Larry Hughes (Photo. David Deal)The biggest trade deadline deal from yesterday saw the Cavs finally do something to prove the lights are still on up in the front office. And fitting that it would take Cleveland — who slow-walked on taking care of business with Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic this summer — up until the last minute to get a deal done: an 11-player, 3-team trade that brings Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Joe Smith to the Cavs; Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons to the Bulls; and Donyell Marshall, Ira Newble and Adrian Griffin to the Sonics … Good move for the Cavs, if nothing else because it shows the fans (and LeBron) that they’re serious about contending, and gives them a little more scoring punch with Wally, Delonte and Smith while keeping them tough defensively with Big Ben. Also not bad for the Bulls, who needed to end the marriage with Wallace but managed to hang onto their most important pieces in the process. And what can you say about the Sonics? It’s obvious what their goal is here, and it’s not to win basketball games … At DimeMag.com we looked at the fantasy implications of the move, as well as what it means for LeBron’s future in Cleveland … The second-most notable move from Thursday saw the Hornets get some bench help from an unlikely source — a team in their own division. The Rockets sent Bonzi Wells and Mike James to N.O. for Bobby Jackson. (It was actually a three-team trade involving the Grizzlies, but the rest of the parts were nothing worth noting) … Other trades: Detroit got Juan Dixon from the Raps for Primoz Brezec; Gerald Green was sent to Houston for Kirk Snyder, a second-round pick and cash; and the Blazers sent Taurean Green to Denver for Von Wafer, who apparently is still in the NBA … So the temporarily roster-gutted Sonics (dressing 10 players) had to go to Portland last night, and actually hung in there with Brandon Roy and crew before falling short in the end. Roy was all over the place, going for 19 points, 14 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals, while LaMarcus Aldridge owned the paint with 18 points, 12 boards and 5 blocks … Down by four with 11 seconds left, Jeff Green took about 7 seconds to get the ball inbounds, but when he did, hit Kevin Durant (20 pts, 6 rebs) with a pass right at the top of the key. Durant drew the defense in, who assumed he was looking for the jumper, then whipped an underhand feed to a wide-open Damien Wilkins for a dunk to make it a one-possession ballgame. Great play. But Jarrett Jack made both free throws on the other end, though, to essentially ice it … Watching Channing Frye rot on Portland’s bench, it seems like so long ago that he was considered an untouchable to the Knicks. And we can’t even say we blamed them back then, either. Frye looked like he had so much potential way back in, um, 2006 … Seeing as Francisco Elson wasn’t available and Robert Swift barely got off the bench, Seattle should’ve let assistant Mark Bryant suit up. He looks like he could still pull down a few rebounds … Greg Oden’s mohawk is atrocious. Even when he tries to be trendy, G.O. ends up looking like a goober … Do you think that if more people actually liked Manu Ginobili, his getting left off the All-Star team would have been a bigger deal? Of the almost 30 players in the League currently averaging 20-plus points a night, Manu (20.0 ppg) is doing it in the fewest minutes a night (31 mpg). And numbers aside, he’s just been plain nasty this year. Manu dropped 44 points on Minnesota, including the game-winner on a top-of-the-key jumper where he went behind the back and wetted the shot in Randy Foye’s mug. This came after Manu had scored 19 in the second quarter alone, knocking down six threes and generally making Corey Brewer’s life miserable. And somehow Manu keeps getting wide open against teams no matter how on-fire he is. Someday they’ll learn … Sebastian Telfair had a good look at a potential game-winner following Manu’s shot, but his three-pointer spun out. Bassy just stood there frozen with his hand in the air as the buzzer sounded, looking like Sanaa Lathan in Love & Basketball … Tim Duncan had 24 points, 14 boards, 7 dimes, 3 steals and 4 blocks in the win. We’re not saying TD should win MVP — we’d take Kobe, LeBron and Chris Paul way beforehand — but Duncan should at least get some votes, right? … Tony Parker made his return, going for 8 points in 18 minutes off the bench … Were those smiles we saw in Miami’s pre-game huddle? It’s clear that the Heat have been a livelier, more energetic, hard-working group since the Shawn Marion trade, but that has yet to translate into a win. And they weren’t getting one in Houston, not against the red-hot Rockets. In the end, Houston had won its 10th straight, while Miami lost its 10th straight … Marion put up 18 points, 10 boards and 2 blocks, and D-Wade had 33 and 11 dimes, but the Heat dug themselves too deep a hole by giving up 41 points in the first quarter when the Rockets couldn’t miss … T-Mac was cooking Dorell Wright, putting up 23 points and 10 dimes and getting the kid with every little trick in his book. Yao had 21 and 9 boards. Yao only missed one shot, when he tried to dunk on Marion and got stuffed at the rim. People accuse us of hating on Yao, but here’s the thing with that Matrix block: Despite the fact that Yao is 7-foot-6 and bigger than anyone he ever plays, when he goes to the rim like he did yesterday, you don’t just assume he’s going to convert. There’s always that bit of doubt that he’s going to get swatted or he’s going to miss. Even on Shaq’s worst day, you know that when he gets to a certain space in the paint and goes up, you assume he’s going to finish. You can’t say the same about Yao … Did you hear about how Dikembe Mutombo was late for practice/shootaround for the first time in SIXTEEN YEARS? He’s the anti-J.R. Rider … We’re out like Dikembe’s alarm clock …
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:08 am
YOUNGFED says:
Ferry has finally done something. Noah is about to get his shine on i’m predicting 20 and 10 average from here out.
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:11 am
Str8baller says:
I really don’t like MANU, but boy, can he ball… 44 points + the game winner.
the Bulls now have 345 2-Guards… GOD DAMN
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:15 am
YOUNGFED says:
Can someone please tell me why in the hell would Detroit take another gaurd like we don’t have enough of them already. DAMNMIT!!!!! Primo was kinda nice to just no room for him would have much rather seen us get green at least he’s fun to watch but I guess Dumars doesn’t like exciting players. The Pistons are probably the best team in the league now but still boooorrrriiinnggg. Fuq fundamentals I wanna have fun watching jaw droping plays.
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:42 am
BC says:
To the Cavs: good luck running any sort of offensive plays if Wallace and Varajeo are on the floor at the same time.
To the Cavs’ oppoenents: good luck getting a rebound if LeBron, Wallace, and Varajeo are all on the floor at the same time.
Delonte should get ready to play a lot with Daniel Gibson out 4-6 weeks.
The Raptors should play Brezec and Nesterovic at the same time just for a few laughs.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 am
Dave says:
Delonte is the key in this. I’ve always liked his game, and think that many will be surprised at his pg skills.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:36 am
dominique says:
“fuq fundamentals I wanna have fun watching jaw droping plays.” … And 1 is for you, not basketball. Or maybe go support the nuggets with AI dribbling all the time, without sharing the ball unless he is trapped or for the highlights of a counter attack.
The deal is great for the Cavs, if James could reach the finals with nearly nothing last year, who knows what he can do with a very deep team.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:45 am
sam says:
How can you get on Yao for not having a “rep” for converting shots when you also point out he only missed one the entire night?
I understand perceptions are hard to shake but numbers don’t lie.
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:07 am
kobeef says:
I doubt this is a real stat but Yao must be the all time leader in height to attempted shots blocked correlation. There can be many in history over 7 foot that get stuffed as much as Yao. I estimate his max vertical jump at about 3-4 inches.
The most under-rated trade of the day goes to Houston who brought Gerald Green home (he grew up there) and united him with the player he was predicted to become (T-Mac). Maybe T-Mac can get GMoney’s head on straight ….otherwise he’s gonna be G-no-money-playing-in-the-d-league soon.
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:30 am
yoda says:
of topic: anyone knew kobe practices jeet kune do? martial arts that bruce lee trained.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZdY6sCP1ho
it seems kobe would kick some asses seriusly, if he gets in fight
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:33 am
reezzzy says:
Yao does get his fair share of getting blocked, because of his lack of vertical and slowness. But it’s matter of perception also. How many times does he make a move that the commentators say it’s unblockable? For every 100 of those, the image gets erased by a single block that is repeated over and over in Sportcenter.
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:43 am
mavs all the way says:
dikembe is the man!
