2011 NBA Trade Deadline

          The NBA trade deadline ended Thursday February 24 at 3:00 PM ET. It seemed like a lot of teams waited until then or pretty close to make trades and change up their roster before it was too late. The last few minutes were so busy that I had trouble taking notes in my classes, I was so focused on refreshing my page and waiting for breaking news as the countdown came to an end. This year more than ever, trades came down to the last minute and even after the deadline passed, news still trickled in regarding major transactions and power shifting moves. The NBA saw many of these power swings as players changed teams, not only among divisions but among conferences. Teams that were stranded in no-man’s-land suddenly become threats to make the finals while potential finals contenders slid down a few notches. Here are the major trades that took place at or around the deadline and analysis and grades of each one.

Knicks Land Carmelo Anthony

Long Awaited Trade

It’s been a long first half of the season for the Denver Nuggets but they have finally traded Carmelo Anthony. After much drama over the past months, it’s finally over. The Nets gave a hard push in attempting to get Carmelo Anthony, as well as teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets, but he has finally found a team, the New York Knicks. The Knicks, Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves have completed a trade that sends F Carmelo Anthony, G Chauncey Billups, F Renaldo Balkman, F Sheldon Williams, and G Anthony Carter from the Nuggets as well as F Corey Brewer from the Timberwolves to the Knicks. The Nuggets get F Danilo Gallinari, F Wilson Chandler, G Raymond Felton, C Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 1st round pick, two 2nd round picks, and $3 million all from the Knicks. Finally, the Timberwolves receive from the Knicks both C Eddy Curry and F Anthony Randolph.

The Summer of LeBron

Eliminated!

          Lebron James has been knocked out of the 2010 NBA Playoffs so now is a perfect time to say...Told ya so!!! This just strengthens my position that Lebron is not a closer and chokes under pressure. The “best player in the league” has been knocked out of the 2nd round of the playoffs. What does this mean? It means that Lebron James can’t handle the spotlight and do what great players like Jordan and Kobe can do, and that is finish you off. The two players just mentioned will get you on the ground and step on your throat, Lebron can’t do that and has proven it time and time again. Yes, Lebron had a triple double last night in the Game 6 at Boston (27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists) but, and that is a big but, he shot 8-21 from the field (38%) and had 9 turnovers. 9 TURNOVERS!!!???? In an elimination game??? That’s at least 18 possible points the Cavs could have scored, which would have definitely the pace of the game considering the Cavs lost by 9. If you consider the points that he had 9 turnovers shooting 38% in a loss in an elimination game, in addition to going 3-14 with 15 points in Game 5, the triple double really doesn’t seem that great. Free agency for Lebron officially starts now.