Trade deadline

PARIS [The Monday International Show] - What a great All-Star Weekend in LA which saw the revival of the Slam Dunk contest thanks to the innovative Javale McGee and a real hard-fought game Sunday dominated by the ultimate competitor Kobe Bryant in front of his home fans.

If only the participants in the Rookie challenge could copy the All-Stars and play hard instead of continuing to think it's cool to stand around and look bored!

I went on vacation in Guadeloupe after the tiring weekend and almost fell off my jet ski when all those trades went down just before the deadline.

Now let's see which teams were dead on target and which were dead in the water after this pre-collective bargaining agreement(CBA) trade orgy.

First, the never-ending Melo-drama finally ended! The best article criticising the whole soap opera was by Rick Reilly on espn.com and the best article defending the trade was by his colleague Bill Simmons.

Reilly says the NBA needs a franchise player tag like the NFL to prevent mega stars from disappointing home fans by leaving to join other mega-stars in the most attractive cities. This would increase parity, loyalty and avoid Melo or Lebron type dramas while protecting and strengthening small-market teams.

The NFL's hard cap, revenue sharing, return to profitabiity and avoiding the rich just always getting richer is probably as good a recipe for the NBA as it is for the world economy!

Simmons points out that mega stars have been running the show and choosing their destinations since Wilt Chamberlain in the 1960s and that having a few teams loaded with talent isn't bad for the NBA.

I tend to agree with Reilly that Melo and Amare Stoudamire go together like microscopes and peanut butter- funny line - but Simmons is also right to say that in general the team that gets the best player in a trade is usually the winner but at least Denver got more than Cleveland or Toronto last summer in a similar situation...

I see Melo being motivated since he got his contract AND the team he wanted and the Knicks will be a little bit better but their severe lack of defense will hurt them in the playoffs and the new CBA won't permit them to sign a third superstar in the summer of 2012 when Chauncey Billups will be 35!

This all adds up to a blip on the radar screen but not a fundamental change in the NBA hierarchy.

One major move that might is the trade of Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City. The Celtics look to the future getting Jeff Green but risk losing their amazing chemistry and the low post defence that Perkins provided against Pau Gasol or Dwight Howard.

Those qualities now reinforce the Thunder's chances in the playoffs as they continue to out-think their opponents proving that Sam Presti, the GM, learned his lessons well in San Antonio!

Utah decided to avoid any chance of a Melo-drama concerning Deron Williams by shipping him to New Jersey who gets an excellent consolation prize but maybe only until the summer of 2012. This looks a lot like the Melo trade with both teams re-shuffling their rosters but not really improving by leaps and bounds.

Moving unhappy players was also the goal of Houston trading Aaron Brooks while saving money was Michael Jordan's motivation by giving away Gerald Wallace to a much-improved Portland team which might also get some help from Brandon Roy.

I think that playoff teams in the West are going to try and avoid the Thunder and Blazers come April and May, preferring to play Utah or Denver.

In the East, Chicago missed out on improving their shooting guard position while Boston rolled the dice, so wait and see.

By standing pat the Lakers and Heat improved their chances of meeting in the NBA Finals.

I'll finish by re-assuring all the Blake Griffin fans out there because Mo Wiliams knows how to throw lob passes too and he is younger,cheaper and in better shape than Baron Davis who is the unfortunate and over-paid recordman for being traded from one bad team to another!

George EDDY