T1B

So, with Kidd's 14th trade demand in the last couple of years, will they move him this time?

Interesting prospect, really.

On the one hand, while he's grossly overpaid with 21 mil due next year, that fat contract also expires at the end of next season. So long as Kidd doesn't start mailing it in (not his style, unlike his teammate), the Nets still have a marquee name to sell tickets with. And a year down the road, they can hand-pick free agents, theoretically.

On the other side of the coin, there's some teams that are a good PG away from serious contention. The teams I really see as being able to benefit from Kidd's skills are Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando.

What's Boston going to trade for a 21mil contract? Their draft picks are worthless for a few years, and I don't think every contract on the team beside the big three added together make the deal do-able. Boston's out.


Cleveland -- They have a bargaining chip with Larry Hughes, who is grossly overpaid... grossly. He's a few bucks short of LeBron's money. They could package up Hughes and either Eric Snow or Ilgaskus or Gooden... but the Cavs are so weak at the front line, that seems like suicide. And how could you sell Rod Thorn on Larry hughes, since he sucks? He's going to want to get something out of the deal, obviously, and I doubt he'd be interested in anyone besides Gooden. Going to be tough for Cleveland to make a deal, although they need him badly.

Orlando? Now there's a team that could truly benefit from having Kidd, and they have bargaining chips galore. But there's a catch -- I just don't see this trade happening unless Orlando includes Rashard (who makes more money than even Dwight Howard, but that's due to tenure... sidenote -- not sure what part of Rashard's game screamed "MAX" to Orlando's management, but that wasn't too smart). If I'm NJ, I'm wanting either Rashard (but that contract is scary), or about half the role players on the team, and at least Turkoglu. The catch with this deal is that NJ is going to want some semblace of a starting-caliber PG out of the deal, and Orlando doesn't even have one to put in the game right now. Orlando's cap setup is a mess right now (you'd think they would have learned from the Grant Hill deal to avoid long-term overly bloated deals, regardless how badly you covet the free agent). Going to be tough to pull that one off, too.

Dallas -- Now here's a contender. Easy deal for Dallas. Michael Finley and a scrub for Kidd. Win/win for both sides. Mavs get a bigtime PG, and NJ gets one less year of big-buck salaries. I'm sure Mavs would trade an extra year for a player of that caliber. NJ is still going to want a PG, and would insist on the up-and-coming Barea, I'm sure. But Dallas doesn't need future projects, they need help for their aging core now. And they have everything they need to make it happen.



And now, I keep hearing Portland's name in the mix. Interesting, but not going to happen. For one, would a LaFretz/Arius Miles package really appeal to anyone? LaFrentz has a big (around 12) contract that expires after '09, Arius goes off after '10, but he's injured again, and may be able to be bought out, which would make great cap relief. For the replacement PG, before last year's deadline, Pritchard claimed he got offers from 29 teams for Sergio Rodriguez... 29 is also known as "all of them." Frankly, they can have his schitzo-ass... although, he's close friends with Rudy Fernandez, so he'll probably be here at least one more year. NJ might take Steve Blake instead. Other than that, none of the other PGs (we have about 50) are going anywhere. I'm sure Pritchard could throw in a draft pick, as well, since those aren't nearly so valuable these days, and the Blazers need to open roster spots, not fill them -- which is the real reason why the Blazers even have entered this discussion. Portland may well have the best package to offer besides Dallas, it's just a matter of want. While possibly unfounded and exaggerated, there's always the character-issue buzz with Kidd to consider, which don't fly in these parts anymore.


But I see two serious possibilities -- KIdd stays put, or ends up in Dallas. The other options just don't seem likely.

Dinsdale wrote: KIdd stays put, or ends up in Dallas. The other options just don't seem likely.

toni braxton
jimmy jackson
those my french fries

Laughing my ass off over here...

Yahoo Sports wrote:The New Jersey Nets are in serious negotiations with the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers about a blockbuster three-way trade that would send Jason Kidd to the Mavericks, league sources said Wednesday afternoon.

In the proposed trade, Dallas and Portland would send the Nets a package that includes the Mavs' Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse and Blazers forwards Travis Outlaw and Channing Frye and guard Jarrett Jack. Mavericks point guard Devin Harris would be sent to Portland. Along with Kidd, the Nets propose to send reserve forward Malik Allen and center Jamaal Magloire to Dallas.

The Nets would also receive at least one future No. 1 pick and cash. Other players could be included to balance the exchange of contracts.

The Record (N.J.) first reported Wednesday morning that the three teams were in discussions.




