So much for a quiet trade deadline! Many of the best expert NBA handicappers on the internet forecasted a very slow day of movement on Thursday, and up until early in the afternoon, that’s exactly what we thought we were getting. However, there was a flurry of action there in the dying moments before the 3:00 ET deadline, and there was even at least one deal that just didn’t get done before the deadline. Check out how we stack up the biggest player on deadline day!

Portland Trail Blazers: A+: Of all of the teams that made moves at the deadline, this was the one that really did the best job. The Blazers picked up Gerald Wallace, who has the ability to be an All-Star caliber player, and they gave up on Joel Pryzbilla and Dante Cunningham for it. It’s a great move to bring another great wing player in to help out Brandon Roy, and with Marcus Camby getting back into the fold shortly, it was only a matter of time until Portland had limited minutes for Pryzbilla.

Chicago Bulls: A: Sure, we know that the Bulls really should have made sure that they picked up a shooting guard to help out, but the price was just going to be too high to do anything. Instead of doing something, Chicago realized that it didn’t really have to do anything at all to succeed, as it already has one of the most dangerous teams in the entire NBA. A move didn’t have to be made, and nothing was done. This team should be in great shape with all of its bigs come playoff time.

New Orleans Hornets: A: Mark Cuban might not like the fact that the Hornets went out and traded for Carl Landry, but it was a great move for a team that really needed a shot in the arm. It was a subtle move for sure, but it will be one that New Orleans love for the rest of the season.

New Jersey Nets: A: Okay, so Mikhail Prokhorov didn’t get his main guy. He got a pretty darn nice second option. It really is still unknown whether Deron Williams is going to be a Net for the rest of his life. If he is, Prokhorov is finally going to be bringing a true superstar into Brooklyn with the team. If not, Jersey could always turn around and deal off Williams next season. The asking price was relatively small, as Devin Harris and Derrick Favors with a couple of draft picks was certainly worthwhile, and it might even give Jersey some hope for a playoff push this year with as bad as the rest of the bottom of the East is.

Denver Nuggets: B: This was just a bad, bad situation for Denver with Carmelo Anthony, but it made the best of it and ultimately got a nice crop of players, most of which were awfully young back for its two biggest stars. It would’ve been nice to see Raymond Felton get moved again, as it is clear that he has no desire to be a bench player, but all in all, it was a decent trade deadline for the Nuggs.

New York Knicks: B: Yeah, the Knicks got their man… It also cost a heck of a lot as well. This could be a move that ultimately works out in the long run, but this season, New York is probably in some trouble, as this team really only has two months to work out the kinks to get ready for the playoffs. Melo did score 27 and have 10 boards in his debut on Wednesday, but the pieces around him have to do a lot better than that for this team to get to the next level.

Oklahoma City Thunder: B-: Oklahoma City has taken a real chance here by bringing in Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed, especially giving up Jeff Green in these deals, but this was a real message being sent to the rest of the West that this is a team that is getting a lot tougher. The Thunder have some real bangers in the post now, and this is going to make for a very interesting situation come playoff time. It could be a move that puts OKC over the top, but Green was a very, very steep price to pay.

Atlanta Hawks: C: We admire the Hawks for at least going out and trying something, but is Kirk Hinrich really the answer? Mike Bibby has been declining for quite some time, and perhaps the time was here to move him, but for a team that really isn’t all that strong to start off with in terms of depth, trading three pieces for two pieces from an awful team doesn’t seem like a move that will the club over the top.

Boston Celtics: C-: The C’s are potentially in a lot of trouble. Five men were ultimately traded for basically Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green. Krstic might ultimately start with Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal are getting over injuries, but this was a definitely downgrade in the post. Sure, Green is a great guy to bring off the bench, but he isn’t going to have the same impact that Perkins did. The Celtics are definitely not as strong of a team defensively as they once were, and they might have spoiled a team chemistry that was absolutely remarkable to this point for the past several years.

