The Last Trade of 2007

A small trade went down in the wee days before the trading deadline (March 24th) as Jon and Alvin positioned themselves for a playoff and Toilet Bowl run, respectively. Point guard Steve Blake had been sitting the pine for the super charged Funk and the Pogiboys had a need for a third passer to pair with Chauncey Billups and Chris Paul. The other man in the trade? Virtual unknown Houston Rockets power forward Chuck Hayes.

Blake, since being traded to the Nuggets, has been logging 30+ minutes and contributing a steady stream of AST, 3PT, and STL. While his scoring has been up and down, 6 AST, 1 3PT/STL and excellent percentages is nothing to scoff at.

Hayes on the other hand, is in his rookie season and despite being undersized, is a rebounding machine and a hustler. With the recent move into the starting lineup Hayes has shown that he's capable of outstanding FG%, REB, and STL numbers; even in limited time (25+ minutes).

Both owners were pleased with their acquisitions and vow to keep the flame alive for their respective fan bases. In a joint statement, GMs Jon and Alvin said "This kind of tinkering with our lineup shows the other owners (and our fans) that we mean serious business."

A Small Deal

It's almost embarassing to mention, but right after the biggest blockbuster in league history -- involving two number one picks -- Buffy and Funk Coalition set off a mini-flare of their own, exchanging shooting guard Cuttino Mobley for point guard Jose Calderon. A pure need-based trade, Buffy was looking for some AST help with Chris Paul out of town and Funk had too many passing oriented guards, so an exchange was quickly reached.

Despite his backup status, Jose Calderon has shown that he is capable of reaching double digit assist nights in under thirty minutes of action. While his season averages of 10 PTS, 5 AST, and almost 1 STL aren't stellar, Calderon is great when starting and has now solidified himself in a semi-time share with TJ Ford on the Toronto Raptors. That translates to about a dozen points, six assists a night, and a perfect fit for the new look Buffy.


Cuttino Mobley has certainly seen better days, but as the primary outside shooter on the Clippers, he can still light it up once in awhile. Averaging 13 PTS, 1.2 3PT and 1 STL on the season, Mobley is exactly the type of hot-and-cold player Funk needs to add a bit of scoring punch to his team.

Both Buffy and the Funk are attempting to fine tune their teams in an effort to gain ground on Western division powers Fat Jubas and Chunky Monkeys. Realizing that their current rosters probably won't take them to the Finals, Roger and Jon have been busy working the phones to increase the peace and to make a push for a title.

With the playoffs starting in three weeks and the trade deadline in two (March 24), will they run out of time?

The Real Deal

MoRRie’s Pogiboys sends Elton Brand and Stephon Marbury to Buffy in exchange for Chris Paul, JR Smith, and Hakim Warrick.

One day after a surprising exchange with Fat Jubas, the Pogiboys were at it again making a trade to further their youth movement. With a playoff run out of the question, all signs clearly point at the future.

The Pogiboys new floor general Chris Paul (CP3) will provide the leadership necessary to take this team to new heights next season. The pairing with Chauncey Billups makes for a formidable backcourt threat. Although Elton Brand will be missed, the ridding of locker-room cancer Stephon Marbury was the primary goal in the transaction.

Heralded as the deepest team in the league, Buffy needed to make a move in order to make a run for the championship this season. While Buffy somehow has new injuries to his players each week, something needed to be done to help the team. Parting with the face of the franchise, Chris Paul, was hard for Roger, but he realized it was a necessary move to make to compete now. With Jubas and Monkeys hitting their stride, something had to be done.

Buffy now boasts one of the biggest frontcourts in the league, teaming Brand with Tim Duncan, Shaq, Eddy Curry, C-Webb, and rebounding machine Nick Collison. Even with such larger players, Buffy does not anticipate a drop off in his AST-STL-3PT categories. With a healthy Baron Davis and the newly acquired Starbury, Buffy should be able to stay the course.

In addition to CP3, the Pogiboys added much needed depth with JR Smith and Hakim Warrick, two young guys that are versatile and have the ability to fill up the box score. With Smith returning next week, expect three to four 3PT a game. While Warrick’s role is yet to be defined, with playing time, he can be good for around 15 pts and 7 REBs a game. Alvin has a clear grasp of what needs to be done to win next year. By taking the new roster and a potential top 2 draft pick, this will be a team to be reckoned with.

This is yet another win-win trade for both parties involved. Can the Pogiboys pull off a third trade in as many days?

Reporting by Roger

2 Become 1

MoRRie's Pogiboys send Jason Williams to Fat Jubas in exchange for Darko Milicic and Tyrus Thomas.

After finally breaking a thirteen-week consecutive losing streak (needless to say, a league record), the Pogiboys are on the move. It goes without saying that they've had a bad three months -- their last win was in November 2006 -- but now they're headed in the right direction.

