| Grading The Deal: Dixon For Brezec Authored by Andrew Perna - February 21, 2008 - 5:59 pm
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The move makes sense for the Raptors, who have tremendous depth in the backcourt, especially in the weakened Eastern Conference. With Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford on the roster, Dixon wasn’t getting any minutes at point guard. The presence of Anthony Parker and Carlos Delfino at shooting guard also kept Juan on the outside looking in.
Dixon, who only played in 36 of Toronto’s 52 games this season, was contributing just 4.3 points and 1.8 assists a night in 11.8 minutes of action. After falling out of the rotation just a week into the season, Dixon got a majority of his time on the court when Ford went down on Dec. 11 versus the Hawks.
With the opportunity to show Colangelo and head coach Sam Mitchell what he could bring to the team, Dixon struggled.
Unneeded in Toronto, Colangelo did a decent job of getting something valuable in return for the expendable guard.
Brezec isn’t the toughest of best men, but a big body is always valuable in the NBA these days. He began the season in Charlotte, but was dealt to Detroit along with Walter Herrmann for Nazr Mohammed back in December.
With big men such as Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson on the roster, there was little to no time for Brezec, who began his career in Indiana. At times, even Herrmann was getting on the court before him in Detroit.
When in good physical shape, Brezec has been a force in the league. His first two seasons in Charlotte, 2004-05 and 2005-06, were his most successful. Healthy for the first time in his career, Brezec averaged 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Bobcats during those two years.
With the emergence of Emeka Okafor and continued health issues, Brezec fell out of favor in Charlotte and has been reeling ever since. The 28 year-old has a long wingspan and a decent midrange jumpshot, but often struggles defending in the post. This deal isn’t going to push the Raptors over the edge, but it was a no-brainer when you consider how little Dixon was doing in Toronto.
If you’re going to make a minor trade in the NBA, you want to come out with the bigger man if at all possible. In this trade, Colangelo did just that.
Strangely enough, Brezec at times resembles enigmatic center Rasho Nesterovic. The only physical difference between the two is the one inch Primoz has on Rasho. However, if he can remain healthy in Toronto chances are Brezec will leapfrog every big man on the roster not named Bosh or Bargnani.
Grade for Raptors: B
Monetarily, Brezec will make a few hundred thousand more than Dixon this season and both players’ contract will expire at the end of the season.
From the Pistons’ perspective of the deal it seems like a ‘why not’ trade. Brezec wasn’t going to get any run in Detroit, even if someone went down with an injury, so why not swing a trade? In the postseason, the Pistons could end up playing Dixon over guys like Arron Afflalo and Ronald Murray though.
Grade for Pistons: C
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com. Free feel to contact him at Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com with comments and questions. |
