Sky

I can definitely see Chicago wanting this but not Phoenix. The Suns want out of salary to avoid tax and they take on Hinrich's 9M? When they already have Nash and Dragic? Not seeing it. Flash - If Chicago can get Phoenix to take Hinrich in that deal (good luck) then they'd still have a max slot.

Five assists is a lot. What Chauncey provides is more valuable in a playoff setting than all-star selection. You may hate that but it's been the reality of all-star selection forever. Real, Erick - Yeah, balance wins championships. Offense/defense, inside/out, athleticsm/hoop iq, young/old, small/big, halfcourt/transition, so many different axes, the more balance you have the more ways you can win. Any aspect that is out of balance is where a team is exploited and attacked. Erick mentioned the Spurs, when they faced the Nets SA just had to do one thing, deny transition since the Nets were out of balance on halfcourt/transition, toast. Can be interesting to go through a study of contenders looking at the balance axes and roster assumptions and see where they are vulnerable.

Real - My mantra in all sports is balance wins championships. That Detroit '04 team basically ran the offense through whoever Fisher/Payton was "guarding" to get their points in that series. The Pistons weren't that balanced. Their defense was far superior to their offense and the bulk of their scoring was outside. Chicago, the Bad Boys, that Pistons team, the Spurs all clubs who were more adept defensively than offensively but had enough scoring to win. Your comments seem to imply offense is more important. I disagree. You can be dominant defensively and average to poor offensively and still win rings.

Defensive-minded team with minimal offense won a ring in 2004. I know we Laker fans would prefer to forget that, but alas it did happen.

Billups may be more valuable in a playoff setting but he's not as talented as Paul or Williams. I'd rather have Chauncey on my team if I'm a contender this year but Paul and Williams are more deserving all-star choices. Billups' value is leadership and clutch play, that's playoffs not all-star games. Chauncey's value emerges when it matters most, that is when it will be recognized, appreciated, and if they succeed, rewarded. It won't be recognized in all-star voting, just the way it is. The voting needs to be taken away from the fans. Iverson in and TMac nearly getting in should put an end to this farce. However Stern wants Chinese fans too badly to ever consider it.

Existing contracts are unaffected. That's always been the case in the NBA, contracts are grandfathered in from past CBAs.

Cohan will hold out for a premium as long as he can. I think he'll sell when circumstances force it. He's just enough of an idiot to hold out forever on the premium and then give in when the lockout is just months away and the offer is no longer on the table. Cohan built his empire on lawsuits not acumen, which is reflected in how he's run the team and how he'll sell it. I've spent equal halves of my life in NorCal and SoCal. Little kids are bandwagoners, my first year of really following the NBA closely was the year of the Lakers 33 straight and I got caught up in it. Laker fan ever since.

Legacy - I live in San Jose and while I'm a diehard Laker fan first and always I share season tix for the Dubs, going to the Bugs game tonight. Cohan needs to man up and do what's best for the franchise but that's never been him. Me myself and I always with Cohan. Hopefully the prospect of losses and a lock out convince him to just sell and not try to squeeze every last penny out of Ellison.

Larry Ellison wants to buy the team, but idiot Cohan keeps trying to jack up the price to make a handsome profit out of it and make up for his losses and then some. Ellison will only pay market value, he's not going to pay a premium to give Cohan a golden parachute.

Hey Nissan. No I've been away from LG for a while now. Chicago can move other players but it'll be tough to create 4.2 in cap space. No one gives a last year for Salmons or Hinrich. Thomas is on a rookie deal. Maybe they can do it but it won't be easy at all. If Chicago can't get Wade or Bosh then they can move on to Amare, Boozer, Joe Johnson. In addition they'll still need to move Hinrich just to unload the big K to afford bringing in an impact fa signing. A Laker deal turns Hinrich's 17.5 remaining to Sasha's 5. They get the cap room they need and take expenditures down by over 12M to afford a fa. Houston only deals McGrady if they get a young impact starter out of it, agreed, which takes out Chicago as a suitor. Iguodala fits that bill and Philly is interested. Other possibilities with David West, maybe Rudy Gay, some Warriors or Wiz if they go dumping as rumored. Morey is after young talent, Hinrich really isn't. He's a nice role player on a contender, but away from that context he's too expensive at 9M.

