So, the NBA trade deadline passes without any major moves. I'd be more pissed at the Sonics for not moving Rashard Lewis, except I'm in the process of learning not to care about the franchise anymore - either they move, or they rape the local taxpayers and stay. Either way, fuck 'em.

It seems like this is more often than not the case at the trading deadline. It's like it's just too hard with the cap and everyone just gives up.

What happened to Rashard Lewis? I thought he had become a pretty solid player.

Damn i was hoping Gasol moving outside Memphis to get a shoot to a champ.

Damn i was hoping Gasol moving outside Memphis to get a shoot to a champ.
One school of thought on him is they might want to hold on to Gasol on the off chance that they score in the lottery and add Oden. Oden + Gasol would be pretty formidable.

Yeah I was hoping the Lakers would pick up anyone, LOL, need front court help a consistent PG, but I wouldn't want the Lakers to trade Bynum either. Oh well.......

Not really a suprise on the big names. Gasol wasn't moving if the Bulls weren't giving at least two of their big four (Gordon, Hinrich, Deng, Nocioni). Kidd wasn't moving if the Lakers weren't including Bynum. I am not sure why any team would take Vince Carter at this point. Not because he is not a great player. I just think his best fit is with the Nets. I believe the T-Wolves don't want McHale doing anything with KG. I think they will wait until Fred Hoiberg takes over the GM job over the summer. I am surprised a team like the Cavs did not pick up a guy like Anthony Johnson. I guess that means they like what Gibson is giving them at the point. Other than that all the big moves were already made earlier in the season.

What happened to Rashard Lewis? I thought he had become a pretty solid player.
Rashard is a very good offensive player. He's got a very good shooting stroke all the way out to 3-point range, and he's developed some post moves as well. However, that's all he's got - he's just an OK passer, he's a poor dribbler, his rebounding has regressed and isn't very good for a 6'10" SF. And that's not even broaching the subject of his defense - suffice it to say, he's awful defensively.

Add all that together and you have a guy that, IMO, is overrated due to his offensive skills that are easy to see and measure - most fans don't have much of an idea how much his poor defense makes his overall value much closer to neutral than you might otherwise think.

What, you mean you don't consider the Hawks trading a 2nd round pick to acquire Anthony Johnson for the third time to be a blockbuster deal?

I mean, that pick could have been one more step in the master plan toward acquiring enough players to field a full roster of swingmen sized players.

Sports Guy from Friday. This is probably one of my favorite pure-sports column that he's put out. I have a feeling his frustration allowed him to get all these words out in about 10 minutes.

Welcome to the No Balls Association (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070223)

Sports Guy from Friday. This is probably one of my favorite pure-sports column that he's put out. I have a feeling his frustration allowed him to get all these words out in about 10 minutes.

Welcome to the No Balls Association (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070223)

I agree, that's a great article. Most of the deals he suggested actually had me thinking "You know what, that would have worked..." which is rare when it comes to most fantasy trades put out there by the media.

The F-infinity-minus is too high for the Wolves. With any hope of getting rid of Ricky Davis, Mike James, Marko Jaric and Troy Hudson (however small the chance of moving any of them was). At least there's still some hope that perhaps Taylor will sell the team and a new owner will fire McHale and Wittman. I don't know if I can cheer for the team with Taylor, McHale and Davis around.

Honestly, do you really want the GM's of the Celtics, T-Wolves, Sixers, Hawks, and the Knicks to do anything more with their teams? I did not think so.

On a sidenote, I never heard the Pacers- Warriors deal described the way he described it.

From the article under Indiana
Even if their deal with the Warriors had all the makings of an "our fans have soured on our mostly black team, let's bring in a couple of good-natured white guys and maybe they'll shut up for awhile" trade,

If I did not know better...........J/K.

I don't agree with his Hornets analysis. The Hornets are likely going to make the playoffs this year with or without Vince Carter, and they won't beat any of the elites in the West even with Vince Carter, so what's the point? All it does is add a potential locker room headache down the road, which the Hornets have been remarkably free of for the last two years (folks in OKC must have an unbelievably skewered view of the NBA based on their time with this team).

I think his analysis was solid though. "Likely scenario, you end up sign-and-trading him somewhere this summer and replacing all the assets you gave up." I don't think he would be a locker room disruption over just a timeframe of a few months.

Some of the analysis I agree with, most not so much. I do believe that many GMs were scared to pull the trigger on moves. The idea of blowing up a team on the chance that you will get Odom or Durant should scare many a GM. It is worth a chance IF you are sure they are coming out. Some of the trades just don't make sense for one side or another. For example, I like Andre Miller a lot, but I am not giving up a 1st rounder for him if I am the Heat at the trade deadline (before Wade's injury). I don't think you get a package of picks and players for a Rashard Lewis at this point. For all of Golden State's problems, would you really add Eddie Griffin and Ricky Davis to that mix?

I don't think he would be a locker room disruption over just a timeframe of a few months.

Probably not, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, fresh off another Baron Davis nightmare.

Besides, I'm not a Dez Mason fan but he's played awfully well lately and we would probably be losing him in the proposed deal. He's not Vince, but the Hornets have very good team chemistry right now. Just not sure I want to tinker with that unless it's going to get 'em a shot at the championship, and I just don't see Vince bringing that to the table.

Really, I don't blame the West teams for standing pat -- Dallas or Phoenix is going to the finals, no amount of wheeling and dealing is changing that. But it IS hard to believe nobody in the East did anything.