League sources say that Nets president Rod Thorn has been working the phones relentlessly since Kidd went public on Monday with his trade request. Thorn seems determined to get a deal done soon and may be looking to completely remake the Nets. He also has been dangling guard Vince Carter.

Kidd, 34, is making $19.7 million this season, and has one year left in on his contract at $21.4 million. Kidd The addition of Kidd could make the Mavericks sudden favorites in the West, where they have had two straight heart-breaking playoff runs and currently have the third-best record in the conference.

Let's see, what would be in the deal for the Blazers?

Get rid of Travis Outlaw, who is one of the more promising up-and-comers in the league, and the free agent who Nate McMillan was quite adamant about keeping.

Channing Frye, who is by far the most solid big man coming off the bench, and darn near the only big man coming off the bench.

And Jarrett Jack, who is often described as the "heart and soul" of the team.

And IMO, all three are better players, at least in Nate's scheme, than Devean George.


On the business side of things, we;re talking relatively small contracts anyway. George's contract expires after this season, but Outlaw is the big-dog of the contracts, and it's at $4mil a year.


I know it's an NBA reporter's job to toss the rumors out there, but I think this is one of those big-talking rumors floated about for leverage. The Blazers have a logjam at PG, and trading away a couple of the top performers for another PG makes no sense whatsoever, and the next few days will prove these rumors to be a joke. From the Blazers' standpoint, this isn't a trade option -- it's a big practical joke on somebody.

I can see Jarrett Jack as a trade piece if it was a really good offer, but unlikely. With Oden and probably Fernandez coming in next year, I can see Frye being moved to open up minutes/roster spots. But if any analyst thinks Outlaw is going anywhere, after winning games with his 4th quarter heroics, they're about as ignorant to the Blazer dynamic as any of the ignorant reporters out there.


What next -- we're trading Oden and Aldridge for Busty McBusterstein and a 4th round pick to be named later?


C'mon -- at least make the rumors you publish at least a tiny bit believable.


I still think Kidd is going somewhere, but I don't see the Blazers trading away their future for tthe sake of Devean George while making a Western Conference opponent into a powerhouse -- that would be freaking stupid, and Pritchard isn't known for being stupid... matter of fact he's known among other GMs as a guy who will never allow himself to come out on the wrong end of a trade. Other GMs have him on call-block, since if you answer KP's call, you're about to get fucked.

RACK KP -- unless he does somehow make this deal, then he needs to ask John Nash or Bob Nitwit about the quickest way to get out of town.

And Adrian Wojnarowski, the Yahoo "journalist" must really know what he's talking about... he meant to write about Devin Harris going to Portland -- not Deveon George as he originally reported. Of course, he's edited the article since then, but of course didn't make mention of his correction, like a real journalist might do.


Adrian -- you're really sounding credible right now. Not.


Still laughing over here. Yeah, KP will trade Travis Outlaw AND other players for Devin Harris, and some flying cows to be named later.

Now other media outlets have jumped on the bandwagon, and are reporting that the talks are on once again today.

I guess the Northwest is too far away for them to hear the raucous laughter coming from Portland.

Even Kevin Pritchard is laughing about it, if that tells a person all they need to know.

While these "journalists" really think they have a scoop, KP has even stretched his "absoluely won't discuss pending trades" policy to give everyone a "put it this way -- every phone call has been incoming, and there hasn't been one outgoing call."


Gee, guys, can we throw Oden and Roy in on the deal, too? If you're going to trade McMillan's "Untouchables," why not go the whole nine yards?

How about... Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, and the next two first round picks for... Tyron Lue?


I mean, if we're making shit up for comedic purposes, why not try and make it reallllly humorous?

Dinsdale wrote:How about... Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, and the next two first round picks for... Tyron Lue?

Ok, I laughed. Hard.

That wasn't any more far-fetched than the Zers giving up 3 of their 8 best players (plus a first round pick plus cash) for Devin Harris.


I laughed... hard.

thanks for the update. none of us have espn or si.com or cbssportsline or blogisphere available.

you make cuda42 look slacker.

Diogenes wrote:BTW, George went 0-11 tonight. Since you didn't know.

As bad as 0-11 is, it wasn't nearly as bad as the schooling he took at the other end of the floor, courtesy of Mr. Roy.

But Dallas won, so it will be forgotten eventually.

Done.

I understand the reasons for the matching-salary rules, but it seems a little silly that teams are resigning retired/not playing guys to make trade deals work. The idea behind those rules were to ultimately protect owners from runaway salaries, but signing washouts who will never play again seems counterproductive to that end.