By Rob Small
For an NBA trade deadline a few surprises have surfaced in the past 24 hours. So far, the lone trade was last night’s five-player deal that sent Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks and Andrew Bogut to the Golden State Warriors.
Mike D’Antoni resigned as head coach of the New York Knicks as a “mutual decision” to part ways. Assistants Dan D’Antoni and Phil Weber are out as well. Former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson took over as interim coach and led the Knicks to a 121-79 blowout of a Portland Trail Blazers team that sat out Jamal Crawford.
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Crawford could be on the move in a 3-way deal that would send him to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the T’wolves’ Michael Beasley to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Last, but not least, Dwight Howard looks free agency bound. After reports surfaced that he would waive his early termination option and playing another season with the Orlando Magic, Howard said that he is committed to finishing the season with the team and become a free agent, which could force the team to deal him by tomorrow’s deadline.
There may not have been any trades today, but they’ll be plenty to watch tomorrow as the deadline approaches at 3 pm. EST.