Posts tagged JuanDixon at FanHouse

NBA players are athletic, but they're not built to do the splits. Chauncey Billups learned that the hard way four minutes into tonight's game against the Magic. He was in obvious pain the moment it happened, laying face down on the court for a few moments before collecting himself and limping to the locker room. He's not going to return tonight and is officially day-to-day with a strained hamstring. If there's any consolation for the Pistons, it's that Game 4 isn't until Saturday.

Losing Billups clearly threw a wrench into Detroit's plans, especially considering rookie Rodney Stuckey is the only other point guard active tonight with Lindsey Hunter and Juan Dixon watching in street clothes. Orlando simply stomped the Pistons in the first quarter, leading by as many as 18 at one point, though as I write this the Pistons have stopped the bleeding and have cut Orlando's lead to 67-60 with three minutes left in the third.

Update: The update wasn't meant to be: Orlando waxed Detroit 111-86.

With the NBA trade deadline looming, Trade Machinations rounds up real rumors (and creates fake ones) of moves that'd make the NBA a better, brighter place.

The proposed deal - made a little awkward by the Warriors not wanting to burn up their trade exception just to dump Mickael Pietrus - would be Pietrus and Austin Croshere for Joey Graham and Juan Dixon, the two names that have apparently been tossed around.

This trade helps both teams to a certain degree, but more than anything it rids each one of their most recent malcontent (that being Pietrus and Dixon). Croshere helps out the Raptors because his contract, although a small one, is an expiring deal, freeing up more room for Toronto to resign Carlos Delfino and Jose Calderon. Pietrus' contract is also expiring and he has purportedly agreed to waive his George Bird Rights should Golden State find him a new locale.

From a basketball standpoint, Pietrus would give the Raptors a more scoring-capable option at the three than Jamario Moon currently provides in addition to lineup flexibility. Croshere provides a little frontcourt depth while Graham gives the Warriors a tougher body in the post (neither has really played in 2008, both have expiring deals, the money works out to save the Warriors' exception from the Jason Richardson trade).

Will it happen? It certainly could. Both Pietrus and Dixon are likely to get moved before the deadline and in this case, each team gets something useful in exchange for their unhappy player.

Are you ready for this? You might want to sit down. Here goes: the Blazers have agreed to trade Juan Dixon to the Raptors in exchange for Fred Jones. Boo-yah! Okay, so maybe you won't be telling your grandchildren where you were the day the fabled "Jones for Dixon" trade went down, but that doesn't mean this is an insignificant deal.

For the Raptors, they get to tweak their bench for the stretch run, which for the first time in a while doesn't mean counting how many extra ping-pong balls they'll get after every loss. Dixon is small for a two-guard, but he is a proven scorer with range, and his contract is up after next year, as opposed to the two years left on Jones' deal.

Jones is more of a slasher, and though he's averaging 22.7 minutes per game this year, he slipped in the rotation and has averaged less than seven minutes per game in January and February. He still has upside, though, and for the Blazers there's the added bonus that he's a hometown kid -- he went to high school in suburban Portland and played four years for the University of Oregon.

All told, a change of scenery was probably needed for both players, and while minor, this should be one of those rare deals that benefits both teams -- even if incrementally.

Earlier:
Open the Floodgates: Mavs' Johnson to the Hawks
Suns Enter Kidd Trade Talks to Block Lakers