In what has been a summer of marquee names switching teams in a frenzy of free agent signings, the trade front has been relatively quiet as of late. That all changed today when a four-team, five-player trade went down, significantly altering the core make-up of each team involved. Within the trade, Trevor Ariza was sent to New Orleans, and Darren Collison was acquired by the Pacers.We’ve broke down who’s going where, and what it means for each team involved.

New Orleans Hornets:

Acquired: Trevor Ariza
Traded: Darren Collison, James Posey

While it likely wasn’t an easy decision to part with Collison after an impressive rookie campaign that had him legitimately in the ROY talks by the end of the year, you have to give value to get value in return. With Chris Paul healthy again and ready to be the Hornets’ primary playmaker, Collison would return to his back-up role. While it’s always nice to have such a talented replacement at the point, the Hornets could afford to trade for value at a position of greater need with the assumption that Paul would be taking nearly 40 mpg at the point anyway. They certainly did that with the acquisition of Ariza. Paul’s offseason rumblings that he may seek a trade if the Hornets can’t assemble a strong enough supporting cast around him also likely played into the thought process of acquiring Ariza. Ariza is a significant upgrade on the wing for the Hornets on both ends of the floor. Along with his length, ability to play the passing lanes, and an improving offensive repertoire, Ariza also brings championship experience – something sorely lacking on the current Hornets roster. But more than anything, the trade seems to be a clear demonstration that the Hornets management is committed to building a winner around Paul. A wise move, because Paul makes everyone else on your roster’s game easier and gives your team a chance to win on any given night. Without him, the Hornets would be swimming in a sea of mediocrity for years to come.

Indiana Pacers:

Acquired: Darren Collison, James Posey
Traded: Troy Murphy

In Collison, the Pacers not only landed the player with the most upside in the whole trade, but acquired their point guard of the future. Collison received a baptism by fire in New Orleans as he served as a starter for nearly half of the season with Paul out of the lineup – and he didn’t disappoint. It wasn’t uncommon for Collison to score well into the twenties and drop double-digit assist nights as a starter last year. In fact, smacking the Pacers with a triple-double back in January likely didn’t go unforgotten by this Indiana team in search of a floor leader. The point-guard spot has been one of inconsistencies and turmoil for the Pacers over the past few seasons, with the likes of T.J. Ford, Earl Watson, and Jarrett Jack at the helm. Collison will give the Pacers stability in the backcourt for years to come, and he should form an exciting duo alongside Danny Granger. The loss of Murphy certainly hurts the Pacers, as they will have to lean more heavily on players like Tyler Hansbrough and Josh McRoberts at the power forward spot. That certainly doesn’t bode well for their chances at a winning season this year, but they’ll be able to sleep at night knowing that they added a long-term piece to their puzzle in Collison.

New Jersey Nets:

Acquired: Troy Murphy
Traded: Courtney Lee

The Nets weren’t able to land a superstar within free-agency, but they’ve done a good job in adding talented young players while still maintaining cap flexibility for the future. In Murphy, the Nets add a player who is a double-double threat on any given night, can shoot the long ball, and provides the wide-eyed Nets with more veteran experience. Although they used their number-three draft pick to select power-forward Derrick Favors, at just 19 years old he may not be ready for steady minutes just yet. Murphy gives the Nets a viable starting power-forward, giving them the luxury of bringing Favors along slowly. Murphy’s outside shooting touch should also complement the inside game of Brook Lopez, and provide the Nets with a versatile and effective frontcourt next season. The best news for the Nets is that Murphy is in the final year of his contract, allowing the Nets to have around $20 million in cap space next summer.

Houston Rockets:

Acquired: Courtney Lee
Traded: Trevor Ariza

And now for the least sexy part of this trade, the Rockets gave up one of their core starters and premier perimeter defenders in Ariza, only to get Lee in return. Now, Lee is no slouch, but ultimately – he is a serviceable role player in this league. In Houston, he’ll likely serve as the primary backup to Kevin Martin, but could even lose out on minutes to Kyle Lowry at times. In the end, this was a cost-cutting move for the Rockets who had gone well into the luxury tax with the costly signings of Luis Scola, Brad Miller, and Lowry this offseason. With this trade and the departure of Ariza’s contract, the Rockets will save approximately $28 million in committed contract dollars.

The New Jersey Nets took another big step in their re-building effort as they reached a verbal agreement with Avery Johnson to take over as the Nets’ new head coach. An official announcement is expected tomorrow. With the highest winning percentage in the history of the NBA (albeit a relatively small sample size), Johnson was likely the highest-profile pro coach available. That being the case, this hire fits in nicely with new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s commitment to bringing the Nets back to relevancy.

Johnson has a career regular-season record of 194-70, has coached a team to the NBA Finals, and has been the recipient of the Coach of the Year award. There’s no question of his ability to coach. His dismissal from the Mavericks came only after being eliminated from the first round in two consecutive seasons. This shouldn’t be of concern to the Nets, though, as a mere playoff appearance would be a notable achievement in New Jersey these days.

