There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.Here's a quick look at the trades that went down and what they mean:
The Deal: Phoenix sends Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, a second-round pick in 2010 and cash.
The Thinking: The Cavaliers get an aging O'Neal, with the hope that he can have a productive year playing alongside LeBron James. The only way this trade is a success is if the Cavaliers are the 2009-10 NBA champions. For the Suns, trading O'Neal means that they are beyond tinkering and are leaning toward turning over the personnel of a team that missed the playoffs last season.
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The Deal: Golden State sends Jamal Crawford to Atlanta for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton.
The Thinking: The Hawks add a 20-point scorer for one player who played in just two games last year (Claxton) and another player who averaged 10 minutes per game in 2008-09. For the Warriors, the move could save them upwards of $15 million, and ensures that they are out of the luxury tax area.
The Deal: Milwaukee sends Richard Jefferson to San Antonio for Fabricio Oberto, Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas.
The Thinking: The Spurs add an athletic and proven wing who should allow the Spurs to play more uptempo. The move keeps the Spurs' championship window open. As for the Bucks, they got off Jefferson's guaranteed $29 million over the next two years, and, most importantly, the $15 million he is owned in 2010-11.
The Deal: Minnesota sends Randy Foye and Mike Miller to Washington for Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, Oleksiy Pecherov and the No. 5 pick.
The Thinking: The Wizards are looking to win now. They added a guard who can play with, or back up, Gilbert Arenas. And though Mike Miller's production went down in 2008-09, he remains one of the league's most dangerous perimeter shooters. For Minnesota, general manager David Kahn used the pick to select Ricky Rubio, then immediately paired him with another point guard, Jonny Flynn.
The Deal: New Jersey sends Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson to Orlando for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie.
The Thinking: The Magic knew that re-signing free agent Hedo Turkoglu might be out of their salary scope, and Vince Carter gives them a perimeter threat as well as someone who can make a play or two for someone else. The Nets get off Carter's money, but now have a couple of interesting young backcourt pieces: Devin Harris and Lee.
The Deal: New York sends Quentin Richardson and cash to Memphis for Darko Milicic.
The Thinking: The Grizzlies have too many bigs right now and Milicic was plenty expendable. New York coach Mike D'Antoni likes his big men mobile and athletic, and Milicic is at least that.