I think his analysis was solid though. "Likely scenario, you end up sign-and-trading him somewhere this summer and replacing all the assets you gave up." I don't think he would be a locker room disruption over just a timeframe of a few months.

After his time in Toronto, I am not so sure.

After his time in Toronto, I am not so sure.

Well that's kind of where I was going with the timeframe. That came after years of the slow buildup of frustration that came with losing. I'm not excusing it...just think it would be less likely to happen between now and the end of the regular season.

The F-infinity-minus is too high for the Wolves. With any hope of getting rid of Ricky Davis, Mike James, Marko Jaric and Troy Hudson (however small the chance of moving any of them was). At least there's still some hope that perhaps Taylor will sell the team and a new owner will fire McHale and Wittman. I don't know if I can cheer for the team with Taylor, McHale and Davis around.

As a fan, what are your thoughts on Garnett? Obviously I would have to get someone like Oden or Durant if I was giving him up, but if you can luggage him out with a lot of your tumors(james/jaric/hudson/davis), it's worth considering soon, I think. Then again, it's nearly impossible to replace a player of his calibre. But that whole Foye/Tarheel guy who had microfracture dynamic might not be bad in a year or two. Losing their pick this offseason potentially is sucky.

As a fan, what are your thoughts on Garnett? Obviously I would have to get someone like Oden or Durant if I was giving him up, but if you can luggage him out with a lot of your tumors(james/jaric/hudson/davis), it's worth considering soon, I think. Then again, it's nearly impossible to replace a player of his calibre. But that whole Foye/Tarheel guy who had microfracture dynamic might not be bad in a year or two. Losing their pick this offseason potentially is sucky.

I think the TWolves need to resign themselves to the fact that they are NEVER going to be able to build a contender around Garnett, and that aside from a couple of decent young guys they have nothing else either. It's time to blow this sucker up and rebuild, and the best way to do that is through FA. Trade Garnett for cap space, and throw in as many overpaid scrubs as you can. Any draft picks you can get would be a bonus, but really, cap space is more important IMO, unless you are getting picks #1 or #2 in the draft next year.

The fact is that few rebuilding teams have a player the quality of Garnett - who ranks top 5 in the NBA - and that's a big bargaining tool when it comes to getting your hands on expiring contracts. It means another year or two of sucking horribly, but that's better than throwing a mid-level exception at some scrub like James year after year in an attempt at pretending that you are doing all you can to give Garnett a supporting cast.

Ferry definitely deserved that Z-infinity minus. The Cavs are absolutely awful to watch, and the fact that he couldn't make a move for anyone is pretty shitty. We're resigned to seeing ESlow still play 25 minutes a game, Larry Fucking Hughes jack up 20 off balanced shots per game, and Drew Gooden's 4-5 bonehead plays per night. Donyell and damon both suck, and are totally useless. Basically LeBron and Anderson are the only two that are worth a fuck on the entire team. And Bron honestly doesn't give a shit most of the time it appears. Boobie Gibson was a nice pickup in the draft, if he can keep hitting 50% of his threes it's a blessing.

Ferry definitely deserved that Z-infinity minus. The Cavs are absolutely awful to watch, and the fact that he couldn't make a move for anyone is pretty shitty. We're resigned to seeing ESlow still play 25 minutes a game, Larry Fucking Hughes jack up 20 off balanced shots per game, and Drew Gooden's 4-5 bonehead plays per night. Donyell and damon both suck, and are totally useless. Basically LeBron and Anderson are the only two that are worth a fuck on the entire team. And Bron honestly doesn't give a shit most of the time it appears. Boobie Gibson was a nice pickup in the draft, if he can keep hitting 50% of his threes it's a blessing.

what! the big overrated cant carry that crap-bag of a team? bad franchises are bad franchises for a reason

Ferry definitely deserved that Z-infinity minus. The Cavs are absolutely awful to watch, and the fact that he couldn't make a move for anyone is pretty shitty. We're resigned to seeing ESlow still play 25 minutes a game, Larry Fucking Hughes jack up 20 off balanced shots per game, and Drew Gooden's 4-5 bonehead plays per night. Donyell and damon both suck, and are totally useless. Basically LeBron and Anderson are the only two that are worth a fuck on the entire team. And Bron honestly doesn't give a shit most of the time it appears. Boobie Gibson was a nice pickup in the draft, if he can keep hitting 50% of his threes it's a blessing.

Wasn't it known that the signings from last offseason had locked this team for at least the next two years?

I think the TWolves need to resign themselves to the fact that they are NEVER going to be able to build a contender around Garnett, and that aside from a couple of decent young guys they have nothing else either. It's time to blow this sucker up and rebuild, and the best way to do that is through FA. Trade Garnett for cap space, and throw in as many overpaid scrubs as you can. Any draft picks you can get would be a bonus, but really, cap space is more important IMO, unless you are getting picks #1 or #2 in the draft next year.

The fact is that few rebuilding teams have a player the quality of Garnett - who ranks top 5 in the NBA - and that's a big bargaining tool when it comes to getting your hands on expiring contracts. It means another year or two of sucking horribly, but that's better than throwing a mid-level exception at some scrub like James year after year in an attempt at pretending that you are doing all you can to give Garnett a supporting cast.

The day Glen Taylor agrees with the bold statement is the day they fire McHale.

Wasn't it known that the signings from last offseason had locked this team for at least the next two years?

With as bad of contracts as they signed, they locked this team up for 4 years, and it ain't pretty.

Too bad SG isn't a hockey fan anymore. This deadline was the antithesis of the NBAs.