NBA Trade Rumors: Amare To Detroit? Igoudala To Mavs? Camby For Darko?

Richard Jefferson

Jefferson has barely anything to do in the NBA Trade Rumors because of his untradeable contract. Says Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo!:

League sources say the Spurs have raised (Richard Jefferson’s) name in trades talks but found out quickly there’s no market for him and his contract.

Boo hoo. Jefferson has been, shall I say, a disappointment with San Antonio lately. Hasn’t been doing much and the Spurs are in a hole. They just lost to the Lakers without Kobe and allowed Pau Gasol to look like a weirder-looking version with the talent of LeBron James! And they are 29-21 now, I believe.

Might as well have to at least try to ship him off. Tyrus Thomas and Amare Stoudemire have been in talks with the Spurs so far with the Richard Jefferson issue.

Brendan Haywood

With Joel Pyrzbilla and Greg Oden out for the season with the Blazers, they have been looking at Wizards’ center Brendan Haywood. But what would Portland offer for him? The Wizards suggest Rudy Fernandez and/or Nicolas Batum.

Other teams in the mix for Haywood have been the Rockets, Heat, Bobcats, and still a bit of the 76ers who may offer Andre Iguodala for him and Caron Butler.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks have been looking at a lot of guys lately. They have extremely strong interest in Caron Butler as of late. They have also gone into Kevin Martin of the Kings, in which they would give up Erick Dampier and Josh Howard. They would also give up those guys for Andre Iguodala. I expect the Mavs to get somebody by the trade deadline.

Amare Stoudemire

Here we go again. Amare Stoudemire has been getting all the interest he wants still. The Detroit Pistons are now in the mix. But here’s a crazier scenario with Stoudemire in the mix of a deal between the Sixers, Pistons, and Suns together! Writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic:

Possibilities with Philadelphia could be stronger with two fronts, a deal between bringing in swingman Andre Iguodala for Stoudemire with perhaps young power forward Marreese Speights or a three-way deal involving Detroit with Pistons guard Ben Gordon winding up in Philadelphia and the Suns getting Iguodala and Detroit power forward Chris Wilcox.

Good deal. And like last time in the trade rumors, those same other teams have interest in Amare like the Nets, Bulls, Spurs, you know…

Marcus Camby

Marcus Camby is in the rumors, too! With the Clippers out of playoff contention, there’s been rumors off Camby being shipped off. Interests for Camby include the Knicks and his old team: the Nuggets.

Camby would most likely fall in New York. It has been said that Darko Milicic will be the suitor if the Clippers were to ship him off.

Tyrus Thomas

Tyrus Thomas has been in the rumors. The Nuggets have been looking for a big man lately, and Thomas seems their best option. Also, Thomas can fall with the Celtics or Lakers if the Kirk Hinrich rumors were to fall.

Along with that, the Spurs and Kings have been looking at Thomas. Spurs could offer Manu Ginobili’s expiring contract along with the Kings putting up Kevin Martin. There is also the Blazers, who are in very deep need of a big man. Rudy Fernandez or Nicolas Batum would be offered most likely.

Milwaukee Bucks

Luke Ridinour, Hakim Warrick, and Joe Alexander may all be on the move. Writes the Journal Times:

Some people in the know claim the Milwaukee Bucks are dangling veteran point guard Luke Ridnour, who is having a stellar season, along with veteran forward Hakim Warrick and young forward Joe Alexander, whom the Bucks chose with the eighth overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft but have since soured on.

A lot of trade rumors lately. I’d really like to see one of them actually happen!

Madness Burner

Gonzaga is one of the beauties of the NCAA Tournament. If college basketball was run by the BCS, the Bulldogs would never have the opportunity to prove the strength of its program because they play on the weak West Coast Conference, which they dominate, but thankfully on hoops we decide on the court which allowed them to establish themselves as the shooters of college basketball. In ten years as an assistant and the past eight as head coach, Mark Few has led Gonzaga to remarkable heights.

