Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The annual media frenzy that is the NBA trade deadline has been and gone for this year.

Not a single ‘star’ was moved, or even a consistent starter for that matter.

Such is the business of the new NBA, dictated by money and fiscal ramifications, every deal is looked at top to bottom, and reasoning varies depending which GM you’re watching.

What of Josh Smith, Kevin Garnett, Al Jefferson, Eric Bledsoe, Paul Millsap, Ersan Ilyasova, Monta Ellis, Marcin Gortat, Paul Pierce and the countless other players mentioned as ‘big pieces’ potentially moving?

All staying put, for this season at least.

So here is a brief recap and some grades handed out on each deal made in the last 24 hours.

Houston Rockets receive Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt

Sacramento Kings receive Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas, Cole Aldrich

This one was a head scratcher.

There were no signs or indications that the Kings were unhappy with Robinson, or wanted to trade him, but that’s what makes the NBA what it is around the trade deadline.

Patterson and Douglas will be in the Kings rotation as scoring options off the bench, though it wouldn’t surprise me if Douglas ended up getting released and lands on a playoff team that doesn’t have 14 shoot first point guards like the Kings do.

Garcia will get spot minutes as a backup swing-man for the Rockets, as he’s a true professional who never complained about a lack of touches or playing time.

Robinson will likely take a few games to get use to his new surroundings, but I really like his chances at securing the starting power forward gig for the rest of the season.

He is a solid rebounder due to his athletic gifts, nabbing 4.1 offensive boards per 36 minutes, and he has shown a knack for getting steals and blocks – something the offensively supreme but defensively inept Rockets (bar Omer Asik) were in need of.

Robinson will benefit having less pressure on him because the Rockets are winning, and if he is thrown out there and told to rebound, defend, and hustle, the offensive improvements will come.

I really don’t know what to make of the Kings side of things; why draft a power forward when Chuck Hayes, Jason Thompson and James Johnson were already there?

It’s easy to say in hindsight that they should have drafted Damian Lillard or Harrison Barnes, the two players who went immediately after Robinson, but there had to have been trades out there where they could have gotten a future first or a good player on draft day?

Rockets grade: B+, as in Buying low on a #5 pick.

Kings grade: D is for Dumb move – another lottery fail for the Kings.

Phoenix Suns receive Marcus Morris

Houston Rockets receive 2013 2^nd round pick

This one was nice and simple for the Suns.

Rather than be the butt of everyone’s jokes by consistently having the lesser talented sibling of basket-balling brothers (Taylor Griffin, Robin Lopez, Luke Zeller), the Suns went out and got Markieff’s twin, Marcus.

Markieff is more physical and a better rebounder, and Marcus is the better shooting, more finesse type player of the two.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a cartoon and they can’t ‘valmorphanize’ like some Team America skit to form a sweet shooting bruiser called Markieffcus Morris.

They are both serviceable however, and they will both be given a chance to contribute for the youth orientated Suns going forward the rest of this season.

At face value, they traded a likely mid 30s pick, for a 2011 lottery pick – that’s a win.

The Rockets made the swap essentially as a cost cutting move, pure and simple.

Suns grade: B+ is for Brother + Brother uniting in Phoenix

Rockets grade: C+ is for Cost Cutting