By RICK SOLEM
For as much hype that has surrounded the trade deadline this season, it was a bit of a disappointment.
The biggest trade happened right at the deadline. According to Y! Sports, Indiana sent Danny Granger to Philadelphia for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen.
Every other trade involved teams that have either no shot or very little shot at making the playoffs or involved insignificant players to make an impact on playoff positioning.
The 76ers managed to make a run at the Milwaukee Bucks for the worst record in the NBA with their deals. Along with dealing Turner for virtually nothing, they sent Spencer Hawes to Cleveland.
No other trades will have much of an impact. Washington got Andre Miller and sent the Nuggets Jan Vesely. Denver also sent Jordan Hamilton to Houston for Aaron Brooks. Steve Blake went from L.A. to Golden State.
The Milwaukee Bucks did get one trade done before the deadline. They sent disgruntled shooting guard Gary Neal and veteran point guard Luke Ridnour to Charlotte for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien.
Neal, 29, was signed for $3.25 million next season, while Ridnour comes off the books this year, as do Sessions and Adrien.
Simply put, this was a salary dump for Milwaukee, but they improved a bit at point guard with Sessions, and they can possibly use the money they saved on Neal to re-sign rookie Nate Wolters.
The Bobcats reasoning for the trade was the same reason why Milwaukee signed Neal to begin with – the playoffs. Charlotte is locked into the eighth spot right now and is 1.5 games out of the fifth seed.
The problem with adding Neal to bolster their playoff positioning – aside from the obvious notion that the Bobcats aren’t beating Indiana or Miami to get to the Eastern Conference Finals – is Neal isn’t very good.
That could have been a Milwaukee problem or it could be a Neal problem, but he wasn’t that great on San Antonio, either … except for one game in the NBA Finals. That 24-point, 6-for-10 effort from beyond the arc in a Spurs win over Miami probably landed him the two-year deal with Milwaukee.
He’s a career 42.7-percent shooter and was shooting 39 percent for the Bucks. He contributed nothing else statistically. Most of his numbers dropped from last year, except turnovers. Even his free-throw percentage dropped from 87 to 83.
The Bucks probably wanted a second-round pick for him, but he’s so bad, they’re lucky to even get a team to take on his salary.
Getting Sessions for Ridnour is a boost for the Bucks, as well, but it really doesn’t move the meter in either direction. Milwaukee doesn’t necessarily need to get better this season anyway, and he won’t be re-signed. Adrien is also a throw in to make the salaries even so the trade could go through. The 28-year-old power forward probably won’t see the court much.
DEADLINE TRADES
Bucks get Ramon Sessions, Jeff Adrien – Bobcats: Gary Neal, Luke Ridnour
Pacers get Evan Turner, Lavoy Allen – 76ers: Danny Granger
Wizards get Andre Miller – Nuggets: Jan Vesely – 76ers Eric Maynor, two 2nd rounders
Cavs get Spencer Hawes – 76ers: Henry Sims, Earl Clarke, two 2nd rounders
Warriors get Steve Blake – Lakers: Kent Bazemore, MarShon Brooks
Nuggets get Aaron Brooks – Rockets: Jordan Hamilton
Hawks get Antawn Jamison – Clippers: rights to Cenk Akyol
76ers: Byron Mullens, 2nd rounder – Clippers: conditional 2nd rounder
Kings get Roger Mason Jr. – Heat: protected 2nd rounder
Spurs get Austin Daye – Raptors: Nando de Colo