Winners and Losers of the 2013 NBA Trade Season

J.J. Redick was among the NBA players traded before the Thursday deadline (cbssports.com)

The clock for trading players in the NBA expired Thursday at 3 p.m. EST and, to be honest, the trades made didn't live up to the hype built up in the weeks before the deadline. Sure, several players changed teams, but no major names will be showing up on new rosters or appear on upcoming tickets in different uniforms. Josh Smith, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce all stayed put. For the sake of completeness, however, let's figure out who won and lost the trade season.

The Orlando Magic had a busy final day of the trade deadline, trading away four players in two deals.

The major player in the mix for the Magic — and the most valuable player moved by any team before the deadline — was shooting guard J.J. Redick, who is now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. Redick was part of a six-player trade which also included the Magic sending Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith for Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih and Tobias Harris.

In a separate deal, Orlando parted with another former Duke player Josh McRoberts for Hakim Warrick from the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Bucks acquire Redick during his most successful season in the NBA. The sharpshooter is averaging 15.1 ppg, nearly six points more than his career averages of 9.2. Redick is also improving in field goal percentage, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals (although the difference in the final two stats is slim).

It seems like Redick, in his sixth season in the NBA, has come into his role on an NBA team and has learned how to be successful moving from a star at Duke to a supporting character in the NBA.

The Bucks seem to have won this trade due to the fact that Redick is having the best year of his career. Brandon Jennings is already the premier scorer, so Redick can resume the role of 3-point threat and give the Bucks some needed offensive firepower. Doron Lamb is the youngest and possibly has the most upside of of any player the Magic got in return, but he is mostly unproven, averaging just 3.4 ppg. However, this was a smart time for the Magic to trade Redick if it was going to happen because his stock was looking to climb by the season's end.

We already touched on one angle of the Houston Rockets/Phoenix Suns trade, which reunites Marcus and Markieff Morris in the Suns' logjam of a frontcourt. If played at the same time, the twins' chemistry could give Phoenix a small spark. They aren't going to be beating top teams at the end of this season, but they are developing players again with rookie and social media star Kendall Marshall getting minutes as the second-string point guard, prompting a swap of Sebastian Telfair to the Toronto Raptors for center Hamed Haddadi and a protected second-round pick.

Haddadi is on his third team of the season, having been moved in the same deal that sent Rudy Gay to Toronto, but is unlikely to get minutes playing behind Marcin Gortat and Jermaine O'Neal in the desert. That deal overshadows another deal the Grizzlies made: sending Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby and a conditional first-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Jon Leuer. The most notable portion of this trade — other than Memphis going under the luxury tax — is the pick, as it was the only future first-rounder traded this season. Under the new CBA, first-round picks are more valuable than ever. This is the sixth first-round pick the Cavs had obtained via trade since 2010 and will continue to help Cleveland solidify a young core around Kyrie Irving.

Easily the busiest team over the course of the trade season, the Grizzlies also received Dexter Pittman, a 2013 second-round pick and cash considerations from the Miami Heat in exchange for the rights to Ricky Sanchez, a forward selected in the second round of the 2005 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers who is currently playing in Argentina.

The Blazers may have missed out on Sanchez, but shortly before yesterday's deadline they welcomed Eric Maynor into their guard rotation. Maynor had played decreased minutes with the Oklahoma City Thunder after injuring his knee last season and becoming the third point guard option after returning. The Blazers get a much needed reliable, if rusty back-up for rookie stalwart Damian Lillard while OKC shaved approximately $1 million in salary by receiving cash and the rights to 27-year-old Greek forward Georgios Printezis.

The most forward getting the most attention because of a trade, though, is Thomas Robinson. Drafted as the No. 5 overall pick less than a year ago by the flailing Sacramento Kings, Robinson was dealt to the Rockets along with frontcourt brethren Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt for fellow Kansas Jayhawk Cole Aldrich, Toney Douglas and Patrick Patterson. While Patterson is putting up better per-game numbers than Robinson this season, Robinson has been mired in a crowded rotation of big men and played 410 fewer minutes than Patterson. Comparing the per-36 minutes numbers, though, reveals that while Robinson is averaging 1.7 turnovers and 1.5 personal fouls more than Patterson, the rookie is putting up better defensive stats than his replacement with 4.1 rebounds per 36 and holding the edge in assists, steals and blocks, as well. Patterson is the better player right now. He's also more exciting at the moment, scoring more points per 36 minutes than Robinson, but this trade is another bungled move in a series of them for the Kings. Giving up on a player so early is foolish and the Rockets don't intend to do the same thing, having said they intend to keep Robinson (and, for now, they have by refusing to flip him immediately after acquiring his contract). Robinson is going through typical rookie struggles and should even out next season, if not before.

Of the more ancillary moves, Jordan Crawford landing in Boston will give the Celtics more offensive firepower in the absence of Rajon Rondo, whose back-up, Leandro Barbosa, also tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and was traded in return to the Washington Wizards along with Jason Collins. With Barbosa and Collins entering free agency this summer and only one-third of their current contracts left, the Wizards save a bit of money (Crawford's contract goes through 2013-14 with a $1 million pay raise next season) and can continue restructuring around John Wall without Crawford living in bench limbo.

Other trades included the New York Knicks sending Ronnie Brewer to the Thunder for a 2014 second-round pick and cash, and the Atlanta Hawks receiving Dahntay Jones (for Anthony Morrow) and Jeremy Tyler (for cash and future draft considerations) in separate trades with the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors, respectively. The Warriors were involved in a second trade, taking in a protected second-round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers as Charles Jenkins and a bit of cash goes to the City of Brotherly Love.

Who wins and who loses, then? Here's a quick recap, with the lessons, as always, being that most trades have more to do with pocketbooks than with play on the court and the Maloofs hate Sacramento:

Winners: Bucks, Celtics, Rockets, Thunder, Trail Blazers, Wizards
Losers: Kings (and their fans)
Line-Steppers: Everyone else


*Kyle Davis contributed to this article due to conflict of interest.

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Video: Cheerleader Hits Amazing Half Court Shot

Someone get this cheerleader a basketball scholarship.

Ashlee Arnau, a member of the William Carey University cheerleading squad, made the play of the night during halftime of a William Carey basketball game. She didn't just hit a half-court shot, which is difficult for the average cheerleader in itself, she hit one of the most impressive and creative half court shots ever.

I've seen soccer players do this trick while throwing the ball in, but to do a front cartwheel while simultaneously picking up a basketball and swishing it from half court is a first.

Have to feel bad for the players in this game, because nothing they could have done in the second half was going to beat Ashlee's halftime shot.

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Friday Roundtable: College National Player of the Year

Trey Burke and Victor Oladipo are No. 1 and 2 in the latest Player of the Year straw poll and will be two of a handful of players battling for the award in the last month of the season. (espn.com) 

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among three of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: If the season ended today, who would be your choice for college basketball's National Player of the Year?

Alex:
If voting ended today, Trey Burke would be at the top of my ballot. However, it doesn't and after a few surprising losses, Creighton is poised for a late comeback with Doug McDermott leading the Bluejays.

The junior is third in the latest NPOY straw poll after making a run at the award last year and with good reason. He is averaging 22.5 ppg, 7.8 rebounds per game and nearly as many nightly assists (1.8) as Indiana guard Victor Oladipo, who came in second in the same poll.

McDermott's race toward NPOY could mirror Jimmer Fredette's. Preceded by a stand-out year on the national stage, Fredette shouldered the workload for his team and won the title the following season. Both players are from schools outside of Power Six conferences, and an argument could be made for this year's Missouri Valley being tougher than the Mountain West in which Jimmer competed when he won NPOY.

Voters have soft spots for athletes from mid-major schools and players whose teams succeed based almost entirely on their play. McDermott fits both those descriptions and Creighton is on the path to finish at or near the top of the MVC before playing in the NCAA tournament.

Kyle:
Trey Burke has been one of the front runners in the NPOY race all season, and for good reason. Burke is one of the best scoring guards in the game and yet is still a great passer and makes his team better. If the season ended today, Burke would receive my vote, but there's still another player that I think has a legitimate chance to overtake Burke in the final month of the season.

I've always been a fan of Doug McDermott, but I'm afraid Creighton's struggles will keep him out of the race. I think Kelly Olynyk of Gonzaga has been the most improved player in the country and has turned into one of the best and most versatile big men in college basketball. Again, playing in a weaker conference without the national attention on a weekly basis as a Burke or Mason Plumlee will keep him from being in the top three.

Then there's Indiana's Victor Oladipo. While he averages fewer points per game than Burke (14 to 18.6), although he is one of the best rebounding guards in college averaging six boards per game, Oladipo seems to make big play after big play for the Hoosiers and has proven to be their most valuable player. Take the Michigan State game Tuesday as an example. Oladipo tallied 19 points, but more importantly, every time a game-changing play needed to be made for Indiana, Oladipo was the one with the ball. With Indiana inbounding the ball with under a minute left in the game against the Spartans, it was Oladipo who broke free from his defender for a wide-open dunk that all-but sealed the Hoosiers' victory. Not to mention Oladipo had nine rebounds and five steals in the contest.