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:46 am
GEE... you should be happy your trailer park has wi-fi says:
I promise Denver, G.S, Dallas or Utah better not take any L’s cause Houston in creepin on a come up for real!
T-Mac was usual and Yao had the good game (although I think DIME had some Bron dislike for Yao going on in their read today) but Landry and Scola were impressive in making wise decisions and hitting J’s.
I do hope Gerald Green works out, along with Bobby J.
How they gone have Houston play a back to back tonight and it’s against N.O. at home (Dang it). Not a good look. Win streak might come to a stop but 10 was nice to get them in the hunt.
The Pistons did good to get Juan he is scrappy and can heat up sometimes.
Taurean Green needs some tick somewhere cause he was really good at Fl.
Lamarcus “Do Work” Aldridge is getting his. Consistently too. Know one really knows what Greg Oden is going to do when he gets in, if he gets in cause he may get re-injured with his luck. LaMarcus has been solid and a big reason for a lot of Portland’s success this year.
Congrats Cleve. A competitive starting 5. We should see some things now.
Wonder why Toronto didn’t try to make any type of trade?
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:47 am
jz_smoove says:
no hatin on Manu, it aint fair cuz the is aight minus the flopping. now the Raps have 3 7-footers, and a couple which are essentially clones, brezec and bargnani are perimeter players. i dont see the sense on this one. Great trade for the Rockets. Green was a very good backup for the Truth once in Beantown. He has good stroke on his jumpers and above average fundamentals, all he needs is some asswhuppin to get his head straight on, as most HSers-to-NBA do. And you cant teach athleticism. on the other hand, bad bad trade for the Cavs, bad bad bad. it puts more pressure on bron to score and facilitate. west will end up playing behind damon jones and booby to start with. it all depends on wally world if he still got it, whatever it is he did have.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:01 am
GEE... you should be happy your trailer park has wi-fi says:
Oops that should be why didn’t Toronto make any type of trade for T.J. considering Jose is doing so well.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 am
E $ says:
shut the hatin on Yao, he doesnt have the african genes for a vertical like DHo or Amare. he’s doing fine with what he has
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:11 am
Kobeef says:
GEE - good question about Toronto but I doubt anyone would take TJ’s $32 million contract ( 3 more years) with his injury history.
TJ will be in toronto until that contract runs out and I expect will retire afterwards….I bet Charlie V is looking pretty nice now to Raps fans.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:15 am
jjankechu says:
Yao is 7′6. It’s probably physiologically impossible for him to be quick or to jump high. He is what he is, although he could probably learn to get better positioning for rebounds. I swear, any time i see the rockets on TV, he’s always getting caught way too close to the basket when Houston launches a 3.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:23 am
Smitty313 says:
No ones hating on Yao and he doesn’t need african genes. He’s 7 6 he needs to go to the hoop with heart instead he goes up soft as hell. I’ve seen Kobe and Nat Robinson block Yao on plays that if Yao went to the rim with aggression he would have dunked on them. Instead he goes up with soft baby hooks.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:28 am
Steven says:
Yeah Yao needs to work on his spacing and utilize his wingspan like Camby does. Can someone explain to me the Von Wafer to Portland trade? Speaking of which- love the JR Rider comment! Also, what impact does Bonzi have if/when NO meet the Rockets in the playoffs? Another trade I don’t really get. Help, please…
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:31 am
FK in Toronto says:
Nope - Charlie V still doesn’t look nice to us in Toronto. We unloaded him at peak value (to a team he’d dropped 50 on at the end of the season).
Cavs are going to rebound us to death now though
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:31 am
YOUNGFED says:
Dominique: I was being sarcastic I’m a die hard Piston fan but I would like to see highlites too. Amyou guessed AI is my favorite player so stop ya hatin.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:03 am
Kobeef says:
FK…if you are trying to suggest the Raps wouldn’t do-over the Charlie for TJ trade now if given the chance you are either a)TJ’s boyfriend, or b)Charlie’s ex boyfriend (whom he tossed away like a used kleenex).
Seriously, name the other 5-11 PG’s with poor playmaking skills who make $8 million a year. None. His contract is untradeable.