During Few’s tenure as head coach, Gonzaga has won 9 consecutive regular-season conference titles. In the WCC Tournament, Few’s Gonzaga teams have won 8 of the last 10 championships, including five of the last six (the University of San Diego defeated Gonzaga in the title game in 2003 and 2008). Under Few Gonzaga has reached 10 straight WCC Championship games, and with the two under Dan Monson, Gonzaga has reached 12 straight collectively. A member of Few’s team had won WCC Player of the Year in every year from 2001-2008.

Expectations remain high for this season. Gonzaga just smashed a Portland team a week ago to sweep the season series, the Pilots were a team expected to stand up against the Bulldogs this season, it looks like that won’t be the case. Even though they just dropped a game to San Francisco, whom they will face again on the 27^th, Gonzaga has a single difficult game before regular season ends, against Saint Mary’s, so expect the Zags to have at least 24, 25 wins before the WCC tournament, which they are expected to win again.

Behind Matt Bouldin and Elias Harris, Gonzaga is once again a contender to reach the Sweet 16 or maybe more depending on the brackets. They sure have the size inside the paint and the talent on the perimeter to make it happen.

20 year old Elias Harris has the size of a power forward and the skills, ball handling ability of a small forward. After playing some basketball overseas, Harris has a unique way to play the game. He’s a huge contributor that causes a significant impact on this Gonzaga team as the main option down the post. Quoted as a lottery pick, Harris is on his way to the NBA after this season.

Matt Bouldin, on his senior season, has played great basketball lately. A PG that likes to push the ball, he’s 6’5, handles the ball really well and has shot great this season. Plus, he does have great hair. Draft Express considers him an NBA prospect or at least a highly paid player in Europe. But in order to drive this program to something greater this season, Bouldin has to start shooting even better from beyond the arc (pedestrian 39.5% 3FG).

A solid program throughout the decade under Mark Few, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have once again the chance to cause some impact on the NCAA Tournament. They have such a taller squad, size inside and around the perimeter, quickie guards and some paint presence but not a lot of outside shooting. A team to watch on March Madness.

Transition Point

It hasn’t been an easy season for Memphis, it wasn’t supposed to be. The Calipari hurricane passed through and took everything that was possible and sent away to Kentucky. Expectations were low and goals were readjusted. Once dominant on Conference USA, the Tigers are no longer favorites as we are less than a month away from the conference tournament and based on their record so far, only a miracle (most likely coming from the PAC 10) would send this program to the NCAA Tournament.

In Calipari’s first nine years as head coach at Memphis, he won 253 games, posted nine consecutive 20-win seasons (including an NCAA record four consecutive 30-win seasons) and earned nine consecutive postseason bids. His 2007–2008 team’s 38 victories set a new NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball record for most victories in a season. The nine consecutive 20-win seasons and the nine consecutive postseason appearances are the most in school history. By leading this program to two number one seeds on the NCAA Tournament and a national championship game, Calipari took Memphis to national status. Although playing on a weak conference, he was able to recruit nationally establishing the strength of the program, turning it into a powerhouse on college basketball. He also committed all sorts of violations to achieve all those goals but on the world that we live in nowadays results are results and they speak louder.

So for Josh Pastner, his job is to maintain this program on the elite of college hoops. Although the 16-7 record is a little bit disappointing, it shouldn’t be considered an underachievement. Except Elliot Williams, who left Duke, almost all the starters and blue chippers would be afterthoughts under Calipari. Memphis was supposed to be a national title contender now but they had that stolen away from them, a full season that should be considered a transition point. The next couple of years are really important for the Pastner regime in order to keep the Tigers as a national force, in order to keep the power to recruit nationally. According to ESPN Scouts Inc., the Tigers have the No. 1 recruiting class committed for next season. Off course that’s still a long way from actually having all those McDonald All Star players but they seem ahead the pack for now.

After Saturday’s game, February the 6^th, against Gonzaga, it was clear that this season’s team is just not deep enough to compete against ranked teams. Wesley Witherspoon carried the Tigers, getting little help from Elliot Williams and almost none from everybody else. Awful free throw shooting and bad 3 point shooting killed Memphis that just didn’t have the size and the horses to compete against the Bulldogs. Good perimeter defense kept Memphis alive at the half but they couldn’t neither score nor defend right after intermission. The Bulldogs started to pull away but went eight straight trips without scoring which brought the intensity back to FedEx Forum and made it a back and forth game on the last five minutes. Eventually some missed FTs and bad shot selection cost the game for a team that really needed it to maintain their hopes for a postseason bid alive.