It will be interesting to see how Johnson handles this Nets team which finished the season with a 12-70 record and was widely discussed as one of the worst teams in NBA history. The Nets have an all-star caliber point guard in Devin Harris, who Johnson coached in Dallas – so there should be a level of familiarity there. They also have one of the east’s best young centers in Brook Lopez, but this team is a far cry from the talent level of the Mavericks when Johnson took over. Johnson more or less inherited a golden egg of a team, stacked with the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and Michael Finley and Jerry Stackhouse in their younger days.

The Nets will need to acquire much more talent, and cultivate its current players if they want to be competitive again. Luckily for them, they are in a good position to do so. The Nets have enough cap space to sign up to two players to maximum contracts this Summer, giving them a major opportunity to bring in veteran, all-star level talent right away. Still, it’s no guarantee that they will be able to lure in a top free-agent, especially given the large number of teams who have cleared cap space to be active in this year’s free-agency period.

Regardless of what free agent(s) the Nets are able to nab this Summer, they will  undoubtedly have a better record this year with Johnson at the helm. Well, there really is nowhere to go but up for the Nets. Sadly for Johnson though, I think that impeccable .735 winning percentage is going to take a notable dip in his first few years in New Jersey.

While the lowly New Jersey Nets had a 25% chance of winning tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery, their luck continues to fall short. You would think an abysmal 12-70 record would get you something. While the Nets will be able to improve with the third pick in the upcoming draft, the top pick went to a team who was equally in need of an infusion of hope.

After Gilbert Arenas was suspended for the majority of the season for bringing guns into the locker room, the Wizards team was unraveled as they shipped out their two remaining best players (Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison) for what amounted to salary cap flexibility. The Washington Wizards ended up landing the top pick for the upcoming NBA Draft, giving them the chance to pick the consensus top player in the draft – Kentucky’s John Wall.

While it’s fair to wonder how Wall, a point guard, would fit in with the Wizards with Arenas still on the roster – the Wizards would be silly to pass up on such a talent. Any time you have the opportunity to add a franchise-type player to your roster, you do it. As one of the most exciting and athletic guards in college basketball last year, Wall’s game has been compared to names like Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo (or a hybrid of their talents). Wall will have to refine the range on his shot and his consistency, but he is killer on the pick and role, is a dynamic playmaker, and has the ability to be a one-man fast break.

If nothing else, the Wizards should pick Wall and see how they can re-shape their roster through trades, as Wall’s stock is too valuable to dismiss. How do you think adding Wall will affect the Wizards?

See below for the full lottery results for the upcoming NBA Draft, going down on June 24, 2010 at 7 p.m. ET.

We keep hearing rumblings of big names to be dealt before February’s trading deadline, but haven’t seen any action yet. While today didn’t bring any updates of Al Jefferson, Chris Bosh, Tracy McGrady or Antawn Jamison on the move, we did see a couple of minor deals go down.

The most notable trade occured between the New Jersey Nets and Dallas Mavericks. The Nets have agreed to send Eduardo Najera to the Mavs in exchange for forwards Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams. The Nets also waived the troubled Sean Williams, best known for his off-court antics (including this gem) than anything done on the hardwood, to make room for their two new additions.

When the Nets originally acquired Najera, they hoped he would provide toughness and veteran leadership. Unfortunately, much of his time in New Jersey has been stunted by injuries – limiting to only 40 games as a Net in over the past two seasons. Najera should welcome the trade to Dallas with open arms. Not only is he fortunate to be fleeing one of the worst teams in NBA history, Najera had some of his best NBA moments with the Mavericks. He spent the first five seasons of his career in Dallas and even appeared in 39 playoff games for them. While he’ll be a familiar face in Big D, I wouldn’t expect him to be much of a contributor for Dallas as they already have Drew Gooden and Tim Thomas coming off of the bench. As he has his whole career, he’ll play in spurts when hustle or defensive effort is particularly in need.

The key piece for the Nets in this trade is Kris Humphries. Although Humphries has been relatively inconsistent throughout his career, I think he is an upgrade for the Nets. First off, he’s healthy and can contribute immediately. The Nets also are relatively thin up front. Yi Jianlian has been getting tons of run lately (and playing quite well I might add) but it will nice to have a player like Humphries coming off the bench to give him a breather. Humphries is athletic, has good size, and is a decent rebounder. His rebounding, in particular, will be a welcome addition for the Nets. While the Nets haven’t made a decision yet, they have discussed waiving Shawne Williams, so he might have just been a pawn in helping to push this trade through.

The other trade of the day was even more yawn-worthy. The New Orleans Hornets traded Hilton Armstrong to the Sacramento Kings for, get this, a conditional 2016 draft pick and cash considerations. Deals that are money-motivated are never sexy, and this certainly fits the bill. The trade brings the Hornets to within $530,611 of the league’s luxury-tax line. Don’t be surprised if they make another move or waive an underutilized player to get under the luxury-tax line this season.

