Bobcats & Mavs Make a Trade

The Dallas Mavericks traded DeSagana Diop to the Bobcats for Matt Carroll and Ryan Hollins. Diop gives the Bobcats another big which they sorely need. The Bobcats get a good defender in Diop. Diop is pretty average offensively. He could probably hit a 15 footer once every blue moon. Diop and Emeka Okafor could be a potent 1-2 punch for the Bobcats on the defensive end. The trade allows Okafor to move to his more natural position as a power forward. The trade also make the Bobcats a little deeper at that position as Brown will probably go with Juwan Howard and Nazr Mohammed off the bench for substitution purposes. One could say that Adam Morrison's play probably made Matt Carroll expendable. Both players are similar, though Matt Carroll shoots a better percentage than Morrison. Each player is all offense and no defense. Why not trade one for a needed big?

The Mavericks finally get their shooting guard that they have been needing for a while. Matt Carroll can shoot the cover off the ball but their defense will suffer. The Mavs need his shooting to spread the floor for Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd. Gerald Green and Antoine Wright haven't been playing consistent enough for the Mavs, though Wright's defense has been as advertised. Trading Diop has left the Mavs without a back up big for Erick Dampier. Brandon Bass is too small to be playing center. Ryan Hollins will present no resistance at the defensive end. I think they'll pick up another big at some point.

A Little Bit of NBA Trade Winds

There aren't many rumors floating around the NBA lately. Obviously, the holidays have executives and journalists distracted. However, Yahoo! Sports has an article up that was pretty much about how former high school phenom Brandon Jennings is handling playing in Europe. In that article, towards the bottom, there is a list of names that might be on the trading block. The names of players listed are the same ones that have been mentioned over the last couple of months with the Warriors pushing hard to trade Corey Maggette who nobody wants.

Here are the other names: Sam Dalembert, Raymond Felton, Adam Morrison, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes and Brad Miller.

Does anyone want to take on Dalembert's contract? Nope. Even if that particular wanted Sam Dalembert, they won't be giving up anything worthwhile for the limitations of Dalembert and his contract.

Raymond Felton is an interesting case. He didn't really click well with the Larry Brown as the starting point guard, but blossomed as a two guard. The inquiring team would have to offer up something substantial, at least that is what Michael Jordan should be wanting. By the way, how is that Brandon Wright-Jason Richardson trade working out? Looks pretty good to me after acquiring Boris Diaw and Raja Bell for Jason Richardson. My apologies, Mr. Michael Jordan. Adam Morrison has been somewhat of a bust since being drafted. I'm hestitant to call him a bust because most teams find out what they have in a player in their third year in the league. His first year was ugly; second year was a wash because of injury. His third year is going ok. Check out his game log when he gets about 20 minutes a game. He plays really well. Does any team need some scoring off the bench? Dallas Mavericks? Maybe Phoenix or New Orleans? I doubt he gets moved though, unless some team is desperate.

Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes are two Bulls who are on the outs in Chicago. Hughes is complaining about playing time, while Drew Gooden is doing what he does best: rebounding and scoring the basketball at a good clip. The Bulls seem to want to package the two together in any deal. Ultimately, I think Gooden will be the only Bull traded during the season. A Hughes trade might happen during the summer as his contract expires after next season. The Hornets could use another productive big man. Chris Paul needs help really bad!

Another disgruntled player make the rounds in the trade rumors is Brad Miller. Does anyone need a good passing and rebounding big man with average defense? Maybe the Heat? They could use Brad Miller's height, but not his attitude. Miller pipe down and put up numbers so he can be an attractive trade bait.

The NBA trade rumors should heat up over the next couple of weeks as the trade deadline nears. By the way, that Allen Iverson trade seems to be working for both teams now. So much for that Chauncey Billups for MVP talk.