Remember the last game of the NJ playoff series last year (which the raps lost)? Where was TJ in crunch time? On the BENCH because you can’t trust him to make the right play when it counts. And because he gets owned by most other PG’s when he tries to play D.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:13 am
Gareth says:
I hate Manu when he plays the suns but only because he’s so damn good. The guy’s seriously underrated. When he’s the focal point of the offense and he’s got the 3, the midrange J, and the herky jerky behind the back left drive all going he’s pretty near unstoppable.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:47 am
isotope says:
Y’all can’t compare 7′2″ guys to 7′6″ guys. We just assume the taller you are the less dunks you should be missing. Well last I checked there wasnt any other guy taller than 7′2″ close to the calliber that Yao is. Not even close. There have been guys just as tall as Yao but not as good. There are disadvantages to being that tall and Yao is working through it.
I’m still ticked about that Bonzi deal.
I’m still not sure I like that Cavs trade. I’m a little skeptical about trading half your starting squad midway through the season. And did they really need Ben Wallace? They’re in the east. I’d understand if they had to face Yao, Shaq, Amare, and TD who mainly play inside. But it helps them against the Magic not much more against anybody else. Anyways, I’ve said this before and i’ll say it again. Teams playing the Cavs are better off with the ball in Lebron’s hands. He can get his triple double but he’s not going to win the game if everybody else is stopped. “Everybody else getting stopped” just got easier. We’ll see though.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:57 am
isotope says:
Yo Gee,
you seen this?
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5561196.html
The Rockets want Barry. “Oh God, please make it happen”
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:18 am
SWAT says:
If Yao didn’t have heart he would not have got better each year he has played. Man yall sometimes I feel like I’m in the Dave Chappelle skit…the Haters club. HATE HATE HATE. Rockets on a 10 game win streak and Tmac has only been dropping 10-15 a game, except for last nite when he found his legs. Who the hell do you think has been carrying the slack? Yao has been a beast lately and the only thing that yall talk about is a block…we beat that ass last nite and we will see about N.O. tonight. And man the fact that we got Green is so insanely dope! Hopefully he can get his act right but except dude to come out playing…he’s back home baby~!
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:24 am
SWAT says:
Wow I hope we get Brent. His brother Jon was such a great teammate and just an all around nice guy…they both were/ are able to shoot the lights out! Oh i can only hope!
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:30 am
gayforRudy says:
28th…lick my bowls!
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:38 am
Icy says:
wo deke 16 years, no wonder the president likes you
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:56 am
GEE... you should be happy your trailer park has wi-fi says:
ISO! I will say that prayer with you homey! I want that to happen seriously. Thanks for the link! Good looking out!
Houston will no doubt be the most guard heavy team in the NBA lol. 2 tall @#$ centers in Yao and Deke, and some work horse forwards. All of that under a new coach with a new scheme.
The NBA where only this type of craziness happens lol.
I just hate Houston has to play N.O. tonight while all these other West teams we need to take l’s get easier teams.
Tonight is a night when we need Tracy to be the Tracy of old and score like 40-50, Yao get 20 and 10, Skip between 15-20 and 8 dimes, and everyone else contributing. All gears need to be hot!
I am so suprised no one got Ron Artest. Word is Denver could have had him but didn’t want to give up that Kelinza (however it’s spelled) dude. Man if I was Denver I would have traded him so fast. You talking about adding another intimidator and a scored to your squad.
Well it’s good for the other West squads they didn’t.
If this squad Clev. puts on the floor gets some chemistry …they will make much noise. The biggest ? will be Ben. If Ben gets right, Clev. will be on!