The Kings, on the other hand, had more than $4 million in available cap space and could afford to take on Armstrong’s contract. Armstrong will bring versatility to an unproven Kings frontcourt, and should see time at both power forward an center. He’ll definitely be a nice insurance policy for them, and should be an upgrade over players like Jon Brockman who have been getting minutes for Sacto lately. Also, Jason Thompson has often struggled with foul trouble and Spencer Hawes is the epitome of inconsistency. Armstrong will get minutes with the Kings for those reasons alone.

Still, given that Armstrong has career averages of just 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, one has to wonder if the Kings could have used this cap space more effectively. One has to wonder a bit about a player who is having his minutes cut into by players like Darius Songaila and Sean Marks. Still, most NBA caliber players just need an opportunity in the right system to elevate their game. Maybe the trade to an up-and-coming Kings team that is still establishing their identity is that opportunity for Armstrong.

Who do you think came out on top in today’s trades?

Nate Robinson on his feelings of being asked to enter the game after being benched for the past 14. Oh, and then he went on to drop 41 points…ridiculous. (from AP)

“I got nervous. Butterflies. I don’t know. I felt kind of sick. I was just real, real nervous. I was just going to do everything he asked me to do.”

Nets forward Jarvis Hayes (also a 4-year teammate of Gilbert Arenas) on the Arenas and Javaris Crittenton gun incident (from NJ.com)

“It was surprising — Gilbert is a playful guy…I didn’t think he would bring a gun to the locker room. When I first heard it, I thought he might have been playing. But he wasn’t playing, apparently. It was one of those things where emotions got a little too high.”

Usher, part-owner of the Cavs, on his thoughts on LeBron James staying in Cleveland (from New York Daily News):

“I don’t know. I don’t think any of us can answer that question. Only he can answer that. I think he’s just having fun; 25 is a very relaxing year. I remember 25 — I kind of came into my own. LeBron is an anomaly. He’s a unique talent. As you come into your space, you find your home and you become more confident. So, hopefully, he’ll stay home. Or, at least, he’ll make it his home for business.”

Kings coach Paul Westphal after his team falls victim to a Kobe Bryant buzzer-beater. (from AP)

“I am so proud of our team—but at the same time, it’s disappointing,” Sacramento coach Paul Westphal said. “We’ve played well enough to beat those guys twice, but they have a knack at the end of games. We got everything we needed, performance-wise, from everybody that played, and we couldn’t close it out. That’s one of the things that makes the Lakers so good. Kobe is an unbelievable player, no question about it.”

Throughout the Nets’ horrific start to the season, Yi has been largely absent from their lineup. After starting the first four games of the year, Yi was sidelined with a right-knee injury,  certainly adding to New Jersey’s woes. Just before making his return to the lineup, a collision with Sean Williams in practice led to 50 stitches in Yi’s lip – and kept him off the court even longer. Combined, these two injuries led to 24-straight missed games for Yi. Given these injuries, it’s highly possible that Yi could be sitting in your league’s free-agent pool right now.

Yi finally returned on Dec. 23, and recorded an impressive 22 points (including four 3-pointers) and eight rebounds off the bench. With numbers like that, the Nets couldn’t afford to keep playing the offensively inept Josh Boone in the starting lineup. In his second game back, Yi was in New Jersey’s starting unit and notched 17 points and six boards. While Yi has certainly struggled with inconsistency in the past, he is exhibiting much more confidence than we saw in his first two seasons, and appears to have backing from Kiki Vaneweghe to remain aggressive offensively. Most importantly, Yi will continue to log major minutes on this talent-depleted Nets squad giving him a real shot at putting up some decent fantasy numbers.

Wizards’ coach Flip Saunders on his team’s questionable shot selection (from Wizards Insider):

“I’ll say this, in all my years in coaching — 15 years in the NBA and the CBA, college — I have never yelled at a player for taking bad shots in a game — until this year,” Saunders said. “It’s a catch-22. You try to give them freedom so they can figure out, and try to give them their confidence as far as where they are at, but if you keep talking to them about what’s a good shot and a bad shot, if it doesn’t get through, at some point you have to say, ‘To hell with that.’ “

Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers when asked if he was disappointed with Rasheed Wallace’s ejection from last night’s close loss to the Clippers (from The Boston Globe):

“Yeah, I am. I’m disappointed when anybody gets thrown out of a game. You know, whether he’s right or wrong doesn’t matter – you’ve got to control yourself to stay in the game. But he didn’t. And I didn’t – I wasn’t going to try to stand there and talk him out of it. He’s a grown man. And, you know, at some point, it’s him – he understands his value to this team, and his teammates understand his value to the team, and I think, at some point, that’ll get to him.”

It just keeps getting worse for the New Jersey Nets. Nets’ guard Chris Douglas-Roberts on their blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors (from the New York Post):

“Pitiful. Horrible. Horrible effort. Awful…It was definitely, definitely, definitely a low point.”

Recent Knicks free-agent signee Jonathan Bender on his dramatic first game in action after being out of the league for three years (from NBA.com):

“I was really excited and had a lot of adrenaline going out… I just wanted to get out and do good and definitely make my first shot. After I got that off my back, I felt pretty good from there.”