Celtics trade Walker to Heat in big deal

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
13-player, five-team trade is largest in NBA history

So this is what David Stern has wrought with the NBA’s new labor agreement: On a day when Shaquille O’Neal signed a new nine-figure contract, that transaction was secondary to the biggest trade in league history.

Miami and four other teams pulled off a megadeal Tuesday night that trumped every monster trade in the league’s archives, a 13-player swap that sent Antoine Walker, Jason Williams and James Posey to Miami.

The Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets also took part in the trade, which was larger than the four-team, 12-player trade involving Patrick Ewing in 2000 that was the benchmark.

The top player leaving Miami is Eddie Jones, who was the third option in a Miami offense that ran through O’Neal and Dwyane Wade. Jones heads to the Grizzlies, whose roster has been drastically altered by team president Jerry West during this offseason.

“We traded a lot, but we got back three quality players,” said Heat president Pat Riley, who earlier in the day gave O’Neal a five-year, $100 million contract.

Two other moves that were expected to go down did not.

A sign-and-trade deal that would have sent Joe Johnson from Phoenix to Atlanta was held up by a procedural issue, and a $20 million, six-year contract awaiting Willie Green in Philadelphia was put on hold after the guard injured his knee in a pickup game.

There was still plenty of activity around the league as a monthlong moratorium on trades and free agent signings was lifted.

The delay was mandated while lawyers for the league and the players’ union worked out the final language of a new six-year collective bargaining agreement that contains several provisions designed to make trading easier.

Miami also received Andre Emmett from Memphis and the draft rights to Roberto Duenas of Spain from the Hornets; Utah received Greg Ostertag from Memphis; Boston picked up Curtis Borchardt from Utah and a package — Qyntel Woods, the draft rights to Spanish center Albert Miralles, two second-round draft picks and cash — from Miami; New Orleans acquired Rasual Butler from Miami and Kirk Snyder from Utah; and the Grizzlies received guard Raul Lopez from the Jazz.

For the Celtics, the trade was a sign that the franchise was entering a rebuilding stage after acquiring Walker at midseason from Atlanta in a push for some sort of postseason success that flamed out with a loss to Indiana in the first round.

Among the other deals that went through was a sign-and-trade transaction sending Shareef Abdur-Rahim from Portland to New Jersey for a lottery-protected first-round draft choice and a trade exception.

The Nets, who reached the NBA Finals two of the past four seasons, also will re-sign forward Clifford Robinson and add guard Jeff McInnis to a core that includes Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson.