The Trade That Nearly Changed Everything

In February 2009 the New Orleans Hornets decided to break up the most potent pick and roll duo in the league and the spine of their inspired 2008 run to the Western Conference Semi-finals. This decision and it's ramifications would echo around the league for years to come.

The Trade
The trade sent Tyson Chandler to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Chris Wilcox, Joe Smith (two veterans with expiring contracts) and the draft rights to DeVon Hardin. It represented the Hornets' acceptance that their current group was not championship material and a rebuilding process (through free agency) was due.

A forgotten part of this trade is what it meant for the young Thunder (newly relocated from Seattle). Thunder GM, Sam Presti has been given a tremendous amount of credit through the years for his patience and ability to slowly build through the draft. What this trade signified was exactly the opposite; Presti wanted to win NOW. I'm not saying Presti hasn't done a fantastic job, but this trade did him a favour.

The trade was agreed and Presti's praises were being sung. However, a lingering toe injury, which was highlighted by the Hornets' medical staff, turned out to be enough of a consideration for the Thunder to rescind the trade. You can only assume that there was a big chance of the injury recurring (Chandler had surgery on the toe in 2007) and that the risk was too great.

The trade was forgotten. No All-Stars were involved.The memory didn't hang around for long. However, the implications were far greater than anyone would or could have predicted.

The teams affected

New Orleans Hornets- The Hornets eventually traded Chandler for Emeka Okafor in July 2009; a trade which puzzled much of the basketball world. Okafor was a shot blocker but so was Chandler. Chandler had a supernatural understanding with All-Star Chris Paul. The length and size of Okafor's contract meant that the Hornets were no longer players in free agency.

L.A Clippers- Many people say that Chris Paul never recovered from being split up with Chandler. He and Chandler were the best lob combo I had seen since Payton and Kemp (seriously). In a different, yet equally mystical turn of events, Paul's trade to the Lakers was vetoed and The Clippers ended up with Paul to play alongside Blake Griffin and the newly amnestied Chauncey Billups,

OKC Thunder- Sherman Alexie said in the brilliant Sonicsgate documentary that what lead to the eventual downfall of the Sonics was the search for the elusive center. The final, painful few years in Seattle were spent searching without success. With this in mind you can't fault Presti for biting when the catch presented itself. Chandler would have given OKC a much needed presence down low.

L.A Lakers- With Oklahoma City's defensive rock at centre, the Lakers simply would't have had an advantage over the Thunder it that tightly contested 2010 Playoff series. I genuinely believe that, with Chandler, the Thunder would have won that series and the Lakers would not have won the 2010 NBA Championship.

Boston Celtics- You can probably see where I'm going with this. However, before that, it's worth mentioning last season's most significant trade. The trade which sent Jeff Green to Boston in exchange for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson simply wouldn't have happened if Tyson Chandler had been traded in 2009. The 2008 Championship starting five of Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Garnett and Perkins would still be intact. As Doc River will tell you, they have never lost a playoff series with that five. Anyway, with the demise of the Lakers, the Celtics' miraculous 2010 playoff run would have culminated in championship number 18.

Dallas Mavericks- Lead by perennial All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks reached the 2006 NBA Finals, only to lose in heartbreaking style 4-2. In 2007 the Mavericks suffered more heartache as they were swept 4-0 by an inspired Golden State Warriors team. A few disappointing playoff runs later, the Mavericks were able to secure an elite defensive Center. Having been somewhat in the wilderness out in Charlotte, Chandler was a revelation as his defensive presence powered Team USA to the 2010 World Championship title. Mavs GM Donnie Nelson took a calculated risk in trading for Chandler; a risk which could not have paid off more. The Mavericks had an established veteran core of Nowitzki, Kidd, Marion and Terry and with the addition of Chandler, gained the leadership and defensive philosophy that championships are made of. The fairytale ending to the legacies of Kidd and Nowitzki's careers could not have been sweeter. Without Chandler, who knows.

So there we have it. A troublesome toe injury, along with a touch of fate, shaped the landscape of the league for the years to follow.

Do they do championship toe rings?

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Some things aren't meant to be predicted. They're meant to be.

 

NBA Finals MVP Lebro.. Dirk Nowitzki?!

As the first significantly depressing date (namely the day training camps were supposed to start) arrives, I have decided not to look into the uncertain future of our league but into the past. This time last year, the term 'CBA' meant nothing to most of us and 'The Decision' was still the hot topic. This time last year, Jason Terry was getting another tattoo done. Of course, that is of no significance. At all.

I'm sure I am in no way in the minority when I say I love the start of training camp. Love. After a summer of flirting with the World Cup and Wimbledon, the idea of having my beloved NBA back is always tantalising. At a stage where you would happily watch Boris Diaw and Brian Cardinal play 1 on 1 for 48 minutes, all of the training camp coverage feels like Christmas come early.

The three that I'm sure everybody was looking at as contenders for the Larry O'Brien trophy were the 2010 Champion Lakers, 2008 Champion Celtics and newly assembled Miami Heat 'Big Three'. There was a lot of buzz around the young and talented OKC Thunder aswell as  the compulsary "Gilbert Arenas is back to his best" and Orlando Magic buzz, but there wasn't much to think about other than these three teams.

The Lakers were the defending Champions and returned with the acquisitions of Matt Barnes and Steve Blake, two experienced veterans; they looked the real deal yet again. The Celtics steadied their Finals-worthy frontcourt with the addition of Hall of Famer Shaquille O'neal. Then there was the Miami Heat. The fanfair surrounding 'The Decision' had lead a large proportion of the basketball community to wish failure on this team, the rest of the NBA to hold a grudge and the media to watch their every move, praying for a slip-up. Sure enough, that first slip up came just days after the Big Three were put together, "Not one Championship, not two, not three"; the proportion of the basketball community wishing failure upon the Heat doubled.

The rest of the NBA was filled with young talent like Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon's Clippers and Perpetual choke artists like 67 year old Jason Kidd's Mavs. With this in mind we should remember that despite all the blogs, podcasts, play-by-plays, bar chat and Slam magazine articles, 99.9% had no idea what was coming.

Sure, the Mavericks had a talented roster. However, that's been true every year for the last decade. Aside from throwing away the 2006 Finals, what had this team achieved. Great players had come and gone, Dirk Nowitzki had had some truly remarkable years, and they had put together some balanced rosters. No championship. Why would this older version of the perpetual underperformers be any more successful? The answer? they wouldn't. We all knew they wouldn't. Right?

An entire season passes, we still had no idea what was coming. The Mavericks marginally get through a series with the Blazers, we still had no idea what was coming. The Mavericks reach the finals, we still had no idea what was coming. Just weeks later, Dirk Nowitzki has gone from the Finals Choke-artist to all time great, Jason Kidd finally has his ring and Mark Cuban barely said a thing for two months. None of us saw it coming. 

Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the cancellation of training camp, which is the first step to cancelling the season, we have to remember that great things are still possible. Great things that we don't know about yet. 

We had no idea what was coming. Jason Terry's tattoo artist however..