There is no fudging it. It was a horrible day for Nets fans (and the front office). Everyone went to sleep on Wednesday night thinking Dwight Howard would be a Net by 3 p.m. Thursday. All the big writers were saying so. Had to be true. It wasn't and the Nets were left to pull together Plan "B".
So now, the pundits will start grading the deadline work of Billy King and Bobby Marks, based largely on what the immediate impact will be.
John Hollinger is up first. He sees the Nets/Blazers deal as a lop-sided affair favoring Portland, maybe even the most lop-sided trade of the day. He likes Gerald Wallace, but thinks he's on the downside of his career. "Wallace turns 30 in July and is visibly less athletic than in his Charlotte days," he writes. And he hates the potential loss of the draft pick. He calls it "a reckless gamble" saying they "gave up a lottery pick for a midtier starter who can leave as a free agent."
- NBA trade deadline: Deadline deals - John Hollinger - ESPN Insider
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NBA -- Trade deadline lessons - J.A. Adande - ESPN
- NBA trade deadline report cards: Portland gets an “A” - Kurt Helin - NBC Sports
- Grade the Trade: Blazers trade Gerald Wallace to Nets - Ben Golliver - CBS Sports
- NBA 2012 trade deadline: winners and losers - Marc J. Spears - Yahoo! Sports
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Winners and Losers (Video) - Vince Cellini, Dennis Scott & David Aldridge - NBA.com
- Trailblazers, Lakers Highlight Winners at Trade Deadline, Danny Ainge, Nets Among Losers - Jeff Howe - NESN
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NBA trade deadline winners and losers - Michael Lee - Washington Post
- Best, worst of NBA trade deadline - ESPN
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No, You’re Wrong: Trade Deadline Edition - Conor Huchton - Hardwood Paroxysm