The Perpetual NBA Thread

[Eismann]

continuation.....

Tracy McGrady, Rockets
Tough one to figure here. The Rockets' brain trust insists it wants to see how McGrady and Yao Ming perform together under Rick Adelman in the playoffs at least once before making any decision on whether to move T-Mac.

But folks on other teams insist the Rockets would move McGrady in a heartbeat to get out from under the $63 million he'll make over the next three seasons. Only time will tell.

Gilbert Arenas, Wizards
The Wizards have been playing well with Arenas on the sidelines recently, leading some to speculate that Washington might actually be better off without him. A Wizards source says that notion is absolute nonsense. The source said the team is hell-bent on locking him up long-term, after Arenas opts out of his contract and becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

A bigger issue for the Wizards will be convincing Antawn Jamison, also an upcoming unrestricted free agent, to re-sign with them for a starting salary that will be less than what he is making now ($16.3M).

Jermaine O'Neal, Pacers
Those close to the Pacers' big man, who apparently aggravated a knee injury Wednesday night, said he was emotionally drained at the end of the summer. After hearing his name bandied about in trade talks with the Lakers and Nets, O'Neal turned full circle at the start of this season and made up his mind to stay completely focused on the season ahead.

But Pacers president Larry Bird has been noncommittal as to whether he's still open to the idea of trading O'Neal, so stay tuned.

If the Pacers were open to giving the Grizzlies cap relief by taking on Brian Cardinal's contract (two more years and $13 million owed), they might make the best trading partner for Memphis in a Gasol-O'Neal deal.

Mike Bibby, Kings
If the Cavs want him, they're going to have to take back Kenny Thomas' contract as well -- something Cleveland insiders have said is a deal-breaker. But the Cavs and Kings have had at least three sets of trade discussions centered around Bibby in the past year, including three days of intense discussions immediately prior to last season's deadline.

Sacramento is in no hurry; the franchise's decision-makers want to see how the team performs over the next month now that everyone except Shareef Abdur-Rahim is finally healthy. As of now, odds are the Cavs end up with a different point guard by the time the deadline passes, anyone from Tyronn Lue to Marcus Banks to Earl Watson.

Ron Artest, Kings
He'd be wearing a Knicks uniform by now if Isiah Thomas had been willing to trade Nate Robinson and Renaldo Balkman (though you should not believe for a second Thomas' statement from last week that everyone on his team is untouchable).

Artest can opt out of his contract at the end of this season, and he has said he would sign with New York for the midlevel exception. But Artest will say anything, and he's also said he wants to stay in Sacto for the rest of his career.

Shawn Marion, Suns
With all the focus on a possible Kobe Bryant trade in October, it almost flew under the radar when Marion told the Suns he wanted out. But after Phoenix's talks with Utah -- in a potential deal of Marion for Andrei Kirilenko -- fizzled out, the Suns and Marion worked out some of their differences and are now peacefully co-existing.

The issue is all but certain to resurface over the summer. Marion is going to want a contract extension from any team that acquires him, and it's debatable whether he's worth the kind of money he's making ($16.4 million and $17.8 million this season and next).

Amare Stoudemire, Suns
The Suns were willing to move him over the summer when they thought they could get Garnett, and then his name pretty much dropped out of the rumor mill. But one source close to the team told ESPN.com that the Suns very quietly revisited the idea of moving Stoudemire early in December, which would lead one to believe they'll at least be open to fielding offers as the deadline nears.

Just a thought, but doesn't Stoudemire and Atlanta's No. 1 pick, which the Suns own from a prior trade, for Gasol and Hakim Warrick make some sense for both teams? If not that one, what about Stoudemire for Rasheed Wallace?

Richard Jefferson, Nets
There were serious three-team trade discussions among the Nets, Lakers and Bobcats last June that would have sent Lamar Odom to New Jersey, but the Bobcats pulled out because they liked the Richardson deal better.

Jefferson is now having the best season of his career, so his trade value has never been higher. With the Nets desperate for a power forward and more inclined to keep Kidd than trade him, it makes sense that Jefferson -- whose value has eclipsed that of Carter in the estimation of many teams -- would be the key piece in any Nets trade.

