Thoughts on the Trade Deadline Deals

NBA message board servers rejoiced when the NBA's trade deadline passed without a blockbuster deal last week.  Instead of shutting down discussion forums as if they were the painted area, Dwight Howard pledged allegiance to Orlando for the rest of this season.  Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol will continue to share the five combined touches that Kobe Bryant allows them.  And the Boston Celtics are giving their Big Four one last ride.

But that doesn't mean the few trades that did occur were meaningless.  

• The Houston Rockets gave up on the underwhelming young duo of Hasheem Thabeet and Johnny Flynn to obtain some length in the frontcourt in the form of veteran Marcus Camby.  Camby does indeed provide the squad with a shot-blocking presence inside and is a player who can help improve their below-average defense (ranked 18th in the league).

• The Rockets also jettisoned Jordan Hill for a draft pick and Derek Fisher, whom they then bought out.  It's a solid trade for Houston because they get a pick, and it's a useful trade for the Lakers because they make room for...

The Lakers will miss Derek Fisher's leadership. 

• Ramon Sessions, a point guard who can actually handle the ball and set up the offense.  Defenses essentially ignored Fisher, who has shot less than 33 percent from 3-point range this season and has basically guaranteed opposing point guards a boost to their stats with his poor defense.

• That begs the question: where will Fisher end up?  Miami and OKC are getting fanfare as possible destinations, but Boston is a dark horse.  The Celtics love old guys, and Fisher is like the anti-Rajon Rondo; Rondo can do everything but shoot, while late game 3-point shooting in the playoffs is why Fisher is still in the league.  Plus, you know Boston would love to stick it to L.A. by signing him.  

• The struggling Blazers didn't just trade Camby- they also fired coach Nate McMillan, traded Gerald Wallace to N.J., and waived Greg Oden.   82-games-per-four-seasons Greg Oden.  That Greg Oden.  It had to be done: as said here, Portland needs to retool after the failed Brandon Roy-Greg Oden era.

• The Nets acquired Wallace, and everybody thinks it has something to do with Dwight Howard still, but nobody knows exactly what.  Story of New Jersey, 2012...

• Stephon Jackson returned to San Antonio to be coached by Gregg Popovich, who had success channeling Jackson's energy into a positive for the Spurs in 2003.  With only a few more rounds left in their current core, it's a good move.  

• Washington got rid of JaVale McGee, who arguably has the lowest Bball IQ of any NBA player in history, for the consistent Nene Hilario, who should provide John Wall with a reliable target.  In the same deal, the Clippers acquired Nick Young, who gives them a legitimate shooting guard for the first time all season.  Denver should only consider resigning Mr. "$14 Million" restricted free agent center for the league minimum.  The deal's biggest winner is John Wall's sanity.    

Player to Watch: Detroit Piston Greg Monroe

The Detroit Pistons, the guardians of the Eastern Conference Finals for nearly a decade, have been shipped down the line the last few years.  Their cushy term as pencilled-in Conference Finalist exhausted, they are the team even Miami Heat fans will likely skip watching when the team comes to South Beach.

Be it bad contracts, injuries, or not meeting expectations, Detroit's core over the last few years hasn't exactly induced the sense of a 2000s reenactment.  But there is one player who gives hope to the Pistons: Greg Monroe.

Monroe has a knack for the bucket.  

Monroe is a 21-year-old sophomore NBA center on a bad team- a situation that claims the confidence of most players.  Inspiringly, Monroe has emerged and continued to meet the greater amount of responsibilities thrown his way.

Comparing year one to year two, Monroe's minutes, Usage rate, and shot volume have skyrocketed with no significant hit to his efficiency.  He's averaging 16.3 points on 55.6 percent True Shooting, and the majority of his scoring comes unassisted, which means he's creating for himself efficiently.

Monroe's scoring style is ground-based.  He's not an explosive athlete by any means, but he's a big-bodied southpaw who knows how to move himself into scoring positions on the interior and along the baseline.  An engine on the offensive glass (14.2 offensive rebound rate, fourth in the NBA), Monroe manufactures points.  It would be nice to see him drive up his foul draw rate; he's not Al Jefferson-bad at drawing fouls, and he doesn't have to be Dwight Howard, but he should look to draw more contact, especially since he shoots nearly 80 percent from the foul line.  He needs to learn how to mix his craftiness with his heft and some 'bows.  

Perhaps his best attribute is his passing.  He can deliver interior passes, high-lows, and passes from the mid-post to cutters in the lane- basically everything Pau Gasol can do.  Many of his assists result in close-range shots.  As he develops a respectable jump shot and Detroit improves their putrid 3-point shooting corps, Monroe should find himself assisting on more 3-point shots via swing passes from the top of the key.

Monroe only takes 2.1 shots per game outside of nine feet.  If he can improve that, it could be a big weapon, particularly in pick-n-pop scenarios with Rodney Stuckey.

Defensively, Monroe is gritty, but his relative lack of athletic ability hurts at times.  He's a big-time rebounder though, and Detroit is an above-average rebounding team; if they get the right players, the team could be a good defensive team with Monroe as a helpful piece.              

Detroit is finding itself.  After years of being in flux, Detroit is finally assembling a sustainable model, with Monroe as an anchor piece.    
    

New Jersey Nets: Injuries Cost the Front Line

The New Jersey Nets are a fortunate bunch.

They are currently 13-27, good for last in the Atlantic Division.  They have the worst defense in the entire league.  And they lead the league in total games missed: 11 players have missed 123 games as of this past Tuesday, and that number is sure to grow with Brook Lopez still out with another leg injury.    

Deron Williams has played like a top-7 player in the NBA this season.

But at least they aren't the Bobcats.  

At the core of N.J.'s problems is that Lopez has accounted for a large portion of those games missed.  Brook has played only 136 minutes over five games for a team that doesn't have another legitimate NBA starter in their frontcourt.  Without Lopez's interior scoring, the team relies almost exclusively on Deron Williams to create shots.  It's a credit to Williams that with all that pressure and with head coach Avery Johnson misusing him early in the season by putting him off-ball, he has still been able to elevate New Jersey to literally being at the league average in offensive rating.  

MarShon Brooks, who has had a stellar rookie season, has also missed time.  Brooks can handle the rock and act as a pressure-release for Deron, so having him in the lineup and healthy has been crucial.

The perimeter corps of New Jersey measures up quite nicely against most teams in the league: Deron is a superstar point guard, DeShawn Stevenson and Anthony Morrow provide toughness, length, and shooting at the wings, Jordan Farmar is a proven championship-caliber backup PG, and Brooks is a solid all-around rookie.  

But the frontcourt...oh, the frontcourt.  Kris Humphries is the team's frontcourt scorer, and he derives most of his points from Deron Williams.  Shelden Williams and Johan Petro are non-threats at center, and the frontcourt lacks the length and/or quick feet that it takes to defend the high-percentage spots of the floor.  The team is close to last in the league in blocks, eFG% Against, and defensive rebound percentage.  

Maybe their frontcourt fortunes change.  Maybe they sign Dwight Howard this summer and all is well.  If they do, they'll be contenders.  But for now...they're simply not the Bobcats.