Quote:NBA TRADE DEADLINE DEALS
Sportz is here for ya to break down the NBA deals


Wow....what a Trade Deadline Day. Most of the time, a few guys get dealt....mainly just role players....while big names stay put despite all of the rumors. This year, you had a ton of action. All kinds of action. You had names like Chris Webber, Baron Davis, Antoine Walker and Gary Payton changing addresses....while guys like Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Peja Stojakovic, Carlos Boozer, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Jason Kidd and Steve Francis involved in major trade rumors...but nothing done. And there was a bunch of minor deals....many of which are quite meaningful.

SEVEN teams made two different trades....which is quite astonishing. Championship contenders San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers made some deals. You had the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, New Orleans Hornets, Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks.....some of the worst teams in the NBA.....making deals.

As the Sportz Assassin....I gotta break it down for y'all!!...

KINGS GET: Brian Skinner, Corliss Williamson, Kenny Thomas
SIXERS GET: Chris Webber, Michael Bradley, Matt Barnes

BREAKDOWN: CHRIS WEBBER TRADED TO THE SIXERS



HORNETS GET: Glen Robinson
SIXERS GET: Rodney Rogers, Jamal Mashburn

BREAKDOWN: It is actually a trade that isn't a trade. The one person that matters is Rodney Rogers. He'll most likely back up newly acquired Chris Webber for the Sixers playoff run. The other two in this deal are trade filler, if you can believe that. Neither Robinson nor Mashburn have played all season. Robinson's contract expires after the year....giving the Hornets cap space to go after a free agent [if ownership ever really did that]. Mashburn most likely will never play in the NBA again....and his salary is 80% insured....so the Sixers don't lose much there.



WARRIORS GET: Baron Davis
HORNETS GET: Dale Davis, Speedy Claxton

BREAKDOWN: This is one of those trades that works out for everyone involved perfectly. Too bad it won't be obvious right now. Neither team is going to the playoffs....but each really made a mark on it's 2006. For G-State, adding Baron Davis gives them a star player to help build on a team that already has Richardson there. If he can stay healthy...this is a great deal for the Warriors. For the Hornets, Dale Davis' contract expires. So, along with Glen Robinson, they'll have a ton of money and cap space to try to go after and get what they want to build their team. They got out from under two contracts that weighed them down [Davis, Mashburn] to try to quickly build a playoff team again.



WARRIORS GET: Nik Tskitisvilli, Rodney White
NUGGETS GET: Eduardo Najera, Luis Flores, future first round pick

BREAKDOWN: Denver gets Najera....one of those tough guys that fits well to what George Karl wants to do. Najera will bang, scrap, defend and be a pest which that team needs. They part with Tskiti and White who have been busts since entering the NBA.



SPURS GET: Nazr Mohammed, Jamison Brewer
KNICKS GET: Malik Rose, 2 first round picks

BREAKDOWN: Mohammed will be a lovely addition to back up Duncan and Rasho. He'll block shots and be another effective defensive player for an already steady defensive team. They did deal Rose away, who played bigger than he was. Which makes him a perfect fit for New York. The first round picks will be very late in that round....so it is doubtful that Isaiah Thomas will make anything out of them. Probably Popovich could have.



ROCKETS GET: Vin Baker, Moochie Norris, 2006 second round pick
KNICKS GET: Maurice Taylor

BREAKDOWN: The Rockets go for some backcourt help with Norris, a former Houston Rocket. Think about it. Houston dealt for David Wesley, Jon Barry, Mike James and Moochie Norris for their backcourt.....which basically was Jimmy Jackson and Charlie Ward when the season started. They deal Mo Taylor, who lost his starting job to Juwan Howard. Why is Vin Baker still in the NBA? So, New York deals for Mo Taylor and Malik Rose today. I guess they are trying to corner the market on undersized power forwards.



ROCKETS GET: Mike James, Zendon Hamilton
BUCKS GET: Reece Gaines and two second round picks

BREAKDOWN: Again, the Rockets go after guard help. With Bobby Sura and David Wesley out there....they really don't have too much power there.



MAVERICKS GET: Keith Van Horn
BUCKS GET: Calvin Booth, Alan Henderson

BREAKDOWN: Good deal for both teams. If you take this deal plus the Mike James deal the Bucks made...all this points to them trying really hard to re-sign Michael Redd this offseason. Of course, they're going to have to look at upgrading the talent elsewhere on the roster....orRedd is headed to Cleveland. As for Dallas...this is a solid move. KVH, though not great and WAY overpaid, is certainly serviceable as a backup for Dirk Nowitzki. He can stretch the defense like no one other than Dirk and Finley can. And Dallas got him for a couple of throw aways.



CELTICS GET: Antoine Walker
HAWKS GET: Gary Payton, Michael Stewart, Tom Gugliotta, first round pick

BREAKDOWN: Quickly, all the Hawks did was deal away a guy who's contract was expiring for a future first round pick. As for Boston....they brought Toine back into the fold. As I said to my buddy YCS a while back, I think Walker will head to Boston in a deal....it makes sense. Ainge let it happen. After the Sixers pulled off a big deal, the Celtics made this one to counter. If it doesn't work out....let Walker, uh, walk. All it cost you was, really, a first round pick. It should be noted that Gary Payton will try to get the Hawks to buy his contract out so he can go back to Boston. So it even gets better for everyone.



CAVALIERS GET: Jiri Welsch
CELTICS GET: first round pick in 2007

BREAKDOWN: Welsch adds some 3-pt shooting to a team that is poor in that aspect. He'll come off the bench.



HEAT GET: Steve Smith
BOBCATS GET: Malik Allen

BREAKDOWN: Nice catch by Miami. Smith brings championship experience and veteran leadership to the Heat. He also brings outside shooting and an ability to get to the line. Charlotte gets major organizational props for dealing Smith, an elderstatesman who wasn't going to win anything with the Bobcats, to not only a title contender but to Smith's original NBA home.

Quote:I know I could be the best Sports Guy Intern, but I don’t want to bore you with self-congratulating. Instead, I will use this space to talk about my favorite 90s white NBA center of all time: Jon Koncak. My appreciation for Big Jon started back in the early 90s when TBS would play just about every Atlanta Hawks game. Sure TBS was stationed in Atlanta and showed all the Braves games, but the Braves had somewhat of a national fan base, while showing Hawks games piqued almost no one’s interest. However, my NBA obsession compelled me to watch every one of them. Big Jon would lose almost every tip-off, even if he had a few inches on his opponent, but “mad ups” wasn’t what Koncak was in the game for. No, he won over my young budding teenage heart with his impeccable shooting touch. Here was a 7 foot center who insisted on taking 15 foot jumpers every time he got the ball! Looking back on that era through maroon-colored glasses, I feel like Jon Koncak revolutionized the center position. He had the perfect coach in Lenny Wilkens, who was lax enough to let Koncak play like a 7 foot small forward. He let the more menacing Kevin Willis do all the dirty work down low, while Koncak epitomized finesse and grace just inside the 3-point line. In this era, where almost-7-footers like Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett have the skills to play every position, it’s almost easy to forget that the man that paved the way for their interchangeability was a gentle giant from SMU.

At least that’s how I remembered him. But I was about 12 at the time. Surely you had a favorite obscure player during your youth, that you have never forgotten. If you haven’t written a column detailing his exploits with gleeful exaggeration, I encourage you to do so. This was a freeing experience for me and I feel like I can now move on with my life. Now that I’ve finally paid tribute to the Magic Mustang: Jon Koncak.