After the hoopla of the All Star extravaganza, it is now back to business for the NBA, and business apparently has been very brisk. Trades have flown rather thick and fast of late, and although it may not be on the scale of the Decision over the summer of discontent, these latest personnel movements will certainly impact the league now and in the very near future.

Foremost among the transactions undoubtedly is the Carmelo Anthony deal. Anthony, the long-time Denver Nugget has moved back to his home state of New York, where he joins Amare Stoudemire to form a heck of a 1-2 frontline. Anthony’s home debut at Madison Sqaure Garden was a rousing success as he scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108. Joining Anthony on the Knicks roster is champion guard Chauncey Billups, who had 21 markers and eight assists in this victory. Both players have at least gotten off on a positive note for the toughest to please home crowd in the NBA

Denver in turn received a plethora of players led by point guard Raymond Felton, swingman Wilson Chandler, Italian forward Danilo Gallinari and 7-foot Russian center Timofey Mozgov. Felton is averaging over 17 points and nine assists per game, Chandler over 16 points per game, and Gallinari nearly 16 points per game. All three represent three of the top five producers from the Knicks. They’ll be in a similar system under George Karl, who favors the up-tempo and quick transition game to generate easy baskets while the defense is still backpedaling.

As much as this trade was expected as early as the middle of last season, it remains to be seen how it all works out for both the Knicks and the Nuggets. Denver ostensibly lost a franchise star. Most coaches and general managers would love to land Anthony. Denver certainly did not want to lose him. However, it cannot be disputed that in the so-called Melo era, the Nuggets only made the West Finals once, getting bounced by Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers. Anthony is widely recognized as the best scorer in the NBA, but the other important aspects of the game remain frustratingly mediocre for him, like defense and passing.

For the Nuggets they are getting four players who are all under 26 years of age, with a lot of potential and many more years to develop. Gallinari is a heck of a shooter, and at 6-foot-11 might become almost like Dallas superstar Dirk Nowitzki. Felton has become the star point guard he was expected to be when he entered the league. Chandler has worked on his overall game and developed consistency inside and out. Mozgov is 7-foot-1 and will never be mistaken for an All Star, but he does bring a positive attitude, work ethic and size to a team that needs it in a vastly talented conference.

Speaking of the West, All Star point guard and erstwhile heart and soul of the Utah Jazz Deron Williams is now in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. In exchange the Jazz got point guard Devin Harris, who returns to the Western Conference. Williams, widely blamed as the man who ran the venerable Jerry Sloan out of Salt Lake City after some two decades as head coach, wasn’t expected to leave. He did after all, reportedly got his wish, i.e. to move Sloan out of the organization so he could run the team on the floor as he saw fit. In any event, getting a star of Williams’ credentials bolsters New Jersey as an organization. He won’t suddenly turn the franchise’s fortunes around, but he is young and will likely be the face of the organization for many years to come. He will be teaming up with young 7-foot-1 center Brook Lopez for the foreseeable future.

Harris meanwhile returns to the relatively warmer climes of the west. He will however be taking over a job that has had two of the best point men in the game running the show. All time assists leader John Stockton was the incumbent for nearly two decades before Williams came on the scene. Those will be very tough acts for Harris to follow. And he will have only Al Jefferson for a sidekick. Jefferson doesn’t run the screen-roll all that well, something Harris works on every other possession. Stockton had the best power forward in the history of the league in the legendary Karl Malone while Williams had the versatile Carlos Boozer.

Back in the East, the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards are consummating a trade of their own star guards. Mike Bibby will exchange places with Kirk Hinrich. Bibby is a classic table setting point guard, which might be strange considering the Wizards already have franchise player John Wall, the phenomenal 6-foot-3 rookie point guard. Hinrich for his part is primarily a shoot-first point guard who will join a roster that has Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson, a couple of guys who have never met a shot they didn’t take. This trade not only seems strange but feels strange on either side. Still, the Hawks don’t need a table-setter with all the independent operators they have, and were really looking for perimeter insurance when defenses collapse on their bigs like Al Horford and Josh Smith.

On a smaller scale, veteran forward Carl Landry is leaving Sacramento and heading for New Orleans. In turn the Kings are getting guard Marcus Thornton and some cash. Dallas team owner Mark Cuban is upset with the deal, claiming the NBA should not be giving cash away as the owner of the Hornets. The league had to take over the Hornets franchise when the original ownership ran into some financial troubles and were faced with selling or dissolving the franchise.

We will soon see how these deals will work out, especially for teams like the Knicks and the Hawks, who are both in good position to secure solid playoff berths. More trade movement might be had after the season ends when teams get a better idea what they got and what they might still need.