Memphis Grizzlies: C-: We aren’t so sure how we would’ve felt about Josh McRoberts and a first round draft pick for OJ Mayo anyway, but how on earth can you not get the deal done at the trade deadline, Memphis? The only reason this isn’t an ‘F’ is basically because Shane Battier for Hasheem Thabeet was a great move, and it is one that could make this team a legitimate contender in the West. However, Mayo was already essentially out of favor in Memphis, and he needed to be traded. Now, he thought he was dealt, yet he is still stuck with the team. It’ll be interesting to see how this all pans out by the end of the season, seeing whether this proves to be nothing but a big time distraction.

Utah Jazz: D: The only reason that the Jazz don’t get an F is because this was a move that had to be made eventually one way or the other. The problem is that the fan base has basically been told that this season is a wash, as there just aren’t enough guards for this team to play with. It felt like Utah really needed to make another move, whether it be to send off Derrick Favors, Paul Millsap, or any of the other big guys on this team. The bottom line is that there are now about 100 big men and no stars in the backcourt for a team that desperately needs some help just to get into the second season out West.

Golden State Warriors: F: If the Warriors were sellers at the trade deadline, why didn’t they really trade any pieces to the puzzle like Monta Ellis? If they were buyers, how come they didn’t actually get anything productive done? Trading for Troy Murphy wasn’t great, especially knowing that he might just be bought out anyway, so this team, as always, is just kind of sitting in a state of flux, not knowing what in the heck is really going on.

Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers: F: C’mon guys, what the hell was this trade really all about? For Cleveland, sure you’re getting a first round draft pick that is going to be a lottery choice, but you’re taking in a guy that is a head case and a known cancer in the locker room when he is unhappy. You know that Davis isn’t going to want to visit the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame all that often, and once that luster wears off, he is sure to become disgruntled. If you’re the Clippers, why are you doing this to a player that you had a lot of faith in once upon a time, and giving up a first round pick to do it? Mo Williams contemplated retirement not that long ago, and he’s certainly not going to help. Goodness knows what this trade really accomplished for either team.

Orlando Magic: F: No team did worse by doing nothing this year than the Magic, who badly needed another move. This big maneuver that GM Otis Smith made to bring in Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu was great, but the one with Gilbert Arenas clearly backfired. Dwight Howard is apparently a bit disgruntled with his position in Orlando, and knowing that he can opt out after next season, the moves really had to start to be made now, not just for this year, but for next season as well. There are too many guards and not enough big men, and if the opportunity was really on the table to pick up Zach Randolph from the Memphis Grizzlies, it was a move that needed to be done.

The NBA Trade Deadline is now here, as teams have less than 12 hours to make their final moves for the rest of the season. The action has been hot and heavy over the course of the last day and change, and here is a recap of what we have seen, plus what we might see in the closing hours today…

The biggest blockbuster deal that we have all been waiting for has finally gone done. The New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets have finally agreed on a deal that will send Carmelo Anthony to the Big Apple, his desired destination. New York is expected to give Anthony a three year, $65M extension that will keep him playing at MSG through 2015. The Knicks also received back Chauncey Billups, who will immediately start at the point guard spot, along with Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, and Anthony Carter. In exchange, Denver will be getting Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, a first round draft choice, two second round draft choices, and $3M in cash. Melo scored 27 points and had 10 boards in his first game playing with the Knicks, who beat the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

The wheeling and dealing wasn’t done there, though. New York also sent off Eddy Curry’s expiring contract and Anthony Randolph for Corey Brewer. Brewer didn’t make it into the lineup on Wednesday.

For Denver, the trades are almost certainly not complete. Gallinari and Felton might never suit up for the Nuggs by the time this is said and done. Felton is now the second former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard on the team, joining Ty Lawson. Rumors also have it that Nene could be sent off in a deal before Thursday’s deadline as well, and he is now the leading point scorer still left on the team at 15.0 per game. Al Harrington, who was signed last summer to a huge free agent deal, now could also be traded. The Nuggets play their first game since the trade tonight against the Boston Celtics at home.

