Another year, another NBA Trade Deadline gone by. As you probably would expect, the Dime office was Ground Zero today for anything and everything trade related. Whether it was Twitter, texts or phone calls, we were constantly on our toes looking for the most up-to-date info to relay to you, our readers. With players’ names being thrown around more than the gut of Chris Farley in a Matt Foley motivational speaker skit, it was difficult forecasting what gossip would end up reality. On the wake of the recently kyboshed Mayo/McRoberts deal, it brought my attention to the other rumored deals that were circulating, but for one reason or another didn’t quite come to fruition. Here they are: Read More »

At the end of the day, talent trumps everything. Two contending teams need an explosive scoring two-guard, so in spite of all the red flags he may produce via bad relationships with coaches and off-court drama, J.R. Smith is potentially getting a shot at a ring this year.

According to ESPN, the Mavericks and Bulls are exploring trades for J.R. before the deadline. Dallas has been looking for an answer on the wing ever since Caron Butler went down for the season with a knee injury, and Chicago has been looking for the right fit alongside Derrick Rose ever since they lost Ben Gordon two years ago. Read More »

His star-making postseason debut series aside, Derrick Rose had kind of established a script recently whenever he faced the Boston Celtics. The most explosive point guard in the League wouldn’t do anything too spectacular, his counterpart Rajon Rondo would slap up an easy double-double while flirting with 20 assists, and the Bulls would lose in uninspiring fashion. Last night, D-Rose thankfully flipped the script and reignited that Rose/Rondo rivalry we all want to see … Rose dropped 36 points and the Bulls’ interior defense stepped up in crunch time as Chicago snapped Boston’s four-game win streak. Read More »

Despite all the “young talent” in Sacramento, the Kings are headed back to the Lottery this June. So what do you do as a franchise when you’re sitting at 7-24 a third of the way through the season? You start to plan for the future. And apparently part of that plan may involve moving Omri Casspi to either Chicago or New York. Read More »

A three-team deal emerged Tuesday night that had the New Jersey Nets send Terrence Williams to the Houston Rockets and Joe Smith to the Los Angeles Lakers. In return, the Nets will receive Sasha Vujacic from the Lakers along with a 2011 first-round pick, and a Lottery-protected 2012 first-round pick from the Rockets. The Rockets also sent Jermaine Taylor to the Sacramento Kings for a future second-round pick in order to make room for Williams. While there aren’t any landscape-shifting moves here, it does open the door a bit wider for a move that could have much bigger implications. Here’s a quick rundown of the fantasy fallout: Read More »

We may be only six games into the new season, but Houston is already feeling the pressure to win as much as any other team in the NBA. After last night’s 120-94 win over Minnesota, the Rockets now stand at 1-5 on the year. It also doesn’t hurt to mention that four of Houston’s first six opponents have been New Orleans, San Antonio, Denver and the L.A. Lakers – who currently have three total losses between them.

But the Rockets shouldn’t worry just yet, because if one thing is clear, it’s that this team has a lot of talent – and much of that talent stems from a deep bench of role players. Beyond Houston’s starting core, Chase Budinger, Courtney Lee and Kyle Lowry will all certainly make their respective presence felt this season. And another guy who will look to make an impact: rookie Patrick Patterson. Read More »

Speaking of Daryl Morey, the Rockets GM might have some enemies when it comes to diehard Yao Ming fans who have been waiting to see him on the court. After missing all of last season following foot surgery, according to Morey, he’ll only be able to play a maximum of 25 minutes a night. Read More »

Since I’m guessing the Denver Nuggets won’t take my advice and keep Carmelo Anthony this season, and the list of rumored destinations for ‘Melo grows by the week, it’s time to explore what the Nuggets can do trade-wise to get something close to equal value in return for the man who’s been their franchise centerpiece for the last seven years.

Although I still believe ‘Melo ultimately ends up in New York, recent rumors have gained momentum that he has the Houston Rockets at or near the top of his wish list of teams with which he’d sign a long-term extension following a trade. How exactly would ‘Melo end up in Houston, though? Read More »

A lot of talk around the Dime office yesterday focused on 2011 NBA championship contenders. Are the Nuggets in the mix? One of our guys thinks so, which is why he says Denver shouldn’t trade Carmelo Anthony. But then again, Kenyon Martin doesn’t even sound like he thinks Denver can go all the way. “Al (Harrington) is cool,” K-Mart told the Denver Post about the team’s big offseason pickup. “Al’s my man, but I can’t see how we got better. You know, I’m going to be out and (Birdman) is going to be out (to start the season), so did we get better? I can’t say that we did.” Read More »

The NBA: Where off-seasons don’t happen. Yesterday afternoon, a four-team deal involving five players hit the NBA. Darren Collison and James Posey head to Indiana, Troy Murphy lands in Newark, Trevor Ariza finds himself in New Orleans and Courtney Lee is now in Houston. While the names might not be huge, the fantasy implications could be. Let’s dive right in and look at the winners, losers and neutrals from the deal, from a fantasy perspective. Read More »