Power Rankings: Quiet deadline produces winners, losers

Updated Feb. 27

Understand why so many teams didn't make drastic changes at the trade deadline. The upcoming draft is strong, luxury tax concerns are prevalent, and it seems to be more of a hassle to make a fair trade than ever before. Deals are often swaps of bad contracts, and no one wants to be the next sucker to give up young talent for Steve Francis.

Erring on the safe side was the right move for most. But a few teams should have thrown caution to the wind in order to take advantage of current opportunities.

Just because there wasn't much action around the deadline doesn't mean we can't have a few trade deadline losers and winners.

Bulls leading scorer Ben Gordon stays put, and that's good for the team. (AP)

Chicago made the right move keeping future All-Stars Luol Deng and Ben Gordon, the reported asking price for Pau Gasol, but still should have filled its need for low-post offense. Shareef Abdur-Rahim was a strong candidate, but John Paxson decided that having his contract for the next couple of seasons was not something he wanted. That might have been the right move for the long-term. Short-term, the veteran forward would have been a great asset, supplying an offensive option off the bench they don't have with P.J. Brown and Tyrus Thomas.

Cleveland was another loser, but not for lack of trying. Danny Ferry had the right idea, willing to gamble for the chance to win now. In making a play for Mike Bibby, the Cavaliers were attempting to grab the wide open East by the throat. Instead, they'll have to go with rookie Daniel Gibson and veteran Eric Snow. That combination doesn't exactly strike fear in opponents' hearts.

Phoenix and Dallas also missed the boat on spending to add a key piece or two for the stretch run. The Suns could have used another athletic big body and a steady backup guard, but opted to stick with their current group. The Mavericks were in the market for another post defender/rebounder, but wound up staying put as well, even ridding themselves of a veteran, third-string point guard Anthony Johnson.

Detroit was a team many thought would move a veteran like Nazr Mohammed, Dale Davis or Flip Murray, but ended up keeping them all. Good move. Considering Joe Dumars didn't get an offer he deemed worthy, he might as well stockpile quality bodies that could come in handy.

Denver really wanted to trade a big body like Eduardo Najera or Reggie Evans for a shooter, but never got a deal it liked. This works in the Nuggets' favor. Although Marcus Camby and Nene are healthy and productive now, both are injury prone. At least now there's insurance behind them. Besides, isn't it time they trot out Voshon Lenard for the 17th time?

Philadelphia holding on to Andre Miller was also the correct call. It's hard to find a point guard of his caliber, and although he might help Sixers win a couple more games than they would like to, putting a dent into their lottery chances, he'll pay dividends down the road. Philadelphia has done enough housecleaning, ridding itself of Allen Iverson and Chris Webber.

Finally, the biggest winners are the New Jersey Nets, who made the biggest statement by standing still. If Rod Thorn couldn't pluck a piece like Andrew Bynum, he was right to keep his aces for use down the line. Now was not the time to pull the plug, even if Vince Carter walks at season's end. Rather than give him away, the Nets might as well do some hard selling in hopes he'll return.

If nothing else, it does keep hope alive.

