Fadeaway Friday: NBA Trade Deadline Roundup

Fadeaway Friday usually focuses on the NBA D-League, but given that the NBA trade deadline was on Thursday, "Fadeaway Friday" this week will be a quick recap of all the deals that happened at the NBA trade deadline. Also, there was no Wednesday Windmill this week due to all the uncertainty that comes with the next day being the trade deadline. So just a quick heads up on that. Anyways, without further ado, below is a recap of all the deals that happened with proper citation. *Note: Deals announced by Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical are cited as "The Vertical" for simplicity.

#1.  ICYMI: The Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans. I wrote more about that here.

#2.  ICYMI: The Magic traded Serge Ibaka to the Raptors. I wrote more about that here.

#3. Per The Vertical, the Nets traded forward Bojan Bogdanovic and forward Chris McCullough to the Wizards for a 2017 lottery protected first-round draft pick, forward Andrew Nicholson, and guard Marcus Thornton. The Vertical also adds that the Nets intend to waive Marcus Thornton.

#4.  Per The Vertical, the Lakers traded guard Lou Williams to the Rockets for a 2017 first round pick and forward Corey Brewer.

#5. 76ers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo confirmed that the 76ers traded Ersan Illyasova to the Hawks for Tiago Splitter, a second-round pick, and the option to swap a second round pick.

#6. The Grizzlies decided to sign Toney Douglas for the remainder of the season according to Real GM.

#7. The Pelicans signed Hollis Thompson to a 10-day contract. Marc Stein of ESPN reported this.

#8. Per The Vertical and Marc Stein, the 76ers traded Nerlens Noel to the Mavericks for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson, and a 1-18 protected 1st Round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Zach Lowe adds that the 76ers will get two second round draft picks (one in 2017 and one in 2018) if the 1st Round pick remains protected. Keith Pompey of Philly.com adds that the 76ers waived Chasson Randle to help facilitate the trade.

#9. Per The Vertical, the Rockets traded K.J. McDaniels to the Nets for cash considerations.

#10. Per The Vertical, the Thunder traded Cameron Payne, Joffrey Lauvergne, and Anthony Morrow to the Bulls for Doug McDermott, Taj Gibson, and a 2018 2nd Round pick.

#11. Per The Vertical, the Bucks traded Roy Hibbert to the Nuggets for a heavily protected 2019 2nd Round pick.

#12. Per The Vertical, the Hawks traded Mike Scott to the Suns for cash considerations.

InsideHoops.com posted an update to the deal: The Hawks traded Mike Scott, the draft rights to Cenk Akyol, and cash considerations to the Suns for a top-55 protected 2017 2nd round pick.

#13. Per The Vertical, the Raptors traded Jared Sullinger and two future second round picks to the Suns for P.J. Tucker, whose contract expires in the summer. Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic adds that the Suns will waive Jared Sullinger and Mike Scott and sign Ronnie Price for the remainder of the season.

#14. Per The Vertical, the Rockets traded Tyler Ennis to the Lakers for Marcelinho Huertas. The Rockets are expected to waive Huertas.

InsideHoops.com posted an update to the deal: The Rockets traded the draft rights to AEK Athens small forward Brad Newley and Tyler Ennis to the Lakers for Marcelinho Huertas, who is expected to be waived.

#15. Per Justin Verrier of ESPN, the Pelicans waived forward Terrence Jones as a byproduct of the DeMarcus Cousins deal.

#16. Per the Vertical, the Mavericks are expected to waive Deron Williams. David Aldridge reports that the Cavaliers are the front runners to land him.

#17. Per Marc Stein, the 76ers are expected to buy out Andrew Bogut's contract. The Rockets are expected to go after him. The Vertical, however, has learned that a loophole in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement allows the Warriors to sign Bogut since the "last trade" rule only applies to the previous team that had him.

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Are The Brooklyn Nets Contenders Out East?

                                                 image from dukaspr.com

The Brooklyn Nets pulled off one of the biggest trades of the off-season which netted in them getting Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, and Kevin Garnett from the Boston Celtics. The Nets starting five now has Deron Williams at point guard, Joe Johnson at shooting guard, Paul Pierce at small forward, Kevin Garnett at power forward, and Brook Lopez at center. Jason Terry will come off the bench.  Gerald Wallace, who started for the team last season at small forward was traded to the Celtics as part of the deal (note: to see complete details of the trade, click here).

The Nets certainly seem to have a team that can do some serious damage in the Eastern Conference. Deron Williams is one of the best point guards in the NBA despite having a down season last year and we all know that Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez are both one of the better players at their positions. But obviously, the Nets realized that they were lacking something last season that Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry can bring to the table. The focus of my article is to identify what the Nets think that something is, and whether or not Pierce, Garnett, and Terry can do enough to get the Nets over the hump. 

Last season, the Nets appeared to be one of the better teams in the NBA, and everybody figured that they would easily beat the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs due to all the injuries on the Bulls. However, things didn't exactly go according to plan, and before they knew it, the Nets found themselves eliminated from the playoffs at the hands of a Chicago Bulls team that was plagued with injury. 

While everybody was praising the Chicago Bulls for playing with so much heart and soul, the Brooklyn Nets at the same time found themselves to be the subject of much deserved ridicule and utter embarrassment. This was a team that was supposed to contend for a title and there they were instead eliminated from the playoffs at the hands of a sickly team hit with a plague similar to the Bubonic plague that swept across Europe in the middle ages. The Nets were rightfully being called soft as a result.

What the addition of Garnett, Pierce, and Terry does for the Nets is potentially fix their softness by adding gritty veteran toughness. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry all have championship rings, and all three are guys who wouldn't back down to a rabid hyena if it was snarling in their face. Kevin Garnett is the toughest of them all and it shows on the court. Brook Lopez may be a good offensive center, but he protects the rim worse than my 16 year old golden retriever protects my house. A burglar with a flame thrower could walk into my house and my dog wouldn't utter a peep. Likewise, Brook Lopez couldn't protect the rim if his life depended on it.  Bulls point guard Nate Robinson had no fear flying at the rim with reckless abandon against the Nets in the playoffs, and he is a little squirt standing at 5'9. Kevin Garnett will take care of the rim protecting problem, and players of all sizes will think twice about going inside with Garnett prowling the paint. 

As for Paul Pierce and Jason Terry, their scoring will certainly be of assistance to the Nets, but it's more their intangible veteran presence that will help this team. They will help give their teammates confidence in crunch time and help them stay mentally strong in tough situations. They will have a strong presence in the locker room and command respect. They won't let their teammates deflect their problems on others, and will instead teach them to own their own mistakes. This is an effect similar to what Doc Rivers will bring to the Clippers as head coach. 

While these three guys may serve as guides similar to Virgil in Dante's Inferno, they won't be able to completely mold their teammates into winners. Deron Williams still has to be the leader of this team if they want to win a championship, and whether or not he can be a great leader is yet to be seen. In addition, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez will have to toughen up as well and learn to buckle down in crunch time. If the Nets rely too much on Garnett, Pierce, and Terry to carry the load, they will fail miserably. But if they open themselves up to improvement under their wise council, then they just might have what it takes to dethrone the Heat. 

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord