A day after deciding to let the trade deadline pass without making a major money-saving move, the inactivity seemingly has turned incredibly costly for the Phoenix Suns.
The beleaguered Suns announced Friday that Amare Stoudemire was forced to undergo eye surgery to repair a partially detached retina suffered in a Wednesday night rout of the Los Angeles Clippers. It is Stoudemire's second eye injury since October and the All-Star forward could miss the rest of the regular season.
Stoudemire's return to physical activity has been estimated at eight weeks by the Suns. He underwent surgery Friday morning, although the club said in a statement that "recovery varies on a case-by-case basis."
The Suns were just starting to feel a sense of optimism about salvaging something from this painful season after replacing coach Terry Porter with Alvin Gentry on Monday, ringing up 282 points in back-to-back victories over the Clippers and getting the go-ahead Thursday from owner Robert Sarver to keep hold of Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal after shopping both this month in an attempt to significantly reduce Sarver's payroll.
Full story here.
Man...this is huge blow for Phoenix, plain and simple.
NBA Transactions...
As usual, teams got us all hyped over possible blockbuster deals (i.e. Vince CArter, Amare, Ron Artest, Josh Howard, etc.), but, of course, NONE of them happened. Nevertheless, here's what went down before Thrusday's 3 P.M. trade deadline...
In a tree-team deal, Houston traded PG Rafer "Skip To My Lou" Alston to Orlando. Orlando Sent F Brian Cook to Houston, who also got PG Kyle Lowry from Memphis. Memphis received Orlando's first round pick, Mike Wilks, and Adonal Foyle.
What The Trade Means For Orlando:
Orlando is back on. Although they were still a top 3 team in the East without PG Jameer Nelson, who's out for the season with a shoulder injury, not having a strong poing guard would have kept them from beating Boston or Cleveland, whom they would presumably have to go through to get to the NBA Finals. Now that they got Skip, though, that's no longer a concern. Alston is an experienced PG, and has averaged close to 12 points and 6 assists for Houston this year. A true point guard, he can immediately step in and run the team, without disrupting the team's chemistry. With Alston, Orlando has a legit chance of playing all the way until mid-June this season. In terms of immediate impact, Orlando gets props for Trade Of The Season.
What The Trade Means For Memphis:
Already filled with young talent (i.e. O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay) the Grizzlies have another first-round to work with.
What The Trade Means For Houston:
Nothing as far as I can tell, except they lose their starting PG. It'll be interesting to see if they can develop Kyle Lowry.
Chicago was the most active team over the past few days. The moves they were involved in...
Bulls trade G Larry Hughes to the Knicks for F Tim Thomas, C Jerome James, and G Anthony Roberson.
What The Trade Means For Chicago:
Great move. Not for now, but for the next couple of years. They get rid of Larry Hughes' huge contract, and loosen up the log-jam of guards they've had all season. More importantly, they acquired Tim Thomas and Jerome James, both of whom will come off the books just before the sacred 2010 free agent season. Big ups to Paxson here.
What The Trade Means For NY:
The Knicks get rid of Tim Thomas and ultimate-waste Jerome James. Also, they get Hughes who can fill their shooting guard void. Watch Hughes' numbers, he's about to go insane in that D'Antoni offense.
In another move, the Bulls traded Thabo Sefolosha to Oklahoma City for a 2009 first round draft pick:
What The Move Means For Chicago:
Another nice move that will transfer in a lottery pick in next year's draft. Also, like the Hughes move, this helps break up the congestion in the Bulls rotation.
What The Move Means For OKC:
The Thunder pick up Sefolosha - just 24 - a long, wiry defender, who has tremendous upside.
Scores From Around The League...2/19/09
Spurs 83, Pistons 79
Celtics 85, Jazz 90
P.S. KG left the game with a knee injury. He returned to Boston today for an MRI.
KG goes in on Craig Sager...
LMAO.
Via: ESPN & worldstarhiphop
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