KPFC Sports Dept.

The New York Times said that Nash and Nowitzki would make the most sense in the Shaq sweepstakes. The New York Times and Laker fans only WISH that would happen, but since an East coast source said it, now Dan Patrick is spending his whole show saying that Nash/Nowitzki is the only way the Mavs get Shaq. Spoken like a true out of towner. There is now way in heck the Mavs do this. Walker instead of Nash makes more sense, the Mavs would give up too much with Nash and with Walker the Lakers will get a 14 million dollar break next year.

Couldn't hurt recruiting any if the recruits get to hang out with Shaq a little.

I've heard that stuff about Rudy T talking Shaq into wanting to stay, but the issues there run deeper than that. Phil was Shaq's guy and he is gone, Kobe and Shaq have had major issues since day one, and Shaq can see like the rest of us that Kobe is now CEO of the Lakers and wants no part of it. If Shaq stays it's because he feels he can get paid the most by LA in the future, because if he demands a trade, there will be a taker, and he doesn't want to stay in that organization where they have made it clear Kobe is their man and Shaq is expendable. Cuban and the Lakers have said no contact has been made, but Cuban has said that he would explore everything. Plus even if they had talked, it's unlikely Cuban would publicize it and put it in jeopardy or make himself look bad if it doesn't work. If you go to that Real GM site I posted, there are a few ways for this trade to work with the Mavs and Shaqs contracts. If there is anyway to keep Dirk...well, Dirk and Shaq vs. T-Mac and Yao will be quite the rivalry the next few years in Texas.

Cooperstein mentioned this site, and with NBA dream scenarios at an all-time high around here, this site is pretty cool. Real GM

Also, the stock criticism of the Mavs is they don't play consistent defense....T-Mac sure as heck isn't gonna help that a whole lot. He's like Dirk, they both have the physical ability, and accumulates decent defensive numbers because of it, but straight D? Average.

Wasn't Audie Murphy the most decorated American soldier of WWII? Unrelated: If you only see one movie about a rappin' genie this year, make it "Kazaam".

103.3 FM is saying that T-Mac is quoted in a Florida paper as saying that he and Shaq are both trying to get to Dallas. I can't find the link, but maybe espn.com will put it up soon and we can see the quote. I don't even know what to think about this.

This basketball Jesus? Sports Guy's ode to Larry Legend. Or this one? Jesus takes it strong to hole against some seven year olds.

I stand by that Shaq has ruined the NBA and I dispised the preferential treatment he has gotten while in LA, but if he becomes a Mav, I will seriously consider selling my soul to the basketball satan and hope for a title.

Marc Stein said this: What are some trade possibilities, then? The Lakers would naturally prefer to deal Shaq to an Eastern Conference club, but Shaq's favorite team out there -- Orlando -- doesn't have the pieces necessary to entice the Lakers, even with the No. 1 overall pick coming in next week's draft. Tracy McGrady is the most attractive commodity Orlando can pitch, but a McGrady-Kobe partnership doesn't exactly sound workable. If Shaq wants to go back to the team he walked out on in the of summer 1996, at least one more team would have to be involved in the deal, presumably to take McGrady while sending quality youth on to L.A. The irony here is that the Lakers have to look at ensemble teams in the Detroit mold if they're serious about moving Shaq. They need three or four quality players in return, and not simply because it will take that many contracts to match Shaq's nearly $28 million salary next season. The Lakers' roster is that thin. Even if Bryant stays, he's going to need a clutch of new teammates to keep the Lakers among the elite. Since Detroit won't be in a rush to break up a championship squad with ring-winning chemistry, expect to hear Indiana mentioned as a possible destination, given the Pacers' abundance of blossoming talent. It seems far more likely, though, that Indiana would try to acquire McGrady to pair him with Jermaine O'Neal as opposed to jumping into the Shaq Sweepstakes. Thus you can also expect a few West clubs to make pitches, ignoring the Lakers' preference for sending Shaq across the conference divide -- starting with Dallas owner Mark Cuban, who would likely trade anyone on his roster outside of Dirk Nowitzki. Memphis' Jerry West will be interested as well, given his history with O'Neal and a roster filled with precisely the sort of up-and-comers that would intrigue Kupchak. Phoenix is another interesting possibility; Kupchak figures to go after the same twosome -- Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion -- Orlando has sought in McGrady talks.

Justin, I think it would have to be a three way trade with another team to make it work. That seems like the only way to me anyway. T-Mac or Shaq on the Mavs...hard to imagine, but the NBA is crazy right now.

Good little thing about why Shaq wants out at ESPN. The way that talked goes right along with everything else I am hearing..that Kobe has more power in that organization than anyone right now. This line is classic from Tom Friend: "In other words, he is not averse to trading Shaq and is willing to build his franchise around a narcissist who's on trial for rape, doesn't make his teammates better and is in denial over all of it." T-Mac demands a trade, and the Magic asked for 4 players from Indiana? They asked for Artest, Tinsley, Harrington, and Bender. Then the Orlando GM said this: "There are teams offering three guys and their first-round pick. Three established players and a lottery pick is certainly a respectable offer for a team that has a lot of holes to fill" I wonder if the Mavs are one of those teams? That was the rumor a while back.

Kobe's a FA, Mitch Kupchak said Shaq is expendable, Nash is a FA, there is an expansion draft, a rookie draft. I think the offseason will be better than the regular season! The big thing with the NBA is matching salaries in a deal. That makes it hard to predict where a player who makes a ton (Shaq or T-Mac) may land. My only prediction right now is that Kobe stays in LA. Once I read a little more about the other FA's, and whose salary could get close to Shaq's, I may have some more. With contracts that big, three way deals are used to make the money match so it's a tough thing to guess at. Good thread.

Mike Harmon, who covers fantasy baseball for Yahoo! Sports, went to the same game we did, here is what he had to say about it in his latest article:

I was on my honeymoon this week so I missed the other thread that is now locked. I said I wouldn't watch a second of the Finals unless the Pistons had the Lakers on the ropes. Well I watched the fourth quarter of Game 4 and there was absolutely no doubt as to which team was better. This suprised me because the Pistons showed such an anemic offense, I didn't think they had a chance against any of the top 4 Western teams. But they had enough, that's for sure and I couldn't be happier. Now to the cool part. I was at the Rockies-Red Sox game on Tuesday night and when the Pistons won, they showed the live feed on the jumbo screen there at Coors and a couple of minutes of the Pistons celebrating and the Lakers walking dejectedly to the locker room. And I swear, at least half the stadium gave a standing ovation, and the reaction was almost as loud as after the Todd Helton homer we saw. Great moment.