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More deadline updates
By Sekou Smith • February 18, 2010 • 4:13 PM
Just because the trade deadline has passed doesn't mean the information is done flowing. Sources tell TNT's David Aldridge that the Utah Jazz will trade guard Ronnie Brewer to the Memphis Grizzlies for a future first-round pick, and that the San Antonio Spurs will trade center Theo Ratliff to the Charlotte Bobcats for future considerations.
Brewer, Utah's first-round pick in 2007, had been coveted by the Grizzlies for some time as they sought to bolster their bench for the stretch run. The Jazz were reluctant to move him because he had improved in many categories since his rookie season and was becoming a better defender. But the Jazz is also trying to ensure that it will not be a major luxury tax payer next summer, and even after a trade earlier this year involving forward Matt Harpring saved nearly $10 million in tax payments, Utah is still teetering on the brink of the tax.
The veteran Ratliff was an insurance policy in San Antonio, where he was way down on the depth chart behind Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess. In Charlotte, he will be reunited with Larry Brown, his former coach in Philadelphia when the 76ers got off to a great start in 2001 and ultimately made the Finals. However, Ratliff was not part of that celebration, as he was traded from Philly at the trade deadline when the Sixers acquired Dikembe Mutombo from Atlanta.