Good find of Dick Justice blog. My feeling is that Cousins is the most likely possibility (though all of them are unlikely) because the Rockets and the Kings have that kind of relationship and because the Rockets seems like the kind of team to take a chance on DeMarcus "The Black Ron Artest" Cousins.
Wow if Fox 26 is reporting this then it's legit, not that Woj isn't credible. On the Suns, they have had a really though shcedule thus far and with the Rockets about to enter January with a hell of a schedule, it's good to see the front office being proactive in trying to acquire talent to the team.
Wow lots of possibilities here. I like the idea of Rashard Lewis and the Wizards #1 pick. They have a great nucleus and have a superstar in Wall. Just need him healthy to contend. They have been in salary dumping mode flipping Arenas for Lewis, (shorter contract) and could finish the job by sacrificing a top pick. We would get Lewis for 3 years and a Kyrie Irving hopefully. Lewis has the Houston roots and would fit in well here. Like Drexler took awhile but he ends up home. I also like Gerald Wallace as the Bobcats are in save $$ mode. Wish we could do both deals and flip Battier and Jeffries for him. Need to add Brooks to these deals and end up with a big man. Maybe a three way deal where we land Okafor and Wallace dumping Bud, Brooks, Jeffries, and Battier. Irving/Lowry Martin/Lee Wallace/Lewis/Williams Scola/Hill Okafor/Hayes Eh something like that. I also think Yao for Nash/Gortat makes a lot of sense but only if you can flip Brooks and expirings for a Wallace or Iggy. If Vince Carter has shut it down then Phoenix is in complete rebuild mode. Their owner has always been a cheapo dumping late first round picks for cash. Nash/Lowry Martin/Lee Wallace/Williams Scola/Hill Gortat/Hayes Fun to think about...
Yao for Samuel dalembert Get rockets under the luxury tax and get a center that could rebound and block shots. Kings save about 4 million after the insurance money. They are developing cousins so they don't really need dalembert. Win win for both teams.
The NBA owns them but the league, I think, appointed people to operate it as an indepdent team separate from the "league business." The people operating the team are likely charged with the ability to make deals, a budget, and the directive that such deals maximize the value of the team.
Woj (Yahoo!): Pretty credible. Berman (Fox 26): Pretty credible. Richard Justice (Chronicle): Full of crap most of the time. I'm not saying that Justice's information is 100% wrong, but I'd take it with an entire Morton's factory full of salt.
http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2010/12/trade_yao_its_one_of_several_o_1.html Jonathan Feigen:Trade Yao? It's one of several options for a team looking to make moves
So, Feigan and Justice both write blogs about it, denying anything is happening soon. Hmmm.. http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2010/12/trade_yao_its_one_of_several_o_1.html
Yay now maybe all the children will shut up about Yao and the Chinese $$$$ which every team in the league gets nowadays.
I bet 100% Yao is involved in all of this trade discussion. His expiring contract as a trade asset is very valuable for a team that wants to get out of a bad contract like an Elton Brand. ANd at the same time we can sign Yao back with or MLE or some other exception. I am convinced Yao is in on this and wants to help Houston improve. This is the best way and Morey and Yao know it. Mark my words if this goes down Yao will be back.
I guess the reason I asked is because one of the reports named the Chris Paul as someone Morey would want to go after. I would imagine that since the NBA owns the Hornets, their management would be risk averse. Trading away Paul would effectively make them a lottery team for the foreseeable future, and the subsequent scrutiny and/or perception of the NBA ruining a franchise is something I'd think they'd prefer avoiding. Based on their ownership model, isnt it in the NBA's best interest to try to keep the situation status quo for the Hornets until they're able to transition the team to another owner?
