“If LeBron can go home, why can’t I?” asked an aging star on a Brooklyn Nets roster that never seemed to click despite high expectations at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season. Kevin Garnett is returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves, a franchise he so deeply loves and never wanted to leave in 2007 when he was traded to Boston. He is still the face of the franchise where it all started 20 years ago, and it seems only fitting that he will end his career in T-Wolves blue and green.
This is just one of the various deals that occurred before the NBA trade deadline, which was 3:00 p.m. last Thursday, Feb. 19. The story of the deadline was the merry-go-round of point guards who relocated. The most notable was Goran Dragic, who desperately wanted to abandon the Phoenix desert. His list was trimmed to the Knicks, Lakers and Heat (I wonder why…), and luckily for him, Pat Riley came calling. The Slovenian point guard was traded to Miami in a three-team deal that included the New Orleans Pelicans, who picked up Norris Cole in the deal. And he still gets to play with Zoran!
The next point guard that ran the fast break across the country was Reggie Jackson, who was traded from the Thunder to the Pistons in a three-team deal that sent Jazz center Enes Kanter to Oklahoma City. Jackson was ecstatic about getting out of Russell Westbrook’s shadow, and it shows by taking a peek at his Twitter activity. But why? Sure, Detroit is a place where Jackson can put up better numbers, but what about when Brandon Jennings returns from a ruptured Achilles tendon next season? I am not so sure I understand how jovial Jackson was about the trade.
In addition to trading away Dragic, Phoenix sent another one its point guards, Isaiah Thomas, to the Celtics for Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round pick.Detroit joined in the fun and brought Tayshaun Prince back to the place he won a championship in 2004. Just don’t remind me of his chase-down block on Reggie, please. The sun did not quite fade on the Suns backcourt, however, as GM Ryan McDonough acquired Brandon Knight from Milwaukee in another three-team deal that sent 76ers' point guard Michael Carter-Williams from the cellar of the Eastern Conference to the current sixth seed in the playoffs. Oh wait, the Knicks are in the cellar! You didn’t think I would miss the opportunity to add to the Knicks’ misery, did you?
The top teams were quiet at this deadline, with the top seeds in both conferences not making a single move. There was mayhem, upheaval and a lot of prominent players relocating. These moves will undoubtedly shift the playoff picture, especially in the Eastern Conference. The six through eight seeds in the East are the Bucks, Heat and Nets, respectively. I predict the Bucks will not hold on to that playoff spot, and even though Chris Bosh is out for the season for Miami, I predict that the Heat will make the field of eight in the East. The Nets are intriguing and honestly it is a toss-up as they sit a game up on Charlotte and 1.5 games above Detroit and Indiana for the eight seed. Not that this means anything, as the first-place Hawks wait in the first round.
The trade deadline is a point in the NBA season where many players meet new teammates and new cities, and I am just happy it was as exciting as ever.
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