NBA Trade Rumors: Potential Blockbuster Trades Put on Hold by Lockout

With the NBA Locking Out Its Players At Midnight, Fans Brace For Long Offseason Without Big Trades Or Free Agent Signings

A number of adjectives have thus far been tossed around to describe the state of negotiations between the NBA owners and the players, though none of them paint a particularly rosy picture, but rather a decidedly grim one.

At this point, all signs point to a long and arduous stalemate between the two sides in the pursuit of a new collective bargaining agreement, leaving fans, players, coaches and just about anyone with any sort of interest or stake in the NBA in the dark for the foreseeable future.

And it's not just the 2011-12 season that's in jeopardy here, folks, but also the entire offseason, including free agency and summer blockbuster trades, that gets put on hold when no one is playing ball.

There were certainly high hopes for some significant player realignment this summer too, especially with the 2011 NBA Draft being as weak as it was and with everyone gearing up for the future in a league wherein the difference between winning and losing depends on how many superstars you can stash away in one sitting.

Of course, the new rules will likely be designed to curtail the type of talent hoarding that garnered so many headlines for the Miami Heat from July of 2010 all the way through the season until LeBron James and Dwyane Wade coughed up the NBA Finals to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in six games.

So what moves, specifically, will we all be missing out on while lawyers for the owners and players talk dollars at sense across the negotiating table?

Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers

The biggest deal that's immediately taken out of consideration is any that would send Dwight Howard to Los Angeles to join forces with Kobe Bryant and lead the Lakers into their latest dynasty.

The Lakers lacked a certain "je ne sais quoi" this past season, as they put up a paltry defense of their back-to-back titles against the Dallas Mavericks in a four-game sweep that laid bare a bevy of blemishes that had really bogged down the team all year.

Between Kobe Bryant's age, Andrew Bynum's knees and Pau Gasol's lack of a spine, LA showed during Phil Jackson's swan song that while the Lakers may have enough talent and ability to win another NBA title, this group just doesn't seem to have the heart or desire to do so.

Nor do they possess an heir apparent to the Purple and Gold throne of champions to lead the franchise into the future now that it's abundantly clear that Kobe, while still an incredible talent and one of the NBA's premier players at the age of 32, isn't the Alpha and Omega of the team like he used to be.

Adding Dwight Howard, who has declined contract extension offers from the Orlando Magic and has waffled in his support of the team in the past, would make perfect sense for a franchise whose championship success has been built on the shoulders of the some of the NBA's all-time best giants.

Getting a deal done would likely require some combination of the Lakers giving up young but oft-injured center Andrew Bynum and taking back the bloated contract(s) of Gilbert Arenas and/or Hedo Turkoglu.

The Lakers would likely be much more amenable to taking back Turkoglu's deal since it's considerably smaller than Arenas', though Arenas, a Los Angeles native, might be able to jump start his career with a little home cookin'. Should that be the case, LA would likely try to send back the bad deals of either Ron Artest/Metta World Peace or Steve Blake/Haven't-Metta Three Pointer.

Josh Smith to the Orlando Magic

Should Orlando decide to go all in and pray that Dwight Howard decides to stay, GM Otis Smith would do well to explore the possibility of bringing Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith into the mix.

How the Magic would get such a deal done is still something of a mystery, though they would likely have to sacrifice at least one or two of their tradable assets, which include Jameer Nelson and Brandon Bass, while perhaps throwing in a Hedo Turkoglu to make things balance out.

Aside from adding a serious dose of defense to a team that, once upon a time, was one of the NBA's best on that end of the floor, Smith would give Orlando someone to use as bait to keep Howard around, as Howard and Smith are close buddies from back in their younger days growing up in Atlanta and playing for the same summer ball team.

Lamar Odom to the Philadelphia 76ers for Andre Iguodala

In that same event, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will still have a few more tricks up his sleeve to upgrade his team's roster for another title run or two.

There was much chatter ahead of the 2011 NBA Draft that LA was in talks with Philadelphia about swapping Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom for another perennial near-All-Star, Andre Iguodala.

Once the rumors died down, the chatter turned to whether there had ever been trade talks in the first place, with Hoopsworld reporting that Odom didn't want to go to Philly and the New York Postsuggesting that Iguodala's agent, Rob Pelinka, made the whole thing up.

Regardless, the trade still makes a lot of sense for both teams, assuming it's still within the realm of possibility once the curtains come up on the NBA season after the lockout.

In Odom, the Sixers would finally have a veteran presence with championship experience to guide their precocious young roster into contention in the ever-improving Eastern Conference. Iguodala, on the other hand, would give the Lakers another budding star just stepping into his prime who, if given the proper opportunity and motivation, could ostensibly develop into the team's next franchise star, if not simply a stop-gap for the future at the very least. 

Tony Parker to the New York Knicks

The New York Knicks would love a slimmer, trimmer point guard to lead their new-look squad after watching an aging Chauncey Billups sit out a number of games toward the end of the season and into the postseason with injuries.

The Knicks aren't about to go anywhere without some guard play to support Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, and barring a miracle from first-round draft pick Iman Shumpert, they just don't have a strong, viable option at that position going forward.

Of course, fans in New York would love nothing more than to add Chris Paul, who spoke so opulently at Carmelo's wedding about joining up with him and Amar'e in New York to form their own super trio to rival the one down in Miami, but that doesn't figure to materialize anytime soon lest the Knickerbockers experience some sort of personnel windfall.

However, the Knicks may still be within dealing range of Tony Parker, the former NBA Finals MVP whom the San Antonio Spurs reportedly shopped ahead of the NBA Draft before opting to send away his back-up, George Hill, instead.

Should San Antonio GM R.C. Buford decide after the lockout that he's still willing to break up the band and send Parker, who recently told the French media that he thinks the Spurs' dynasty is over, expect New York to be among the first teams on the wire about acquiring his services. 

Chris Paul to Anywhere Outside the Bayou

As unrealistic as it may be for the Knicks to pick up Chris Paul, given the dearth of tradable assets on their roster, they, and pretty much the rest of the league, will likely still inquire as to Paul's availability once the moratorium on contact between players and management has been lifted.

Like Howard, Paul is entering the final year of his deal and has demonstrated tepid support for the New Orleans Hornets in the past. Additionally, once the season does get underway, Paul faces the perilous prospect of playing without David West, the reliable Hornets power forward who opted out of the last year of his deal despite ending last season with a serious knee injury.

The fact that West, who gave up about $8 million to become a free agent, sacrificed so much to get out of town does not bode well for Nawlins' chances of keeping Paul, for whom there would be no shortage of potential suitors once word hits the wire that he's no longer untouchable.