Category: NBA (Page 492 of 595)

In a recently finalized trade, the Heat sent Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien and a conditional 2008 first round pick to Minnesota for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount.

Miami is selling this as a salary cap move that upgrades the team’s perimeter scoring, but Blount’s remaining contract (3 years, $22.1 M) is worse than Walker’s (2 years, $17.8 M), so there is definitely more going on here. The article mentions Walker’s problems with conditioning:

But Walker’s second season with the Heat was marred by his struggles to meet Riley’s rigid conditioning standards. Riley’s dissatisfaction with the 6-9 Walker’s weight and body-fat percentage led to a four-game suspension last season, and more problems in training camp.

Walker, 31, was held out of the opening practice of camp and benched for three exhibition games, including Tuesday’s finale.

Also playing into the trade is the performance of Dorell Wright, who outplayed Walker at small forward last season. With Dwyane Wade missing the first part of the season, Davis will step in at shooting guard and Wright will get most of the minutes at small forward. Once Wade returns, Davis will likely provide scoring off the bench.

Blount will give the Heat some security in the middle when Shaq inevitably misses a bunch of games due to injury.

Just a few days after Lakers owner Jerry Buss said that he was willing to listen to trade offers for Kobe Bryant, the superstar had to deny reports that he had cleaned out his locker and that he had told Lakers personnel that he had played his final game for the team.

I got into a debate with my buddy (JC, a big Lakers fan) last night over the definition of the term “trading block.” He doesn’t think that Bryant is on the trading block, but I think he most definitely is.

After Kobe’s eruption more than four months ago, the Lakers said that they were not interested in trading Bryant. Those who need to get caught up on the chronology of the Kobe/Laker relationship should check out my column from early June. Anyway, for his part, Kobe was very quiet about his previous trade demands and acted as if he didn’t want to be a distraction for his team. (Though missing practice with an undefined “leg injury” doesn’t help.) Now the owner has shifted position, saying that he is willing to listen to offers for his unhappy superstar. That public statement is essentially an invitation for teams to start making offers. They are not necessarily trying to get rid of Bryant, nor are they going to give him away, but he’s certainly available in trade scenarios and that means he’s on the trading block.

Kobe has reportedly told people in his circle that Dallas is his #1 destination. He has a no-trade clause in his contract so he can veto any deal that doesn’t meet his approval. To a certain point, he holds the power because he can make life miserable for the Lakers until they agree to trade him. Normally, the Lakers wouldn’t trade him to a Western Conference team, but they may not have much of a choice.

Keep an eye on the Bulls. They have the pieces (Luol Deng plus Ben Gordon?) that might entice the Lakers to pull the trigger. The problem there is that Deng and Gordon are still on their rookie contracts, so salaries aren’t balanced in the trade and a third team would have to be involved. The Lakers will want to get a young All-Star (or two) and maybe a draft pick (or two) for Bryant. With the regular season less than two weeks away, it’s going to be really interesting to see if Kobe has indeed played his last game as a Laker.

What do you think? Do the Lakers trade him before the season? In season? Next summer?

Jerry Buss has said all along that he wasn’t interested in trading Kobe Bryant, but softened his stance in an interview with three newspaper reporters at the team’s training camp in Hawaii.

Buss [told] three Los Angeles-area beat writers covering training camp in Honolulu on Wednesday that he “would certainly listen” to trade offers for the two-time NBA scoring champion.

“At any time, I think you have to do that with anybody,” Buss said, discussing Bryant publicly for the first time since the often-frustrated Lakers’ star asked to be traded at the end of last season. “It’s just part of the game, to listen to somebody who has a dissatisfied player that you think is going to fit.

“You can’t keep too many loyalties. You’ve got to look at it as a business. He looks at it the same way I look at it.”

This development probably stems from the fact the Lakers have done little to improve their team in the offseason (or the last few years, for that matter). Had they played their cards right, they could have Caron Butler and Jason Kidd on the roster, sacrificing Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown in the process. Looking back at those decisions has to make Kobe wonder what could have been. A starting lineup consisting of Kidd, Kobe, Butler and Odom would have been nice.

More recently, the inability to swing a deal for Kevin Garnett really stings, though it would have been difficult to come to terms considering the pieces the Lakers were willing to move. Odom isn’t as valuable to a team like the T-Wolves, who are in full rebuilding mode. Trading for Jermaine O’Neal remains a possibility, but the clock is ticking. Kobe is signed through the summer of 2009, but it is doubtful that he’ll stay quiet through another disappointing year. If the Lakers are struggling by the time 2008 rolls around, expect the Kobe trade rumors to really heat up.

Fantasy basketball may not be as popular as fantasy football or baseball, its fan base is growing by the season. With that in mind and draft season looming, in my latest column I target two sleepers at each position, including Andrew Bogut, David Lee and rookie Mike Conley.