I've been ruminating on this Nate Robinson deal all day and I think I've finally put a finger on my feelings about it. It isn't so much that I don't like the deal itself. In fact, I'm pretty much ambivalent about it. Nate will give us instant offense off the bench. We are giving up a guy that, ...gave us instant offense off the bench. Maybe he's an upgrade from House, maybe not. Maybe he's a better fit in our offense, or maybe he's a lateral move. I don't know and only time will tell.
What gives me a sinking feeling is the prevailing buzz indicating that this is all there is to the trade deadline for us. Don't get me wrong. I said weeks ago that if we couldn't find a clear upgrade for this season and the future, we shouldn't trade Ray Allen. I'm still behind that. So if Danny couldn't find a deal that meet that criteria, I can't fault him for standing pat on the core of our team. I don't support making a trade just for the sake of doing something. Furthermore, I still believe that we can pull together, get healthy, and seriously make a push for the title. Maybe.
However, I have to admit that I let myself dream a little. A few weeks ago I couldn't imagine a deal that I could justify sending Ray Allen out of town for. In the last week or so, I've read about or come up with half a dozen or so ideas or rumors that I'd be giddy about. My feelings for Ray didn't change in that timeframe. It was just that my reading of the trade market shifted a bit. I heard about guys on the trade block that under normal circumstances would never be. I underestimated how many teams would be so motivated to slash money at any cost.
A few days ago, a legitimate rumor had the Celtics talking to the Wizards about Butler and Jamison for Ray Allen. Now Butler is a Maverick and Jamison is a Cav and there's a chance that they could be playing against each other in the Finals this year while the Celtics are home wondering what to do with a roster that is another year older.
Dallas got Butler for nothing. Cleveland got Jamison for nothing. We have expiring contracts. We are willing to take on salary. We don't have a lot of other assets, but neither did the Mavs or Cavs and they got it done. What gives?
It wasn't just the Wizards great sell-off either. If you believe the rumors, Iggy was out there. Martin was out there. We all know that Stoudamire is still out there. These names are enough to excite any fan about the possibilities. But unless something dramatic and unexpected happens tomorrow, we're not getting any of those guys. We probably aren't getting any of the 2nd tier guys we heard about either (Hinrich, Tyrus Thomas, etc.)
Instead we are getting Nate Robinson. A guy that I don't even like. I respect his game, and I suppose I'll learn to like him and of course I'll root for him. But this routine of rooting for guys I don't like is getting kind of old for me personally. I talked myself in to rooting for Marbury. I talked myself into rooting for Sheed. I'll talk myself into rooting for Nate too. Winning makes it all alright, but I tell ya, I sure hope they win.
I hope that this is coming across as more of a lament and not a whine festival, but I wouldn't argue with you if you called me on my sour grapes. It is my own fault really. I let my expectations get sky high and when reality didn't match up, I feel let down.
So Jamison and Butler are not walking through that door. There will be likely not be any blockbuster deals tomorrow. We are back to hoping that KG's knee can hold up and that the team will not look quite so old and out of sync in the next few months. Oh yeah, and we'll be back to watching the waiver wire to see if the next PJ Brown will pop up out of nowhere (and hope it isn't the next Mikki Moore). Maybe Nate will give us a spark of energy and that will be enough of a nudge to get us rolling in the right direction. Maybe we'll regain our mojo and start knocking teams out in the 3rd quarter (instead of morphing into a welcome mat).
Maybe we'll be back in the Finals and Ray Allen will hit the game winning shot to bring us Banner 18 and we'll all look back on this day and laugh. Maybe.
Then again, there's still time. Ainge still has till 3:00 PM to get someone to bite on something big. Dare I get my hopes up again? How about Ray and Glen Davis for Stoudamire and JRich? No? Oh well.