Denver Nuggets center Nene, right, of Brazil, puts up a shot as Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 3, 2011, in Los Angeles. The Nuggets won 95-90. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) (AP2011)
Let’s make a deal
The Los Angeles Lakers tried like crazy to trade away Pau Gasol, one of the main cogs to their last two NBA championship titles but in the end it was an unlikely figure that was shown the door. Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant's righthand man in the backcourt for 13 plus years, was traded to Houston for forward Jordan Hill as part of a three-team deal.
The Lakers really needed to improve at the point guard position and Fisher, an NBA lifer of 16 seasons, is really no longer the player he once was during the five championships Los Angeles won with him.
The Lakers also went out and added Ramon Sessions from Cleveland, who is much younger and clearly an upgrade at the position. If you take a look at their roster, there is really no one who could have really stepped in and taken over at the point.
According to reports, the Lakers were trying to get Michael Beasley but it totally fell off the table once Portland traded Gerald Wallace to the New Jersey Nets.
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Even though he is viewed by many as a soft player, Gasol is truly one of the most versatile power forwards with the ability to play inside and out in the perimeter.
Trading him would have been a mistake since Beasley, although younger is not the player Gasol is.
Among other teams that got wheeling and dealing, the Spurs, who normally stand pat, added Stephen Jackson to the mix after he was involved in a five-player deal that sent Monta Ellis from Golden State to Milwaukee in exchange for Andrew Bogut.
Jackson won't be with the team this weekend but will add a scoring punch to a San Antonio team that sits in the second spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
Earlier during the week Manu Ginobili was pulled from the game against the Washington Wizards after feeling tightness from a hip flexor injury.
Ginobili said he was "100 percent" and efficiently played in their victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
Ginobili has missed his share of games, and while adding Jackson is an improvement over Richard Jefferson, who was went to the Warriors in the deal, the Spurs can't have Ginobili out for any stretch of games.
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For the second straight year the Denver Nuggets made a deal at the date.
Last year they put an end to the Carmelo Anthony saga by trading him to the New York Knicks.
Yesterday they decided to part ways with Nené, whom they almost lost in free agency and signed to a five-year $67 million pact in December.
The Brazilian is now off to Washington where he is definitely an upgrade over whoever the lowly Wizards have in the post.
The deal took three to tango as JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf went from Washington to Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers got Nick Young, from the Wizards too. The Clippers shipped a second round pick in 2015 and forward Brian Cook to the nation's capital.
Looking up from the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors are not going anywhere. So they made a financial decision that puts them a few dollars under the salary cap by trading Leandro Barbosa to Indiana and clearing $10 million in cap space.
In Barbosa, the playoff-bound Pacers get a player who can play either guard position and has postseason experience from his days with the Phoenix Suns. He was solid this season with the Raptors, posting up 12.2 points per game.
Memphis traded Sam Young, who has been seldom used in 21 games this season, to Philadelphia, for the rights to the draft-rights of 24-year-old Boricua forward, Ricky Sánchez.
Sánchez was originally drafted in the second round by Portland in the 2005 NBA Draft. Aside from playing for the Puerto Rico national team, he has played a few pro stints under his belt back home in Puerto Rico as well as in Spain, Mexico, the NBA Development League and the Continental Basketball Association.
Oh by the way Dwight Howard stays put in Orlando, so much for the drama.
Adry Torres, who has covered MLB, NFL, NBA and NCAA basketball games and related events, is a regular contributor to Fox News Latino. He can be reached at elpiloto137@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter: @adrytorresnyc.
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