NBA Daily Dribbles: Say It Ain't So, Kryptonate!

Countdown to NBA Trading Deadline: One Week!

What I’m Reading

• Stop the press! Kryptonate might be missing the Dunk Contest!

• Looks like the Warriors won’t be doing much wheelin’ and dealin’ at the deadline, seeing as their blue-chip trade piece is most likely out for the season.

• McGrady Watch: Day 937. Now hearing he might end up in New York via Washington. We have to remember we are in an economic downswing here. There has to be a more fuel-efficient way to get to Madison Square Garden.

• The Bulls might be even bigger players on February 18th than we ever could have thought possible. Well, I guess there’s a pretty decent chance we could have predicted this.

• Is anybody ready for a trip to Wally World ?

What I Think About It

Kryptonate

• I wonder if the only one who could save him is Superman ?

It’s going to be really unfortunate if Nate isn’t involved in the Dunk Contest. He was going for his third title this year—most ever. Not only that, but Spud Webb (Spud Webb! ) was already pinned to be a judge for the competition.

It’s all but a guaranteed win for Nate if he shows. You can bet I’ll be watching this closely as the weekend unfolds.

But, you do know what this means, right?

If Nate can’t compete, there’s an open spot.

LeBron.

That’s all I have to say.

Warriors

• It seems, across the NBA, Anthony Randolph is widely regarded as a blossoming star who has elite status potential. It also seems, across the NBA, Anthony Randolph is a headcase.

A quick Google search for the terms "Anthony Randolph head case" has plenty of hits (over 33,000), so the claim must have some validity, but nothing appears to be major.

Either way, teams were interested in him, regardless of his mental (in)stability.

Now it looks as though interest is about to dwindle, as he’s going to be out for at least the next 30 days while his boot-bound ankle recovery is taking place. Shame, really, as he had been enjoying some pretty productive minutes off the bench recently.

So once again he’ll be stuck in Golden State for another year. We’ll probably revisit the trade rumors around this time next year and the year after that, and then probably the following one, as well.

Basically, for as long as Golden State stinks and Randolph is still considered a prize player, we’re going to be hearing where he might or might not end up. At least for the rest of the season, however, he will be a Warrior.

McGrady

• Yes, we know. McGrady to New York. Got it. But this news about Washington is an interesting turn. Lots of expiring deals in this potential trade.

The Rockets end up with Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood. Pretty decent compared to what they’ve been offered for the past month. Plus Haywood’s contract is expiring and Butler’s isn’t all that unfriendly.

The Knicks, of course, get T-Mac. Might feasibly work, might not. If not, no worries, he’s out of here come April, anyway. But if it does, then they’ve got something here. They can sign him for about a fifth of what he’s making now and still get the same player. How often does that happen?

And the Wiz get at least Al Harrington—another solid player with an expiring deal. They’re rumored to get at least another player and draft pick, as well.

It works for all three teams involved. This is what I like to see.

Now, we might not get to the point where we see this exact deal worked out, but these three teams have gotten as close to a trade as possible from a logistical standpoint, I’d say.

Bulls

• Oh those Baby Bulls. How far they’ve come.

Before reading on, close your eyes and try to think of where the Bulls are in the Eastern Conference standings.

Now look it up. (Or just read the following sentence.)

They are sixth. Surprised?

You probably should be, considering this is the same team that once stood at 10-17 and ready to fire Vinny Del Negro. I do believe the Bulls made the right move in keeping him. Now look where they are. They sit above the jump-start Bobcats and the sorry Heat.

You have no idea how proud I am of myself for predicting, at that low point, they would still make the playoffs. Granted, there’s still plenty of season left, but things are looking good. Excuse me while I gloat.

(…Gloating…)

All right, time to get down to business. The Bulls still have some issues, or really, just one “issue,” Tyrus Thomas. They have to get this guy out of town. Unfortunately, they’re going to have to work some things out to make other teams think they want him.

How do they do this?

Start trading now. Like, in the next few days. They’re still trying to get at least one unique expiring contract when all is said and done, but most likely, they’re going to have to parlay anything they do acquire into a “deal polisher” (as I would say) to ship out along with Thomas. We’ll see what they do over the weekend.

Wally

• There are a few players that I can never get sick of writing about. Wally Szczerbiak is one of these players.

Mainly because no matter what I tend to say about him, I always manage to sneak this into the discussion.

Alright, now that you’ve seen the greatest video clip on the internet, I should probably talk about why Wally is significant right now.

In one of the most ridiculous loopholes in the current CBA (which is to be re-judged in the next negotiations) the “retired” Wally can sign with the Cavs just so they can trade him as an expiring deal to a team that has no intentions of playing him, despite his claims that he is ready and willing.

I don’t buy it, but is it a smart move for the Cavs to make? Of course it is.

Any trades they can make without using their actual players would be beneficial, wouldn’t it?

‘Til Friday…

PD

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