New Trade

Dangit, I cannot keep up fast enough. I love this time of year because the GM aspects of sports, especially the NBA, is incredibly interesting to me.

As I was writing my last post, the Spurs pulled off a move that, in my opinion, hurts them in two ways. They sent Francisco Elson and Brent Barry, along with a future first round pick, to Seattle for Kurt Thomas. This made them less scary in terms of how the Spurs relate to the Mavs. First off, earlier today the team was rumored to be sending the exact same package to Sacramento for Ron Artest. That put some fear into me as a Mavs fan, as Artest would have fit in with that team extremely well. Second, Elson was a guy who guarded Dirk extremely well. He made him work hard and brought some athleticism and mobility along with physical strength that frustrated Dirk. Kurt Thomas has done nothing but get his butt TORCHED by Dirk. He does not match up well at all. Frankly, I think the Spurs are less of a threat now than they were before this move.

On a side note, whoever is running the Sonics is a genius. This off season he traded a second round pick to Phoenix for Kurt Thomas and 2 first round picks. (If you think that sounds RIDICULOUS, you're right, and it is just another example of poor ownership from the Suns.) Now he's moved Thomas for expiring contracts and ANOTHER first round pick. Kurt Thomas is a journeyman backup who suddenly has brought the Sonics 3 first round picks over the next 3 seasons. An absolute steal for a team that will be a force by the time it moves to Oklahoma City.