I think the Knicks should just clean out altogether and start from scratch even if it means losing some of their young guys. Then in the summer offer LeBron the chance to pick his own team (including another max free agent).

To do so they'd have to move Curry and Jeffries which wouldn't be easy but surely someone like Minnesota would take on Curry if they also got Gallinari. They have to wait another year anyway for Rubio to be useful (to play or be traded). And surely some other team would take on Jeffries if they got Hill or Chandler with him. NY would cop some flack for trading away their lottery picks but I think it has to be all or nothing.

I'd say Bosh will stay put unless Toronto get similar in return (the Bynum deal is the only thing that would be close that I have heard of).

Amare might go though - it would be good to see him at the Nets although I'm not sure who Phoenix would want from that lot (aside from Lopex who wont be going anywhere).

There is also lots of talk about Iguodala being available so it will be interesting to see who goes after him.

Could be an interesting couple of weeks.

Heard of the spurs looking at Amare Stoudamire but not Bynum...

Be interesting to see if the Spurs would trade away a franchise legend and future hall-of-famer and the fallout around that..

Actually, I'd really like to see an attempt at the Bynum/Duncan trade as Bynum is a BYC player.

It couldn't be a straight swap as the salaries don't meet up. Would take something like Bynum, Odom and Morrison to make the numbers add up.

Maybe the Spurs do that. Bynum and Odom for an aging powerforward isn't that bad of a deal. Not sure the Lakers would do it.

Lakers would be crazy to do that. Bynum is giving similar production at the moment anyway, and the Lakers are in as good form as last season. What would the Lakers motivation be?

That means the Lakers are would strongly consider the offer - question remains, why would they consider?

You suck at maths - it means there's a 75% chance of the Lakers accepting the deal if offered.

Thanks Lachie - my point exactly!

I dont think this is a good idea by the Spurs, they didnt do it with David Robinson. I understand its different because they dont have a #1 pick, but its no way to treat a champion of the game and the reason your club has won 4 Championships.

They still have a reasonable nucleus. I like what McDeyss brings to the team, as well as Blair and even Mason Jr. Not sold on the RJ move, I thought it would be a good fit, but he just cant bring it consistently.

Not sure a Bynum swap addresses their issues. Duncan is still performing at a really high level, and their backup bigs arent too bad. The main problem is lack of depth at swingman and PG. Getting Bynum just makes this team worse, with an aging 2 Guard, an injured PG, and a misfit in RJ.

Keep Duncan. Ride it to the end....

Crazy move for the Lakers. I can understand the Bosh rumour because he is younger but Duncan has 1 or 2 years at the most while Kobe and Gasol have at least 3 to 4 years left. I guess if they are after only one more championship (this year) then it would work but if they keep Bynum they have a chance at 3 or four more IMO.

Houston will have to move McGrady somewhere, but I haven't heard any decent rumours there?? They can't let him rot for a whole season, surely.

Hinrich will have to move... they need to clear more room for Lebron, whether he is coming or not. They will hold off until as close to the deadline as possible for the best deal.

Yeah that Duncan trade would just not happen. There is no incentive for the Lakers to do it. And yes, your percentages dont make sense. Apparently your source inside the Spurs doesn't count so good.

The new rumour today is the Celtics are shopping Ray, but not really finding any good deals.

Amare has already started dropping his head... must know he is getting traded. Didn't even play in the fourth quarter the last game...

Antawn Jamison to the Cavs for the Big Z.
Amare will be traded so they can get rid of the $17 million they will have to pay him next season when he takes up his final year option, but where...Miami???
I heard Heinrich may be traded to the Lakers, but I don't know who for.
Igoudala definitely up for trade, especially as his numbers slowly dwindle.
I reckon teams like Utah and Toronto will make a move on Boozer and Bosh respectively so they don't miss out next year when they become free agents.
I think one of the big names like Bosh will end up in Houston for a T Mac trade. Houston are saying they will take the risk and trade for Bosh and hopefully he will fall in love with Houston and decide to stay.
Plenty will happen over the nest 2 and a bit weeks.

Hinrich and Thomas for Ray Ray is one I read earlier. Like the offensive pick up, but don't really want to lose our best defender on the ball.

TR, what are your thoughts on that one?

It will be interesting to see how the free agency plays out and the pecking order. Will guys like Joe Johnson have to wait until LeBron and Wade announce where they are going? How does Chicago, for instance, play it - surely their priorities would be James, Wade, Bosh then Johnson. But what if they miss out on the first couple and in hte mean time someone else stiches up Johnson and they end up with nothing?