Burke still has the upper hand at this point in the season, but if Oladipo's numbers remain consistent and if he continues to be the most clutch player on the nation's No. 1 team, I could see Oladipo taking the crown from Burke.

Eddie:

The point guard is the most important position on a basketball team. He sets the tone defensively and is the quarterback for the offense. So how is it, then, that no point guard has won the Wooden Award since Jameer Nelson in 2004 (there is some dispute regarding whether Jimmer Fredette classified as a true point guard)? If the Player of the Year were to be chosen today, I believe that streak should finally come to an end, as Trey Burke (G, Michigan) and Marcus Smart (G, Oklahoma St.) have pushed out in front of a crowded field of contenders.

Burke dominates the statistical categories that are typically strong for a point guard, posting 18.6 points and 6.9 assists per game. Meanwhile, Smart does it all. He has a remarkably strong stat line across multiple categories, with 15 points, six rebounds, 4.4 assists, and three steals per game. It may be that no single player in the country is more valuable to his team than Smart. He has time and again led the Cowboys to victory, seemingly by will alone. Not to mention, Smart is still a freshman.

All said, I would ultimately cast my ballot for Burke. He has excelled as the premier floor general in the nation's best conference. He is a consistent scoring threat, whether he is shooting from deep or taking his defender off the dribble. Most impressively, though, he posts an eye-popping 3.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Michigan and Burke ran into a rut recently, but he has averaged 23.5 points the last two games and looks poised to gain momentum down the stretch.

There is no position more important than point guard, and no one I would rather have filling it than Trey Burke. At least until Marcus Smart proves me wrong.

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Morris Twins Reunited In Phoenix; Kings, Rockets Also Make Deal

After playing on different teams for the first time in their careers, Marcus and Markieff Morris are again teammates in Phoenix. (sbnation.com)

NBA Draft day two years ago was a difficult one for Marcus and Markieff Morris.

This is not because their stock dropped them further than expected, they went back-to-back with the No. 13 and 14 picks, but because for the first time in their lives, they would not be playing basketball on the same team. Throughout high school in Philadelphia and college at the University of Kansas, the Morris twins have always been teammates.

Part of me thought a team should find a way to draft and trade for both players, keeping them together. It just didn't feel right to separate the two brothers who had never had to play on different teams. The twins played so well as teammates at KU, the thought was why couldn't that continue in the NBA?

After one-and-a-half seasons apart with Marcus in Houston and Markieff in Phoenix, the twins will be back together as the Rockets traded Marcus to Phoenix for a second-round draft pick this year, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. 

"If I was to be traded, that's where I would want to go," Marcus told the Associated Press in a story published in the Topeka Capital-Journal. "I think Houston knew that. I'm excited. That's all I can say."

Marcus Morris is averaging 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds this season for the Rockets while starting 17 games. Markieff is averaging similar numbers with 7.3 ppg, and 4.3 rebounds. Those are respectable numbers for second-year players, but the biggest aspect of this trade is the possibilities of what these two could now accomplish together.

At Kansas, the Morris twins dominated the post position as Marcus averaged more than 17 points in his final season as a second-team All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year. While Markieff scored less than his brother, he was the better rebounder of the two and was more efficient from the field, leading the Big 12 in field goal percentage.

The two have played basketball together for more than a decade, and make each other better on the court. Plus, attitude will not be in question, as the twins must be ecstatic to be on the same team once again. If both continue to develop as players, this makes for a great story for the Suns. And with no real "superstar" players on the Suns roster, this is an ideal team for the twins to build stats and minutes and excel.

The twins weren't the only former KU players involved in trades Wednesday. The Sacramento Kings traded rookie Thomas Robinson to Houston for Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas and fellow Jayhawk Cole Aldrich. The trade deadline is 3 p.m. eastern today.

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BDD is Seeking Contributors

Gilbert Arenas does not write for BDD. (Getty Images)

Beats, Dimes & Drives is about basketball. Sometimes it is about tangents involving pop culture and other times it is about rappers' sneakers, but for the most part, it is about Dr. James Naismith's wonderful invention. With so many subjects in the sports' realm deserving attention — not to mention March Madness' looming shadow and the NBA playoff hunt heating up — BDD is seeking more contributors.

Up to this point, BDD has primarily been a two-man game with Kyle and myself taking the bulk of writing duties. This has produced modest results since we began last summer with each new month setting one record or another for the blog, including a remarkable January, but we are still a comparatively small operation.

