by Vespasian92 on Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:36 am
Trade Deadline Deals
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Bosh returns to Toronto after Heat breakup
Miami Heat trade: Chris Bosh - Luol Deng
Toronto Raptors trade: Amir Johnson - Lucas Nogueira
The departure of Lebron ended the Big 3 era in Miami and things have gone downhill in South Beach since then. The Heat added Luol Deng to try and stay competitive, but, even in the Eastern Conference, find themselves well out of the top-8 and the playoff picture. Injuries to Dwayne Wade haven't helped matters and the Heat seem ready to hit the reset button. In an emotional return, Chris Bosh goes back to Toronto in exchange for Amir Johnson and young prospect Lucas Nogueira. Also included in Miami's salary dump was Luol Deng. As an incredibly consistent veteran who plays both ends, Deng is far more than your average trade throw-in. The reunion of the Boshtrich and the Raptors gives Toronto a team with enough firepower to reach the Finals. Kyle Lowry, Demar Derozan, Chris Bosh, Jonas Valanciunas, Luol Deng, Terrence Ross, Patrick Patterson, Greivis Vasquez, Lou Williams, the list goes on. Add Tyler Hansbrough and the Raptors have arguably the deepest 10 in the league. The Raptors will need that depth though to solidify their playoff position. Chicago has a 12 game lead in the Eastern Conference, with 2nd place Detroit, 3rd place Charlotte, and 4th place Indiana not considered legitimate title contenders. Toronto and Cleveland are the biggest threats to Chicago, and both active on deadline day to try and improve upon their current 5th and 6th seeds, respectively.
Miami sheds plenty of salary in the deal in addition to getting younger. Johnson is 28 and still has plenty of productive basketball ahead of him, but the real prize was Nogueira. The Brazilian 7-footer earned some playing time with Toronto this season and put up some very efficient numbers in his 17 minutes a night. An athletic rebounder and rim-protector who happens to be shooting 59% from the floor and just 22 years old is someone the Heat are interested in developing. Johnson and Nogueira project to the starting frontcourt in Miami.
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Heat continue to blow it up, send Lebron some old friends
Miami Heat trade: Udonis Haslem - Chris Andersen
Cleveland Cavaliers trade: Anderson Varejao - 2017 2nd Round Draft Selection
The rebuild continues in Miami, sending the 37-year-old Andersen and the 35-year-old Haslem to Cleveland for Anderson Varejao's $4.45M contract. Varejao has a team option for next season, with the Heat will almost certainly decline. Very few trades could have involved Varejao and still gotten Lebron's approval, but this might be one of them. With the arrival of Timofey Mozgov last season, Varejao's role had decreased significantly. Adding both Haslem and the Birdman gives the Cavaliers two reliable veterans in a frontcourt that was very thin at times, including giving some crucial minutes to rookie Stacey Stafford. For a contender like Cleveland, surrounding their Big 3 with veterans with playoff experience is clearly more important than youth development, and Lebron's Miami connection with the two new arrivals doesn't hurt either.
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Bulls not satisfied, swap McDermott for Harris
Chicago Bulls trade: Doug McDermott - E'Twaun Moore
Orlando Magic trade: Tobias Harris - Gerald Green
With the Raptors and Cavaliers both making moves to try and threaten Chicago's cruise to the Finals, the Bulls chose to not stand idly by. With the small forward position their main area of need, they swapped shooting star Doug McDermott with versatile swingman Tobias Harris. The trade is being heralded as a resounding win for Chicago, as Harris is actually younger than McDermott despite having 3 more years of NBA experience. More experienced, a superior defender, and with an ability to create his own shot, Harris checks all the boxes for the Bulls. Adding Gerald Green to a reserve unit that features Nikola Mirotic, Pau Gasol, and Kirk Hinrich leaves them in the two-team argument with Toronto for the deepest bench. Their experiment with Ben Gordon last season, who was ironically acquired from the Magic, did not work out as planned. Gordon has not appeared on the court at all this season. With Green, the Bulls have an explosive compliment off the bench to the consistent production of Gasol and Hinrich.
The Magic simply needed more shots for Nikola Vucevic, Goran Dragic, Victor Oladipo, and the rapidly-improving Aaron Gordon, and Harris was sent away as the scapegoat. McDermott fits in a 5-man lineup with those players much better than Harris, which was clearly Orlando's thinking. E'Twaun Moore returns to Orlando where he found his rhythm in the NBA in 2012-13, playing 75 games at 22.4 MPG for the Magic.
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Nets, Mavs swap point guards
Brooklyn Nets trade: Jarrett Jack - 2017 2nd Round Draft Selection
Dallas Mavericks trade: Raymond Felton - 2016 2nd Round Draft Selection
With a massive overabundance of point guards, the Mavericks expectedly sent one of them away at the deadline. Unfortunately, they got one back in exchange. Raymond Felton headed to Brooklyn in exchange for Jarrett Jack, but the Mavericks still have Rondo, Jameer Nelson, Devin Harris, Gal Mekel, rookie Calbert Townsend, and now Jack all capable of manning the point. However, Jack's contract expires this season while Dallas rid themselves of Felton's 2 year deal. Felton has played very poorly this season as well, shooting horrific percentages of 25% and 12%. To compare, Jack is shooting 46% and 45% from downtown this season. The Mavericks are having a poor season though, with their 2nd round pick projected as the 34th overall right now. The Nets need to hit a home run with that pick for the trade to be a positive one.
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