There are a whole lot of weird things going on in the NBA right now, and it just doesn’t feel right. It is crazy enough to have guys get traded at the trade deadline and have guys reshape the way a team works, like what has happened in Cleveland, Phoenix and Dallas. Then on top of that, there are all these tertiary transactions that are taking place which all seem to be effecting the playoff races going on, and it seems anti-competitive.
Here are the things that come to the top of my head.
- Brent Barry gets traded, cut, and then re-signs with the team that traded him to begin with, the San Antonio Spurs.
- Sam Cassell gets bought out and gets to go to the Celtics who have been talked about as a potential suitor for months.
- Theo Ratliff gets cut and gets to join the Pistons for the league minimum.
- Chris Webber gets bought out the year before this by the 76ers and promptly joins the Pistons.
- Dallas uses a retired playe, Keith Van Horn, to get a deal done that brought Jason Kidd into their lineup.
Now, I guess these are all technically legal under the rules the way they are set up. It just doesn’t seem right that contending teams can get players who were making a lot of money without giving anything up and then not having to pay the incoming players any significant amount of money.
I don’t know what the answer is, but why, exactly do the Celtics deserve the services of Sam Cassell? Why exactly, do the Pistons get to pick up a big man late in the season, two consecutive years in a row? Finally, how is it that someone can be part of a trade, and a short time later end up back with another team? This calls into question the validity of the games and has clear implications on the playoffs.
I feel like maybe the trade deadline needs to turn into a bigger deal so that these cuts, waivers and roster moves can’t be made up to the playoff roster deadline. Having the time difference between the two deadlines only opens up these types of inexplicable roster moves that seem shady, at times.
