nba trade deadline deal '08

NBA trade deadline is now over, and there were some big moves triggered by several teams in the dying seconds of the trade window in the league.

Five faces, 2 new teams.

Most notable ones are the moves made by Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls, both teams are looking to progress with better roster into the playoff in couple months' time.

Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes find themselves in new uniform soon.

I'll just highlight the players which the teams are getting from the trade.

Chicago Bulls get:
Drew Gooden (from Cleveland Cavaliers)
Larry Hughs ( from Cleveland Cavaliers)
Shannon Brown ( from Cleveland Cavaliers)
Cedric Simmons (from Cleveland Cavaliers)

Cleveland Cavaliers get:
Ben Wallace (from Chicago Bulls)
Joe Smith (from Chicago Bulls)
Dolente West (from Seattle Supersonics)
Wally Szczerbiak (from Seattle Supersonics)

Seattle Supersonics get:
Ira Newble (from Cleveland Cavaliers)
Donyell Marshall (from Cleveland Cavaliers)
Adrian Griffin (from Chicago Bulls)

and read the rest of the transaction here.

Ben Wallace and Drew Gooden will be trading uniforms.

Both Chicago and Cleveland could benefit from the deadline trade running into the playoff. Chicago Bulls have acquired younger frontcourt in Drew Gooden, and with better offensive option (if compared to aging Ben Wallace). Larry Hughes, if healthy, provides one of the best defensive prowess in the league. He's one of the better perimeter defender in the league, which Chicago lacks. Ben Gordon and Luol Deng are probably Bulls' best players, but they aren't known for their defense.

As for Cleveland, Lebron James just found himself surrounded with an upgraded supporting cast, with improved perimeter offense. Both Wally and West are excellent outside shooter. On top of that Joe Smith and Ben Wallace are experienced warhorse, who can provide the inside presence Cleveland needs.

On paper, Cleveland could even field a fearsome lineup in Wallace, Ilgauskas, Lebron, and the ever energetic Varejao. These 'beasts' can throw their bodies on court and dominate the paint. This could be useful against Western Teams like Spurs and Suns, probably Magic too.

Let's see how the story progresses from here onwards. You can read the full trade analysis by NBA.com here.



End note: Sorry, couldn't resist to write another sports review. :-) Happy weekend!