Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Cleveland Cavaliers and New Jersey Nets have been discussing a potential trade involving Vince Carter for expiring contracts. Carter, who has two years and $33 million left on his contract, is firmly back on the trading block as ownership deals with the same financial struggles that many other teams around the league are currently experiencing.
Carter would provide the Cavaliers with some much-needed offensive firepower alongside LeBron James and Mo Williams. Always known for his highlight-reel plays and world-class athleticism, Carter has actually become very serviceable on the defensive side of the court. His presence would have undoubtedly helped prevent Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu from torching the Cavs like they did in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In order to complete the deal the Cavaliers would have to include Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic along with J.J. Hickson, while the Nets would have to package someone along with Carter to get the deal to work under the CBA.
For years Cavaliers management has been on the search for a premier swingman to feature alongside LeBron James, but have been unsuccessful. In 2005 James tried to help management by making pitches to Ray Allen and Michael Redd only to see both players re-sign with their respective teams at the time. Instead the franchise settled for Larry Hughes and now currently start Delonte West at shooting guard. Although West had his moments during the 2009 playoffs, he's best suited coming off the bench.
If Carter does indeed end up a Cavalier, don't expect any more big moves to follow as the the Nets would end up with most of Cleveland's tradable assets. From there Cavs GM Danny Ferry would likely only make small tweaks to make sure he has the right group of role players around the core of LeBron, Williams, and Carter.
From the Nets perspective this is definitely a step backward for the time being, but the money it frees up would come in handy down the road. With young talented pieces like Devin Harris (who isn't going anywhere) and Brook Lopez the Nets may be better off rebuilding now around those two rather than struggling to win now with Vince's big contract on the books.
No List in Minnesota
David Kahn, the newly appointed GM of the Timberwolves, is making it clear that he's not going to allow there to be any serious misinformation out there regarding his team. Kahn quickly dismissed trade rumors involving Al Jefferson after reports surfaced about Big Al being involved in a potential swap for Amar'e Stoudemire and now is refuting the claim that Mark Jackson is the top candidate for the head coaching vacancy.
"There's no truth to it," Kahn said to Don Seeholzer of The Pioneer Express. "It's a little bit like the Al Jefferson thing. I guess this is, again I've fallen into my editorial comment of the day. I remember in the old days when you actually would get a call from somebody for a confirmation or denial. These days you don't even get that. It's just a different world."
In fact, Kahn does not even have a list put together of possible candidates to take over on the sidelines, making it impossible for Jackson to be the leader.
"My stance is the same," Kahn said. "No list, no nothing until after the draft is over."
Kahn should be feeling a bit of pressure from his players to bring in a high quality coach. While Kevin McHale left a lot to be desired as a GM, he was actually quite liked by the team. McHale was basically let go by Kahn and team owner Glen Taylor as they did not offer him a contract. The immediate feedback voiced disappointment from many of the Timberwolves players, including Kevin Love and Mark Madsen.
There are several head coaches expected to be on Kahn's list once it's put together, including Mike Fratello and Sam Mitchell. Ideally the future head coach would like to have a say so in whom the Timberwolves select with the 6th overall pick in next week's draft. However, they won't have that luxury and will have to be content with whoever Kahn sees as the best fit.
Rondo Talks Trade
The 2009 playoffs served as a coming out party for the Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo. With his team hobbled by injuries Rondo stepped his game up in a big way during the postseason, putting up astonishing averages of 16 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, and two steals per game. Rondo's performance made his status as one of the league's premier floor generals undeniable, yet somehow his name got involved in trade rumors after the Celtics' season came to an end.
"I don't think much of it," said Rondo on
WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show. "I've been in the gym everyday with the Celtics this off-season and I'm looking forward to doing great things next year, and hopefully trying to win a championship. If the trade happens, it happens. But I think we have a championship team here, and I don't think [a trade] will happen."
Danny Ainge, the team's general manager, had high praise for Rondo after the show he put on this postseason and like David Kahn with Al Jefferson he addressed Rondo personally about the rumors.
"Danny [Ainge] was talking to me and he said, 'You see what happens when you rise above your game in the playoffs. Trade rumors start to happen," revealed Rondo. "It happened years ago with Paul [Pierce], so you never know until it actually goes through."
Trade rumors involving Rondo surfaced because of Rondo's actions off the court rather than on it. On the floor Rondo was incredible, but away from it he's gained a wrap for being stubborn. In Rajon's opinion though that's a strength, not a weakness.
"As far as attitude-wise, I think I can be stubborn which is a great trademark for me because I love to compete so much, I love to win," explained Rajon. I'm always studying the game and I'm a student of the game. At the end of the day (Celtics head coach) Doc (Rivers) and I do have a strong enough relationship where we can talk to each other on and off the court."
Another incident that helped create reason to believe Rajon was possibly on the black was his late arrival for playoff games. This past postseason Rajon showed up for one game just an hour before, a definite cause for concern and borderline rules violation, as players are required to be available to the media 90 minutes before the start of any game. One thing all the greats have in common is their dedication to the game. Kobe Bryant was frequently the first player on the court before prior to every playoff game during the Lakers' championship run. Rondo has good reason in his mind to show up when he does, though.
"People are going to make assumptions, everyone has opinions. I actually do try to come to games as late as possible because I don't like to go inthe locker room and talk and waste time…Different guys have different opinions on why they like to get to the game so early," he said. "Some people may look at it as late but I look at it as just coming to play."
It's hard to link Rondo's tardiness to a lack of work ethic since he's already been in the gym for a couple of weeks in preparation for next season. Rondo may be a bit more difficult to deal with than your average NBA player, but he's improving at a rapid rate and isn't content by his early success in the least bit.
"I want to be the best point guard in the league next season," stated Rondo.
Rondo has a lot of stiff competition for best point guard in the league honors, but he certainly has a case and that's why he won't be wearing anything other than Celtics' green next year.
NBA Chat
Coming up at 1 pm EST I'll be holding my weekly chat. As always basketball questions from all levels are welcomed. I'm going to try to get in there a bit early today to get to as many as I can because there's already a ton of questions. You can get yours in here, with the draft just five days away there's a ton to cover.