Considering this, we are looking for writers who can propose their own ideas for posts and/or consistently take assignments with approximate deadlines. The amount of work can range from one-off guest pieces to multiple posts per week. If you have a steady hand for sketching or drawing, there are also opportunities for a posts dedicated to visual graphics.

If you made it through the previous three paragraphs and are determined to keep reading, you may have a few questions by now, like:

1) What kind of pay and benefits package does BDD offer?
None. There's also no severance package to speak of, so we're all hanging on by hypothetical threads. You may produce some clips to bolster the ol' résumé, though, or something to slide into the art portfolio. For those unfamiliar with or new to blogging, you could get some experience. No matter your level of comfort with blogging, you may actually even like writing for BDD.

2) What will I be writing about?
Take your pick of options, as long as they are basketball related. We have weekly features and ongoing serial posts, all of which need proper attention, but there are new NCAA and NBA stories to cover each week, as well. Of course, we're all for creative posts based on metaphors and big-idea pieces, too. We even have numerous ideas in the bank that just need the right touch.

3) What is BDD's editing process?
Great question. You're savvy and I like that. Editing is minimal as long as the idea for a post is well-formed before a finished product is presented. As a rule, we tend to follow AP standards and have certain style guidelines within BDD. Other than a comma here and a corrected spelling error there, though, we want your voice to be clear so BDD can offer different styles and opinions to readers. I have a weakness for clauses, but you don't have to, and that's just fine.

4) Alex, how can we contact you (or Kyle)?
Email us at beatsdimesdrives@gmail.com or find us at the Twitter and Facebook links below. To reach out to one of us individually, our respective twit-handles are @kyledavis21 and @AJSkov.


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D-League Decoded: All-Star Weekend Recap

A breakdown of the 2013 D-League All-Star game. (nba.com)

This weekend marks the unofficial halfway point to both the NBA and D-League seasons as they're both celebrating their All-Star weekends. While the NBA is at center stage with their star-studded, three-night event, the D-League quietly had their celebration on Saturday afternoon.

This weekend marks the seventh anniversary of the D-League All-Star game, which started in 2007 when the NBA had its All-Star game in Las Vegas. Since that game, more than a dozen D-League All-Stars have made their way onto NBA rosters, including Othyus Jeffers, Garrett Temple and Gerald Green.

While the All-Star game is the main event of the afternoon, they D-League also has the 3-point contest and Slam Dunk contest to show off some of the best leapers and sharp-shooters the D-League has to offer. This past Saturday was no different as some of the best talent the league has ever seen competed in a game that lacked defense but shined when it came to high flying and entertaining basketball.

Before the All-Star game tipped off, the league held its 3-point contest with participants Marcus Landry (Reno), Micah Downs (Maine), Justin Holiday (Idaho), and Justin Dentmon (Texas). While all four of these guys are solid perimeter shooters, the contest in general was a little sub-par. Sure, these guys probably aren't going to be sharp-shooters like Kyrie Irving or Ray Allen, but I was disappointed in what I saw. Former Wisconsin Badger and current Bighorns forward Marcus Landry defeated Justin Holiday, 13-11, in the finals to win the contest.

One of those strange things I like about the D-League is the fact that it has its dunk contest during halftime of the game, which is better than an awful concert with a girl who lost her voice. The participants of the dunk contest included Glen Rice, Jr., Tony Mitchell, Josh Owens and Dar Tucker, who was a clear-cut favorite after previously winning the contest twice. Tucker probably had the highlight of the competition with a dunk over his 7-foot teammate Jerome Jordan, but Mitchell ended up winning the competition after defeating Owens in the final round.

Moving on to the All-Star game itself, which was contested between the Prospects and the Future rosters. The following is a list of players who were on both teams.

Prospects:                                                  Futures:   

Damion James (Bakersfield)                          Micah Downs (Maine)                             

Tim Ohlbrecht (Rio Grande Valley)                Chris Wright (Maine)

Henry Sims (Erie)                                        DaJuan Summers (Maine)

D.J Kennedy (Erie)                                      James Mays (Maine)

Jerel McNeal (Bakersfield)                            Shelvin Mack (Maine)

Arinze Onuaku (Canton)                               Tony Mitchell (Fort Wayne)

Demetris Nichols (Sioux Falls)                      Courtney Fortson (Los Angeles)

Travis Leslie (Santa Cruz)                            Marcus Landry (Reno)

Justin Dentmon (Texas)                              Jerome Jordan (Reno)

Chris Wright (Iowa)                                   Ron Howard (Fort Wayne) 

It's kind of strange to analyze an All-Star game because it's basically an exhibition game, but I did notice a few things while watching. The first thing I really noticed is how it looked like Travis Leslie was at a level higher than the rest of the roster. Leslie is an extremely athletic player, but also plays at a higher pace than most of the other guys in the D-League. Travis finished the game with seven rebounds and 19 points on 8-13 shooting, which led to him winning All-Star game MVP.

