Michael Beasley's name has been floated as a possible target for the Lakers before the trade deadline. The rumors are heating up, but would Beasley work in Los Angeles?

• twentyanite "kobe will make beasley better. at 23 he has alot of room for maturity and improvement. playing with veteran players will help that. this could be a good trade for the lakers. we need to get younger and more athletic. "
• andiannorthington: "If the Lakers could pull off this deal, Beasley would make a good sixth man coming off the bench"
• federov9127: "I cant believe they'd rather spend their 1st round pick on Beasley than on Sessions. Horrible move "
• Chris74658: "I'm not sure why the Lakers would give up a first rounder for Beasley when he was traded to the Wolves for a second rounder and his numbers dropped off after that. That should mean his value is set at a second rounder still. "
• Dom02041982: "Highlights from Beasley's 27 pt game: smooth, gets to rim, layup, can dunk, looks like he plays within himself, shoots well from deep, good at mid range, good inside, imagine if we could get him playing D, he physically is big and agile, in a few years he could be amazing."
• Israffael8250: "Beasley is a legit scorer who can put the ball in the hoop anytime he wants."



Join the conversation or respond by signing in or creating a profile and start blogging.

We can understand if you don't want to take the time to grade your tech-support help on the other end of the telephone, but when we're talking about the dollars and emotion you've invested in sports, we think it's worth the effort. It's time for ESPN The Magazine's Ultimate Standings, in which SportsNation grades organizations on everything from ticket prices and stadium experience to the talent on the field, court or rink. Which team will end up on top this year? It depends on what you say.

Take part in the 2011 MLB survey
2010 MLB Ultimate Standings
1. Los Angeles Angels (Overall: No. 3)
2. Tampa Bay Rays (Overall: No. 6)
3. Colorado Rockies (Overall: No. 13)
4. Minnesota Twins (Overall: No. 14)
5. Atlanta Braves (Overall: No. 15)

Take part in the 2011 NFL survey
2010 NFL Ultimate Standings
1. New Orleans Saints (Overall: No. 1)
2. Indianapolis Colts (Overall: No. 4)
3. Green Bay Packers (Overall: No. 9)
4. Arizona Cardinals (Overall: No. 19)
5. Baltimore Ravens (Overall: No. 20)

Take part in the 2011 NBA survey
2010 NBA Ultimate Standings
1. Orlando Magic (Overall: No. 2)
2. San Antonio Spurs (Overall: No. 7)
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (Overall: No. 10)
4. Dallas Mavericks (Overall: No. 24)
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (Overall: No. 25)

Take part in the 2011 NHL survey
2010 NHL Ultimate Standings
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (Overall: No. 5)
2. Detroit Red Wings (Overall: No. 8)
3. Washington Capitals (Overall: No. 11)
4. San Jose Sharks (Overall: No. 12)
5. Chicago Blackhawks (Overall: No. 16)

• Rank 'Em: Which teams are most likely to challenge the Lakers?
• Rank 'Em: Are Carmelo Anthony and Tim Duncan the top potential 2011 free agents?

A consolidation of player power in Miami is the talk of the offseason, for obvious reasons. But when do we talk about a diffusion of power in the Western Conference?

Phoenix moves on without Amare Stoudemire but with Hedo Turkoglu. Utah has to hope Al Jefferson and Raja Bell equal the departed Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver. Dallas kept Dirk Nowitzki, no minor feat, but it's hard to envision Tyson Chandler as the missing piece of the puzzle. Will impending free agency distract Carmelo Anthony? Will Yao Ming stay on his feet for an entire season? Should we just let the Lakers skip ahead to the NBA Finals?

In following Horace Greeley's advice, Al Harrington said he picked the Nuggets instead of the Mavericks based on each team's potential (the extra money inherent in suggestions that the Mavs were loathe to give him five years probably didn't hurt). We say if Harrington can judge Western Conference potential, he's a better man than us.

jay (uptown dallas)

are the mavs seeking ant other trade scenerios right now

ESPN Dallas' Jeff Caplan

Jay, Donnie Nelson says the team will be as active as ever. They'll continue to probe New Orleans about Chris Paul. the Hornets just fired GM Jeff Bowers, so things are in flux there and Paul is getting increasingly uneasy about the direction of the franchise. Otherwise, the Mavs will keep calling clubs for trades, kicking around Carmelo, as if that's going to happen, but yes, they will be looking for trades, particularly a blockbuster to land a star to pair with Dirk. I think the percentages are low. Full transcript

“

Great signing by Denver. Al Harrington was the only bright spot on a horrible Knicks team. He's young and from NJ so you know he has energy and toughness.