At least Memphis can use the transition year excuse. Which is not an excuse is the truth.

Single Problem? Problem?

Even though the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t clicking the way they were at this time of the year last season, the common sense on the NBA is that they are the team to beat for the championship. Through 51 games of the 08-09 season the Lakers had a 42-9 record, while through the 09-10 season they have so far a 38-13 record. While midway through last season and on the All Star break the Lakers’ bench was considered the best second unit of the league, remember how many times Kobe Bryant didn’t play fourth quarters, this season the Lakers’ bench is the one thing that people consider that has been holding them back. Are the Lakers really weak off the bench? Is it their single problem?

The truth is that LA never passed a decent period of time without some sort of distraction this year. Pau Gasol underwent finger surgery during the summer with the Spanish national team (something that a lot of people don’t remember) and made his season debut only on the team’s 12th game, held back by a hamstring that would sideline him again later. After that Ron Artest had a concussion right after Christmas, hasn’t been the same since, and Kobe Bryant’s health issues began. Another broken finger, then back spasms and then ankle problems. Right when people forget about those, Lakers’ breaking record week kicked off. Bryant became the franchise all time leading scorer, on game against the Memphis where he was trying nothing but score to achieve his individual goal, & Phil Jackson became the franchise all time winningest coach.

Forgot in the middle of that is that LA is still the league’s best team and although they have dropped some marquee games on their way, so far nobody convinced us that they can beat this team four out of seven times.

We all know that Kobe will be fine, Gasol & Bynum will increase their level of competitiveness when push comes to shove and that Kardashian will wake up at some point of the season (What about Ron Artest? Well … he really doesn’t matter, does he?). But something that has flown under the radar is the increase of productivity of the Lakers’ bullpen. After poor starts, Shannon Brown & Jordan Farmar have played much better lately when Phil Jackson made the rotation shorter. Sasha Vujacic & Luke Walton only see minutes sporadically, while Josh Powell & DJ Mbenga don’t see it at all. With Derek Fisher showing more and more sings that father time has caught up with him, the combination of Brown & Farmar with Kobe at Forward is what we have seen from LA on clutch time.

With only three players off the bench, the Lakers have established a rotation with roles defined and although haven’t smashed people like they did last season, until Bynum got hurt, they have built their way to the championship so far. The way Cleveland matched up really well against them on the regular season and the level of confidence that Denver gained after their two meetings are concerns but not game changers. LA’s size + Kobe are still the safest bet.

Why Would Bledsoe Declare?

Throughout those that fixate their attention on the NBA draft, sometimes even more than the NBA season, a hot topic on the last few weeks was Kentucky’s PG Eric Bledsoe, John Wall’s backcourt mate. Is Bledsoe an NBA prospect? ESPN’s Chad Ford has Bledsoe 20^th in his TOP 100 and considers him a late lottery to mid first round pick. Draft Express seems to disagree as Bledsoe is simply not listed in any of the two rounds in their mock draft. My point is different: if you’re Eric Bledsoe, why would you declare to the draft after this season?

The fact is that Bledsoe is an afterthought on Kentucky’s offense, benched lately for his bad defense production. Not highly recruited, mostly due to academic reasons, Bledsoe would have the ball in his hands in almost every program of the nation. He’s just the stereotype of a guard that monopolizes the ball and control the team but in Kentucky that can’t happen because there’s already somebody who does that and this somebody is just more talented. Because of Wall, Bledsoe had to adjust to his role this season and has played off the ball, so most of his shots come from wing jumpers.

Since Wall is a lock to be the top overall pick on the next draft, wouldn’t Bledsoe improve his stock by just coming back for a second year where he would be the main choice on offense, Cousins & Patterson will also most likely declare, and the leader of the team?

