NBA trade deadlines are complete for the upcoming season
By Courtnie Martin, Sports Reporter
The much anticipated 2014-15 NBA trade deadline has come and gone, but the trades were far from impressive and very much last minute—eleven trades happened within 24 hours of the February 20 deadline. While big names floated around in the rumour-mill, including the stellar small forward Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, no trades involved big stars.
The Sacramento Kings had a two-for-one, receiving shooting guard Jason Terry and power forward Reggie Evans from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for shooting guard Marcus Thornton. With Isaiah Thomas making a name for himself, the Kings’ curiosity may hurt them as they try to find Terry a place alongside Thomas. Then again, Terry has only a 36 per cent shooting average from the field, and it’s rumoured Terry was traded because the 36-year-old dinosaur is likely to retire soon, freeing the Kings of any obligations.
The Golden State Warriors received point guard Steve Blake from the Los Angeles Lakers for MarShon Brooks and Kent Bazemore. While moving Blake—who was averaging 7.3 assists per game—was a step in the right direction for the Lakers, they really wanted to move Chris Kaman, Jordan Hill, and/or Pau Gasol as well. Lamar Odom, who is currently playing for the Laboral Kutxa of the Spanish ACB League, has been through a whirlwind of suspicions of drug addiction, and is itching to find himself back in his home league. He was fighting to take the potential empty seat with the Los Angeles Lakers if Pau Gasol was shipped out, but will have to wait at least another season since Gasol managed to stick around.
In a trade to get rid of centre Spencer Hawes, the Philadelphia 76ers received two second-round picks, centre Henry Sims, and small forward Earl Clark. Since Clark’s contract is not even guaranteed next year, I’d say Philadelphia certainly scored on this trade. Miami secured a second-round pick by handing over Roger Mason Jr. to the Sacramento Kings. Mason barely contributed last season, playing a whopping 260 minutes the entire year.
In a three-way trade, the Washington Wizards, the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76er’s moved Andre Miller, Jan Vesely, Eric Maynor, and three second-round picks. The Wizards picked up Miller and a protected second-round pick. Denver scored Vesely, and Philadelphia got Maynor and two second-round picks—one from Washington and one from Denver.
