Trade Deadline 2007
 

One Day Away

NBC should cancel its programming for the next 25 hours, hook a Starbucks-filled IV up to Howie Mandel and get the NBA’s 30 general managers on the set for a special trade deadline edition of Deal or No Deal.

As Bill Simmons says, "I would watch this."

I started scanning through my favorite links to see what trade rumors the sports writers and bloggers are latching onto about one full day before the trade deadline (Thursday at 3 p.m. ET) and my worst fears came true: the only activity is inactivity.

Ken Berger of Newsday writes that the Nets are unlikely to move Jason Kidd and Vince Carter. So much for my visions of J-Kidd feeding Kobe or LeBron on the break and Vince teaming up with Dwight and getting another chance to redeem himself in the playoffs.

Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian reminds us that while in NBA Live it might be easy to swap players, in the real-life NBA the economics of players’ contracts make last-minute deals difficult to pull off.

Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times gives me some hope to see some shakeup and breaks down the potential for the Bulls obtaining Pau Gasol or Zach Randolph, or using the expiring contract of P.J. Brown as a carrot to strike a lesser deal.

The old adage goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” which explains why Paul Coro writes in the Arizona Republic that the Suns won’t make a move unless it’s the, "right fit.”

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune sees John Paxson telling the Banker, "No Deal,” if he was on the show.

So everything looks pretty tame right now, but let's hope it’s just the calm before the storm.

On the Nets

So, we're back in Secaucus after All-Star, trying to get our (weary) heads around all the deadline talk. We'll keep you updated here with everything we come across.

Jeff already chimed in on some of the rumors, mostly involving the Nets. Personally, I wouldn't deal Jason Kidd to LA if Andrew Bynum is not coming back to Jersey. I like Jordan Farmar, but if I already have Marcus Williams, Jordan Farmar doesn't make the deal for me. Heck, the Nets drafted Williams (and Josh Boone) when Jordan Farmar was still on the board. And Jason Kidd is still at the top of his game.

Of course, I can understand why LA wouldn't want to include Bynum either. So, unless a third team is involved, I'm not sure I can see Kidd becoming a Los Angeles Lakers by Thursday.

And any thoughts of Vince Carter being dealt to Orlando might be put to rest by a simple, one-word answer from Magic GM Otis Smith.

From everything I hear and read, the Nets would rather deal Carter than Kidd, but Carter's market value is not nearly that of Kidd. With his contract situation, a Carter deal is far more likely to happen this summer ... and Michael Jordan says the Bobcats will be willing to spend some money.

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