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To be fair, Nash wasn't a two-time MVP when he originally signed with PHX. If he was, I doubt Cuban would have let him walk for nothing. And Billups was a journeyman guard looking for a place to start when he signed with Detroit.

Seriously. One of the easiest fixes are eliminating sign and trades. Either take the most money with the team you're on, or take less and sign somewhere else. I don't think you really need to contract teams. Teams are bad not because they're a small market team but because they're poorly run. If you have inept people in the front office, you're going to be horrible. Minnesota had a Hall of Fame big man for over a decade and couldn't put a decent team around him. You don't need FA to build teams. You plug holes via FA, you build teams through the draft and making smart trades. But if they do contract someone, please get rid of the Clippers....or at least send them somewhere else. Like Alaska.

He'd be a nice get for Chicago. Solid shooter, solid defender, averaged over 11ppg the past two seasons. He just got lost in LAC's rotation with the signings of Foye, Gomes, and drafting Aminu. He's definately better than Bogans, so he should get solid minutes.

A lot of factors go into a decision, not just seeding. A team like the Grizzlies would probably rather make the playoffs. They have nice pieces on the team, they probably would want some post-season experience. Plus, even if they miss, they're stuck at 14. It would take damn near a miracle to get a top 3 pick. Plus, I'm sure the owner would want the revenue that two-playoff home games would bring. And I don't think they'd be an easy out. I don't think they could beat the Spurs, but they won't roll over either. The Pacers on the other hand, they probably would benefit. from getting into the lottery. I don't even think they'd make a good practice squad for the Celtics in the 1st round and if they miss the playoffs, they'd almost surely have the 11th pick. So they can, theoretically, get the 11th best player in the draft which would be good on a team that doesn't really attract FAs unless they overpay. Or they can trade it and could get better value that if they made the playoffs and traded the 15th pick. I personally would rather win and make the playoffs because I feel that if you do a good job scouting, you can find great talent anywhere in the draft. But there are benefits to tanking: Spurs would have never gotten Duncan, Cavs would never have got LBJ, Boston wouldn't have gottent he piece to trade for Allen.

Pryz would be great if he accepts the fact he'll get little PT unless there's an injury to one of LA's bigs. He'd be an amazing insurance policy on the bench. But I think he can get more PT somewhere else, like Boston now that they lost Perkins or be Dwight's backup in Orl. Bibby, pass. Defense is bad enough at the PG, don't need him to make it worse. Fisher is a turnstile but at least he's scrappy and will make a hustle play or two in the playoffs. If Payton was the Glove, Bibby is the Cape because he's always behind his man. Ford, I don't think would get any PT, but as an insurance third PG he'd be good. He's still quick and can create unlike our other two lead guards. I wouldn't be opposed to getting him. Leon Powe is a solid rebounder, energy big. LA has lacked that since Turiaf left. We don't have any energy guys since Barnes went down. I think two guys LA might consider if they are waived are Jason Kapono and Jared Jeffries. Jeffries is a versatile as he can defend 3 positions. Kapono could space the floor and provide a legit outside thread, he can't defend but that hasn't stopped Walton from getting minutes. Plus it's easier to hide bad defense at the 3 than at the 1. I think anyone LA gets will fit a need, but I don't expect major playing time unless there's an injury. But it's a smart move to try to plug whatever weakness the team has instead of just standing pat.

These were the dark ages of Lakers basketball. I mean, seriously, we had Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, and Luke Walton as starters, and Brian Cook was getting meaningful minutes. It doesn't get any worse than that. I was ready to jump all over most of these deals. LA was wanting to get Antonio Daniels as well which I was in favor of (and Banks too), just so Smush wouldn't start anymore. I was even wanting JO for LO/Bynum when it looked like Kobe was demanding a trade. That was out of sheer desperation since I don't think anyone would have ever believed at the time the the Grizz would trade Gasol for Kwame and scraps. So glad things have changed. Although Fisher still sucks and we need a PG to carry us through the season until Fish decides to hit a big shot in the playoffs.

He'll help build the Nets new arena brick by brick.

Even better deal for LA. Dump Vujabrick and a late 1st. Get an insurance big man, two second-round picks (one which might be in the 30s), the rights to another prospect, and still have a Trade X to acquire another player if they want. Nice. Like getting GS's pick especially since the Lakers are decent at picking in the 2nd round: Ebanks, Caracter, Turiaf, Wafer, Gasol. The money they save by dumping Sasha will possibly go to re-signing Brown and Barnes. Mitch waives his magic wand again.

TONS of guys go play overseas. It's mind-boggling to me. There are leagues everywhere. I personally know three guys I went to school with who ended up playing in Holland, Finland, and Japan. They're not making a lot of money like players in Spain or Italy or one of the other big name teams like Moscow or Olympiakos but I guess they make enough to still want to play basketball rather than get a real job. There are just so many leagues in damn near every country. You can find American players playing pro in Europe, Iran, China, Japan, Phillippines, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Australia. Hell, there are guys playing in El Salvador in HS gyms where there are more players on one team than fans watching. Granted these guys are scrubs from D2 or D3 or even JC playing there, but they get paid to play ball. Personally, if my hoop dream to me to El Salvador, I'd snap out of it and and find another job since the basketball gods are pretty much letting me know the NBA will never happen for me.

I personally have no sympathy for the owners in this. No one is forcing them to overpay to get mediocre players. They complain about player's salaries but no one points a gun to their head telling them to give Drew Gooden 32 million, Amir Johnson 34 million, Luke Walton 30 million, etc. Owners are their own worst enemies. Mike Conly is a good PG, not worth 9 mil a year and Memphis would have been better off matching an offer sheet than outbidding themselves. As for the CBA negotiations, both sides are so far apart I fully expect a lockout. Stern wants a whole new system while the players just want to tweak the current one. Personally, I like the current system but clearly needs to be tweaked. I think the players own the ultimate trump card if they decertify the union. No more salary cap, no more age limits, no more maximum roster sizes, no more draft. It's not what will be best for the league, but it would be fun to see Stern lose his [expletive] if it happens.

Don't like having to trade a 1st rounder to dump Sasha, but the fact Vujacrap won't be on the team anymore is addition by subtraction. The guy just flat out sucks. He had a 6-month stretch where he was solid and then went back to being terrible. Joe Smith is just a big body, which LA needs since you can't trust Bynum staying healthy. Even if he's older than dirt, I'd rather have him than Vujabrick. This is big as far as savings for Buss. He's not a multi-billionaire like other GMs who have businesses outside the franchise. Buss's primary source of income is the Lakers, so shedding salary is huge for him. Buss is saving close to 10 million by trading Sasha. Money that he needs to save to possibly re-sign Shannon Brown. They also pick up a trade exception, which can be more valuable than an expiring, if they want to make another deal.