The Wizards and Cavaliers swung deals that will help renew their playoff rivalry … in 2015.
Meanwhile, a handful of high-profile teams made deals by the NBA trade deadline Thursday. Here’s what it meant:
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Power shifts to the East » The Western Conference lost two of its best players in Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams. If Chris Paul leaves after next year and heads East, the erosion of the once-mighty West would continue. And the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio and Dallas are aging teams. In two or three years, the Western Conference could be severely weakened with only Oklahoma City in position to still contend at that time. Get ready for more calls of an East Coast bias when it comes to highlights/attention.
Oklahoma City will challenge the Lakers » The Thunder lacked a defensive presence in the middle. Now they have one with playoff-tested Kendrick Perkins (who apparently declined Boston’s offer of an extension). To beat the Lakers — and even the Spurs — you must have physical big men, and now the Thunder have one. Perkins should have an easier time adjusting to the Thunder than Jeff Green will have with Boston, simply because of their different roles.
Does Boston think Shaq and Jermaine O’Neal will stay healthy in the playoffs » That has to be one of the reads from this trade. But the Celtics also wanted a scorer to back up Ray Allen, and now they have one. They’re an aging team, too, and Green gives them young legs for the future.
