Tom Ziller of SB Nation and Zach Lowe of SI engage in a discussion (can't call it a debate) about who won the 2008 trade that ended Jason Kidd's great career as a Net and brought Devin Harris, a 24-year-old with great potential, to New Jersey. The two point up the different issues that emerge when evaluating a trade long after the fact.
Ziller's point is that trying to determine who "won" a trade two years after it transpired ignores the reality that drove the deal at the time. "Today's reality doesn't change the values of the players in 2008; that Donnie Nelson is exceptional at his job and Mark Cuban willing to spend untold millions in luxury tax, that the Nets' rebuild was a disaster on wheels as the franchise under Bruce Ratner imploded."
For Lowe, it's more about avoiding instant analysis. "The trade, of course, was almost universally panned from the Mavs’ perspective, and the criticism got louder when Chris Paul demolished Kidd in the 2008 playoffs and Harris had the season of his life the following year (but) Harris hasn’t been the same player since that season."
One thing both agree on: The Mavs would not be five wins from a title without Nelson and Cuban going for Tyson Chandler and overpaying for Brendan Haywood. One thing Nets fans can agree on: their team has a better point guard than Kidd or Harris.
- Revisiting Dallas Mavericks' Trade For Jason Kidd - Tom Ziller - SB Nation
- Remember that trade everyone criticized? - Zach Lowe - Sports Illustrated