McGrady for Iguodala and change has been discussed. Cavs and Clips are also interested in Iggy so we'll see what happens there. All three deals are based on Philly getting last years and dumping salary to start over. New York likes TMac but insists on Jefferies and/or Curry in the deal so no chance of that. Houston can and will do better than Hinrich and change. They are better off swallowing McGrady's contract than doing that. Chicago has to cut 4.2 Dreamin'. If the Lakers are the only team interested in Hinrich and the Bulls can't get anything else done then Chicago will do it, even with Sasha. Implausible yet possible. Comes down to what alternatives, if any, that the Bulls have as the deadline approaches. TMac isn't a viable option imo, Chicago can't compete.

No chance of that. The owners want a tighter cap not no cap. Only thing in the NFL they want to copy is shorter less guaranteed contracts.

Houston can do much better for McGrady than Hinrich and change though. TMac's huge expiring deal is a big chip. If that chip can get you Iguodala, Gay, Boozer you don't deal for Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise.

Timing couldn't be worse. Bad economy, lower tv money, falling attendance, owners in smaller cities or smaller arenas losing money. Lockout seems practically guaranteed. The owners want shorter contracts with fewer years guaranteed, envious of the NFL flexibility. They want smaller contracts and more of the pie. They want to do away with the MLE, lower the cap and lower the tax threshold. Their entire agenda is about taking away what the players already have, which is a recipe for disaster. About the only thing the owners will give that the players want is more free agent freedom, no more restricted free agency. But if the owners have their way then free agency is no longer a big payday. This is a war over money, so little give and take potential. Owners: "you have too much of our money give it back, and give up long term guaranteed contracts too." Players: "We'll scale back slightly for now in exchange for guaranteed increases in the BRI percentage as the economy recovers but that's it." Where's the room for compromise? There is none. This is about the owners taking their money back from the players. There Will Be Blood.

One of Kupchak's worst decisions. He got played. I don't think a Hinrich deal guarantees a ring but it puts LA back in as favorites. They aren't guaranteed a ring unless 2009 Gasol shows up not 2008 and Bynum starts caring about more than himself.

I don't see the Bulls taking Sasha's contract. It makes no sense to trade your starting SG for a bench warmer and a player who is getting paid $5M to do nothing. They take Sahsa's contract because they still take 4.2M off their cap in the trade, even with Vujasuck in it. 4.2M allows them to shop for Wade and Bosh. If no one else will trade for Hinrich what choice does Chicago have? They have to cut 4.2M, if they can't get to that number with other deals, but they can with LA, then Chicago pulls the trigger. Obviously it is last resort, final option, but if there's no other offers and no other way to clear the cap space they need to shop then they do it. Yes even with Sasha in it. I understand that Buills fans wouldn't want it and Laker fans don't like it cause it means they may not get Hinrich but it's the fiscal reality. Chicago does it to get the cap space they need and Buss insists on it cause there's no way he's adding 9M to next year's payroll. You can't just ignore the money guys. Not this deadline.

Real - LA will only do this if Vujacic is in the deal, otherwise next year's payroll goes up by 9M and Buss pays another 9M in taxes on top of already having the league's highest tax bill. Either Sasha is in it or no trade is made. He's an absolute. Obviously that's not music to Chicago's ears, but they have to cut 4.2 off their cap if they are to shop for Wade, Bosh, etc. in the summer. So the question becomes if Chicago can cut that in other trades, such as a deal involving Salmons for a last year, again good luck as a team adds 5.8 to next year's payroll for Salmons. What it comes down to is if Chicago has any other offers that can cut their cap by the requisite amount. If not, they do the Laker deal. Why? Even with Sasha in it on net the Bulls cut the 4.2M they need to go big game hunting in the summer. Hinrich is a nice player but no one is willing to take on his 17.5M for the next two years and only give last years back. No one is willing to add 9M to next year's payroll. LA may be the only team in the league willing to take on Hinrich's contract. If so, Farmar, Morrison and Sasha for Hinrich and Johnson can happen, but only hours from the deadline. Chicago will wait it out and hope they have other options. If not, the Lakers can get Hinrich and dump Sasha. Win win. Fingers crossed.

