So in my last piece I spoke a little about the teams that perplexed me during the trade period and those that I thought did well. Either via this site or others, people have asked me about other teams that were active in the trade period, but I didn't write about them.
So, in short this piece is to satisfy those requests. BUT I warn you, this will come across as a little bit... Well... controversial, to say the least.
Cleveland: B
Tough grade?
I don't think so.
And neither does anyone who's watched Cleveland since the All-star break. The loss to a red hot Denver team is understandable but to Orlando and Charlotte?
Sorry but there are going to be a few "growing pains" that come along with the acquisition of Jamison.
 We all expected that though right? I mean, Jamison is in a new system, he's gone from top dog to second/third option, and he's playing at a different tempo. But cumulatively speaking his start hasn't been desirable and when he has scored, he's done it by deviating from the game plan at least some of the time. In several instance he's blocked the lane up trying to put on post moves, which is not only a taboo in the Mike Brown system but when you were bought in for jump shooting and CLEARING THE LANE then it's even more stupid. I wish I had the footage of the look on LeBrons face as he was backing down Lewis ACROSS THE LANE...
"Exasperatedly perplexed" is perhaps the best way to describe it.
In short I think this team now has some more growing to do (remember they started a little slow getting used to Shaq as well) to incorporate Jamison into their system and likewise, for Jamison to get used to theirs. So the grade is a B for now, but we all know that long term, especially considering the professionalism of Jamison, this will work much better.
Portland: A+
I should have done this team the other day when I did the other teams above the B+ rating but this was so much of a no brainer it slipped my mind.
I mean really: you'd have to be a massively one eyed Travis Outlaw fan to even think for a second this wasn't worth doing (and yes, I know one who thought that this deal was bad because Outlaw was a "go to guy"... Very handy on the bench atm too...).
Camby is great for 2 reasons:
1) instant interior defence which Portland have been lacking in a major way since their two defensive bigs went down. With Batum back and Aldridge able to move back to his natural PF position this is now a defensively sound team (again).
2) Camby is also a great mentor for young bigs trying to learn the ropes. With Oden rehabbing at present a mentor like Camby will energize him, give him hope, focus, and a mould to work on. If Oden can learn the defensive ropes at the feet of Camby (one of the leagues best defensive bigs for a long time) he'll develop into EXACTLY the type of player he was drafted to be (also props to Juwan Howard who will also be a massive help - no disrespect meant Juwan!).
Also couple all this with the rumours that Oden "may" come back for the playoffs... Camby + Oden = nightmare for opposing teams no matter who you are.
Boston: D
This has been written before but I'm going to say it again - this was a move for the sake of making a move.
And to be honest, this was a dumb move for mine as Eddie House is a better bench option than Nate who will, for mine, struggle in the Boston system. Not much else to say here really other than a desperate move by a desperate team.
Minnesota: B
I like Darko better than Cardinal hence why they get this mark.
Darko can play D we have to give him that, and the T-Wolves are awful so who cares? It's a slight upgrade for mine so this is why the mark is passable.
New York: B trending towards an A
This B is a temporary thing as I think McGrady will work out just fine in NYC.
The Knicks were also able to move a lot of their dead end contracts and Jarred Jeffries which has to make them a bunch of happy campers.
Add to this McGrady playing well in his first game (better than Kevin martin that's for damn sure... More on that in a sec), making his team-mates play better (David Lee is a big fan and that's a good thing if you want him to re-sign for a pay-cut), and has openly said he'll take a cut if the Knicks want to bring in some major talent!!!
Will we have a new Big 3 next season?
I personally think so... Suddenly things in NYC are looking a lot brighter.
LA Clippers: B
This was salary dumping plain and simple in order to become an even bigger contender next season.
Any why not? This season is a mess, Griffin hasn't played a game, and they look like landing a high pick in the lottery again. If the Clippers can get a decent player that can help immediately with their pick, and I for one think they can as this is a rather eclectic draft class this coming season, and couple this with the return of a healthy Griffin and a heck of a lot of cap space, then the Clippers have done well out of this after all.
Next season it'll be Davis, Gordon, "someone", Griffin and Kaman. Not such a bad roster and there's some wriggle room available thanks to all the expiring contracts they now have.
Also did I mention their best move of the trade period? They fired Mike Dunleavy - that in itself is an encouraging sign like no other.
Houston: D
I can't hate on Houtson enough for the moves they made - especially since Morey is supposed to be one of the more shrewd GM's in the league.
I used to look at Houston and see direction and planning, now I just see confusion and guessing.
Probably explains why they're middle of the pack with little prospect of moving far from there.
 Yao Ming you say? Until I see Yao healthy and able to contribute to a full season - or at least more than 60% of one - then he's going to cause just as much heartbreak in Houston as hope.
Then what? Kevin Martin and Trevor Ariza?
Sorry folks but both players are Robins to a Batman, and Houston is lacking a Batman.
And even if Yao does come back that doesn't guarantee anything - he had ages to recover last year (same injury and I might just add that it's a chronic injury - you never ACTUALLY recover, you just manage it) from the same injury and then went down easily this year...
"But what were we supposed to do" the one-eyed Houston faithful cry?
Get Dalembert and Iggy is what!!!!
Last time I checked the problem with that deal was having to let go of Landry or someone similar (i.e. Brooks)... so when I saw this deal go down I naturally assumed - due to the covert nature of the trade - that this was Houtsons way of getting someone in without giving anything away in return (ala Cleveland).
Then I read the details and became terribly confused.
Landry has won games for Houston this year, has come of age, shown his worth a million times over, is happy coming off the bench, slots in perfectly in the "Yao-ority Report" should Yao ever come back, and Landry was the reason Houston refused trades with Philly and Miami, yet - he was being traded...
For Kevin "I-can-only-shoot-when-really-really-open" Martin.
Which makes me think why you wouldn't get in Iggy and Dalambert instead of K-mart the second if you're going to give up Landry anyway.
Jarred Jeffries contract? No one is coming to Houston this off-season via free-agency and Dalembert, whilst owning a contract that extends for a further year, can help in the middle right now, which is what Houston need. And what's more, as we've seen from the couple of games so far, Martin doesn't fit in Houston. You can just tell. He's not getting his open shots he used to get at the Kings, he has to force shots, and we all know he's not a Kobe/Roy creating type SG: he's a Ray Allen spot up for an open 3 type SG.
 With no bigs to collapse the defence then he doesn't get his open shots and hence, he's sucking. Would Iggy suck as much? No probably not because he at least can get to the FT line or slash and create. Maybe someone can enlighten me, maybe I've missed something but I keep looking because I love the Texas teams and I keep coming up short for logic in this scenario.
So there you have it - pretty damning.
And for the record, Houston is the main reason for the "horror story" naming because for them I see a horror situation panning out with long-term implications.
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