Yeah it will be interesting... Will Lebron wait for the draft? Could make the Nets or Utah or whoever lucks into Wall more attractive. I agree with Simmons, I think the Bulls are looking good if they can clear space.

On the Ray for Thomas/Hinrich, the salaries wouldn't quite match, Chicago would have to chuck in someone else... I also heard that Celtics were trying to get a decent shooting guard though, plus some expirings back. Tall order, not many decent SG around. Might work if they got Salmons too? But then that's probably too much for the Bulls to give up for just an expiring contract.

I can't see the Bulls offloading too many players for Ray Allan, since depth is already one of their biggest issues, even after bringing in Devin Brown. They've been terrible with even 1 injury all year. I also think they are much more likely to try and dump Salmons for guaranteed expirings (say McGrady), potentially using TT and/or Jerome James to fill out numbers.

They only need to lose Salmons potential opt in and renounce Tyrus to have the cash for a FA if the cap ends up at the estimated 55-56 mill or so.

Also I believe their order would be James, Bosh, Wade, Johnson.
James is a no brainer, and Bosh fits better with Rose, who duplicates a lot of Wade's skill set, whilst neither is a great outside shooter and both need the ball a lot to be effective.

The Boozer situation is interesting to me. He has declared he wants to stay this season, but the jazz have no chance of signing him at seasons end, even if they pull off a championship. They simply don't have the cap room with so much tied up with Milsap, Mile, Okur and the big drain of the AK47....

AK is the one the jazz would be shopping hard, but who is gonna touch that contract!!!???

Jazz have a chance to win it all this year (slim, but its there) and that chance goes if we trade Boozer coz we'll only get spare parts for him. But for the franchise view, he is gone at seasons end and we get nothing in return besides cap relief. That is most likely the way it will pan out i reckon. I guess it frees up minutes for Milsap and AK to be our main men at the 4. Not so bad if they weren't all such injury bugs...

Quagmire, I don't think it's as bad as what you think. Millsap has proven to be a star in the making and again has showed this over the last couple of games, so to trade him off wouldn't leave that much of a hole. If they could get someone like a Ray Allen for example they would be better. They tried to do this 2 years ago when they picked up Kyle Korver, but he turned out to be a hack, so they really could do with a solid SG who can play defence.

Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas for Ray Ray... Interesting, but I'd pass.

Can Hinrich play SG consistently is the big question. Chicago do it purely for a salary dump as Ray is a 19.7 million dollar jackpot. If that trade goes down, the Celtics will have to move Big Baby. Thomas will eat into Baby's backup time. We all know Baby will end up crying on the bench again.

I can also see Washington getting in on Ray. With the Arenas turmoil, they are openly rebuilding and there are no untouchable contracts. Maybe something like Caron Butler + Mike Miller for Ray.

The other story I've heard is Ray and Sheed going to the 76ers for Iggy and either Brand or Dalembert. Iggy is the bait to get rid of Brand or Dalembert. The difficulty is that I can't see two conference rivals making a trade like that. When AI was having difficulties in Philly and before he was traded to Denver, Boston offered them Al Jefferson in a trade. Philly rejected it...

I've read that Joe Johnston is real keen on moving to the Bulls, and I think that if Miami can swing the Bosh deal then Wade will stay pat freeing up max money for Joe. I personally think Lebron will remain in Cleveland and Wade will stay in Miami if they can grab Bosh.

The rush is going to be on the 2nd tier guys like Boozer, Stoudamire and Joe Johnston.

Good point TR, i think with the LeBron stakes, he will definately be the last free agent signed. He and Wade will sit pat and see which team signs Bosh.

Bosh is the most critical free agent in the mix because teamed with another star of the Wade or LBJ ilk, dynasty.

Also- regarding Boozer, i'm just going to be so sad to see him leave the jazz at the end of the year. We have no chance to resign him and every time i see the jazz play i can't help but love the way Boozer goes to work on the court, and the way he celebrates with his teamates.

Seems the jazz have finally figured that AK starting means wins, 9-1 since his return. The problem is that when the finals come around, the jazz just can't play AK and Brewer on a wing and expect Boozer or Williams to have any space inside. Dudes can't hit the trey.

How about Portland - any chance they can wok something out with Washington to get Haywood?

TR, I remember the rumours that the Celtics wanted AI very well, but I never heard that it was Jefferson for AI. I was mad enough that Ainge was considering AI, let alone if it was Big Al for him! Do remember where you heard that?