The Prospects won 139-125, but one thing I found both interesting and humorous was Mike Taylor (coach of the Red Claws and Futures team) started and played all five of his Red Claws players. Now that decision was decent because the team played really well together and caught up to the Prospects near the end of the first half. That core of five players featured DaJuan Summers, who had a great 28 point and seven rebound performance that will be forgotten because of his team's defeat.

My last take of Saturday's game was how impressed I was with the overall play of the centers in this game. The center position has been going down-hill in both the NBA and the D-League, but Jerome Jordan and Tim Ohlbrecht shined brighter than some of the guards in this game. I've been a huge fan of Ohlbrecht since I watched him play last month in the D-League showcase and he looked fantastic once again posting double-double numbers of 12 points and 12 rebounds. While those numbers aren't quite impressive, he just looked like a solid player with how smooth he was on the court. 

Even though this was only an exhibition game, Jordan looked like the kind of player that would be worthy of being the top D-League prospect with Donald Sloan heading to China. Jordan has been having a great year but he's been slightly overshadowed by Samardo Samuels, who is his partner in the Bighorns front-court. Jordan had close to a perfect game with 12 points on 6-6 shooting with seven rebounds. 

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History Says Don't Doubt A Tom Izzo Michigan State Team

Tom Izzo always finds a way to get his teams ready for March. (usatoday.com)

Tom Izzo-led Michigan State teams are always dangerous, this year included, and one of the main reasons can be linked to an unlikely source: early-season losses.

It’s a formula that Michigan State fans probably don’t particularly enjoy. It causes a bit more stress and worry in November, but the end result surely makes up for the early heartache. It seems that over the past half decade or so, Michigan State drops a couple early games, usually due to the strenuous schedule Izzo puts together on a yearly basis, yet the Spartans bounce back and make a run into the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. Don't believe me? Let's take a look:

2008-09
Michigan State had two losses to Maryland and No. 1 UNC by Dec. 3 and lost two more to non-ranked Big Ten teams Northwestern and Penn State by Feb. 1, yet advanced all the way to the National Championship game where the Spartans fell to UNC.

2009-10
Again, a No. 11 UNC team gets the better of Michigan State early, as well as Florida and No. 2 Texas as MSU has three losses before Christmas. Even a three-game losing streak in early February didn’t stop Izzo’s club from making a run in March and reaching the Final Four.

2010-11
This was a down year for the Spartans, who struggled all season, failing to reach the 20-game win mark and lost in the first round of the tournament to seven-seed UCLA. It's nearly impossible for a program to keep a level of success this high every year.

2011-12
Back-to-back losses to No. 1 UNC and No. 6 Duke to start the season had the country writing off Michigan State early. Maybe part of the reason was the poor play of the season before, but the Spartans fell off the radar early on, despite not losing again until Jan. 14. MSU was definitely on people’s radars late in the year, winning the Big Ten Tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 before eventual-Final-Four member Louisville ended the Spartans season.

2012-13
This year has been mostly the same. The Spartans lost the first game of the year to a UCONN team that was without Jim Calhoun for the first time and facing NCAA sanctions. Despite winning against Kansas the following game, MSU then lost to Miami in late November (now this doesn’t seem bad but hindsight is 20/20) and then No. 9 Minnesota (this one looks a bit worse now) on the road on New Year's Eve. Yet since 2013 began, the Spartans have only lost one game to now-No. 1, then-No. 7 Indiana and have wins over No. 11 Ohio State, No. 18 Minnesota and No. 4 Michigan. The Spartans have regained a spot in the top 10 and are one of the hottest teams in the country.

Which brings us to our valuable lesson. The season is a long one, and a team can be very different in March than it was in November, especially if it is coached by a man like Izzo. His teams consistently improve throughout the course of the season and seem to use early losses as lessons on toughness and how to get better. Many of the losses covered above were to very talented and highly ranked opponents, which Izzo is known to scatter throughout the schedule to give his players a taste of what it’s like to play the best of the best. Izzo’s trial-by-fire approach means his Spartan teams have experienced it all, and while the record won’t always be as pretty as others, his teams will always be ready for when it counts in March.

Yet people still tend to look past the Spartans after the second or third early loss each year and Izzo keeps proving why that is not wise. As we get closer to Selection Sunday, go ahead and throw Michigan State into the pile of teams that could make a run at the Final Four, because recent history has proven discounting this program before March is rarely a smart decision.

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