AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2005 > October > 27
Thursday, October 27, 2005
A perplexing trade
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Folks from Milwaukee to Buckhead are furious over the Bucks-Hornets trade that sent Jamaal Magloire to Milwaukee in exchange for Desmond Mason and a 2006 first-round draft pick, a deal that sends Mason home (they are the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets).
I can see why Hawks fans are ticked off: Magloire would have been exactly what the team needed to shore up the middle. But Bucks fans skeptical of the move need to realize what their team is dealing with in the Central Division. Indiana, Detroit and Cleveland are loaded. So if you want to keep up, you better find big men to rival the big men on those teams. Magloire, Andrew Bogut, Dan Gadzuric and Joe Smith look pretty good to me.
The move is a bit perplexing from the New Orklahoma side of things. I know Mason was a fan favorite while at Oklahoma State, making the Hornets a bit sexier to the locals there. But if you think the Hawks have a glut of forwards, how does Byron Scott find time for Mason, J.R. Smith, Bostjan Nachbar, Rasul Butler, Jackson Vroman, Maciej Lampe, George Lynch, Brandon Bass and David West? What a mess.
But it could all work in the Hawks favor. Follow the twisted logic here.
Whenever teams start dealing in the NBA, their competitors feel the need to follow suit. By 6 p.m. today, when rosters have to finalized for the regular season opener, there could be a number of big men on the NBA’s waiver wire, meaning the Hawks will have quite a few options when they go searching for big men to fill out their roster.
