So the trade deadline has come and gone. And with that, players have moved and the Western Conference has almost certainly been impacted. But our focus, obviously, is on the impacts on the Jazz. (I've already mentioned the Blazers highway robbery and the Mavs blockbuster before.)

Jazz/Grizzlies

This one obviously has the greatest impact... given that the Jazz were involved in the deal. The Jazz lost a starter, cut some salary, picked up a "future asset" and eliminated some of the minutes-competition at the wing spots. BBJ goes over pretty much everything and moni nails it on the head. Honestly, while I will miss Brewer, his steals, the alley-oops and the highlight real plays, what really hurts is that it seems to be a move backwards... CJ is probably going to be the one getting the minutes (if Matthews was the guy, wouldn't he have been getting the minutes before?), and KOC's draft record in the 1st round is not to be trusted. All we can do is sit & watch, I guess. And hope the protection isn't completely pathetic.

Update: According to moni, the protection is as follows

• 2011: 1-14
• 2012: 1-12
• 2013: 1-10
• 2014: 1-9
• 2015: 1-9 (if pick not given by then, cash compensation)

The Grizz, meanwhile, add another solid youngster to their core. He won't be an All-Star or anything, but will be a nice complement to the Mayo/Gay duo right now (and maybe replace Gay after the season?). 3 Shades of Blue likes the deal, and Straight Outta Vancouver feels the same way. And they have a good player on their bench now. Better now? Probably.

Bobcats/Spurs & Bobcats/Bulls

The Spurs traded Theo Ratliff to the Bobcats for a 2016 2nd rounder. Who the hell even remembered that Theo Ratliff was still in the league? Well, the Bobcats add Ratliff anyways. I don't think this impacts the Spurs (and therefore the Jazz) at all. Unless that 2016 2nd rounder turns into the next Paul Millsap, which is likely given how well the Spurs draft.

The Bobcats also swiped in to steal Tyrus Thomas for a package centered around Acie Law, Flip Murray & a 1st rounder. Big for the Jazz, because that means he doesn't end up with Portland, Denver or San Antonio. Huge fall for Thomas though... this summer, he was thought to be at the center of Carlos Boozer-to-Chicago rumors. Obviously, the Bobcats don't really impact the Jazz at all, unless they win and keep the Knicks out of the playoffs or something.

Minnesota/Knicks

The Timberwolves traded Brian Cardinal for Darko Milicic. The whole world yawned. No impact.

Knicks/Houston/Sacramento & Knicks/Celtics & Kings/Wizards

The blockbuster of the weekend, and then some. There was the Nate Robinson/Marcus Landry for Eddie House/JR Giddens/Bill Walker deal that really doesn't seem to help either team. Well, Phil Jackson (yeah, the Lakers coach) thinks Boston was being stupid. But whatever. No one likes him anyways*. Do the Knicks really need Eddie House?  Does this make them any better? I doubt it. A lateral move, according to Posting and Toasting.

The bigger deal is the 3-team blockbuster. The Knicks lose overpaid guys (Jared Jeffries, Larry Hughes) to add another overpaid guy (T-Mac), plus a PG of sorts (Sergio Rodriguez). Sergio could replace Chris Duhon in the starting line-up, and T-Mac will play as well. Will the Knicks be better? Maybe. By a lot? Doubt it.

Sacramento gave up Kevin Martin (so much for trying the Evans/Martin combo for the rest of the season) to land Larry Hughes (well, his expiring contract to be more exact), Joey Dorsey (undersized big-man... role already filled by Jon Brockman) and Carl Landry (don't they already have their young bigs in Hawes & Thompson?). They've got a stable of young big men now... it'll be interesting to see how they develop. Throw in Evans and Francisco Garcia (finally healthy?), Donte Greene & Dominic McGuire (acquired from Washington right before the deadline), and the team looks young with plenty of development ahead of them. They might not see improvement immediately, but the future looks bright.

The Rockets, somehow, managed to dump T-Mac & his contract. In the process, they picked up Kevin Martin, Jared Jeffries, Hilton Armstrong, Jordan Hill AND 1st-round draft picks. (Why can't the Jazz pull off trades like that?). Martin/Ariza/Battier give them a deadly wing trio from downtown, something that always seems to kill the Jazz. Jeffries/Battier gives them a couple of solid defenders on the wings. They add a top-10 pick from this year (Jordan Hill... who will improve), all but making up for the loss of Carl Landry... which isn't even really big given the presence of Luis Scola & Chuck Hayes. The fans will miss Carl Landry though. Yes, the Rockets got better.

Final Impacts

Obviously, in the end you have to play the games. Injuries happen. Teams go into slumps or go on runs. Things unpredicted will happen. But for now, it seems like...

• The Lakers are better than the Jazz. We know this.
• The Nuggets are better than the Jazz, it seems.
• The Mavs improved with their trade.
• The Rockets improved with their trade.
• The Blazers improved with their trade.
• The Grizzlies improved with their trade.
• The Spurs were unaffected.
• The Jazz were unaffected/slightly changed (depending on who plays).

I don't see how the Jazz hope to win like this. You can't just keep staying put when you know you're not good enough. The Jazz are obviously playing for the now (they didn't trade Boozer despite getting offers), but they're also trading a starter for a 'future asset'. We'll see how it all goes, I guess...

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