As NBA trade rumors continue to swirl we saw the second deadline deal agreed too today.  Sources are reporting that Marcus Camby will be leaving the Los Angeles Clippers and be heading to the Blazers in exchange for Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake.  

For the Blazers this deal helps them fill the center position for the remainder of the season where they have been devastated with season-ending injuries to Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla.  Camby will provide them with an athletic big that has a knack for blocking shots.  He is also an excellent rebounder and will not require touches on the offensive end.  The Blazers gave up Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw, but with the emergence of Jerryd Bayless and the return of Nicolas Batum from injury, both players became expendable.  

For GM Kevin Pritchard and the Blazers this deal will help them address their lack of size in the frontcourt and adds no payroll to the salary cap after this year with Camby's contract expiring this summer.  Another excellent move by a franchise that has made many over the past few years.  

The Clippers on the other hand make another trade that should leave their fans dumbfounded by the stupidity of GM Mike Dunleavy.  The issue here isn't trading Camby.  In fact, that was the prudent move to make after they dropped to 10 games under .500 heading into the All-Star break.  Camby is a quality big man and with teams looking to solidify their rosters heading into the last third of the season into the playoffs this was a good time to sell high on him. While the Clippers certainly did sell, they failed to get any real value in return.  

They added a point guard in Steve Blake and a small forward in Travis Outlaw, both positions where the Clippers have depth at.  Additionally neither of these players is much better, if at all than the options the Clippers currently have at those positions in Sebastian Telfair and Al Thornton.  The worst part of this deal is that there is no indication that the Clippers received any draft picks from it.  The only positive aspect of this trade for the Clippers is that they did not take on any additional salary after this season with both contracts expiring then.

Essentially the Clippers traded a center to a team desperate for one and in return received nothing of benefit to themselves. There is no greater indictment on a GM's abilities then when dealing from a position of strength he fails to gain any valuable assets in return.

A savvy move made by the Blazers addressing an area of great need and for the Clippers another curious move in a history filled with such events.  I know I definitely don't want Mike Dunleavy managing Project Franchise's team.