Andrei Kirilenko, Jazz
By all accounts, Jerry Sloan has followed through on his vow to go easier on Kirilenko this season, and things are now copacetic between the two.

Mehmet Okur was the player the Jazz were down on until he started returning to form a couple weeks ago. Okur is much more tradable than Kirilenko, with a salary of $8.5M this season and next and $9M in 2009-10.

Wally Szczerbiak, SuperSonics
He makes $12 million this season and $13 million next season, and he can still shoot it. If the Sonics could get him off their cap along with Earl Watson (two more years at $6.2M and $6.6M) in one fell swoop, they'd likely do it if they could get back expiring contracts and some kind of sweetener. Jason Williams, Dorell Wright and Ricky Davis for Wally and Watson is said to be in the works, by the way. And Miami could sweeten it with one or all of the three second-round picks it has in the upcoming draft (its own, Philadelphia's and Indiana's).

Samuel Dalembert, 76ers
All the speculation surrounding Philadelphia's next trade has centered around Andre Miller -- though we hear that Gordan Giricek will actually be the next player the Sixers move. But if Philadelphia is going to make a hard run at Elton Brand on the free-agent market this coming summer (assuming he opts out of his contract), the Sixers will need to clear Dalembert's $10.25 salary for next season off their books. Dalembert, though, also has a 7.5 percent trade kicker, which makes him very tough to move.

Theo Ratliff, Timberwolves
He makes the list not because of his talent, but because of his salary, $11.6 million, which comes off the books after this season.

Also, we expect him to take a buyout in late February and then sign with a team needing extra size -- perhaps Boston or Phoenix -- for the postseason.

Ben Wallace, Bulls
We could put anybody from the Bulls on this list, but Big Ben is the only one of them making beaucoup bucks. Also, his salary drops from $15.5M this year to $14.5M and then $14M over the next two seasons.

Again, just a thought: But wouldn't Wallace for Zach Randolph make sense for two teams that are more or less due to make another deal with each other.

[kimpOy]

ang galing! thanks eisman

[theveed]

Great article... Trade Amare!!!

[ILuvDetailing]

this was some prank by a Laker fan :rofl:
For those watching the Laker game, that was a damn funny story Craig Sager told during the 4th quarter.

Basically Barbosa got a call at his hotel room in LA today and was told that he was traded to the Knicks and to meet Steve Kerr in the lobby. When he couldn't find Kerr he met with an assistant coach (Dan D'Antoni), and with tears in his eyes says that he can't belive they traded him, to the Knicks.

And of course D'Antoni says 'what? you haven't been traded... stop checking into hotels with your real name'!

Awesome move by a Laker fan to mess with Barbosa, hilarious (and better spirited than trying to give him food poisoning or something)...

[mazdamazda]

Hehehehe, what a prank. :rofl:

[Eismann]

Someone ought to do that to Ray Allen also when the Celts come to LA.....he-he

[theveed]

Hehe, I think the vets have gone through more than that kind of pranks already..

[Altis6453]

Baka si Kyle Korver, este...si Ashton Kutcher. You been punk'd, Leandro!

[artpogi]

Same pala ang medical condition ni Nene & empy: Nene's Surgery

:shocked2:

OT:

Excuse me?

Serious ka M2?

Is that the reason for his absence, just curious.

[theveed]

O'Neal doesn't need to limp through his last years
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
January 23, 2008


Between MRIs and rehabilitation, losing games and luster on his legacy, Shaquille O’Neal is caught in a cycle that promises no fades into a golden sunset. For reasons of his own negligence and nature itself, his body has betrayed him. So did his Miami Heat boss. Pat Riley squeezed one final championship out of Shaq and long had been willing to live with the consequences of a crippling contract.


This isn’t the way Superman should spend his golden years. This isn’t how it should end. He’s left the Heat for the third time this season. His hip and quadriceps are inflamed and Shaq needs rest. This is no revelation, but Superman is broken. His days of dominating are done, and there’s no supporting cast to ease him into his golden years.