A minor trade seems to position them for further success next year. Losing Jason Williams will be a blow but the heady veteran wasn't going to help the Pogiboys much anyway. He needs to be on a contender in order for his combination of distance shooting, steals, and assists to be useful. Welcome to that contender Jason, and to the Fat Jubas.

Eric-L's Jubas are the leaders of the West and showed no signs of giving any quarter to any of their foes, at least until Dwayne Wade got carted off in a wheelchair and the season suddenly looked shaky. Knowing that their biggest star might be out for the season, Eric-L was looking for solutions. A few mega-deals were proposed but ultimately, Jubas' management felt they should just sacrifice a few young bigs, Darko Milicic and Tyrus Thomas, in return for a proven floor general. The recent emergence of Lamarcus Aldridge gave the Jubas the luxury of too many BLK men on the bench so Milicic and Thomas were expendable.

The former White Chocolate is still an excellent fantasy player when healthy, contributing plenty of AST-3PT and sometimes PTS and STL. The only downside to Williams is his age and injury prone status, but on his new team, he'll fit right in alongside Wade, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O'Neal, and Josh Howard as injury worries. Williams will pick up the slack in Wade's absence and with the Diesel's return down low, it won't be hard to pick up plenty of assists and to set up for three pointers.

In return, the Pogiboys get two young big men who are predominantly useful for their ability to block shots. Replacing Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo with Darko Milicic and Tyrus Thomas will be like having puppies on the squad and if either of them can step up their game, that's a huge upgrade for Alvin's team. Darko has shown flashes of fantasy worthiness and with consistent minutes coming his way, he should only get better. Tyrus is just a rookie, and a bit of a head case, but he can obviously use his athleticism and length to block shots. The question is, can he get some regular playing time on a deep Bulls team?

It looks like a win-win trade for both the Pogiboys and the Jubas -- youth for experience and small for big -- it's the kind of trade we'd like to see more often as teams position themselves for a wide open championship run; or for next year.

Bob, Bob, Bobcats, Ho!

It's not easy following in the footsteps of the six player blockbuster from earlier this week but Reno and Jon pushed through a six player deal of their own late Wednesday night. After months of intense psychic badgering and negotiating, Jon was able to acquire two Bobcats for the price of one.

Raymond Felton and Adam Morrison, welcome to Funk-land. Out the door to Rhythm nation is Emeka Okafor, Sam Cassell, Kyle Korver, and Matt Barnes. That's right boys and girls, a four-for-two trade. How does it all shake out for these two third place teams? Will this trade allow them to move up in the standings?

Team Reno has been winning (with smoke and mirrors) but this trade should help them dominate the league in REB and BLK -- especially since one of their main competitors in those categories, the Monkeys, have dismantled some their nuclear shot swatters. Emeka Okafor has been traded twice in two weeks but that's hardly an affront to his abilities. With healthy nightly double-doubles and his unearthly BLK (3 per game), Okafor can be a game changer. Now he gets to play alongside draft mate Dwight Howard who provides the exact same strengths.

Although losing a young talent, and a third round pick, in Raymond Felton hurts, Felton's main strengths (AST and STL) were this team's weaknesses and he couldn't single-handedly do much to improve those categories. His low field goal percentage was hurting the Drive too. Sam Cassell is lights out when he plays and is capable of some big scoring nights even at his advanced age.

Reno is looking to sacrifice Felton for some additional PTS and 3PT and that's exactly what he'll get with Kyle Korver and Matt Barnes. Korver is essentially what Adam Morrison will become in a year or two, but he can do it all now. Matt Barnes is a wild card since he's obviously capable of putting up big numbers when given the minutes. Even after the big GS-Ind trade, Barnes is still contributing across the board in all categories. Barne's wild fantasy ride might be coming to a close, but his value should still remain high.

Rhythm Drive will now look to sweep REB-BLK-FG%-TO each week, while competing hard in PTS and 3PT with Mike Miller, Luol Deng, Cassell, Korver, and Barnes. Another player could be moved here -- do we hear Brad Miller? -- for another shooting star. Keep your eyes and ears open for offers people.

As for the Funk Coalition, they got the young point guard they coveted but at what cost? It was essentially an exchange of Mehmet Okur, Sam Cassell, Kyle Korver, Mike Dunleavy, and Matt Barnes for Raymond Felton and Adam Morrison. Korver, Dunleavy, and Barnes are each comparable to young Adam, that's three serviceable starters for one streaky one.

Felton is capable of putting up great AST-STL-3PT numbers, but Cassell and Okur are hardly slouches themselves. What Funk has done is deal away a ton of useful swingmen depth for an up-and-comer. That move might come back to haunt them; especially with Michael Redd still injured.

