2008 NBA Trades
5 major NBA trades of the 2008 season:
In a three-team deal, New Orleans acquired guard Bonzi Wells, guard Mike James and cash from Houston for guard Adam Haluska, guard Bobby Jackson, forward Marcus Vinicius and a second-round pick. Memphis received Vinicius, the rights to Malick Badiane and cash for the rights to Sergei Lishouk. Wells, who began his career with Portland, was averaging 9.2 points and 5.1 rebounds. James was averaging 6.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists, but had started only one game. Who got the better trade? New Orleans helped themselves greatly with the addition of Wells, who is a solid player and has a cool name.
In a three-team deal, Chicago acquired forward Drew Gooden, guard Larry Hughes, guard Shannon Brown and forward Cedric Simmons from Cleveland for Joe Smith, Ben Wallace and a second-round draft pick. Chicago also sent guard Adrian Griffin to Seattle. Gooden, a former first-round pick of Memphis, was averaging 11.3 points and 8.3 rebounds, with six double-doubles. Hughes, a former first-round pick of Philadelphia, was averaging 12.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Simmons, a former first-round pick of New Orleans, averaged 2.9 points and 2.5 rebounds. Who got the better trade? Chicago gave up a good player in Wallace, but got two stellar players in return. Two-for-one is one of the bettertrades on the books.
Dallas traded Devin Harris, Gana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Moe Ager, Keith Van Horn, two draft picks and cash to Cleveland in exchange for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright. Kidd, who began his career with the Mavs, was averaging 11.3 points and 10.4 assists. Allen was averaging 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds and Wright was averaging 7.3 points. Other than Harris, who averaged 14.4 points and 5.3 assist, the Mavs were simply dumping players, although trading anyone named "Moe" had to be a tough call. Who got the better trade? The return of Jason Kidd was a good move all around for the Mavs.
Phoenix traded forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks to Miami in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal. Marion played nine seasons with the Suns and averaged 18.4 points and 10 rebounds for his career. Banks was average 5.0 points in his first season with Phoenix before going the bettertrades route. O'Neal, named to the NBA's 50 Greatest Players list, was on the downside of his career, which has seen him average 25.6 points and 11.5 rebounds. Shaq won three NBA titles with the Lakers and another with the Heat. Who got the better trade? The Suns got an older Shaq, but he's still got game when his back isn't killing him. Besides, Shaq is a lot of fun to be around.
Atlanta traded Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright and second round pick to Sacramento for guard Mike Bibby. Bibby had missed much of the early season due to thumb surgery, but was averaging 13.5 points and 5.0 assists. Atlanta traded four mediocre players for an outstanding point guard. Who got the better trade? Mike Bibby helped Atlanta get into the playoffs. This is a no-brainer.
