Originally Posted by wohcttank
does any one know what the Cavs, Knicks, and Lakers are in trade talks about? Its an ESPN INSIDER and ha im not an insider
Here's the latest breakdown of which teams might be hoping to make moves before the deadline at 3 p.m. ET Thursday.
New York Knicks
Isiah Thomas continues to say it's unlikely the Knicks will do anything significant before the trade deadline, but chatter around the league suggestsotherwise. Multiple sources say that Miami has interest in
Eddy Curry. The Heat canoffer
Jason Williams' expiring contract in a straight-up deal. Or, if the Knickswant players back, they could try to work in a third team like New Jersey, which is trying to find a new home for
Vince Carter.
If New York does decide to break up the
Zach Randolph-Curry tandem, which directionwill it go in? If the Knicks were to erase Curry's deal from the books, they'd be staring at roughly $15 million to $20 million in cap room in summer2010 -- when
LeBron James & Co. become free agents. If they trade for Carter, theylose that cap flexibility but immediately get a player who could help them make a late playoff push in the East.
If the Nets could work out this deal, and essentially erase Carter from their books, they'd be staring at about $15 million to $20 million in cap roomthis summer. It's a slam dunk for them. As for Miami, Curry isn't a great rebounder or defender, but he can score in the paint and, at 25, still mighthave some upside. If Pat Riley can't get anything out of him … then no one can.
Also of note, it appears that a few teams also have broached the possibility of acquiring
Stephon Marbury if the Knicks are willing to take back a long-term deal. Marbury'scontract expires after next season, and a few GMs say it's possible that a team might be willing to pawn off a bad long-term contract (that of theNuggets'
Nene or
Kenyon Martin, for example) in return for Marbury.
Cleveland Cavaliers
They're still trying desperately to upgrade the team. One league source told ESPN.com that the Cavs are making one last push to try to acquire
Mike Miller and
KyleLowry from the Grizzlies. They don't have much to offer, so to sweeten the pot, they are willing to take back
Brian Cardinal as part of a deal. Memphis has been trying to push him in a deal for a while,but hasn't found any takers on the remaining $13 million left on his contract after this season.
The deal, as described to me by a player agent, would send Miller, Cardinal and Lowry to the Cavaliers for
Ira Newble,
DonyellMarshall,
Shannon Brown,
Cedric Simmons and
DwayneJones along with cash and at least one first-round pick from Cleveland. If the Cavs can pull that off, it would be an immediate upgrade of their roster.But they face stiff competition from a number of teams for the services of Miller and Lowry.
Los Angeles Lakers
Recent speculation that the Lakers might be shopping
Lamar Odom appear to be bogus.Multiple sources said that the plan -- for right now -- is to keep Odom until this summer. For one, the Lakers are worried that, without
Andrew Bynum, they can't afford to lose Odom's rebounding. Two, they want to give thisgroup some time to see whether it can jell. Odom is such an unselfish player, the thinking is that he can become more of a facilitator in the Lakers'offense.
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