Grading The Deals: Knicks Finally Make Moves For Present, Not 2010 Even though Donnie Walsh didn't alter or improve their cap situation for 2010, or acquire a piece that will make New York more attractive (i.e. talented) for impending free agents one summer from now, the Knicks did improve their club for the remainder of the 08-09 season and possibly 09-10 as well in two separate deals. He's been around forever, but Larry Hughes just barely turned 30 and though his minutes have been sparse, he is having his most efficient offensive season since 04-05. Hughes was acquired from Chicago in a trade that sent Tim Thomas (again), Jerome James and Anthony Roberson in return. The Knicks have had a glaring hole at shooting guard since the Allan Houston injuries and have filled it with a mix of inconsistent combo guards and Quentin Richardson. Hughes still isn't a classic shooting guard, as he is essentially an older defensive version of Jamal Crawford. He should get about 25 minutes per night and actually will bring value to the lineup if he can continue to shoot 39.2% from beyond the arc. For Chicago, Hughes wasn't going to play (at least not substantially) anyways and wasn't happy about that lack of playing time. Also, the Bulls can now either combine the expiring deals of James and Thomas in a deal or trade them separately for a smaller-sized contract. This gives them a little bit more flexibility over the next 365 days than they would have with only Hughes' $13.65 million 09-10 expiring. The Bulls are encountering a much different version of Tim Thomas than the one the met in 2005 via the Eddy Curry trade, but will they ask him to stay away again? It is hard to see him getting much floor time either way, but he is capable of providing some quality minutes and should be acclimated to the club. Jerome James will probably never step on an NBA floor again and Roberson arguably never should have stepped on an NBA floor at all. Grade for Knicks on Hughes deal: B Grade for Bulls: A- With Chris Wilcox, New York sent Oklahoma City the shadow of Malik Rose and some cash to boost their flimsy chances of reaching the playoffs. Wilcox will steal some of David Lee's rebounds over the final two months, as he has been averaging nearly 10 per 36 minutes, but is like every other New York big of the new millennium in his complete ineffectiveness as a shotblocker. His scoring efficiency has been down considerably this season, but I could see him playing well for Mike D'Antoni with a contract on the line. He's still just 27 and has always looked like an effective big waiting to happen. The Knicks want and need the best record possible in 09-10 in order to head into 2010 in an obvious right direction and also because they will be losing their draft pick to Utah. It is easy to imagine Wilcox being re-signed on a one-year contract. The Thunder could have had Tyson Chandler for Wilcox, but were scared off by that turf toe and instead have Rose and cash to show for it. It probably benefits the Bennett group more and I think Sam Presti will have plenty of options available to get a starting center, but the Thunder have clearly taken a step backwards from where they were 24 hours ago. Grade for Knicks: B Grade for Thunder: C New York's next order of business will be sorting out the Stephon Marbury situation, possibly sign Patrick Ewing Jr. (who hasn't looked like a potential NBA player in the D-League in the tape I've seen) with their roster slot and determine whether or not they will regret not taking Sacramento's offer of Jared Jeffries cap relief by way of the Nate Robinson proposal. Making the playoffs would be a nice step in the right direction for the Knicks, but I'm an advocate of more ping pong balls because it is imperative that they hit a homerun in this year's draft. -- REALGM --

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