Chris Sheridan

  (3:00 PM)

Good afternoon fron New York, where I have returned after attending yesterday's Magic-Celtics game in Boston. Rather than spend the night, I drove home after Orlando's massacre and had the pleasure of listening, yes listening, to the Super Bowl on the radio, with Marv Albert doing play-by-play and Boomer Esiason on color commentary. Haven't heard Marv do a football game in years, but the guy remains the best in the biz -- and he's at his best on radio when he needs to pain a picture in the listener's mind, which he always does. Boomer was apoplectic that the Saints' two-point conversion in the 4th should not have counted because the receiver lost control of the ball before hitting the ground after crossing the plane of the goal line. He even read from the official NFL rule book twice. But that is all the football talk you'll get out of me. Any and all things NBA related are open for discussion, and I will try to take a couple of extra labor questions now that that storm is finally brewing with the owners having make their first formal CBA proposal to the players. So off we go ...

Chuck (Erie, PA)

Think the Sixers actually pull the trigger on a deal come trade deadline or stand pat and wait til the offseason?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:04 PM)

Well, chuck, Marc Stein was all over the Sixers-Suns trade scenario in his TrueHoop post yesterday about a Stoudemire-Richardson for Iguodala-Dalembert deal, which is a trade that makes sense from Philly's perspective, as I see it. The big thing for the 76ers that hasn't been mentioned a lot is how many game-winning, last-second shots he has missed this year. Iggy missed the night I was down there for Iverson's first game back with the Sixers, and the other night I watched on TV as he went to the line with 1 second left and the Sixers down one, made the first and then missed the second. They are paying him all that money to come through in the clutch, and he hasn't been. Also, Ed Snider's disgust with Sammy D's contract has been well-chronicled over the years, so I could see Philly doing that one.

Mo (Detroit, MI)

Do you think the CBA proposal by the league is them drawing a line in the sand and willing to lockout the players for an entire season, or is this the league's standard negotiation ploy and will we see a CBA thats closer to the current one?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:10 PM)

I think they are following the standard owners' negotiating formula, whih they have been using for decades: Ask for the moon, the stars, the sun and the wind, and then settle for as much of that as they can get. The players are quite upset that the owners reached for so much (see my news story from yesterday in which union VP called the proposal "ludicrous"), and I bliev the owners' heavy-handed initial approach is going to have the effect of grinding the process to a halt for at least a year. That's right: A year. Makes no sense for the players to make a counter to a bad proposal in such a bad economic environment when they can wait 12 months to see how the overall landscape has changed, both from a broad economic vview and from an NBA view. If there is a ton of superstar player movement this summer, the NBA is going to be a whole different animal a year from now, and the owners' willingness to risk shutting it down may have changed.

ChuckTee (Cleveland, OH)

Why is LeBron hair line fading quicker than the Lakers chance of repeating? On serious note why doesn't everyone quit with the Trade talk with Cavaliers!! They have the best record, O yea this all seems to familiar (12 months ago) I here all the Andre Iguodala, Stoudemire and Antawn Jamison talk but theres no way a trade that has been talked about for weeks actually goes down is it? I'm thinking Ferry will go for a big splash or stand pat (Bosh) what do you think? (RCF Member)

Chris Sheridan

  (3:14 PM)

The Jamison talk has the most legs because that is the guy LeBron has told management he wants them to go try and get. Ferry is usually active at the deadline, and I think he knows in his heart of harts that he does not have enough to get past the Lakers in a seven-game series unless he can get another big that'll stretch the defense, negate the Lakers' length advantage and open things up a lottle more for LeBron. I think the cavs believe they can get past anybody in the East with what they already have.

