Post by Philadelphia 76ers on Jan 26, 2008 10:38:15 GMT -5
Things "Heating" Up In Miami?
Lowballs are part of the NBA, but Miami has taken it to the next level when he offered the Magic a deal he would regret. Outspoken Orlando general manager "Mad Scientist" sounded off Friday on saying Miami's offer was "cowardly,." Sources close to me have revealed that the new Miami GM offered soon-to be retired Alonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem for newly acquired Tyson Chandler and Marvin Williams. Heres the catch. Miami apparently lied about Mourning's rating saying he was an 80 when he is a 77.
"Miami offered a mostly useless player for one of the best defensive centers, and I think it's an act of desperation for a general manager who is fighting to keep his job," the Mad Scientist said.
The next day he was quoted as saying
"I have no problem with low ball offers," Orlando said, noting they are part of the NBA, "What I do have a problem with though is that he lied to my face about Alonzo Mourning's status."
Things are only getting nastier the past few days after Orlando gave Miami a nasty phone call. Orlando has sent a complaint to league offices and is expecting Miami to receive a fine. Sources within the organization say that they are embrassed by this latest fiasco by the new GM. Could their new GM be heading out after just 2 weeks?
Joe Johnson Trade Talks Heating Up
Joe Johnson's short career in a Grizzlies uniform could be coming to an end in the next few days. After expressing unhappiness in Memphis, the Grizzlies immediately out him on the block. Sources tell me that up to 5 teams contacted the Grizz within the next 24 hours. With the Grizzlies lacking another bigman to pair with Gasol, the Celtics seem to be the frontrunner in the Joe Johnson sweepstakes. The package consists of MVP Candidate Lamar Odom who is having himself a breakout season with 21 pts, 10 rbs, 6 asts. Other teams in the running are the guard hungry Nuggets who are putting ROY candidate Greg Oden on the table. Grizzlies have also received an offer from the Lakers that would send Allen Iverson to Memphis, only thing holding these trades back are salary differentials.
Fan Favourite Wilcox part of blockbuster deal?
When asked before the season started about the chances of Chris Wilcox donning a new jersey, the Seattle GM said
"As long as I'm here, Chris Wilcox isn't going anywhere".
He kept his word for the first few months of the season when he turned down the likes of Josh Howard, Danny Granger and Elton Brand. Fast forward a month and Wilcox will most likely be donning a new jersey. After a disappointing start to the season by Wilcox, the Sonics GM has been actively shopping the 25 year old. He's been shopping a package of Wilcox and defensive stud Andrei Kirilenko for a scoring SF to take some scoring load off Michael Redd. Teams that have expressed interest are the Portland Trail Blazers, Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. Seattle has lots to choose from with packages that consists of Rashard Lewis and Travis Outlaw, and Kevin Garnett. With the recent injury to starting point guard Andre Miller, Seattle is also looking for a starting PG. Orlando has offered Jameer Nelson and Luol Deng for Wilcox and AK47. When asked about the trade rumors yesterday, the Sonics GM said
"Chris has been great for this city and franchise and we would love to keep him here. With that said, if a trade that can help our franchise comes along we would be crazy to turn it down"
New Big 3 In LA?
This scene is all too familiar. It goes like this, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant have butted heads and both are demanding to be traded. All this after "making up" in the summer when they were re-united. Expectations were high as usual when the season started, the Lakers haven't gotten off to the best of start with a 9-10 record. O'Neal has been hampered with injuries this season. Finding a trading partner for Shaq and his big contract will be tough though. Of the teams that are interested in Shaq are the Celtics, New Jersey Nets and Utah Jazz. During a press conference yesterday Lakers GM said
"Yes, Shaq and Kobe have both requested a trade, we are trying to grant their request."
The completion of the deal is now awaiting physicals for O'Neal. The deal would send the expiring contracts of Theo Ratliff and Jason Williams to the Lakers in exchange for O'Neal. On the other hand the Detroit Piston have expressed a lot of interest for Kobe. Both teams discussed a possible deal for an hour yesterday and finally agreed that Detroit would send young superstar Dwight Howard and Ben Gordon for Kobe and Mardy Collins. Look for the deal to be announced in the next week. Will all these moves help bring LA to the next level? Only time will tell.
Quick Hits
Denver is actively shopping Greg Oden and have contacted the Bucks for a possible Yao- Oden swap. Another deal has him heading to Philly for Jamario Moon, Mike Miller and Leandro Barbosa. New Kings GM has received up to 10 offers for franchise cornerstone Caron Butler. He has made it very clear Butler is not going anywhere. Michael Finley is making it very clear that he wants to be moved to a contender. He said that "this team is a mess, I don't wanna be spending the rest of my career in Houston". Philly and Denver have contacted the Rockets for Finley but word is that the asking price is very high.