Tyson Chandler of the New Orleans Hornets has been traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Emeka Okafor. Not much going on here but change of scenery. There is no mystery as to what either of these guys brings to the table. Chandler brings rebounds, a little defense, very little offense and an injury risk while Okafor brings rebounds, decent blocks, very little offense and a laziness risk.


This really isn’t much of a big deal unless you own a Chandler or Okafor jersey and you are angry now that they have been traded. Sure the Hornets get rid of an injury risk and the Bobcats get rid of a long contract. But, is there really more to this? There could be.


I don’t care who you are, if you are on the court with Chris Paul, you instantly become a better player. Okafor should benefit the most from this trade. He’ll have a star in Paul to take the spotlight and will have an opportunity to play for a winning team. Larry Brown has questioned Okafor’s desire in the past and believe me, there is no kind of motivation quite like winning. It’s hard for some people to give it their all day in and day out when the only thing it amounts to is a loss at the end of the day.


Chandler’s motivation will have to come from within. He’ll need to prove that he is healthy and can still log a lot of minutes. His numbers should stay around what he averaged last year. But, he’ll have to bump those up if wants to be fantasy relevant.


Okafor will definitely see a boost in his numbers and should be targeted in your fantasy draft. Expect his offensive and defensive numbers to go up. He won’t be a first rounder but he will be a solid option at Center.

Lamar Odom is reportedly entertaining an offer from the Miami Heat to join Dwayne Wade and try to help the Heat return to the NBA Finals. There just seem to be too many problems with this scenario for me to believe that he would actually sign with the Heat.


First, Odom would be taking a pay cut of roughly $9 million. The Heat can only offer him a little above the mid-level exception which would be just below $6 million a year. Where as he already had an offer from the Los Angeles Lakers at $9 million a year for three years that he sat on for too long before the Lakers decided to pull the offer off of the table.


Second, Dwayne Wade may be on his way out the door himself for free agency after next season. He has said that he would sign an extension if the Heat committed to rebuilding toward a Championship, but he would leave if they weren’t able to convince him that they were truly making the effort. Is signing Odom enough for Wade or would he need the Heat to do more? Does Odom want to risk being locked into a contract and be stuck on a team without a bonafide star should Wade choose to leave?


My money is on the Lakers resigning Odom to a contract around 4-5 years for $35-40 million.

Do you think that D-Wade will sign an extension with the Heat or will he test the free-agent market?

Darius- Pensacola, FL

If the money is a competitive offer then I think Dwayne Wade will resign with the Miami Heat. To be honest, I think most players will be forced to resign with their original teams due to salary cap restrictions in the immediate future. LeBron James might be the exception to this due to the fact that every team out there should be willing to pay the luxury tax that would come with signing him.

Did you see Anthony Randolph’s performance in the NBA summer League? Don’t you think he will be a stud this year?

Jerry- San Lorenzo, CA Read the rest of this entry »

It is now becoming clearer and clearer that the only reason the proposed trade of Amare Stoudemire to the Golden State Warriors hasn’t gone through is Amare’s unwillingness to sign a long term deal with the Warriors. I don’t get it. The NBA just announced that the salary cap will probably drop again and throw a huge wrench in the Summer of 2010 free agency frenzy. Why wouldn’t you take the security of a long term contract?


Take into consideration that Amare will be one of many superstar free agents to hit the market with only a few teams able to take on major salary. If the Warriors made the trade and signed Amare to a long term contract, he would almost certainly get the kind of money he would command on the open market. He would also be the focal point of the team for years to come.


I don’t know. Maybe he thinks he can get a better deal somewhere else. I don’t really see that happening though with LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh set to become free agents at the same time. Plus it was just announced that Amare will need another surgery performed on his ailing eye to remove fluid. Take the money and run Amare.

Apparently the Los Angeles Lakers are going to sign Ron Artest and they are going to do it very soon. At least that is what Artest is saying. Artest told cbssports.com “I’m definitely going to L.A. — to sign, yeah, Lakers, Lakers, Lakers. I’m in L.A. right now.” I guess Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom are now free to seek other employers. Artest will be cheaper than the cost of keeping Ariza and Odom but is the savings worth the risk? How will Artest react to L.A.? He will be in the spotlight and that may be a problem for the “charismatic” player.


If Artest can harness his temper (which he was able to do for the Houston Rockets for the most part), he could be on his way to a Championship. Or, he could implode again and be on his way to a trade halfway through the season. This should get very interesting.