Oliver (NY)

I am a Laker fan, but seriously, not taking Hinrich is a MISTAKE. Cleveland looks like the frontrunner to win it all. Hinrich is THE perfect triangle and Laker pg. Do you really think Buss will pass on a giant increase in odds to win it all for the money saved ?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:18 PM)

You are assuming the Bulls are ready to pull the trigger on that reported deal (Hinrich-Morrison), which they are not. I think if they can do a McGrady deal in which they clear Salmons/TyThomas along with Hinrich to clear toom for a second max free agent, that's the more preferable route. And regarding the Lakers, I think they are of the same mind as the Celtics: They will make a no-brainer deal, but they won't take on unnecessary risk or money when they know there will be a lot of players taking buyouts between Feb. 19 and March 1 who will then be begging for spots on those two rosters.

Brian (Boston, MA)

I was at the Celtics-Magic game yesterday as well(I am a season-ticket holder). My question is with this team constructed as they are now, an ailing Garnett, ice-cold Ray Allen, out-of-shape Wallace and no back up point guard capable of running the offense, shouldnt the C's make a move if they are not gonig to re-sign Ray. Also, what was up with the non-calls on Howard in the 4th. The Celts deserved to lose and I am not blaming the refs for their loss at all, but seriously what was up with those calls. He bumped Allen in mid-air and also went over-the-back on Garnett. They seemed dead-set on not giving D-12 his sixth foul.

Chris Sheridan

  (3:26 PM)

When Stan Van Gundy left Dwight in midway through the third after he picked up his fourth foul, it was almost like Stan was daring the refs to call No. 5, and they didn't until a little past the midpoint of the fourth. And by then, the game was more or less settled. On your How to Fix the Celtics question, it's a matter of what they can get back in a Ray Allen trade from a team looking to clear space. Question for Celtics fans (and I am only posing this purely hypothetical question because I saw Rasheed's agent, Bill Strickland, chatting with Donnie Walsh at MSG the other night.) If you were Danny Ainge, would you trade Rasheed and Marquis Daniels to the Knicks for Nate Robinson, Jared Jeffries and Jordan Hill?

Lior (Houston)

Does the earlier mentioned Suns/Sixers trade make the Suns better? Short term? Long Term?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:29 PM)

In my estimation, no. Philly would probably have to throw in a No. 1 pick, and the Suns really want a No. 1 pick in this draft (OKC has the rights to theirs from the Kurt Thomas salary dump of three years ago).

Ron (Baltimore)

If David Lee stays with the Knicks, and they pick up an all-star like Lebron or Bosh this off-season, are they contenders again in the east?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:30 PM)

The team that gets LeBron immediately becomes the favorite to win the East.

Evan (Portland, OR)

The Wizards are greedy. Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake should be more than enough to bring Haywood to Portland. On top of more cap relief, those two players fill needs for Washington. What gives?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:34 PM)

Washington wants Rudy Fernandez in a Haywood deal, and the Blazers haven't been willing to trade Rudy because owner Paul Allen thinks he'll be an All-Star one day. But if it gets to the 11th hour and all the Wiz can get is Blake/Outlaw, I think they'd probably do it.

Angry in Cleveland (Ohio)

Sheridan, your comments never fail to amaze me. "Whatever team gets LeBron becomes the favorite to win the East". This is yet another clear attempt by you to undermine the Cavs success. In case you haven't noticed, the Heat have a player almost on the same level as Lebron, and they have been a non-contender for 3 years. Unless, of course, you think having Lebron over Wade makes a 20+ game difference.... Your thoughts?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:37 PM)

LeBron is twice the player that DWade is. And as for undermining the Cavs success, what's that all about? As always, I am taking a wait-and-see approach regarding all things LeBron, and I still believe the team's success THIS season will be a major, major factor in what he decides to do. So chill.

Tim (SLC)

Kaman is named as an all-star reserve to replace Brandon Roy. Hard to imagine how he is picked over someone like Carlos Boozer. Carlos has equal, if not better, stats, and is playing for one of the best teams in the west. What is Stern's rationale?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:41 PM)

Stern has a long memory, and Stern is friends with Gordon Gund, and Carlos Boozer pulled out of a handshake agreement with Gund when he left the Cavs to sign with Utah. I'm not saying that was the determining factor, but I wouldn't be surprised if it impacted the Commish's decision. That's just my opinion. Also, Kaman had a better Olympics than Boozer in Beijing. :)

Gtown (New York)

"Angry in Cleveland" didn't make the point clearly but it just doesn't make sense with the projected cap to say that whatever team gets LeBron will be the favorite to win the east. If New York got LeBron they probably couldn't afford to keep David Lee, let alone LeBron, Lee and add another piece. Jeffries and Curry will still be sucking up valuable cap space.

