But why waste Ariza and an expiring contract in Penny Hardaway to trade for Steve Francis?

What a horrible decision. But alas, that trade was in the future. The Knicks got one of the better point guards in the NBA and the best second round pick of the draft for a bunch of geezers and a couple of scrubs. That looks like a pretty good draft to me. 2007 Grade: A- 2010 Review: The Knicks gambled on trading cap space for Stephon Marbury, a decision which haunted the Knicks throughout the middle of the 2000. Instead of tearing things down and starting afresh, the Marbury trade continued a wave of awful contracts and poor personnel decisions that will only finally be reconciled the offseason after this one. On the positive side, Trevor Ariza was an absolute steal with the slim pickings in the 2004 draft. However, Ariza doesn do enough justice to the disaster of the Marbury era. 2010 Grade: D+ Indianapolis Colts jersey
Memphis Grizzlies (23) Traded the No. 23 pick (Sergei Monia) and Wesley Person to Portland for Bonzi Wells. (35) Seattle traded the No. 35 pick to Memphis (Andre Emmett) for the No. 48 pick in 2005 (Mikael Gelabale) and cash. (36) Orlando sold the No. 36 pick (Antonio Burks) to Memphis for cash. Players received: Bonzi Wells, Andre Emmett, Antonio Burks Players lost: Sergei Monia, Wesley Person, Mikael Gelabale 2007 Review: Bonzi Wells has been a knucklehead everywhere he played. His habit of wearing out the patience of his coaches and teammates isn worth the scoring he provides. Mikael Gelabale looks to have a more promising career than Andre Emmett and Antonio Burks was a waste of a roster spot. The only good side to this draft was that Wells helped the Grizzlies capture a No. 8 seed in the playoffs. Big deal. 2007 Grade: D 2010 Review: Wells was sent packing from Memphis with little fanfare after a season and a half of tantalizing talent combined with maddening decision making. Nobody else involved in the draft has done anything notable from 2004 onwards. If helping achieve a No. 8 seed and a No. 6 seed are accomplishments, then Wells may have been worth the 23rd pick. 2010 Grade: C Dallas Mavericks (5) Traded Antawn Jamison to Washington for the No. 5 pick (Devin Harris), Jerry Stackhouse, and Christian Laettner. (21) Traded a 2005 first round pick (ended up in Denver as Linas Kleiza) to Utah for the draft rights to Pavel Podkolzine. (24) Traded the No. 24 pick (Delonte West), Raef LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch, and Chris Mills, to Boston for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk. (50) Drafted Vasileios Spanoulis. Players received: Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, Christian Laettner, Pavel Podkolzine, Antoine Walker, Tony Delk, Vasileios Spanoulis Players lost: Antawn Jamison, Delonte West, Raef LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch, Chris Mills 2007 Review: With Dirk Nowitzki on the team, Antawn Jamison was expendable and sent packing. In return, Dallas got a lightning quick point guard who can blow past defenders at will and who can defend all but the stronger point guards in the league. Dallas also got Jerry Stackhouse, who's a streak scorer, and one of the most powerful wing players in the league. The other deals Dallas made were awful. Anybody would be a better Dallas Maverick than Pavel Podkolzine, and Antoine Walker never had the athleticism or the unselfishness to play Nellie Ball. Instead, Walker was content launching threes at his heart content. The first trade gets an A, the other two trades each get F. Add it all together, and the Mavs final grade comes out to a C. 2007 Grade: C 2010 Review: As long as Dirk Nowitzki was in Dallas, Antawn Jamison would always be a backup. Dallas smartly moved him for Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, and Christian Laettner. Harris has evolved into one of the better point guards in the game today and both he and Stackhouse were key contributors to a Mavs team which ultimately made an NBA Jacksonville Jaguars jersey