The week's Power Rankings:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Celtics · Trends	1
	Biggest win of opening week: Re-upping with Rajon Rondo for five more seasons. ... Opening victory at Cleveland demonstrated that Rasheed Wallace was a better pickup than Shaq.
	2	Magic · Trends	2
	Unhappy homecoming: Vince Carter sprained ankle in win at New Jersey. ... Who needs Carter and suspended Rashard Lewis? Dwight Howard goes back-to-back-to-back with double-doubles.
	3	Lakers · Trends	3
	Most impressive part of win over Atlanta: When Kobe Bryant couldn't stop Hawks' Joe Johnson, Ron Artest took over and could. ... Why no drop in rankings? We haven't seen Pau Gasol yet.
	4	Nuggets · Trends	7
	Defending division champs send early reminder to Northwest rivals Utah, Portland. ... This is hilarious: Nene Hilario averaged 5.7 fouls in first three games.
	5	Spurs · Trends	5
	First back-to-back -- win over Hornets, loss to Bulls -- not encouraging for NBA's old-timers. ... After Manu Ginobili corralled bat, would you want to defend him?
	6	Cavaliers · Trends	4
	Most discouraging aspect of 0-2 start: There's already talk of who the Cavs must acquire at trade deadline. ... Shaq not making any Cleveland fans forget Brad Daugherty.
	7	Hawks · Trends	9
	Hawks (84.3 percent) are scorching opponents from free-throw line. ... Josh Smith (23) NBA's youngest ever to block 900 shots.
	8	Heat · Trends	14
	Only Celtics (19.3) had greater average margin of victory than Heat (14.3) in first week. ... Here's another win: Hard-nosed Tim Hardaway gets No. 10 jersey retired.
	9	Mavericks · Trends	11
	First-week wins at Staples Center: Lakers two, Mavericks two, Clippers one. ... Best offseason acquisition? Shawn Marion (16.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks) right up there.
	10	Trail Blazers · Trends	6
	Brandon Roy scored 20 in home win over Rockets, 42 in rematch loss at Houston. ... Talk about filling up the box score: Greg Oden posted 11 blocks and 19 fouls in the first four games.
	11	Rockets · Trends	19
	No Tracy McGrady, so Trevor Ariza (21.2 points, 48 percent shooting) is getting the green light and making opponents pay. ... When did Houston acquire Chris Paul and why does his jersey say "Brooks"?
	12	Suns · Trends	17
	Easy to see why the Suns wanted Steve Nash back: 20 assists vs. Golden State ... Thank you, Mr. Nash: Pick-and-pop center Frye hits 13 of first 20 from 3-point range.
	13	76ers · Trends	13
	No early surprises: Loss at Orlando, wins over lowly Bucks, Knicks. ... Don't call me Louis: Williams averaging 20.3 points, five-plus rebounds, assists.
	14	Wizards · Trends	21
	Message of season-opening win at Dallas: Gilbert Arenas is back. ... Vastly improved Andray Blatche hits 28 of first 39 off bench.
	15	Bulls · Trends	15
	Why 1-2 is acceptable: Rugged slate tipped off with Spurs, Celtics, Heat. ... Round 1 of Derrick Rose vs. Tony Parker goes to the second-year standout.
	16	Jazz · Trends	10
	Jazz look old, slow in blowout home loss to Rockets ... Carlos Boozer is earning his big bucks: three games, three double-figure rebound efforts.
	17	Hornets · Trends	8
	My, how the mighty have fallen: Only win is over the Kings; already a loss to Knicks. ... Frustrated Chris Paul exchanged words with Rondo after defeat at Boston.
	18	Raptors · Trends	24
	Why Chris Bosh remains a Raptor: three games, three double-doubles. ... Roller-coaster ride has begun: Loss to Grizzlies follows shockingly easy win over Cavaliers.
	19	Thunder · Trends	23
	Who says offense sells? Defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha gets a generous extension. ... Not a list you want to lead: Kevin Durant tops in league in missed shots (43) through three games.
	20	Bobcats · Trends	26
	Just keep shooting: Gerald Wallace opens season 11 for 40, then scores 24 in win over Nets. ... Good news: Raja Bell puts off surgery. Bad news: He debuts 1-for-8.
	21	Pistons · Trends	12
	Duplication can be good thing: With Richard Hamilton (ankle) out, Ben Gordon pours in 25, 26. ... Home loss to Thunder was no surprise: Detroit dropped one to Western doormat last year, too.
	22	Pacers · Trends	22
	Mr. Double-Double doing it again: Troy Murphy goes 14-10, then 12-13. ... League's Worst Player of First Week candidate: Dahntay Jones shoots 33.3 percent, has 9-2 turnover/assist ratio.
	23	Warriors · Trends	18
	Stephen Jackson update: No tirades, no quality starts in club's 0-2 opening. ... First two opponents (Rockets, Suns) drop in 24 of 48 from 3-point range.
	24	Clippers · Trends	16
	Balloon gets popped early: Club loses rookie star Blake Griffin to fractured kneecap. ... Only the Clippers: Despite triumph over Timberwolves, they still trail winless club (Warriors) in rankings.
	25	Grizzlies · Trends	29
	One game into Grizzlies career, Allen Iverson already making waves. ... It may be time to start asking: Who got better of Gasol-for-Gasol trade with Lakers?
	26	Knicks · Trends	27
	Remarkable feat: Danilo Gallinari averaging 10.5 3-point attempts per game. Equally remarkable: He has made 45.2 percent of them.
	27	Timberwolves · Trends	25
	Who needs Ricky Rubio? Rookie Jonny Flynn second on Timberwolves with 14.8 scoring average. ... Who needs Rubio? Timberwolves do. No player averaging more than 3.2 assists.
	28	Bucks · Trends	30
	Reserve lottery seat for Bucks: Michael Redd's knee already acting up. ... Paving path across Atlantic: Seasoned Brandon Jennings (20.5 points, 6.0 assists) was top rookie of Week 1.
	29	Kings · Trends	28
	First coaching win is classic Paul Westphal: 127-116 over Grizzlies. ... Don't count Kevin Martin (31.0) out of league scoring race.
	30	Nets · Trends	20
	It can't get worse: No field goals over 11½-minute stretch in loss to Bobcats. ... Why is Courtney Lee (33.3 percent shooting, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists) playing 40.3 minutes a game?