[durantula83Participant]

New Orleans has sent Darren Collison and James Posey to Indiana, while acquiring Trevor Ariza from Houston. To complete the deal, the Pacers have shipped Troy Murphy to the Nets, who have in turn sent Courtney Lee to the Rockets.

The Hornets have reportedly made another deal that will send Julian Wright to the Raptors for Marco Belinelli.

My thoughts:

New Orleans has sent a clear signal to Paul that they still feel he is their point guard for many years to come. They got rid of James Posey (who can become a nice mentor to Indiana’s young guns) and had to make a sacrifice in dealing Collison as well. The addition of Ariza will instantly make them a better defensive team, Peja can now come off the bench and play the role of Posey last year by coming off the bench and dropping bombs.

Indiana is the winner here in my opinion, they finally got the point guard they’ve been after for years. Collison will start from day one and Stephenson has already shown he’s able to handle the point as well. TJ Ford has never become the player many thought he could become and he is on the way out. A buyout hasn’t been reached yet but I got the feeling he won’t be in Indy when the season starts. Indiana probably won’t make the playoffs but should let Collison, George and Stephenson play as much as possible. Hansbrough looks like the starting PF right now but I doubt he will be ready to compete against starters, his rookie campaign was cut short and had many ups and downs. Best thing I think is to get a cheap veteran who can hold his own and who can play 20-25 minutes a night so Hansbrough can be brought along slowly.

Houston received Courtney Lee, a good insurance for the injury prone Martin. I expect Patterson to play significant minutes now with the departure of Ariza.

The Nets got an expiring contract in Murphy, and they got rid of Lee meaning Williams will receive more minutes. Terrence Williams will open some eyes this year, this guy can flat out play and does everything well except shooting 3’s. They can now bring along Favors slow and I think that’s a good thing, unlike Cousins he’s not ready to start yet and will need some time to adjust. The Nets are slowly getting there and should get a minimum of 20 wins this year.

[Author]

Posts