NBA Trades and the Balance of Power

The National Basketball Association´s annual feeding frenzy, known as the trading deadline, has come and gone. This is the time when "officially" teams can make trades with other teams for players who they think can help them with their mission of either making the playoffs, or in some extreme cases, winning the championship. Teams that are trading away star players are positioning themselves for the fee agency period, while teams that are acquiring star players are doing so with the hopes that said player is the missing piece in their championship puzzle.

This year, the free agency period will feature many of the top players in the league, including Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and of course, Lebron James. Teams are clearing salary cap space in the hopes of landing one or more of the All-Stars. On the other hand, teams like Cleveland¸ Toronto and Miami, the current homes of the aforementioned stars, are trying to make deals in hopes of venturing deeper into the playoffs on the odd chance that the success of the team will entice the stars to stay at their current addresses. This year´s trading deadline was strikingly similar to this past season´s free agency period, when all of the same teams made deals with the same goals in mind; either clearing cap space or building a championship team.

The focus of much of the NBA news this week centered on the two best teams in each conference, and coincidentally, the league only scheduled two games on the evening of the trade deadline, and the games featured these four teams. In the opener, the Denver Nuggets took on the Cleveland Cavaliers and in the nightcap; the Boston Celtics took on the Los Angeles Lakers, the reigning NBA Champions.

The Cavaliers, who were at the time riding a 13-game winning streak and were in possession of the best record in the NBA, made several deals leading into the deadline, most notably moving Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Washington in exchange for Antwan Jamison and obtaining Sebastian Telfair from the Clippers. While the Cavs hope to be able to reacquire Ziggy once he is bought out by the Wizards, in essence, their team is complete. Neither of their new acquisitions was in uniform when the Cavs hosted the Nuggets, who were dealing with their own issues, having recently learned that their coach George Karl would be missing some time away from the bench to deal with neck and throat cancer. Despite a 43-point Triple-Double from King James, the Cavs were unable to overcome a 40-point performance from Carmelo Anthony, and saw their winning streak snapped.

By obtaining an athletic, point producing power forward, it is obvious that the Cavaliers, who were defeated by the Orlando Magic last season on the Magic´s way to the NBA Finals, with their off-season deals and their deals at the trading deadline, are building a team that they hope will be able to neutralize the dominant front courts of the Celtics and the Magic and propel the Cavs into the NBA Finals. However, their defeat by the Nuggets did not show if the Cavs would be able to handle an elite Western Conference team if they reach the championship match up.

The Celtics were also one of the buyers at the deadline by shipping shooter Eddie House to the New York Knicks in exchange for speedy point guard and Three-Time Slam Dunk Champion Nate Robinson. The acquisition of Robinson gives the Celtics an even faster point guard coming off the bench who can penetrate the lane and create his own shot, and it is obvious that the Celtics are looking past the Conference Finals and at a Finals matchup with the Lakers, who would have been able to match Rajon Rondo´s speed with an improving Jordan Farmar. The acquisition of Robinson gives the Celtics someone who would, when Farmar came into the game, give the Celtics someone faster than Farmar, giving the Celtics the edge on the floor at guard.

The two perennial champions faced off on the evening of the trading deadline, with the Lakers knowing that the Cavaliers had already lost and a victory would edge them closer to regaining the best record in the NBA. Robinson was not in uniform for the Celtics, but the Lakers were playing their captain Kobe Bryant, who is nursing several injuries. Though the Celtics were without their newest acquisition, they were able to defeat the Lakers by the same one point margin that the Nuggets enjoyed over the Cavaliers.

The Los Angeles Lakers entered the season as the team most favored to win this season´s NBA Championship, and, with their acquisition of Ron Artest in the offseason and departure of Trevor Ariza, the Lakers did not feel the need to make any deals at the trade deadline, despite the rumors of a Derek Fisher-Kirk Hinrich swap. With the team as it is currently constructed, several teams felt the need to make moves that would give them some sort of advantage against the reigning champs, including Portland obtaining center Marcus Camby from the Clippers. Though the four best teams faced one another on the evening of the deadline, the true tests will come after the players have had adequate time to become full acclimated with their new surroundings.

No one can say which teams were winners or losers on that day, though many will try, because the true test will come, for the buyers in the playoffs, and for the sellers in the offseason, if any of them are able to pick from the list of eligible superstar free agents. Until those times, all we can do as fans and reporters is wait until whichever time our team is planning for to see if they are successful in their mission. There will only be one NBA Champion, and there will only be a few teams where James, Bosh, Wade, Stoudemire and the others will land, but there will be many teams who will emerge from both of these periods disappointed. Then we will truly know who the winners and losers were at the trading deadline.