Trade deadline looms...

Today at 2 pm is the trading deadline in the NBA. Two significant trades have already gone down, and I know of two others of decreasing impact.

Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks was the first to be finished. Everyone knew it was coming. The Knicks want to put together their own triumvirate of stars, and everyone seems to think that Chris Paul will be their target this offseason or when he becomes a free agent. The Knicks gave up a lot. Did it make them a ton better? I just don't know. I know they beat the Bulls this year twice with what they had before. I tend to think the Bulls will match up better with them now than they did before.

Then, Deron Williams was dealt from Utah to New Jersey. NJ gets a star, but for how long? We'll see. They may regret giving up Derrick Favors for him.

In descending order of impact, the Wizards traded Kirk Hinrich to Atlanta. He's a guy I wish the Bulls still have. He's a great guy to have coming off the bench backing up both the point and the two. He can shoot some, can handle the ball, can play some defense. This could be an excellent deal for the Hawks. Could help them in the playoffs.

The last deal I know of at this point is the Bulls' trade of James Johnson to the Raptors for the draft pick they ended up with from Miami in the Chris Bosh deal. It will be a low first round pick, obviously, but JJ wasn't worth much more than that at this point. The pick may end up being trade fodder somewhere down the line, or it may just increase the cap space that the Bulls have next summer.

The talk in Chitown is that the Bulls are talking to the Grizzlies about OJ Mayo, and the Cavs about Anthony Parker. Parker could slot in without disrupting anything the Bulls have, if the Cavs would move him for that low first round pick. Mayo would cost a pick (or two) and a player - perhaps CJ Watson? For cap reasons, they'd have to include about two million of salary going back at the Grizzlies. But then the Bulls would again need a backup point guard.

We'll see what transpires in the next couple of hours...

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