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The Trade

• The Dallas Mavericks receive Jason Kidd and Malik Allen
• The New Jersey Nets receive Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Devean George, Maurice Ager, $3 million and two future No. 1 draft picks.

It looks like Jason Kidd is finally going back to where he started, to the Dallas Mavericks, in what looks like one lopsided deal. As a Mavs fan you know Kidd is a major upgraded and with many teams upgrading in the NBA Western Conference, this is vital trade for another shot at the title. However, it is tough to see so many players get traded along with 2 first rounders.

Dallas fans can give up Ager and George but losing Harris and Diop along with 2 future first rounders is what really is questionable. After all Kidd is 35 now and how much longer is he going to play. Don’t get me wrong, I still think he is the best pure point guard in the league capable of a triple double during any game. It just looks like Cuban wants the win NOW and is not looking to the future. The only good news is the Nets plan to buyout Stackhouse’s remaining contract which will allow him to become a free agent and resign with the Mavericks.

The Nets definitely are winners in this trade. The clear out cap room and you know they are in th rebuilding phase now which is perfect. A young talented point guard in Harris and a talented foward in Diop, allows the teams some depth and the 2 future first rounders allows for growth. If the Nets could get a healthy Jermaine O’Neal, they would be set and could build around some great talent.

As for the Mavericks, still love them and love the fact that Kidd is there and I will be one of the first to order a Mavs Kidd jersey. They are now back as championship contenders and it should be fun watching how Kidd incorporates into the Dallas offense. The Mavericks now have a pure point guard to run the show and Kidd still has a fire to play the game. I hope the gamble works Cuban. Go Mavs!

Shaquille O’Neal has been traded from the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns.

The Trade

• The Miami Heat receive guard Marcus Banks and forward Shawn Marion.
• The Phoenix Suns receive center Shaquille O’Neal.

The Big Risk

Shaquille O’Neal has a million nicknames. After being traded to the Phoenix Suns today, his new nickname is “The Big Risk”.

Of course, in life, the higher the risk, the higher the rewards. If this trade works out, then that reward could very well be the coveted NBA championship.

The Phoenix Suns are taking a big risk by changing up their offensive and defensive philosophies in the middle of a season. When you bring in an impact player like Shaquille O’Neal, there’s obviously going to be a change in style. Only an idiot would assume that the coaching staff won’t be making adjustments to put full use of their new center.

A lot of people have already criticized the Phoenix Suns for making such a big change. Of course, a lot of the people that are criticizing are fans of other teams who are afraid to admit that this trade makes the Phoenix Suns even more of a threat.

Sure, the team won’t be running as fast as they used to. However, the Phoenix Suns weren’t exactly collecting NBA championships these past few years. Management clearly knew that fact. They also didn’t want to go into the playoffs with the same hand that they’ve been playing with for the past few years. Losing in the playoffs isn’t exactly something the team strives for.

They want that big win, so they’re going to take that big risk.

Rebuilding the Roster

The Miami Heat basically did this trade because they didn’t want to stand pat. With 9 wins and 37 losses, the Miami Heat were at the bottom of the NBA standings. When you’re doing that bad, it’s best not to stand still.

It was obvious that Shaquille O’Neal was no longer a good fit with the team. He wasn’t playing that well (probably due to being unmotivated). He didn’t get along with certain people in the organization. As the Los Angeles Lakers found out, trading a disgruntled Shaquille O’Neal is the best thing to do.

Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion won’t be making a miraculous turnaround this year. In fact, we’d bet every penny in our bank accounts against them making the playoffs this year (Yeah, big risk. We know.). There’s a good chance that they won’t be making a miraculous turnaround next year either. They might be able to contend for a playoff spot, but they won’t be winning the championship in 2009.

You can expect to see a boost in Shawn Marion’s stats now that he’s in Miami.

Shawn Marion was quite unhappy with playing 3rd fiddle to Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. With the Miami Heat, Shawn Marion becomes the 2nd superstar behind Dwayne Wade. Though there’s no one in Miami that can create opportunities on offense like Steve Nash can, Shawn Marion should still get his points by playing off of Dwayne Wade.

More than anything, though, Shawn Marion will be playing a lot more motivated (not saying that he wasn’t motivated in Phoenix) now.

Closing Thoughts

A lot of people are cautious about this trade, but we’re going to go against the grain here. We believe that this trade will end up working out just fine for both teams.

Jose Canseco actually appeared like the one who came on top during the release of the Mitchel report on steroids and HGH in baseball. Conseco was on of the first to be recognized as a big steroid user and his book “Juiced” implicated both Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi who both used some enhancing product. His second book, set to be titled “Vindicated” and tod be published March 31, 2008, is supposed to mention more names and even more details.

However Jose Canseco could become the next Senator Joseph McCarthy. For those who do not know who Joseph McCarthy is, he was a Senator from Wisconsin during the late 1940s and his rise to fame came from his push that there were Communist and Soviet spies who had infiltrated many government organizations. He also claimed to have a list of names which he presented but was never able to provide substantial proof which resulted in him being discredited and censured by the United States Senate. This finally led to his downfall and loss of respect by colleagues.

I say Jose Canseco could be the next Joseph McCarthy because the state of baseball has essentially become a two group faction of athletes who work hard to get where they are and those that use some enhancing product that is deemed illegal to league rules. Jose Canseco and his books are essentially a list of names and details of athletes that possibly have used steroids, HGH,  or other enhancing products. It is hard for Conseco to prove these details and accusations in his book and we all know they guy does not care about respect from his teammates or friends.

What really shows Canseco selfish personality and ability to take advantage of the situation is the article in New York Times of Canseco offering to keep former teammate Magglio Ordonez out of his upcoming book if Ordonez invested in a movie project promoted by Canseco. Of course Canseco avidly denies that he or any of his lackies asked for the money. He is not stupid enough to ask directly for money but I am sure the hint was dropped to Ordonez and shows how far Canseco can drop in morals.

The Times also reported that the issue was forwarded to the FBI but Ordonez did not go forward with the matter. Ordonez is quoted as saying “I didn’t want to press charges against him,” and “I don’t want any problems. He is probably desperate for money. I don’t understand why he is trying to put people down.”

I would never buy the book and those people who do are stupid. Just let ESPN release an article mentioning who he mentioned. Don’t support this scum bag by buying his book and know that baseball will eventually find a way to get over this situation.

Just when Spygate was starting to settle down the rumor of the Patriots possibly cheating by recording the St. Louis Rams’ final walk-through in the Superdome before Super Bowl XXXVI. This is starting to become a bad time for the NFL as the report was printed before the Super Bowl and the Patriots have set several records, have an undefeated season, and are noted as one of the best football teams ever. This can all be tarnished if the team is proven to have cheated in a Super Bowl.

There have been many articles released about possible suspicions, play calling in that Super Bowl, and other related topics but there are two that really caught my eye. First was an ESPN article about Matt Walsh who was a video assistant during that time. According to ESPN, Walsh could “expose where and how they gained advantages and, perhaps even, turn over video proof.” This is another great statement “Walsh said he is fearful of possible legal action against him by either the league or Patriots if he details what he knows. He refused to provide evidence of potential wrongdoing unless ESPN agreed to pay his legal fees related to his involvement in the story, as well as an indemnification agreement that would cover any damages found against him in court.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired forward Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Actual Trade

Considering how talented Pau Gasol is, this trade has to be considered a blockbuster. Fortunately for the Los Angeles Lakers, they didn’t have to give up a blockbuster package to get him.

• To the Los Angeles Lakers: Pau Gasol and a 2nd round draft pick in 2010.
• To the Memphis Grizzlies: Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, Marc Gasol, Kwame Brown, 1st round draft pick in 2008, and 1st round draft pick in 2010.

Basically, the Los Angeles Lakers are losing some valuable draft picks, an expiring contract (Kwame Brown’s contract expires after this season), a veteran guard signed today solely for salary cap purposes (Aaron McKie), and two young prospects in Javaris Crittenton and Marc Gasol.

The Memphis Grizzlies give up their star big man, but at the same time, it’s not much of a loss since it was publicly known that Pau Gasol did not want to play in Memphis any more.

Raised Expectations

The moment the word spread, the Los Angeles Lakers bandwagon increased in size. There’s a lot more cars this morning driving in the car pool lane in the land of Lakers fans than there were yesterday.

Pau Gasol gives the Los Angeles Lakers a lot of things.

For one, he’ll be able to give the team a post presence that should be good for 15 points and 10 rebounds a night. Defenses will have harder time focusing on Kobe Bryant because they can’t just leave the middle unattended to.

Pau Gasol also gives the team a pretty solid shot blocker. He’s not nearly as prolific as Ben Wallace or Dikembe Mutombo as a defender, but he does disrupt things out there.

Most importantly, though, Pau Gasol gives the team more hope. Kobe Bryant has been quite vocal in the past year about the team. Adding an all-star caliber big man should do much in helping to keep him satisfied.

Chemistry Issues

A lot of sports fans have this tendency to overreact to things. They foolishly assume that every trade that involves a big name player is going to automatically pay off. There’s this thing called chemistry that they’re unable to fathom.

All they see is the stats and the big name coming in. Their flawed logic assumes that the Lakers will be scoring 19 points more and grabbing 9 rebounds more a game.

That’s not how basketball works.

You can expect Pau Gasol’s averages to drop a bit, especially when center Andrew Bynum makes his return from injury.

You can also expect to see the big man tandem needing some time to develop chemistry on the court. Keep in mind that both players like to operate in the low post. Neither player is particularly great as a midrange shooter. Nor do they prefer playing on the perimeter as opposed to being in the paint.

Coach Phil Jackson is going to have to use some of that basketball genius that he possesses to modify the offense so that both players can thrive. The triangle offense (the watered down version that the team is running right now) doesn’t particular play to the strengths of two solid post scorers.

Oh, Brother!

Not a big deal deal breaker by any means, but it would have been nice to have seen Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol playing on the same team. The marketing potential that would have came with that set up would have been pretty big.

Closing Thoughts

On paper, this sounds like a great trade for the Los Angeles Lakers, but we’ll take the smart route and wait before handing them the NBA Championship trophy.