Congratulations on five years Brandon. Best of luck with the next five.

Ford - Yeah I haven't seen a Raptors game this year, 18 months sounds about right. When Leo went on his Chuck riffs yikes. He'd say Chuck twice every other play. Really grates after a quarter of that, much less a game. With the Chuck parade and the talking down on the obvious it was pretty brutal. The Laker color guy is Stu Lantz, not one of my favorites even though he's my team. Makes up imaginary conversations, "clear runway 24 for Kobe!" homer rooting. Not good. But since he called the games with Chick he gets icon status. Wouldn't surprise me if Derek Fisher stepped in after he retires. Fish has good knowledge but doesn't shut up.

Celtics - Agreed on Gorman, of the local only guys imo he's the best play by play man, superb knowledge, concise description and sharp commentary. Tommy really knows the game but his homerism is just so over the top. I watched a game once where he whined for five minutes non-stop about an offensive interference call against the C's. Replay finally comes up that shows definitively that the right call was made and Tommy was wrong. Dead air, total silence. Gorman then ribbed Tommy about it and they moved on. Tommy does that sort of thing a lot. Non-stop bellyaching about a call against Boston that was actually the right call. He's the gold standard in homerism. Mike Rice is close though, nauseating.

Worst homers (color) Boston - Heinsohn - unbelievably bad Portland - Rice - absolutely insufferable Milwaukee - McGlockton(?) - yelling "miss it!!!" as Kobe hits a game winner Tough to listen to: Miami (that accent and tude ugh), Toronto (hey Chuck, how much wood can a woodchuck chuck Chuck?), Drexler, Cleveland Worst homers (play by play) Sacramento - Napear - sophomoric whiner Best color Golden State - Barnett New York - Clyde Best play by play Marv Breen Colabro

Thompson shot this rumor down today, cited team sources who emphatically denied that Monta was floated in any trade talks. imo the Warriors are trying to land Boozer.

Derek Fisher David Rivers Mark Landesberger Sasha Vujacic Smush Parker All egomaniacs who thought their talent was far greater than what they can actually do.

And yet Abdenour and Grabow keep their jobs. The Dubs have major injury problems annually yet the guys repsonsible for keeping the players healthy and in body development fail utterly every year.

Farmar has trade value as a last year contract. Few if any teams would want him long term. There's no demand for Vujacic except in a trade where the partner reduces their payroll and creates more cap room in the net of the deal. A Hinrich deal including Vujacic does that. The Bulls save over 4M, which is money they have to create to shop for Wade and Bosh. That's the critical point you're missing here. Chicago has to cut at least 4M and preferably more if they are to have any chance at the impact fa's they want to pursue. They can do it by unloading Salmons, Thomas and Hinrich but who will offer what they want for them? If LA offered just Farmar and Morrison Chicago would take that in a heartbeat, last years for 9M. LA won't because their payroll in 2010-11 goes up 9M without unloading Vujacic. So they insist on Sasha in the deal. Chicago still saves the 4M they need, LA takes Hinrich off the Bulls cap. Bulls only do that trade if they literally have no other offers for Hinrich. At the moment they don't have one. He makes too much. You've ignored that entirely and are exclusively focused on his floor value. Chicago is very unlikely get an offer of just last years for Hinrich because no team in this climate is willing to add 9M to their payroll next year. And becuase of Captain Kirk's high salary getting talent in a deal is also unlikely. I'm not banking on a trade to go down on LA's terms but if they make a Hinrich deal that's what it would be. Chicago could say no but if they get no other deals to knock 4M off their cap they may not have a choice. This deadline it's follow the money Erick not the floor value. Kurt Thomas is a good call but it's tough to match up the money. They wouldn't use Morrison to get him. If Thomas is bought out LA would pursue him otherwise no. I think Josh Boone may be a more viable target since he only makes 2M.