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.

New York Knicks Trade for Tracy McGrady

Trade

I am going to make myself very clear, I am a HUGE New York Knicks fan. Only HUGE in all caps is still an understatement. As a Knicks fan, I have obviously lived through a lot, particularly the dark ages of “he who must not be named.” But he is gone and Donnie Walsh has taken control as General Manager and has done a great job of clearing cap space for the highly anticipated summer of 2010. This past trade deadline, Walsh traded for Tracy McGrady and his expiring contract of almost $23 million. When asked what I thought about the trade, it’s a question that has no answer now, but will have a very distinct one in just a few months.

McGrady

Speaking in the here and now, the trade for McGrady was very smart because it gets people into the seats at the greatest stadium in the world,