By Dustin Hockensmith
Fantasy Sports 101 Basketball

Thursday's NBA trade deadline was not packed with big-named stars - they were all moved in the weeks leading up to it - but plenty of deals were struck to impact the real and fantasy NBA landscapes. The Cleveland Cavaliers were the winners at the deadline, finding help for LeBron James upfront and in the backcourt in a three-team deal with Chicago and Seattle.

Deal: Cleveland sends Gs Larry Hughes and Shannon Brown and Fs Cedric Simmons and Drew Gooden to Chicago; sends Fs Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall to Seattle; acquires F/C Ben Wallace, F Joe Smith and 2nd round pick in 2009 from Chicago; receives F Wally Szczerbiak, G Delonte West from Seattle.

Seattle acquires F Adrian Griffin from Chicago.

The Cavaliers get veteran help and toughness with forwards Wallace and Smith, then get precisely what they needed from Seattle with a true point guard in West and accurate perimeter shooter in Szczerbiak. Hughes and Gooden, though very good players in their own right, were simply not the answers in Cleveland. Hughes' strengths did not mesh with James' and Gooden wasn't the best fit upfront with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao.

Smith and Wallace will join Varejao and Ilgauskas the frontcourt to comprise a rotation that is experienced, versatile and tough. Szczerbiak can plant himself on the perimeter, while James breaks down defenses and creates open looks for him. The closest thing James had to a perimeter shooter before Szczerbiak's arrival was point guard Damon Jones, which speaks volumes about the Cavs' long-range ineptitude.

Matters would have been made worse for Cleveland after they learned that shooting guard Daniel Gibson would miss the next 4-to-6 weeks with a sprained ankle.

This was nearly as good an opportunity for the Bulls, who can start fresh without the disappointing Wallace and use the veteran Smith to acquire an athletic, young big man, Gooden. Hughes will be thrown into the backcourt mix with Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, many speculate to insure the Bulls in case they lose restricted free-agent-to-be Gordon.

Coupled with Wednesday's trade of Kurt Thomas to San Antonio, Seattle's rebuilding process stayed on the fast track on Thursday. According to the Associated Press, the SuperSonics now have 13 draft picks in the next three seasons and three contracts that will come off the books.

Fantasy Winners:

Gooden - He takes over for Smith as the Bulls' veteran presence in the front court. He joins youngsters Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray and can be expected to put up a solid 14 and 10 with 1-2 blocks per night.

West - Who else besides King James will bring the ball up the court?

Marshall - As the only player sent to Seattle that can actually play the game of basketball, Marshall stands to benefit from a change in scenery. If he can take on the same role as Szczerbiak, he could be worth 10 points and a couple of 3s per night.

Fantasy Losers:

Thabo Sefolosha, Chicago - So much for his starting shooting guard position. Hughes will start beside Hinrich and push Sefolosha to the bench, effectively killing the recent spike in his fantasy value.

Deal: Detroit sends center Primoz Brezec and cash to Toronto for guard Juan Dixon.

Dixon is the type of gritty player that can fit in well as the 10th man in Detroit's rotation. He'll likely fall in the guard rotation behind rookies Arron Afflalo and Rodney Stuckey.

Brezec had seen very limited action with the Pistons before moving to his third NBA team of the season. Very little playing time awaits him when he crosses the Canadian border.

Deal: Houston sends Bonzi Wells and Mike James to New Orleans; sends cash and the rights to Malick Badiane to Memphis; receives guards Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska from New Orleans; receives rights to Sergei Lishouk from Memphis.

New Orleans sends Marcus Vinicius to Memphis.

This was a shrewd financial move for Houston, which breaks even with talent and saves money on the contract of James. Wells fits in with the Hornets, probably better than Jackson, and the rest of the players involved are projects and/or means to make the numbers work.

Deal: Houston sends guard Kirk Snyder, a second-round pick and cash to Minnesota for guard Gerald Green.

Another deal of little consequence to the fantasy world, but financially smart for the Rockets. Former dunk champion Green still has potential and big-time ups to get to the rim.

Deal: Portland sends Taurean Green to Denver for Von Wafer.

No comment.

Deal: San Antonio sends Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and a first-round pick in 2009 to Seattle for Kurt Thomas.

This one, which was actually completed on Wednesday, works great for both sides. The SuperSonics spun Thomas into a first-round draft choice; Barry, who they waived shortly after the deal's completion; and Elson.

The Spurs add a capable mid-range shooter to stand side by side with Duncan in their front court. He'll surely be a valuable piece for the defending champs as they push through a murky Western Conference. Time will only tell if San Antonio has done enough to keep up with the Lakers, who acquired Pau Gasol; the Suns, who acquired Shaquille O'Neal; and Dallas, who acquired Jason Kidd.