NBA and Trade Analysis

Trade Analysis 

NBA 

Trade#: Knicks-Toronto: Andrea Bargnani for two future second round picks, 2016 first round, Marcus Camby, and Steve Novak. Every year there's those trades where no one really wins, and while you can argue no one won the Clippers-Suns-Bucks deal, neither the Knicks or Raptors future chances of winning have been improved here. At least thats what it seems like on paper, however if we dig deeper the Raptors actually could be real winners here. Now Camby while a quality center for most of his career is way past his prime and Steve Novak, is well Steve Novak. However, Bargnani isn't much more seven foot Steve Novak who is worst at threes, defense (somehow), and adjusted for position no better than Novakaine at rebounding. Moreover second round picks are valuable throw in trade chips and a future first round pick is extremely valuable in this salary cap driven age (Denver FYI has rights to swap picks in 2016 with Toronto now via the Carmelo deal with the Knicks). Unless there were better offers out there for Bargnani, which isn't totally impossible but pretty unlikely, not a bad deal for Toronto giving them at least some future young prospects. The Knicks on the other hand look like they saw New Jersey  ... ahem... Brooklyn stealing the spotlight with their mega deal, and Glen Grunwald and he who shall not be named... I mean James Dolan my apologies deciding everyone needed to know who really wears the big boy pants in the Big Apple. Its not an awful trade for them by any means but they gave up trade chips even though they weren't that valuable (movable contracts are what they are) and future picks (the Knicks giving up a first round pick is always a bad sign a-la Eddy Curry). The simple fact though is that Andrea even if he comes back to the poor, and I mean dirt poor, man's version of Dirk he seemed to be shaping up to three years ago, he adds nothing to the team. He's essentially Italian Stoudamire and Novak rolled into one, awful defense (both), poor rebounding (both though more Novak), and injury prone (Amar'e). The Knicks were top three in offense and top ten in three pointers made last season so there's very little room for extra offense. Meanwhile they were only top twenty in rebounding and defense something a guy like Camby would have surely helped more than Andrea. At least the Knicks will have a ton of cap space in 2015-16, whoever's in that class of free agents. I'm pretty sure the Knicks missed their only title window last season with the currently constructed team (Chandler, Melo, Amar'e), which is sad to say not only because I'm a Knick fan, but because well I'm a Knick fan who needs a championship not from before all the current NBA players were born.