Weird happenings during the All-Star break in Houston (see the picture above). I have to be honest. I did not watch much of the all-star events such as the celebrity game, rookies vs sophomores, the skills, 3-point, and dunk contest. I caught the 4th quarter of the all-star game and that was it. As a fan, it’s disappointing that I’m not excited to see the dunk contest any more. The lack of star power that competes in it is disappointing. Competes is really the key word all in all, because is it really competing? The players did it for fun and for the fans. Of course players enjoy winning and topping the rest of the players in the NBA, but those times have sadly ended.
The All-Star weekend has come to an end and the second half to the season has started back up tonight. There are many questions that remain to be answered heading into the playoff talk and more importantly at the moment, the trade deadline. The trade deadline is on Thursday and there are some names that are still floating around to be traded. There could potentially be a ton of movement or very little. I’m leaning toward the very little movement only because there is a lot of stipulations to move players such as players not being signed for the long term or players not waiving no trade clauses in their contracts. I’ve listed some players that may be on the move by Thursday:
1) Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard is back in the discussion of trades. The first question that should be asked is, is Dwight a good fit for the future of the Lakers? The Lakers are Kobe Bryant’s team (for now), but if they resign Howard, will he be happy and will he be utilized the way he should? If the Lakers have a feeling that Howard won’t resign after this season, they may want to trade him to get some pieces in return. There’s one team that Dwight has expressed he would want to play for and thats Brooklyn. If Brooklyn wants him, they can trade Lopez who they have locked up for 4 years and a few other pieces or possibly even involve another team if the Lakers are still interested in Kevin Love.
2) Kevin Garnett
The main question with Garnett is, will he waive is no trade clause? The Clippers is the team that has been reportedly the most interested, but reports say he does not want to leave Boston. The only destination I see him going to is the Clippers and if he accepts a trade going there it will be strictly be because he wants to play with Chris Paul.
3) Marcin Gortat
The Suns are in dead last in the West, so why wouldn’t the Suns look to trade Gortat? There are always teams that can use an extra big guy. The first time I heard his name in trade talks was to go to Boston. If they do trade Garnett, maybe Boston would be the best fit for Gortat. I wouldn’t be surprised if Philly makes a move for him given that they are 9th in the East at the moment and Andrew Bynum still hasn’t played a game. Bynum will be a free agent after this season and no guarantee he will resign. I can also see the Thunder or Hawks being interested in him.
4) Josh Smith
The Hawks are determined to get rid of Josh Smith and this is concerning to me being that Atlanta is 6th in the East and only 3.5 games behind 2nd. Even more concerning is that they are looking into trading him to Brooklyn who are currently 1 game ahead of Atlanta. Another strange possibility would be to trade him to Boston for either a Rondo or Pierce. Josh Smith is a guy that can be a key piece in a playoff run and may be a great fit for Brooklyn where he has played with Joe Johnson previously and especially if the Nets land Dwight Howard.
5) JJ Redick
JJ will be an unrestricted free agent in July, and Orlando is looking to get a 1st round draft pick in return for him. Once upon a time, the Bulls were interested in signing him and the Magic beat them with their offer. The Bulls may look to trade for JJ, not so much for this season but for the future once Rose is back and healthy. The Bulls are stuck until they trade off Boozer and his contract though. Another destination for JJ can be New York who hasn’t been what they were last year in perimeter shooting.
As previously mentioned, Carlos Boozer may be included in a trade to dump salary for the Bulls. The Clippers are still loaded with point guards and may look to trade Eric Bledsoe for either Garnett or another piece if they can’t land Garnett. Gasol may be included if Love gets traded in a Dwight deal, Rondo was once talked about possibly going to LA for Dwight, and Pierce may get traded also? With all the injuries with Gasol and Rondo, it may just be talk and nothing big may happen by Thursday. Time will tell.
therubbergame 