Chris Sheridan

  (3:44 PM)

Yes, that is understood. And to clarify for everyone, if the Knicks get LeBron they CANNOT afford to keep David Lee. They won't have enough space left (unless they deal Jeffries/Curry for expiring contracts by Feb. 18). what they can do, however, is use David Lee/Nate Robinson/Al Harrington/Larry Hughes in a sign-and-trade deal to bring in a second max player. That is their Plan A.

Angry in Toronto ((Ontario))

We feel the same pain as those in Cleveland (probably even more so)....nobody expects Bosh to resign (at least down in the States)....but really, chill out Cleveland, I don't think Chris meant any disrespect....you'll see in the end that guys like Bosh, Lebron, and whoever would be crazy to leave $30M+ on the table (more so for Bosh though)....A lockout is looming....

Chris Sheridan

  (3:46 PM)

I'll let that post speak for itself.

Fabian (Germany)

Hey, do you think the MAvs will pull the trigger and do a major trade before the deadline? Dirk doesnt think they have to. A lot of other people think they should. Your thoughts!?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:51 PM)

The big thing for them is deciding whether to move J.Howard now for long money, which would take them out of the mix for acquiring Bosh in a sign-and-trade next summer. Josh isn't helping matters by playing so poorly, diminishing his value. Just a thought, but I imagine they could probably do something with Boston along the lines of Howard/Barea/filler for Ray Allen that would be low-risk long-term for both teams.

Jon (NYC)

What makes Donnie Walsh think that Lee and Nate will agree to being signed and traded somewhere to help the Knicks land a second max guy?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:54 PM)

Because that's how they can get paid the most money. Lee has been the most underpaid player in the NBA for four of his five years (he was the 30th pick of the 1st round, meaning he was locked into a low rookie scale number for his first 4 years), and he's producing like a $10-12 million per year player. Donnie did David a favor my bumping his saary to $7 million rather thanh making him sign for the qualifying offer, and that did two things: It bought some goodwill from Lee, and it ensures that Lee (and Robinson, who also got a bump) will not be base-year compensation playrs on July 1, thereby making it easier to move them in sign-and-trade(s).

Rick (ohio)

Do you think there is any chance that the players assoc. dominates the CBA and the NBA structure takes on an MLB-like system where the teams from NY buy championships?

Chris Sheridan

  (3:58 PM)

The NBA wants a hard cap to prevent someone with extremely deep pockets from spending their way to a title by manipulating the system to stockpile the highest-paid and best players, even though it would mean a huge luxury tax hit. It didn't work for Dolan or Cuban this past decade, but that doesn't mean it couldn't work for Prokhorov or someone else in the future. (By the way, I'm not particularly buying that argument, but that's the league's position).

Brandon (NY,NY)

The Knicks can keep Lee along with a Lebron-type if Lee agrees to a lower cap number in year 1...and THAT would be their Plan A.

Chris Sheridan

  (4:00 PM)

If the cap comes in around $52 million, they'd only have about $7 million to offer as a starting salary. Lee can get much more than that on the open market.

Ben (NYC)

Does David Kahn really think he can bring Rubio over this summer or is he just trying to blow smoke to his fans again...

Chris Sheridan

  (4:02 PM)

Rubio does NOT have a buyout this summer. He has a buyout in 2011. I don't know whether or not Kahn has been blowing smoke on this, but Ricky can't leave Barcelona until he's spent two years with them.

Chris Sheridan

  (4:04 PM)

That's a wrap for today folks. We'll chat again next Monday at 3 p.m. EST when the trade deadline will be only 96 hours away.