NBA Trade - Portland Trailblazers and Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Portland Trailblazers have worked out a deal to send Marcus Camby to the Blazers for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. The deal should be completed by the end of the day today but should eventually help both teams.

The Clippers will get rid of Camby which will give them a more traditional PF with Craig Smith or Blake Griffin (when healthy) in that role. By bringing in Outlaw, they get someone who can fill the SF spot over Rasual Butler and provide some punch right away. Outlaw has show streaks of brilliance while with the Blazers coming off the bench. Steve Blake will come in and be able to give Baron Davis a rest without missing a beat on offense.

The Blazers get Camby is a veteran leader and may be able to get these young Blazers to focus on the playoffs (and more) by being the man in the middle. He may want to get some insurance though because their men in the middle haven’t fared well this season. I’ll look forward to the Blazers defense picking it up a little and making them an interesting team come playoff time.

Grade:

Clippers - B – They get rid of Camby’s contract and they get a young scorer in Outlaw. Steve Blake is a helluva throw in because he can run a team as your backup point guard.

Blazers - B – They get a veteran leader who can possibly help them bridge the gap for a center for the remainder of the year. As long as Camby doesn’t take any of those ugly jumpers from the top of the key, this works great.

NBA Round Up

The Heat have found their new center piece and it's none other than Jamaal Magloire. I know they need someone since Zo is still hurt and trying to get back on the court, but Magloire hasn't done anything but be tall for the past few years. The guy has the skill set, but he just doesn't apply it. The Heat better hope that D Wade, Matrix, and Beasley can get them to the playoffs, because the rest of the team isn't looking too good. They still need another point guard or two, even with the possibility of Chalmers starting for the Heat this year, so they are in the hunt for Shaun Livingston too.

Donyell Marshall may not be out of a job for long. It seems like the Sixers are close to signing the 6'9" 3 point shooting power forward (isn't that description an oxymoron?). Donyell will quickly add a veteran (read old) presence in the locker room and he may be able to give some of the bigs from Philly 5 or 10 minutes a night. For $1.26M, what more could you ask for?

Travis Outlaw wants to start! With a team as loaded as the Blazers, will he get that chance? Will he ask for a trade if he doesn't get that chance? The kid is young and one of the pieces that the Blazers could move in order to acquire a better point guard for that loaded team. I like Outlaw, it took him a while to show up but I think he was one of those kids out of high school that had to learn the pro game. With Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless on the 2nd team, will Outlaw get any shots? We'll keep a watch on this one. I think he gets moved to another team.

The Memphis Grizzlies sign Hamed Haddadi from the Iranian Olympic team. The 23 year old is 7'2", 254 pounds and averaged 16.6 points, 12.2 boards, and 2.6 blocks during the Olympics. If nothing, he adds another big body to a thin team.