One of the most noteworthy transactions was the Grizzlies sending a pair of youngsters in Hasheem Thabeet and former University of Missouri star DeMarre Carroll to Houston for Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks who was then moved to Phoenix. The move gives the Grizzlies a short term solution for replacing star forward Rudy Gay who may be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season.

Battier’s return to Memphis will give the playoff hopeful Grizzlies a veteran wing man whose commitment on the defensive end will be a refreshing change for a franchise that ranks in the middle of the pack in point allowed (98.3, good for 14th in the league).

The Rockets targeted young Hasheem Thabeet as a potential long-term replacement for Yao Ming in the post, bringing a defense-first big man to Houston. At 7’3’’ Thabeet has seen limited opportunities to prove himself in Memphis (an average of 11.1 minutes per game during his two years as a Grizzlie.)

“When we drafted Hasheem, my guys told me point blank that we needed to play him a lot,” Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said. “He needed to be on the floor. I don’t think we’ve been able to do our part.”

Houston will do their part to ensure that the young Thabeet is given the necessary time to grow while in a Rockets uniform.

In Thabeet’s debut with Houston the Tanzania native logged just two minutes of action for head coach Rick Adelman. Adelman has been public with his displeasure about losing star forward Shane Battier in exchange for Thabeet and when asked what he knew about his newly minted center, Adelman said, “He’s tall. He hasn’t been playing for them [in Memphis]. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with him.”

At 29-31 and still amid the playoff hunt, it may be some time before Houston experiments with Thabeet as their featured center. 

In Cleveland, the Cavaliers swapped hefty point guard contracts with the Los Angeles Clippers who sent Baron Davis (owed $34MM through 2012-2013) as well as a first round pick to Cleveland in exchange for Mo Williams who will receive another $8.5MM next season under his current contract.

The Clippers come away as the winners considering Baron Davis joins a Cavs team who at 11-47, have already begun to make summer vacation plans. Davis will be 32 in April and won’t take kindly to enduring two more seasons of dismal Cleveland basketball. Don’t be surprised to see an Eddy Curry-esc dysfunctional relationship where a struggling team is saddled with a paralyzing contract and a callous relationship between the newly acquired Davis and Cleveland brass. Perhaps the last memorable basketball image of Davis will be from the sunroof in a parked KIA throwing alley-oops to Blake Griffin.

New Jersey will face a similar dilemma where the Nets will work hard to appease Deron Williams who sojourns to a dismal squad who once again finds themselves in the Atlantic division cellar. Williams will surely see more scoring opportunities, a career 13.3 shot attempts per night will spike to something closer to 15 or 16 nightly attempts under Head Coach Avery Johnson.

Utah will plug Devin Harris into Williams vacated role and will boast another secondary scoring threat to Al Jefferson, but it is Williams 9.7 assists per game that the Jazz will miss.  Harris is amidst his least productive scoring season since his time in Dallas in 2007 but the former Wisconsin Badger will be relied upon for continuous scoring production.

The Jazz also acquired young Derrick Favors who will be given time to develop while playing under veterans Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. Favors (5.2 PPG, 19:30 MPG in February) will certainly take a hit in playing time but the tutelage will surely benefit the game’s youngest player long-term.

Other notable transactions include Troy Murphy’s departure from New Jersey to Golden State where the former Irishman will be given new life now that the 6’10’’ forward is out from under Avery Johnson’s system which kept Murphy on the bench (3.6 PPG & 4.2 RPG in 19 appearances).

Adversely, the Nets acquire young Brandan Wright who has seen a progressive drop in playing opportunities (a career low 9.3 MPG). A former top-ten pick, Wright hasn’t matured into the player Golden State once hoped following an impressive stint as a Carolina Tar Heel.

The Atlanta Hawks feel that Kirk Hinrich is the missing piece to a talented roster that has made multiple deep runs in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Hinrich will see plenty of action right away during the final stretch run as the Hawks jockey for playoff seeding. In addition to Hinrich the Hawks bolstered their frontline with Hilton Armstrong who will bring another rebounding and shot blocking presence to Hotlanta.

In exchange for Hinrich and Armstrong the Wizards receive veteran point guard Mike Bibby who will help in the development of John Wall. Washington may have a blue-collar point guard in Hinrich but team president Ernie Grunfeld came away pleased with the Wizards trade deadline haul. “We were able to acquire a proven, clutch leader in Mike, a hard-nosed veteran in Maurice [Evans], and an intriguing prospect in Jordan [Crawford], as well as a first-round draft choice to add our own first-round pick this summer.”

Grunfeld currently sees his 15-43 Wizards as a work in progress, shedding lofty contracts like Hinrich in an effort to improve for the future. “This trade continues our plan to build with draft picks and prospects,” Grunfeld said, “To develop our young players and stay financially flexible.”