Trade Grades: Final deadline deals
Bobcats get: Gary Neal, Luke Ridnour
Bucks get: Ramon Sessions, Jeff Adrien
Charlotte Bobcats: C
With their second playoff berth in franchise history in sight, the Bobcats made an aggressive, win-now move. Only one problem: This trade may not have made them any better.
Both Neal and Ridnour have rated as worse than replacement level this season. Their track record is better than that, and there's some hope that they'll be better once they're away from the general malaise that has set in with the Bucks.
Neal is the type of undersized scoring guard Charlotte always seems to be chasing. In fact, the Bobcats already had two such guards on the roster (Ben Gordon and Jannero Pargo). Neal, now less than a year removed from playing a key role for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, is better than them. But away from San Antonio, Neal's gunner instincts seem to take over. His usage (a career-high 25.4 percent of the team's plays) and efficiency (a career-low .500 true shooting percentage) went in opposite directions this season, so Bobcats coach Steve Clifford will have to work to ensure Neal stays within his role.
Replacing Sessions with Ridnour, though, is a downgrade. Ridnour is likely to play better than he did in Milwaukee, where his 2-point percentage (39.1 percent) plummeted after sitting in the high 40s or low 50s during his three seasons in Minnesota. The steady Ridnour won't hurt the Bobcats in a reserve role, but he's not the creator that Sessions was off the bench. Neal will have to take over some of those duties.
The Bobcats also take on Neal's additional salary for next season while sending out two expiring contracts. At $3.25 million, Neal isn't an albatross, but he does cut slightly into Charlotte's cap room next summer.
Milwaukee Bucks: B+
Neal was one of several free agents signed by the Bucks last summer who hit the trade market months later. Not only was Neal ineffective on the court, but he famously clashed with Larry Sanders in the locker room. The cost of wiping away the Neal mistake was the chance to try to get a second-round pick from another team for Ridnour, who had some trade value.
Besides offloading Neal's 2014-15 salary, Milwaukee also saves about $600,000 in payroll the remainder of this season. Sessions, who was originally drafted by the Bucks, joins Carlos Delfino and Zaza Pachulia on the Milwaukee reunion tour. Stay tuned to see whether Richard Jefferson or Charlie Villanueva joins them.
Heat get: protected second-round pick
Kings get: Roger Mason Jr., cash
Miami Heat: B
For the Heat, this move simply frees up a roster spot to use on a player bought out by his team after the trade deadline. Mason hasn't played since Jan. 26, and newcomer Toney Douglas has supplanted him as the team's emergency guard. Simply waiving Mason would have forced Miami to pay luxury tax on his salary. So the Heat can send enough money to cover the remainder of his salary and a sweetener to Sacramento while still coming out ahead financially.
It's unclear at this point which free agents might come on the market after a buyout, but another big man would balance Miami's roster better after center Joel Anthony was dealt for Douglas. We'll see what Pat Riley does with the open spot.
Sacramento Kings: B-
Not much to see here. By all accounts, the Kings will simply take the cash and waive Mason, who would have little value to them. That does present a small possible issue: Sacramento now has a full roster, and probably could not cut Mason before completing any other deals today. That would mean the Kings can't add an additional player in an imbalanced deal like the one they completed on Wednesday, sending out Marcus Thornton for Reggie Evans and Jason Terry.
As ESPN's Marc Stein reports, the pick Sacramento traded is of the bitcoin variety; it will be top-55 protected and almost certainly never conveyed to Miami, so it strictly exists virtually.
Bobcats get: Gary Neal, Luke Ridnour
Bucks get: Ramon Sessions, Jeff Adrien
Charlotte Bobcats: C
With their second playoff berth in franchise history in sight, the Bobcats made an aggressive, win-now move. Only one problem: This trade may not have made them any better.
Both Neal and Ridnour have rated as worse than replacement level this season. Their track record is better than that, and there's some hope that they'll be better once they're away from the general malaise that has set in with the Bucks.
Neal is the type of undersized scoring guard Charlotte always seems to be chasing. In fact, the Bobcats already had two such guards on the roster (Ben Gordon and Jannero Pargo). Neal, now less than a year removed from playing a key role for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, is better than them. But away from San Antonio, Neal's gunner instincts seem to take over. His usage (a career-high 25.4 percent of the team's plays) and efficiency (a career-low .500 true shooting percentage) went in opposite directions this season, so Bobcats coach Steve Clifford will have to work to ensure Neal stays within his role.
Replacing Sessions with Ridnour, though, is a downgrade. Ridnour is likely to play better than he did in Milwaukee, where his 2-point percentage (39.1 percent) plummeted after sitting in the high 40s or low 50s during his three seasons in Minnesota. The steady Ridnour won't hurt the Bobcats in a reserve role, but he's not the creator that Sessions was off the bench. Neal will have to take over some of those duties.
The Bobcats also take on Neal's additional salary for next season while sending out two expiring contracts. At $3.25 million, Neal isn't an albatross, but he does cut slightly into Charlotte's cap room next summer.
Milwaukee Bucks: B+
Neal was one of several free agents signed by the Bucks last summer who hit the trade market months later. Not only was Neal ineffective on the court, but he famously clashed with Larry Sanders in the locker room. The cost of wiping away the Neal mistake was the chance to try to get a second-round pick from another team for Ridnour, who had some trade value.
Besides offloading Neal's 2014-15 salary, Milwaukee also saves about $600,000 in payroll the remainder of this season. Sessions, who was originally drafted by the Bucks, joins Carlos Delfino and Zaza Pachulia on the Milwaukee reunion tour. Stay tuned to see whether Richard Jefferson or Charlie Villanueva joins them.
Heat get: protected second-round pick
Kings get: Roger Mason Jr., cash
Miami Heat: B
For the Heat, this move simply frees up a roster spot to use on a player bought out by his team after the trade deadline. Mason hasn't played since Jan. 26, and newcomer Toney Douglas has supplanted him as the team's emergency guard. Simply waiving Mason would have forced Miami to pay luxury tax on his salary. So the Heat can send enough money to cover the remainder of his salary and a sweetener to Sacramento while still coming out ahead financially.
It's unclear at this point which free agents might come on the market after a buyout, but another big man would balance Miami's roster better after center Joel Anthony was dealt for Douglas. We'll see what Pat Riley does with the open spot.
Sacramento Kings: B-
Not much to see here. By all accounts, the Kings will simply take the cash and waive Mason, who would have little value to them. That does present a small possible issue: Sacramento now has a full roster, and probably could not cut Mason before completing any other deals today. That would mean the Kings can't add an additional player in an imbalanced deal like the one they completed on Wednesday, sending out Marcus Thornton for Reggie Evans and Jason Terry.
As ESPN's Marc Stein reports, the pick Sacramento traded is of the bitcoin variety; it will be top-55 protected and almost certainly never conveyed to Miami, so it strictly exists virtually.
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