The Duncan for Bynum rumour is interesting, but I seriously doubt that would happen. No reason for Lakers to disrupt a contending team for an old rival past his prime. For the Spurs, it wouldn't look good sending the best player in the team's history to their arch rival, when the guy they're getting back isn't going to turn anything around.

There's been a LOT of trade ideas thrown around about Ray Allen recently and I think it likely that Ainge is seeing what he can get.

The Celtics are too far over the cap to sign a major new FA even with Ray's salary off the books, so the only way to get a quality player is to trade his contract.

In terms of pure talent, probably the best rumour with some credence is Ray for Monta Ellis plus say Maggette or, more likely, Vlad Rad and Morrow or Azubuike. Optimisits like to include Randolph but I don't think even GS are that crazy!

While a great deal talent-wise, a Monta and Rondo backcourt is not a great fit as neither shoots that well from range and both need the ball in their hands. In the end, could Ellis learn to play off the ball and become a good jump shooter?

I like the Bulls trade possibilities too. Any two of Hinrich, Salmons and Thomas would be very useful for the Celtics. This is even moreso now because of Pierce's injury. In the end, this will only happen if the Bulls feel they need to get further under the cap next year.

Kevin Martin has been mentioned as a trade option too, but although he is a good scorer, I just don't think he has the mobility to handle the quicker SG's that are giving the Celtics problems now (I'm talking about you Jamal Crawford).

Speaking of which, did anyone see the recent Lakers-Celtics game? Both Ray and Tony Allen defended Kobe exceptionally well. I think its interesting that they did a much better job on him than they do on guys like Crawford or Gordon!

So, who wants a Kobe stopper in the West for one season? :-)

I think the difference with the Celtics guarding Kobe is that their awesome rotations allow the Allens just to play Kobe for the jump shot rather than worry about containing him for the drive as well. Kobe doesn't go inside as much anymoreand even less against the Celtics - Ray and Tony use that to their advantage and stay close on the jump shot

It can't just be the rotations, because the Celtics used the same rotations on the Hawks, but Crawford was able to get free for a shot all the time.

I think theres a couple of factors in play. One is just speed. Crawford is quicker than Kobe and can therefore beat the rotation more often.

I'd have to watch both games again to be sure, but I reckon the other difference is the fact that Crawford shares a backcourt with Johnson, whereas Kobe only has Fisher. The Celtics often leave Fisher open to pressure Kobe and hope to run him off the shot if he gets it. Do that with Johnson and he'll be straight by you and to the basket for a foul at the very least!

It must be good to be a Hawks fan right now!

Just while I'm thinking of the Hawks... No-one talks about them unless its to propose trades of Johnson.

I know they've had cheap ownership for years, but just suppose they made a run at Bosh now!

Provided they are willing to spend about $5-10 mill more next year than they did this year, they could trade Horford, Marv Williams and Evans for Bosh and then resign Johnson to a max contract in the off season (assuming they retain his Bird rights).

If Toronto does fear losing Bosh, they might think that is a pretty good compensation package. Horford is the tough guy they need to defend the middle and compensate for the finesse games of Bargnani and Turk. Williams is a nice bonus with some upside and Evan is just filler.

Meanwhile, imagine the Hawks? The only thing they lack is a post-up guy for the grind it out half court games. Bosh would be that guy. He'd also draw double teams and open things up for Johnson, Crawford and Bibby on the perimeter.

Even better for the Hawks, they still have Zaza, who can play the bigger centres while Bosh plays PF. Imagine Zaza carving out space in the middle with Josh Smith and Bosh cleaning up all the rebounds!!!

That would be an awesome team right there. Couple of good FA signings to round out the bench and the Hawks are loaded to compete for the title for 4-5 years!

Anyone think that the recent play of George Hill might make Tony Parker a nice piece of trade bait before the deadline? I think Hill is going to be a star, Parker has had some injury issues and has most likely peaked.

Who would want Parker, and what could they offer? Quagmore, TR, LC? Any ideas?

Parker suits the spurs so well..... and he ain't that old that you would move him for that reason.

The spurs really need to get a free agent this or next summer, a big one that will let the walking poo play well within himself and extend his career.

RJ has not worked.

Imagine Boozer on that spurs team, helping with boards and boxing out while Timmy blocks shots. He would take so much of a load of Timmy, being able to play the pick n rolls with Parker....scary thought.

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