The Heat have lost 14 consecutive games. They’ve lost with Shaq and without Shaq.
Soon, Shaq will be 36 years old and for his own good, his own legacy, he should take a buyout on the two years and $40 million left on his deal. No one wants to watch him limp around on a lottery loser, watch him embarrassed to the end.


Riley is counting the days until Shaq and millions of dollars more dead weight comes off the cap in 2010. The run is over. Suddenly, Superman is disposable.
“If he’s hurting and not playing good, he is being talked about,” Dwyane Wade said. “If he is not playing and trying to get healthy, he is being talked about for taking time off.
“It’s a lose-lose situation.”
Nothing changes that now. For the Lakers, the thought of squeezing one more championship out of Shaq with a contract extension suffocating the franchise was unappealing. For the Heat, the prospects of winning one elusive title was intoxicating. Riley was desperate in Miami and Shaq was wildly motivated after Kobe Bryant and Jerry
Buss shunned him in Los Angeles. Owner Micky Arison gave him five years, $100 million and Shaq gave Riles his undying loyalty. As much as anything, that bond made it easy for Riley to usurp Stan Van Gundy’s authority as coach and take back his old coaching job on the way to the 2006 title.


In a lot of ways, Riley and Shaq needed a post-Lakers championship to validate themselves. Together, they won it. And together, deep down, they exhaled. All those extra pounds that Shaq let go on his body frightened the Lakers and ultimately speeded up Shaq’s demise.


Riley could’ve had hip surgery in the post-championship summer, but chose to travel the world. He bailed on his team when it was losing to have the procedure the next season. Had they been winning, Riley confessed, he could’ve coached through the pain. As an executive, no one had a worse year than him. He lost James Posey and Jason Kapono, and got played for raises by two restricted free agent Milwaukee Bucks and took Smush Parker, Ricky Davis and Mark Blount into his team.


When Riley made the trade for Shaq in 2004, he was sacrificing the long-term for the short. Shaq couldn’t do it alone. Truth be told, he no longer could be the centerpiece of a champion. Yet, Miami couldn’t do it without him. Wade transformed into a galactic star and delivered everyone – Shaq and Riley – to the title.


Now, Wade has been surrounded with serial losers and selfish players. Riley’s quick fixes have turned the Heat into a halfway house. A fallen Alonzo Mourning can no longer play hall monitor, and the Heat, one of the league’s toughest franchises, has been overrun with a culture of unprofessionalism.


Wade can be a free agent in 2010, which is when Miami can reshape itself through free agency. Who knows? Maybe Miami will get the kind of high lottery pick in 2008 (Kansas State’s Michael Beasley, perhaps) who’ll make a difference. Nevertheless, Riley no longer runs the franchise to serve Shaq’s advanced age. The window’s been declared closed. What’s more, there just doesn’t seem a scenario where a trade to a contender makes sense.


No one wants to watch basketball’s biggest kid, best ambassador, on stage without that cackle, without that wise-crack spitting out of the side of his mouth. The All-Star weekend in New Orleans won’t be an All-Star weekend without Shaq. In Las Vegas in ’07, Shaq was the instigator who dared Gilbert Arenas to run onto the floor with the mascots and take a turn leaping off those trampolines for a dunk.


His whole persona, his whole being, has been bigger than life for the NBA. In that way, there’s no replacing him. This year, Dwight Howard will be voted the Eastern Conference center. Shaq stays home and the big party in New Orleans goes on without him.


For a lot of reasons, O’Neal doesn’t have a chance at the productive twilight years that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had with the Lakers. Kareem had a different body, a different game, a skyhook that stood the test of time. As much as anything, Jabbar had Magic Johnson and James Worthy. All around Shaq now, there’s just dysfunction and despair. Wade can go for 40 a night and it doesn’t matter. No rehab out of Shaquille O’Neal, no renaissance, can change that anymore.


To watch Superman limp through 2½ more seasons of this promises to be a blight on the game, on his legacy, and you just wish Shaq would let Arison write him a check, take his bow and fade into that golden sunset. You just wish Superman would leave with his cape.