focused now on rebuilding and have some challenging seasons in front of them. The Trailblazers traded Markus Camby to the Houston Rockets, and sent Gerald Wallace to the New Jersey Nets for center Mehmet Okur, forward Shawne Williams, and the Nets’ protected first-round pick.
- The L.A. Lakers acquired Jason Kapono and Luke Walton from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga.
Leading up to the deadline of course, the biggest talk was that of Dwight Howard and whether he would be traded or not. It seemed as though Howard couldn’t make up his mind, wanting to be traded and then wanting to stay in Orlando and then wanting to be traded again. It was enough to make any fan, or Magic owner, crazy; and left Howard giving the excuse that it was a “heart vs. head” decision. Excuses or not, it leaves the Magic with a playoff spot that they’ve got to really make something of — before Howard’s head sends him to play in another city.
Steve Nash was another name that was heavily talked about before trade deadline day; and another one in which there was no move. Unlike Howard though, Nash was very clear both before and during the trade frenzy that he did not want to be moved; although his contract with the Phoenix Suns is up after this season. So it may not be so much that he’s “happy with the organization” as he claims, but that he’s just waiting until his free agency begins to make the most money he can — there are a lot of teams that would love to add to Nash to their roster.