Getting to the Bottom of the 2013 Trade Deadline Moves

This wasn’t the worst trade deadline day ever – the Anthony Johnson-led 2000 and 2007 trade deadlines were far more tepid than this year’s – but the 2013 version of the NBA’s great cluster of nonsense didn’t provide much fodder for your various newspaper or website front pages. The top name left to dangle on Thursday, Atlanta forward Josh Smith, hasn’t even appeared in an All-Star game. And we’ve already gone over why Smith’s stay in Atlanta might be the best move for all involved.

What we’re left with, in the absence of stars and with the crush of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement sending the fear of the luxury tax into most team’s front offices, is a whole lot of tinkering. In all, the biggest name to be moved in the trade deadline was a backup shooting guard that has started 11 games this season for a 15-win team. That’s an unduly harsh description of Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick, who is a fantastic player and worth all the attention he’s received from prospective trading partners, but Redick alone doesn’t provide the superstar cachet that other trade deadline movers have given us through the years.

It wasn’t an Anthony Johnson-styled Thursday, but it wasn’t far off. Let’s delve into the trade deadline that barely happened.

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Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report on Thursday the full deal involving Redick’s move from the Orlando Magic to the Milwaukee Bucks. He’ll head to Wisconsin with Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith in exchange for Beno Udrih, Tobias Harris, and Doron Lamb.

That is to say, nobody of any immediate significance (though Ayon has his moments) outside of Udrih, who will fill in capably if Magic guard Jameer Nelson’s patella injury continues to linger. Basically, the Magic did the well-liked Redick a favor in sending him to a playoff team that clearly coveted his services. And though Redick doesn’t boast the same star power as incumbent Bucks shooting guard Monta Ellis, more possessions used up by Redick (as opposed to the 39.9 percent shooting Ellis) will be a boon for the Bucks. Monta also makes fewer than a quarter of his three-pointers on average, despite repeated attempts, something the 39-percent shooting Redick will be able to help with.

As the great Evan Dunlap at Orlando Pinstriped Post points out, the deal didn’t really shift the needle for the rebuilding Magic:

Add it up and Orlando only sent out $12.69 million in guaranteed money. One could argue that it saved money because it will no longer be in the running to sign Redick to a new contract in the summer, but the bare facts are the Magic's cap sheet is no cleaner after the deadline than it was before.

That is to say – Orlando’s front office likes Redick, and they did him a favor. The team probably wasn’t going to break the bank to re-sign the 28-year old guard this summer as a free agent heading into his prime, not with that rebuilding process years away from turning the corner, so the team sent him to a squad in Milwaukee that still fancies itself a continual playoff contender, one that will hold Redick’s Bird Rights and the ability to sign him for more money than most this July.

Written by Kevin Dwyer (Yahoo)