Indiana Get's Raped!

Today the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors agreed on a trade that will send Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Sarunas Jasikevicius, and Josh Powell to Golden State. While the Pacers will add Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu, and Keith McLeod in what I consider to be a VERY lopsided trade. What in the world is Larry Bird thinking about? Is this the only way for them to get rid of Jackson? That seems to be the only logical explanation from where I'm sitting. The Warriors add two fantastic athletes in Harrington and Jackson, as long as Jackson stays out of trouble this is a great deal for Golden State. Harrington should be perfect inside next to Biedrins, with his ability to stretch the floor with his shooting as well as rebound well in traffic. Not to mention Harrington just signed a 4-year deal this off-season and he's still young at just 26 years old. Jackson meanwhile can stroke it from all over the floor and should be a perfect backup to Matt Barnes if he doesn't start, as both players have a similar game. Jackson is obviously the veteran and I think it would be smart of him to not complain if he can't steal Barnes' starting job. I like this team a lot going forward, depending on how they come together they could be headed in the direction of Phoenix's fun and gun style if Baron Davis can run it. Jasikevicius should be a solid backup to Baron he should flourish when Golden State is running, as he can create open looks for his teammates.

From the Pacers side of this deal I see only one positive, Ike Diogu, the second year forward is a tenacious rebounder inside who at times draws comparisons to Barkley on the glass. He's a gritty inside presence, though he has to be at only 6'8", injury concerns are his only holdup as he's missed quite a bit of time since being drafted. While Golden State did not want to part with Diogu I think they finally found the time to do it with the players they were getting in return. The Pacers replace two athletes with two stiff in Murphy and Dunleavy, mostly Dunleavy though. Where is Mike going to play? Are they going to start him at the 2 Guard spot? Granger should be starting at the 3 spot and drawing the toughest defensive assignment each night. Dunleavy meanwhile should make some shots but that's about all he'll do as even a mediocre athlete can beat him of the dribble every time down the floor. I hope O'Neal's there to turn them away of Indy could be in for some lopsided losses as they adjust. Murphy is not as bad as Dunleavy, he's definitely a double-double threat every night and he plays hard. He can also shoot from the outside and should create a little extra space for O'Neal when he's moving around. I just don't know that he can compete with even some of the top tier big men in the east.

Indiana will claim this isn't them blowing it up, but it sure looks like it. If I were them I'd try very hard to send Dunleavy to the Clippers and get Maggette if I could.

Webber to Detroit
I hate this deal for the most part, if Webber stays healthy it could work, but when was the last time he was fully healthy? Thats right, never. I'm putting my money on a Webber injury within a week after Nazr Mohammed is traded, and if he's back for the playoffs the lack of chemistry will hurt the team. It is worth the risk for Detroit if it works out, because they can unload a bad deal (Mohammed), while getting Webber for the minimum. After all his buyout from the 76ers pays him all but 5-7 million of his massive contract. By the way, I nominate Billy King for the worst GM in the NBA, that Kings-76ers deal still looks horrible from Philly's side.

That's all for now....