New York: The Knicks fill a hole on the roster with a deal that’s nearly cap neutral — it will cost them a little more than $1 million next year once you factor in the luxury tax.

The good news is that the trade gives them a true 2-guard for the first time since they traded Jamal Crawford, so that will help balance out the roster. The bad news is that it’s Larry Hughes.

Parts of this move feel just like the old days — New York picks up a me-first guy with an exorbitant salary who’s a questionable fit in its system, all in hopes of making a big playoff push (um, y’all know you’re in 11th, right?) whose absolute ceiling would appear to be a 37-45 final record and a four-game ambush in the first round.

Given Hughes’ inability to shoot or pass, I also question his fit in Mike D’Antoni’s shooter-friendly offensive scheme. Despite my misgivings, however, this trade does make the Knicks slightly better in the short term, as James was useless and Thomas was utterly redundant with Al Harrington. Grade: C-




Chicago: Once I recovered from the shock of the Bulls reacquiring Thomas, I realized it was a pretty good move by Chicago to create some wiggle room beneath the luxury tax for next year and unload an unhappy camper.

Thomas replaces much of what they lost by trading Andres Nocioni — as a 4 who can space the floor, he should get plenty of opportunity in the Bulls’ system. They’ll hope and pray that James qualifies for some kind of medical retirement that allows him to be stricken from the cap, because he’s not going to help them on the court. Grade: B-

Link.