Source: Lakers, Cavaliers working on trade By Sam Amico Feb. 23, 2005 The Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers have been "seriously discussing" a trade that would involve Lakers forward Lamar Odom and Cavaliers guard Damon Jones, an NBA official familiar with the negotiations told ProBasketballNews.com Thursday morning. The teams have until the 3 p.m. Eastern trading deadline to make a deal. "(The Cavs) need help without (injured guard Larry) Hughes, and they really want to get rid of Jones," the source said. "And the Lakers have been trying to shake things up ever since they tried to get for Ron Artest from Indiana two months ago. They know they aren't going anywhere with Odom." The source added that even if the trade falls through today, "Odom will definitely be moved in the off-season." Other players are expected to be included in the deal, although the source refused to name them, saying, "For the purpose of anonymity, I don't want to reveal too much." One name being reported is Anderson Varejao, but the source refused to confirm that the Cavaliers power forward is involved. Cavs general manager Danny Ferry has told reporters that the team might make a move to help ease the loss of Hughes, who will miss at least the rest of the regular season following surgery on a broken finger. Ferry has said the Cavs might make a trade or seek help by signing a minor league player. The Cavs are 32-22 and lead Indiana by three games for the Eastern Conference's fourth playoff seed. They feel All-Star LeBron James has had to carry more than his usual share of the scoring load with Hughes absent. The Lakers are 27-26 and hold the eighth playoff spot in the West, holding a 1 1/2-game edge over Utah. Laker officials admitted they attempted to acquire Artest before he was traded to Sacramento, but were unwilling to part with Odom. "If they could make that (trade with Indiana) today, they would," the source said. "The Lakers probably are regretting that one." He added, "The Lamar Odom experiment has come to an end. The Lakers want to move on." Odom is averaging 14.0 points and grabbing 9.4 rebounds per game through 51 games. http://www.probasketballnews.com/pbnnews_0223.html Odom for Jones? Can't they at least try to get Gooden as well?
It couldn't be that someone was trying to lower Odom's value by using the press, could it? Some team that wanted to trade for Odom? By putting Odom in the same sentence as Damon Jones, that's how you get things done. And some internet guys, so desperate for attention and to be the next Chad Ford, willingly go along with it. "After all," they say, "that's how Chad started." And the last part, actually, is spot on.
Just out of curiousity KD, how'd you get into it? And can you please give Jack McCullum the finger for putting the Rockets in the same category as New York,Atlanta and Charlotte in his latest column, don't any of these guys understand the concept of injuries
I'm not really into it, not as widely read, because I don't fill my stuff with "what if" trade possibilities. For every hour these guys spend on the trade checker, I spend watching game tape. Whether or not that reinforces my already-held stereotypes and bias is up for discussion, but I do know that I learn something new about this league every day. I don't know if these tradeTradeTRADE! guys can say the same. And if it sounds like I'm hosing everyone down with haterade, it's because I am. Anytime you try to get somewhere with NBA people, you're shot back with "ah, one of those internet guys." And some of these writers just string these fans around, the real people that pay their bills, throwing crap against the wall so that more people come to their site -- they just have the lowest opinions of fans, and I know I'm rambling, but it infuriates me. The great bulk of NBA fandom is smarter than me -- I always have that in my frontal lobe when I'm tapping away.
Man, this is gold Ok can you tell me a) how you became a sports writer and b) Which writers i should not read and which ones i should. I already dislike Rosen so maybe start from there
I'll answer the first part when I get a better connection. The second part? Read whoever you want. No right or wrong ones. Seriously. Rosen is quite hatable, but you can learn a lot from him. The best scout with a byline that's out there right now, even if you don't agree with his conclusions, there is still quite a bit to gleam from his missives. I think some of the more underrated scribes out there are Howard Beck, Kevin Pelton, Dave D'Alessandro, and all the bloggers -- Mike from Knickerblogger.net, Kurt from Forum Blue and Gold, Scott from Raptorblog, Tom from SactownRoyalty, Matt from BullsBlog (though he needs to post more), and (even though everyone at his site hates me), Jeff from Celticsblog.com.
Thanks dude, i'll be sure to check them out. Won't be reading Rosen anytime soon though--anyone who puts dream at #6 on an all time center list while Shaq is #3-has no clue. I find him bitter and arrogant. Thanks for the Q&A.
