Changing of the NBA Guards

We now have a shift of guards going on in the NBA from East to West, West to East. Just as All-Star weekend descended upon us, we saw Mike Bibby sent over to Atlanta in a multiplayer deal. This gives the Hawks a better floor general and greater chance at a playoff spot. While Bibby is a great player, he won't put the Hawks into the Finals this season. He makes for an extra scorer and passes well, but it's hard to see him leading them to the promised land. Playoffs? Yes. out of round 1? Probably not.

The other move is Jason Kidd is finally headed back to Dallas. The funniest part of this trade was that Keith Van Horn, a retired NBA player, had to make the decision to finalize the trade. How often is that seen in the NBA? Van Horn's contract amount allowed the trade to happen, so Van Horn returns to his original team, the Nets. It remains to be seen if he will play. Kidd arrives into Dallas to help Dirk and Josh Howard try to get back into the Finals and win it. Everyone knows Kidd immediately improves any squad he's on. The Nets have just shown us this season an example of lackluster play by the rest of the team despite Kidd's continued all-around floor leadership.

Both moves improve these teams easily. Kidd will definitely have the bigger impact of these two trades, which is a no brainer. The Nets will probably start to play more like the Heat, and the Hawks just may take the Nets' playoff spot away. The Mavericks are still considered amongst 3 or 4 West coast teams with a legitimate chance to make the NBA Finals and win it all.