Chapter 168: Trades.
This trade deadline day saw the Western Conference's titans making moves one after another.
First up was the Los Angeles crew. They traded away team veteran Luke Walton, along with a second-round pick, to the Nuggets to reacquire former player Ronny Turiaf.
More precisely, this should be called a four-team trade, as it involved the Wizards, Nuggets, and Clippers in a three-team deal.
The core of that deal was Nene, JaVale McGee, and Nick Young; Turiaf was there just to make the contracts match, and he essentially had no trade value.
Essentially, it was a swap of unwanted contracts, but since Walton's contract had an extra year, the Lakers had to add a draft pick.
However, this operation was still commendable. Trading the benchwarmer Walton for a defensive-minded big man could be considered an A-grade move.
Next up was San Antonio, led by Han Sen.
The Spurs sent Jefferson to the Warriors in exchange for Stephen Jackson.
On the surface, this appeared to be a swap of starting small forwards, but in reality, it was to make room for Leonard.
Leonard had slipped out of the lottery not just because of average dynamic stats but largely because he hadn't developed a shooting touch before the draft.
Now, however, he had. With a season-long three-point percentage of 37.6%, he wasn't elite, but it was definitely good enough.