NBA: Where Rumor and Speculation Happens

Despite the trade deadline being over I still like browsing the rumor mills and seeing where people might end up next season. As much as I like following the tightnecked race in the Western Conference, or the bottom-feeder race for the bottom 2 seeds in the Eastern Conference (I mean seriously, look at the teams; 76ers, Nets, and Hawks?), I much enjoy speculating about who might go where and what rumors might end up being true, and then seeing how scary the lineups become. Especially with the depth of this year's free agency (Calderon, Arenas, Maggette, Brand, Jamison) some teams will really have the opportunity to step it up. Here are two teams that think will make some moves:



Portland Trailblazers

Portland has shown that they're a young team with a lot of upside, the only piece they're really missing is a solid veteran PG to lead them. Blazers have shown interest in Toronto's Jose Calderon who becomes a restricted free agent this summer, and should they acquire him, they will have one of the scariest teams in terms of youth, ability, and depth. The Raptors however, have decided that they will try to hold on to Calderon at all costs, and are willing to match any offer made to him. This leaves people to speculate that they likely won't keep TJ Ford. So my take is that if the Blazers don't get Calderon (he stays with the Raptors), they will (or at least should) go for Ford. Ford is a proven guard, and despite being injury prone has shown he can pass and he can score. When they played last season, Ford's stats looked pretty similar to Calderon's. Now assume everything goes right for the Blazers. They waive Darius Miles (the second highest paid player on the roster) because of his injury taking his salary off the books (assuming it's career ending). Let's package something like Channing Frye, Steve Blake, cash, and some picks for Ford. The Blazers end up with one stinking good squad. Starting they have:

PG - TJ Ford

SG - Brandon Roy

SF - Martell Webster

PF - LaMarcus Aldridge

C - Greg Oden

Now with Oden back, let's give him a year or so to ease in and not give him Shaqesque (LA or Orlando Shaq) numbers quite yet, say he just averages 11-12 ppg, 10 rpg, 1-2 apg, 1-2 bpg. It's still a solid squad. For their reserves they have:

Guards: Jarret Jack, Von Wafer, Sergio Rodriguez

Forwards: James Jones, Travis Outlaw

Center: Joel Przybilla, Raef Lafrenz

Maybe the move for an upgrade on backup guards or center, but still they're a stacked team if they land a point.



Golden State Warriors

This team is probably the most fun to watch in the entire league, and the major thing that keeps them from being successful is a big rebounder. Unfortunately, a big rebounder that can run with them is something of a rare commodity. Al Harrington was supposed to be their man in the post but he thrives too much in shooting, and thus Don Nelson seems to have been disenchanted with him. He'll be a major trade piece. Of course the question is whether or not Nellie will play the younger guys. There is a lot of upside to be had with Brandon Wright and Marco Bellinelli, but how that goes remains to be seen. Wright could very well be the big they were looking for. In the meantime, I see them in the market for a Chris Wilcox type character. I don't see any reason that the Sonics really have for keeping the older guys as everything is so Kevin Durant centered now, and Harrington can be a good meld for the Sonics too. The question also remains if Barnes and Pietrus are resigned, but the main thing that they want right now is a big that can run and play alongside Biedrins.