Finals appearance. The Jamison trade ultimately earns the Mavs an A. The other decisions Dallas made didn work out. Pavel Podkolzine only played six NBA games and wasn worth taking a flier on. Antoine Walker spent his time in Dallas hoisting up threes to his heart content, while ignoring his teammates and the defensive side of the court. No doubt the pick wouldve been better off kept as Delonte West, who has evolved into a tenacious two-way player. Walker spent just a single ineffective season in Dallas before mercifully being moved on. Those two decisions earn F, averaging out to a C. 2010 Grade: C Detroit Pistons (17) Traded the No. 25 pick (Tony Allen), Chucky Atkins, and Lindsay Hunter to Boston. Traded the No. 17 pick (Josh Smith), Bobby Sura, and Zeljko Rebracca to Atlanta. Received Mike James from Boston and Rasheed Wallace from Atlanta. (54) Drafted Ricky Paulding. Players received: Mike James, Rasheed Wallace, Ricky Paulding Players lost: Tony Allen, Chucky Atkins, Lindsay Hunter, Josh Smith, Bobby Sura, Zeljko Rebracca 2007 Review: The draft essentially comes down to Rasheed Wallace versus Tony Allen and Josh Smith. Since Rasheed was the difference in Detroit winning an NBA Championship, the deal looks great at first. However, when you consider the fact that Rasheed has poisoned the next few Piston teams by being so temperamental, by taking the easy way out, and by blaming others (coaches, teammates, referees) for his own shortcomings, that the trade gets notched down to a C. Tony Allen would be hard pressed to find playing time in Detroit, and the Pistons have a better version of Josh Smith in Tayshaun Prince. Not getting either of those two doesn affect the trade one way or another, so the grade remains a C. 2007 Grade: C 2010 Review: As maddening as Rasheed Wallace tenure in Detroit wascowardly refusing to use his prodigious post talents to instead be a simple three-point gunnerhe was still the main difference in Detroit 2004 championship. Of course had he played at a 2004-level over the rest of his career he may have earned more than one ring, but he was still the player who catapulted Detroit to that title. Regardless of how Josh Smith has developed, winning a title trumps everything else, especially as the Pistons had a Kansas City Chiefs jersey
solid run in the seasons following their title. Because of this, while Wallace only played up to his potential for half a season and had a loser mindset his remaining seasons, the trade still deserves an A. I did not believe that principle in 2007 as I believe it now. 2010 Grade: A Houston Rockets (55) Drafted Luis Flores. 2007 Review: The Rockets had their only draft pick come extremely late in the draft. With the lack of talent available, they can be blamed for ending up with a scrub. 2007 Grade: C 2010 Review: Most 55th picks don turn into much, and Luis Flores was no exception. It hard to fault the Rockets for that. 2010 Grade: C Minnesota Timberwolves (58) Drafted Blake Stepp. *Minnesota also forfeited a first round pick due to salary cap violations involved in the signing of Joe Smith. 2007 Review: The T-Wolves got caught with their hands in the cookie jar with their illegal dealings with Joe Smith. The only thing worse than a cheater is a cheater who gets caught. If youre going to break the rules for somebody, why Joe Smith? 2007 Grade: F 2010 Review: As a result of the shady dealings with Smith, Minnesota forfeited their 2004 first round pick. Tsk, tsk. Give the T-Wolves a failing grade for cheating. 2010 Grade: F Milwaukee Bucks (45) Traded the #45 pick (Bernard Robinson) to Charlotte for Zaza Pachulia. Players received: Zaza Pachulia Players lost: Bernard Robinson 2007 Review: Bernard Robinson has not found a role on a team yet. Pachulia has bounced around a little bit but at worst is a respectable backup big man. The Bucks got the better player. 2007 Grade: B 2010 Review: Bernard Robinson is now out of the league after failing to find a niche in the NBA. Zaza Pachulia is still in the league as a useful backup on the Hawks. Not a bad use of a No. 45 pick. Miami Dolphins jersey
2010 Grade: A 2010 Grade ListingsChicago: A+ Boston: A+ Washington: A Philadelphia A Phoenix A Sacramento: A Milwaukee: A Detroit: A Orlando: A- Golden State: A- New Orleans: A- Atlanta: B San Antonio: B Cleveland: B Charlotte B- Dallas: C Memphis: C Houston: C Miami: C- Portland: C- Clippers: D+ Lakers: D+ New York: D+ Seattle: D Utah: D- Toronto: F Denver: F New Jersey: F Minnesota: F Indiana: F