The New Jersey Nets were figured to be the biggest losers of the trading deadline, as they once again seemed to miss out on acquiring all of the superstars that were available, just like what happened in the offseason. However, we have learned to never count out Mikhail Prokhorov and company, as New Jersey got its man, and it arguably got a better deal than it would’ve gotten had it picked up ‘Melo. In a late breaking deal on Wednesday, the Nets acquired Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz. Jersey sent packing Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, and two draft choices to Utah.

Meanwhile, the Jazz are now absolutely ripe as could be, as they have a ton of pieces to the puzzle that could, but probably won’t be moved by the 3:00 ET deadline today. Favors is a man that a lot of teams are still asking about, especially on a team in which he may never crack the rotation. Remember that Utah still has Al Jefferson, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko, and Paul Millsap, essentially all of which have the same type of skill set as Favors does. The Jazz still need a two guard and would be wise to try to send one of these bigs off to make that happen.

Williams won’t necessarily resign with the Nets, as he is reportedly unhappy with the trade. However, he still has a full season under his belt with his current contract and cannot get out until 2012. New Jersey could always turn around and trade him off next year if things don’t work out, but the hope is that Williams becomes the cornerstone to the franchise as it tries to turn around its misery.

We mentioned two days ago that the Atlanta Hawks were looking for a point guard, and they finally found their man, though it came at a hefty price tag. Atlanta traded Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans, and a first round draft choice to the Washington Wizards for Hilton Armstrong and Kirk Hinrich. If you’re the Wiz, you have to love this deal, as it rids you of Hinrich, who is only standing in the way of the growth of John Wall, and it gives you yet another draft pick to try to build around. Atlanta gets its point guard, but it takes three key players out of its rotation to do so.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a nice move in the middle of the night on Wednesday as well, picking up Baron Davis and a lottery draft pick this coming year to the Los Angeles Clippers for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. Davis is clearly at the tail end of his career, and it is clear that the team just wanted to move him for the sake of moving him. It essentially cost a first round pick to do so, but this might not be the end of the world for an LA team that does have a ton of players under the age of 25 on its team. It might also be a nice switch for Williams, who has just seemed to be totally lost since losing LeBron James to the Miami Heat this past offseason.

Speaking of the Heat, they could be in on a minor move as well, though teams don’t seem to be all that interested in their most tradeable asset, Mike Miller. Still, keep an eye on this situation, as Miami is trying to bring in another veteran big to help out Chris Bosh on the inside.

Up the road, the Orlando Magic are surely looking to make a move, especially after losing to the Sacramento Kings last night. General Manager Otis Smith knows that he really needs to make a major move sooner than later, or he’ll probably end up losing Dwight Howard in two seasons to free agency, a la LeBron James, something that would seal his fate and cost him his job for sure. The problem is finding the pieces to the puzzle to deal since Orlando already made the big time trade with the Phoenix Suns earlier this season. Could Steve Nash be coming to Orlando? What about Zach Randolph? The Randolph deal makes some sense, though it would require reportedly sending back at least Brandon Bass and Jason Richardson to do so, a heavy price to pay.

Teams are also contacted the Memphis Grizzlies about the availability of Hasheem Thabeet, who has largely been a tremendous bust in his career after being a high draft choice two seasons ago.

The Portland Trail Blazers are still trying to make a move, but it’s a question as to what they’re looking for. There are plenty of bigs to trade on this team, and it seems like the only names that aren’t being bantered around just a bit are those of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. Aside from that though, it all seems to be fair game, and anyone coming to the table with the right asking price can seemingly get anyone else they want off of this team. One of those talks are with the Charlotte Bobcats, who have had inquiries about Gerald Wallace. That deal doesn’t seem to be in the makings though, as Wallace is still looked at as the cornerstone of Charlotte’s team.

We’ll keep you up to date here at Bankroll Sports with all of the ins and outs of the 2011 NBA Trade Deadline rumors!