Usually NBA scouts suspect of prospects that don’t come out from school right away but since Kentucky is back to the news cycle everybody would understand Bledsoe’s reason to return which could actually help him. He has proven that he’s able to take the back seat and next season he would have to prove that he can be alpha male.

Bledsoe would have a much bigger role on Kentucky if he didn’t share the backcourt with John Wall, an extra season with the Wildcats could prove that.

NBA Trade Rumors: Iggy For Amare? Ray Allen To Bulls? Prince For Boozer?

More trade rumors have been stirring up…let’s give you the dish on it!

Amare Stoudemire

Right now, Amare Stoudemire has A LOT of trade rumors surrounding him. It’s even scary to think about. One possible destination has been the Sixers, who would give up Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert for the guy.

The Nets have also been an option, which is no surprise. With a shot at the first pick of the draft, they are looking forward to give that up (or in other words, give up John Wall) for Amare. Stoudemire would fit nicely to me as they build around Lopez, Stoudemire, Harris, and Douglas-Roberts.

Adding to that are the Heat, who have been considering strongly of Jermaine O’Neal and Michael Beasley for him. Chicago is also in the mix, looking to give up guys like Kirk Hinrich, Tyrus Thomas, and Brad Miller. The Spurs have been looking at him, but I doubt it. But I’ve heard from some reports that they would give up Ginobili’s contract, which is soon to be expired.

New York is in there, but not so much. The Wizards are also in the mix, still looking for some takers in Antwan Jamison.

Here are some other possibilities:

1. Cleveland – Give up Zydrunas Ilgauskas and J.J. Hickson
2. Golden State – Some expiring contract from a player. Possibility of giving up some of these guys: Anthony Randolph, Stephen Curry, and Anthony Morrow
3. Detroit – Charlie Villanueva along with expiring contracts of Chris Wilcox and Kwame Brown

Also it would be tougher because Stoudemire wants a long contract. Says Chris Sheridan of ESPN:

The biggest complicating factor is that Amare wants a max extension, and with the cap expected to shrink next summer, and a potential lockout looming for 2011, there aren’t a lot of teams anxious to tie up what could amount to 30-40 percent of their salary cap for a half-decade on a guy with his injury history.

Totally agree there. Be careful on Amare, because he also has two very serious and threatening injuries in the last five years. So NBA teams, think very hard if you want give up for Amare.

Ray Allen

According to ESPN, Allen is most likely NOT to get dealt. I agree. But you never know, it may happen. Chicago has been in talks lately, as they would give up both Kirk Hinrich and John Salmons. I can see why, since we all witness Allen dropping 50 points on them in the playoffs last season. But he’s a whole lot different this year!

Again, the Monta Ellis-Allen trade has still been rumored around, but it would most likely be that the Chicago deal would be more reasonable. Also, Allen doesn’t have to traded. He could stay with Boston and move on into free agency. Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski says he could most likely fall with the Heat. He could also pick New York as well.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs have still been in talks with players, especially with the forwards. They have still been considering Antwan Jamison, but now that is going away. Troy Murphy has also been in talks, but the Pacers are saying that they are asking too much for him. The Cavs are also still thinking about a deal with Iguodala.

Carlos Boozer and Tayshaun Prince

Here is a cool trade deal Ken Berger pointed out at CBS:

But don’t discount a solution that would solve both problems: Trading Boozer to the Pistons, who have long coveted him, for Tayshaun Prince. Such a swap would give the Jazz a playoff-tested defender with length and all but get them out of the luxury tax for this season. Prince would be on the books for $9 million next season, but he’d be easy to trade because of his expiring contract. Plus, the difference between owing and receiving luxury tax money this season would be roughly a $7 million swing.

Good stuff.

So those are the trade rumors as of right now. More to come soon, along with a trade rumors live blog in next few days. Don’t miss it!

NBA All-Star Reserves Announced

Here are the 2010 NBA All-Star Game Reserves, via ESPN:

Eastern Conference

Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks

Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics

Gerald Wallace, Charlotte Bobcats

Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks

Western Conference

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers

Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets

Deron Williams, Utah Jazz

Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers

Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies

I feel happy that Zach Randolph made it. The guy definitely deserved it. Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce definitely should’ve gotten in. Good news for Kevin Durant. Maybe in a few years, he’ll be a starter. But congrats to all these guys. Even if it involves Pau Gasol! Nah, just kidding Pau. Gotta love this Spain-homey.

Wish my man, Danny Granger made it.

Meltdown Prone

Kentucky’s team this season is as talent as you can find in college basketball. Call me crazy, uninformed or outsider but I don’t take them seriously, not for a second, as contenders to the National Title. Make no mistake: Calipari’s freshmen class is very good and brought a powerhouse back to the news cycle but there’s no other ranked team more prone to meltdowns than the Wildcats. Kentucky’s state of mind constantly under the spotlight and their reaction to aversion makes me not believe this team is able to pass through the challenges faced on the NCAA Tournament.

Taking just talent under consideration, Kentucky has all the pieces of a championship squad.

John Wall, a lock to be the top overall pick on the next NBA draft, is explosive, fast, a great ball handler and probably THE most talented player in college hoops. Although Wall has struggled lately on half court sets, his physical tools, his court vision and his ability to play the game makes him THE most dangerous player on the floor almost every day or night. Playing a lot of his minutes off the ball, Eric Bledsoe would have a much bigger role on Kentucky’s offense if he didn’t share the backcourt with John Wall. Bledsoe is able to create his own shot and is deadly in transition but since Wall is the one who handles the ball, most of his looks come from wing jumpers. His biggest problem may be the lack of effort on defense. On the frontcourt, DeMarcus Cousins is such a dominant player that sometimes when I read mock drafts with him going outside the lottery I go insane but I completely understand why. Every Kentucky game there’s cheapness and on every game he’s the reason why, there’s always an elbow flying. That being said, Cousins’ upside is just amazing. He’s big, physical, goes to the foul line regularly and makes them, has a great post up game, active hands on defense and can rebound. Patrick Patterson, Cousins’ frontcourt mate, is the unsung hero of this Wildcats team, lost in the shuffle of the super freshman class. According to Draft Express, Patterson converts 73% of his opportunities around the basket. That would guarantee him the first look down the post in almost every program in the nation but not on a team that has a dominant presence like DeMarcus Cousins. He’s not that big and has difficulty to handle the ball but is smart with the basketball, can set screens, has 3 point range and is so efficient around the basket.

If you only watch the highlights and check the records & rankings now and then you won’t understand what I’m talking about. Kentucky has a single loss this season and spent last week as the top ranked team in the nation but not everything is a heaven there. Those who follow college hoops are familiar with the constant interviews by Calipari, mostly when they were undefeated, saying that they should have lost here, here, here and there and that they actually should be around .500 and etc. That doesn’t bother me, he was just trying to bring his team back to Earth, but it sure bothers eighteen, nineteen year olds that walk around campus as the big men. Check Wall’s last quotes where he says that Calipari downgrades him so much that he just doesn’t listen anymore and tries to ignore his own coach.

The NCAA tournament is about getting red hot on those eleven days. Kentucky has the talent to do it but doesn’t have the head. The crowd on the host cities usually goes for the underdogs. Imagine this team, with all their cheapness, down on the second half to the Daytons, Xaviers and Butlers of the world, with the crowd on their heads, the game gets physical. All of a sudden Cousins gets ejected, Wall tries to do everything by himself and Calipari goes nuts on the sidelines. Tell me that’s not a very possible scenario.

We’re a month away from madness and nothing tells me this team will grow in the next thirty days.

Madness Favorites?

They have been pointed as the favorites since the preseason, nine out of twelve weeks on the top of the rankings, a single loss so far and only nine games to go before March. Is Kansas the heavy favorite for the National Title? How can’t they be?

Inside the court the Jayhawks have all the pieces of the puzzle for a championship squad.

THE BEST Center in the Nation, Cole Aldrich is the solid block that this team was built around. Aldrich’s efficiency, experience, phenomenal defensive post presence, ability to protect the rim by rebounding and blocking shots put Kansas a step ahead of a lot of contenders. Not a lot of teams in college hoops have an old school Center inside the paint.

But Aldrich doesn’t make it happen alone on the frontcourt. The Morris brothers bring to the table one of the single things that Aldrich is not a major on it, toughness. Marcus is more of an offensive minded player. His versatility, ability to spread the floor and open space for Aldrich, and his mid range game are the reasons why he starts at Power Forward. His brother, Markieff, isn’t necessarily a gifted offensive talent but his size and athleticism help Kansas to defend while his ability to run the floor doesn’t make him useless on offense.

One of the hottest freshmen in the nation, Xavier Henry is a key piece for Kansas’ run. After watching the damage caused by Ty Lawson last tournament and Derrick Rose on the year before, it’s well known the importance of an explosive Swingman and Henry provides that. He’s already expected to be a lottery pick on the next NBA draft but an injury has bothered him lately, scoring single digit points in five of the last seven games. Henry’s healthy is crucial for Kansas’ expectations.

The last big piece of the puzzle is Sherron Collins. One of the best closers in the nation, the 4^th year senior, team’s leading scoring, Collins have impressed with his cold blood and production on clutch time. Although the Jayhawks lost a single game so far, they came close numerous times and Collins is the main reason why they have an almost perfect record. The closer is another huge role that a contender needs to have addressed and solidified before the NCAA Tournament and Kansas have that checked.

Any team that gets red hot on those eleven days has a serious chance to get to the Final Four and eventually win the Tournament. Thankfully for Kansas, Bill Self led this program to a championship two seasons ago, not that long, and already knows how to neutralize the runs that the Daytons, Butlers and Xaviers of the wolrd will put on the early stages. The Jayhawks look a lot like last season’s Tar Heels. They are the better team with the better talent and experience. Is Kansas the heavy favorites? How can’t they be?

Rondo’s Team

After suspecting that for a long time and watch closely two of the last three Celtics’ games, I have a secret to tell you: Rondo took the team over. It’s not a shifting thing or a transition deal anymore, it’s over, and it’s done. Nobody questions his presence on the floor on clutch anymore, he complains on the media about the team’s effort and pass through Doc Rivers. That’s the ultimatum.

After a phenomenal playoff appearance last season, when at some point he averaged a triple double, Rondo was supposed to be the unquestionable transition piece between the big 3 and whatever the new team turns out to be two, three years from now. So it came with a shock when the Pistons reportedly turned out a deal that would send Rondo and Allen to Detroit in exchange for Richard Hamilton, Tayshoun Prince and Rodney Stuckey. Right there Danni Ainge sent a message that maybe he and Doc had doubts about Rondo’s influence inside the locker room, since that inside the court there were no problems at all. Rondo never got dealt and once the season started, the C’s were forced to give him and extension and officially get behind him.

Those who watched a single Boston game this season realized how improved Rondo has been. Remember when he couldn’t shoot? That’s not the case anymore, actually more often than not when he elevates, it’s going down. Rondo is shooting a career high 53% from the field, playing a career high 37 minutes and scoring a career high 14 points. When push comes to shove, he’s not on the bench anymore because his inability to shoot. The one thing that hasn’t improved on his game yet is his free throws (only 59%).

As Allen has struggled, Pierce is hurt and Garnett is in and out all season long, Rondo established himself as the team’s leader on the court. His shooting improvement hasn’t forced opponents to guard differently, they still back out until the foul line, but Rondo hasn’t had problems finding Perkins inside.

While on the court, Rondo’s emergence is more than welcome as the Celtics have struggled lately, off the court that could be the beginning of something. The Boston Herald quotes Rondo complaining about the team’s lack of effort and intensity this season and how things are different when compared to last year. Against the Heat Wednesday on the end of the first half, Doc Rivers wanted a timeout to set a play, instead Rondo asked Garnett to inbound the him and he took a half court 3 pointer, luckily he was fouled and went to the line, but the point is that he overruled the Head Coach, his boss.

As Rondo evolves to a PG that is unstoppable, nobody can stop him on his way to the basket, now he can shoot, he’s one of the best rebounding guards in the game and an awesome Quarterback, we start to see his role off the court also evolving. How will Doc Rivers and the big three react to it is another factor to be considered as the second half of the season approaches.