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| Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom led the Lakers to a convincing 101-71 victory over the Spurs in Friday's Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Bryant scored 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting while adding five points and five assists, while Odom chipped in with 20 points and 12 boards. |
Our View: The Lakers just barely snuck by the defending champs in the first game of the series, but this one was basically over just after the tip.
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| Leave? Opt out? No way. Todd Rasmasar, agent for Baron Davis, says his client wants to stay with the Warriors, the Ticker reports. The agent was responding to earlier rumors in Newsday saying Davis was looking into his options and thinking about opting out of the final year of his contract. Davis is due to make $17.8 million in 2008-09. |
Our View: Maybe this is just us but walking away from $17.8 million seems like a bad idea, especially when you have a history of notable injuries.
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| Jermaine ONeal can expect a lot of trade rumors to fly around this summer. The first one has already been shot down. Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports there is no truth behind a deal that would send O'Neal to Cleveland in exchange for Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao. |
Our View: The Cavs are desperate to find the right mix of talent to place around LeBron James, and we're never surprised to see trade rumors like these. The Pacers could easily deal O'Neal this summer. Varejao is a nice player, but our guess is that the Pacers would want a younger talent (point guard?) and picks in exchange for O'Neal.
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| There are rumors that Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan has a top-five commitment for the 2008 draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports his sources have disputed those thoughts, but Jordan is apparently a lock for the top-10. The big man has workouts scheduled with the Grizzlies (5), Knicks (6), Bobcats (9), and Pacers (11). |
Our View: Super athletic seven-footers rarely sink too far. Jordan is raw, and he averaged only 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds as a freshman. He needs a lot of work, and while this kid isn't quite as big, we imagine Jordan might have a learned curve that resembles Andrew Bynum.
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| Could the Heat pass on Michael Beasley in favor of O.J. Mayo? Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports the Heat think Mayo would be a good fit alongside Dwyane Wade in the backcourt, and the USC star could be the No. 2 pick if Derrick Rose goes to the Bulls. |
Our View: Call us cynical, but the Heat people may be using Ford to help advance their trade talks with the No. 2 pick. We're not fully certain why they seem to be soured on Beasley. We still have more than a month until the draft. This speculation is fun but possibly premature.
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| Paul Millsap underwent left thumb surgery on Friday, the team announced to the Salt Lake Tribune. The forward will wear a cast for two weeks and expects to be fully healed in six weeks. |
Our View: Millsap has some solid per-48 digits, but he's currently just a nice bench guy for the Jazz. His fantasy value would skyrocket if Carlos Boozer wasn't blocking his path, but that's not the case.
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| Baron Davis is reportedly working to gauge league-wide interest in his services. The point guard can opt out of the final year of his contract this summer. An anonymous source informs Newsday that Davis has looked into the Knicks, amongst other teams. Agent Todd Ramasar previously said Davis would prefer to stay with the Warriors. |
Our View: The Warriors probably can't afford to sign Davis, Andris Biedrins, and Monta Ellis all to long-term deals, and it makes some sense that Baron would see the writing on the wall. We'll obviously follow the story once the markets heat up after the postseason.
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| Trade rumors will swirl around Josh Howard all summer, but it sounds like the forward would prefer to stay in Dallas. "After spending every day the last week with him, it's clear to me that Josh knows that this is a critical summer for him," head coach Rick Carlisle informs the Dallas Morning News. "He understands he's made some mistakes. And I made it clear to him that trust has to be earned... He told me that it's very important to him to stay a Dallas Maverick. He also understands his name is going to be out there with speculation and rumors." |
Our View: Howard is going to continue to get hammered in the local media for his actions and comments during the playoffs, but he is still a rising star and good complement to Dirk Nowitzki. It seems like they'd be better off letting Carlisle diffuse the pressure and keeping Josh around.
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| Devin Harris isn't immune to the recent rumors which suggest he could be part of a package that could land Carmelo Anthony in New Jersey. "I heard some rumors. I'm curious. You've got to figure we're going to do something, whether it's a big monster deal or changing some of our role players," Harris tells the New York Post. "I think it's more retooling, but it is the NBA, things happen every summer." |
Our View: We'd agree that the Nets seem more like a team in need of smaller moves, not huge trades. Plus, Harris looks like he could be a pretty good point guard and a future building block.
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| The Bulls interviewed Dwane Casey on Thursday and will meet with Jeff Hornacek on Friday about their head coach opening, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Tyrone Corbin came in on Wednesday, and future interviews could include John Lucas, Avery Johnson, Chuck Person, and Tom Thibodeau. |
Our View: GM John Paxson appears to have quite the lengthy list. We'll let you know when someone emerges as the favorite.
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