GM Jon is hoping that Earl Boykins stays hot and young players like Randy Foye and Gerald Green can step into the regular rotation. And of course, eternal Funk favorite, and NBA champion, Antoine Walker was signed immediately as a concession to the rabid pro-ex-Celtic fanbase.

It looks like a win-win for both teams but only time will tell if this trade moves either team into true championship contention. Either way, two mega-deals in one week is pretty damn exciting! Let's keep it up!

Blockbuster!

Under the cover of night, we had the biggest trade of the season occur while all other SlamNation owners were still sleeping. GMs Roger and Evan burned the midnight oil and might have used some cloak and dagger tactics to consummate their deal of number-17 overall pick Joe Johnson for number-19 overall pick Tim Duncan.

Rumors swirl that Joe Johnson was headed to the land of Juba instead (possibly for Tracy McGrady) but Evan swooped in on his black horse and offered multiple time MVP Timmy D and stole Johnson from Eric-L's grasp. This is just rumored of course.

This signals a big shift in focus for the Chunky Monkeys. After two deals in two weeks, they've moved their two biggest frontline anchors -- Duncan and Okafor -- in exchange for the sweet shooting Joe Johnson and Mehmet Okur. It looks like the Monkeys are moving to put some explosive offensive talent around Gilbert Arenas and shift the burden of carrying the team squarely onto his shoulders.

The Monkeys also acquired Tyson Chandler and Rajon Rondo in the deal. Chandler should bring back some REB and BLK to make up for the loss of Duncan; with Andris Biedrins and Josh Smith still on board, the Monkeys will remain formidable around the rim. Rondo is still a project at this point, although his minutes have been increasing and he could be a nice AST and STL asset in the near future. Teaming Rondo up with Shaun Livingston could provide the Monkeys with an enviable backcourt for the future.

For Buffy, the deal was a no-brainer. Duncan solidifies a team that is laid low with injuries and while Joe Johnson is a true talent, there's nothing he does that Baron Davis, Chris Paul, Rashard Lewis, and Antawn Jamison (not to mention Jamal Crawford and JR Smith) can't do. This was a case of dealing from strength to acquire a superstar in the front court. Buffy hasn't been able to use the full services of Shaquille O'Neal or Chris Webber yet this season -- and possibly ever without the help of a time machine -- so this deal for Duncan makes a lot of sense.

With a front line that could soon read: Tim Duncan, Eddy Curry, and Shaquille O'Neal, this team will be formidable on the blocks and from the perimeter. Gearing up for a championship run takes a move exactly like this. Even though FT% is now being punted, the rewards should be huge.

And it's not like the other players acquired on the Buffy side of the trade are terrible either. Mike Dunleavy is much maligned but as a low end starter he's capable of providing the type of all-around stats that help any winning team. Nick Collison has been putting up ridiculous double-doubles (29 PTS and 21 REB on Jan 9th) for a month now and even if he doesn't keep this up, he's got value with great FG% and some BLK.

What this means is that Buffy is reloading and when fully healthy, their worst starter could be Mike Dunleavy, Nick Collision, JR Smith, or Cuttino Mobley. It's kind of outrageous. Add it all up and that makes for the deepest and most flexible team in the league.

The trade seems to be fairly evenly matched for both teams, but I'd give a slight edge to Buffy since they are primed for a deep post-season push with this move, while the Monkeys are clearly using this as another step toward transforming the look and feel of their team.

Two Grade-A fantasy superstars traded, awesome!

Okurfur!

As a testament to the true relaunch of SlamNation, Funk Coalition and the Chunky Monkeys agreed to the first deal of the season. This isn't your typical Dikembe Mutombo for Shaquille O'Neal circa 1992 type of deal but it does involve some pretty good players. After over a month of intense negotiation and many failed attempts at day-dreamed 3 or 4 way trades with partners that ultimately never responded, Funk and the Monkeys finally realized that the best trading partners were themselves.

Negotiating down to the last minute, Funk Coalition agreed to send Mehmet Okur and Mike Dunleavy to the Monkeys in exchange for Emeka Okafor. While Okur and Dunleavy should have immediate impact (see over 50 plus points in first night of action as members of the Monkeys), Okafor could well be trade bait for the vertically challenged Coalitioners. Okafor has been steady this year averaging nearly 15 pts, 11 rebounds and more importantly, almost 3 blocks a game.

Okur has been that rare 7 foot 3 point specialist while Dunleavy is one of those 5-tool players that Monkeys' GM, Evan Shiue, usually covets. In his weekly address to fans, Shiue had the following comments: "This is a good deal for both teams. I know that Okur and Dunleavy will be important starters for us going forward and hopefully Okafor can represent what Jon is looking for for his team down the line as well."

Also, Okur and Dunleavy would be the 3rd and 4th Caucasian starters for the Monkeys. According to team officials, "Affirmative action does not exist here in our organization but management truly believes that diversity is good for all of us."