Toronto hosts Kobe Bryant and the Lakers Sunday afternoon at the ACC (full game preview here) but Saturday's blockbuster trades involving two former prominent malcontent Raptors is still the subject du jour.
The trades were also another reminder why the NBA is the best league to be a fan of: the blockbuster still lives.
Now that may change once the next collective bargaining agreement is hashed out, but until then, let's revel and gloat about the fact star players in this sport can still be swapped for one another in old-school, talent-for-talent exchanges.
To be sure there are some salary implications as well, but at the heart of this deal is Orlando's desperation determination to improve their talent level in a bid to keep pace with the Celtics and Heat in the East.
And desperate is the only word to adequately describe a franchise willing to gamble that Hedo Turkoglu will find motivation in a non-contract year and that Gilbert Arenas finds a brain. Jason Richardson, it says here the best player dealt Saturday, was however a dynamite pickup for Orlando.
One man who is in a contract year however, Vince Carter, now finds himself in Phoenix and it'll be interesting what, if any, chemistry Air Canada and Kid Canada can develop.
On Saturday following the trade, the Twitterspehre was abuzz with speculation that Steve Nash might soon follow Turk out of the desert, with the Knicks being his most likely destination. We can't see the Suns dealing Nash...yet, but we shall see.
In the meantime, the two separate deals shake down like this, followed by our 100 per cent subjective and biased Blockbuster Winners and Losers List.
Orlando gets: Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkolglu's disinterest and voracious appetite.
Phoenix gets: Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat, Earl Clark, Orlando's 2011 first-round draft pick, massive cash savings on post-game pizza and Sprite.
Washington gets: rid of the biggest clown in franchise history and Rashard Lewis.
Blockbuster Winners and Losers...
Winner: Hedo Turkoglu
As much as it pains us to admit it, the Big Turk was probably the biggest winner Saturday. He never wanted to leave Orlando in the first place, and now after eating, sulking and sucking his way through a season and a third in other uniforms, he gets to go back, arguably to a team better than the one he left.
Loser: Rashard Lewis
Anytime you are dealt from a championship-calibre squad to the Washington Wizards, you lose.
Winner: Gilbert Arenas
Less than a year ago, the former Agent Zero's career was in question due to knee and stupidity issues. Now he's got a get-out-of-jail free card in Orlando and word on the street is he's thrilled with his new address.
Loser: Vince Carter
If the 33-year-old sulking guard is willing to run with Nash, he could flourish in the desert and land himself one more big-money deal in the off-season. But at the heart of the deals Saturday was Orlando conceding to the world: "We can't win with this guy."
Winner: Marcin Gortat
The 6-11, 240-pound center saw limited minutes behind Dwight Howard in Orlando but will see plenty of action under the rim in Phoenix. He's also a winner by virtue of his awesome nickname: The Polish Hammer.
As for which teams may have won Saturday, the only immediate winner appears to be Washington for ridding themselves of Arenas and the $62 million he's owed over the next three seasons after this one.
Phoenix and Orlando made bold moves to re-vamp their rosters, and while it'll be fun to see how Vince and Hedo whine fare in their new homes, real judgment shouldn't be passed on the moves until the spring.