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
isotope says:
Hey off topic I was looking at youtube and caught the slam dunk contest with Igoudala (when he was robbed). He actually did a dunk almost identical to the dunk DHoward did behind the backboard this year. Anyone else notice that? Yet DHo got 50 points off it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2faWdou5Gco
around the 1 minute mark.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
dagwaller says:
I wouldn’t put Tim Duncan in the race for MVP for the same reasons KG has kind of fallen out of it: both have been hurt, and neither of them is really carrying the team/making everyone better the way Lebron, CP, and Kobe are. You could say that KG has made the Celtics drastically better, but it’s hard to quantify, because the team has changed SO MUCH from last year. Couldn’t you also give it then to a revitalized PP? Or Ray Allen? Maybe give Rivers COtY, just because of the way he’s made the impossible expectations work, but don’t give KG or TD the MVP.
reezzzy hit the nail on the head, and SWAT put some punctuation on it. The reason I (can’t speak for anyone else) speak up for Yao is because he’s a different kind of player, yes, but a player that gets hated on for nothing. He misses dunks every once in a while, but if you look, so do a lot of big men. I can see that you just hate because he has a lot of hype, but it genuinely seems like you ignore all the other things he does well. Yea, Dwight Howard doesn’t miss any dunks. He also doesn’t do anything else well, offensively. Yao can shoot, he can shoot free throws (AND gets to the line frequently), and he can pass.
Last night would be a perfect example. I didn’t catch the game, but I can see that Yao went 10 for 11. WHO CARES THAT THE ONE MISSED SHOT WAS A DUNK?!?!?! They all count the same, Dime Magazine. If Dwight Howard went 10 for 11 (naturally missing his free throws), we’d assume he was being a beast and only missed one jumper. What’s the difference between him and Yao, then?
It’s funny, because if any other player had a nice jumper, you’d say so. Even other big men, like TD or KG. Yao, though, you just keep hatin on.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
dagwaller says:
I do bust on T-Mac a lot, so I have to give him some props for last night. I’ll take 8 for 19 shooting as long as he went 10:1 A/To ratio. AND the 39 minutes played.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
GEE... you should be happy your trailer park has wi-fi says:
Iso I was thinking that when I seen the dunk contest this year. I told my wife something like that has been done before, but it is still spectacular.
Still the blow out the candle and superman was ill. My wife was all mad cause Dwight didn’t touch the rim, saying it really wasn’t a dunk.
Still nothing is more hilarious than green socks.
Wait, when Gerald signed his shoes and put them in front of (and why out of all people would he put them here) Chocolate Thunder. Chocolate Thunder proceeds to push his shoes off the table on the floor.
Now that was hilarious lol!
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Celts Fan says:
isotope - Iguodala did that in the first round (pretty sure anyway) and did get a 50, but didn’t pull off the W cuz of his finals dunks. By the way, that’s the 2nd best dunk I’ve ever seen (sorry Mr. Weiss) and it’s close the #1, and 3rd is nowhere near them. It’s still jaw-dropping to see now, even when you’ve seen it a million times.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:40 pm
steve says:
yo Dime whats ur guys stance on Frye, u always start to talk about him but trail off after a bit, do you think he should be getting more minutes, or not? I remember him as a pretty good basketball player. What happened to him?
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Ian says:
love the hate
manu drops 44 the game winner
nobody in the league does more in 30 mns a game
is avg over 30 pts in the spurs win streak
and someone mentions the flopping puh pleaseee
now to kg
hes not the mvp
shit every season a star gets traded hes the mvp comon they are doin the same if not less they did with their teams
if duncan or kobe or lebron gets traded to the bulls there is a 100% chance they win mvp
reward the players that have done it with their own team
if nash stayed in dallas he would never have won
same thing when they gave kidd consideration in 03
its a flavor of the month thing in the nba
fuck it shaq and duncan should have won the last ten mvps
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Ian says:
barry is gonna be a spurs again
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Jamaal Magloire says:
Hey, Dallas. The Nets just waived me and I kept my trap shut, unlike Stackhouse, so now you can “sign me” to replace Diop
Really Houston, you gave up Wells AND James for “1 sneeze away from DL” Jackson?
You coulda had me for a stuffed crust
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:57 am
Jamaal Magloire says:
Hey, Dallas. The Nets just waived me and I kept my trap shut, unlike Stackhouse, so now you can “sign me” to replace Diop
Really Houston, you gave up Wells AND James for “1 sneeze away from DL” Jackson?
You coulda had me for a stuffed crust
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
doc says:
the hate on Yao is hilarious. Thats like me saying Dwight is a fucking bum because his 10 footer stinks and he cant make a free throw to save his unborn child. Yao will bust your favorite teams centers ass.