” -- mcbrinkosu

It's just like the census, only this one is fun and doesn't come in the mail. And nobody from FOX News or MSNBC will yell at you about it. It's time for ESPN The Magazine's Ultimate Standings, in which SportsNation grades organizations on everything from ticket prices and stadium experience to the talent on the field, court or rink. Which team will end up on top this year? It depends on what you say.

Take part in the 2010 MLB survey
2009 MLB Ultimate Standings
1. Los Angeles Angels (Overall: No. 1)
2. Milwaukee Brewers (Overall: No. 7)
3. Tampa Bay Rays (Overall: No. 16)
4. Minnesota Twins (Overall: No. 23)
5. Philadelphia Phillies (Overall: No. 24)

Take part in the 2010 NFL survey
2009 NFL Ultimate Standings
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (Overall: No. 3)
2. Green Bay Packers (Overall: No. 13)
3. Indianapolis Colts (Overall: No. 14)
4. Tennessee Titans (Overall: No. 15)
5. New England Patriots (Overall: No. 19)

Take part in the 2010 NBA survey
2009 NBA Ultimate Standings
1. Cleveland Cavaliers (Overall: No. 5)
2. San Antonio Spurs (Overall: No. 9)
3. New Orleans Hornets (Overall: No. 12)
4. Houston Rockets (Overall: No. 17)
5. Orlando Magic (Overall: No. 18)

Take part in the 2010 NHL survey
2009 NHL Ultimate Standings
1. Carolina Hurricanes (Overall: No. 2)
2. Detroit Red Wings (Overall: No. 4)
3. Washington Capitals (Overall: No. 6)
4. Pittsburgh Penguins (Overall: No. 8)
5. St. Louis Blues (Overall: No. 10)

Lakers fans are understandably excited about the new season, and the defending champs are a popular choice to repeat among bloggers in the ESPN.com community.

"I've never been more excited for the opening of any season, any sport," blogs kurtnaphansen. "The combination of being on the heels of the Lakers winning the NBA championship, of all the trash talk from Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Spurs and even Blazers fans, and of a very new interesting development with the addition of Sheed to Boston, Shaq to Cleveland and Artest to LA."

Below are fan blogs and predictions about the season, which tipped off this week. Click through to respond. If you don't already have an ESPN profile, create one now and start blogging.

More fan blogs

Fan pictures

These are heady times in the Twin Cities. Brett Favre (steady on, you may hear that name a few more times today) gets his first look at the Packers tonight on Monday Night Football. Tuesday brings the Twins trying to complete a less tiresome comeback when they face the Tigers in a playoff ... tiebreaker ... really big game.

And we haven't even gotten to Sunday's thriller in front of roughly 4,000 people that saw the Timberwolves torch the Bucks (Roko Ukic vs. Mustafa Shakur; it's fantastic!) in the NBA preseason. Or the Wisconsin Badgers improving to 5-0 and claiming Paul Bunyan's Axe by beating the Golden Gophers on the gridiron in Minneapolis Saturday. You usually need a snow shovel to have this much fun in Minnesota.

We've got plenty of questions about the Packers and Vikings and Tigers and Twins, but first and foremost, which game is a bigger deal?

• Vote on Monday's game: Packers at Vikings | Vote on Tuesday's game: Tigers at Twins
• Chat : MNF with Football Outsiders, 7:30 p.m. ET | MLB with Eric Young, 3 p.m. ET
• Just for the heck of it : Got a Wild question? Talk NHL with Scott Burnside at 4 p.m. ET

• Vote: How many games will the Timberwolves win without Rubio?

So we've learned SportsNation would rather watch new Barcelona point guard Ricky Rubio than Barcelona soccer payer Lionel Messi. But is Rubio fast becoming the most tiresome story out of Minnesota since another type of football great tortured our summers?

The Spanish point guard isn't yet part of the Minnesota sports scene -- and 71 percent of SportsNation believes he never will be after delaying his NBA arrival until at least 2011. But the story fatigue sure feels like watching a remake of the Brett Favre soap opera, as Timberwolves general manager David Kahn suggests Rubio backed out of a deal, and Rubio suggests a move to Minnesota was too risky.

Rubio knows highlights, but considering 80 percent of voters don't think he'll ever be a star, blogger bball4life578 may speak for many in destroying -- in detail -- the Rubio myth.

• "To me, this is a classic cop-out by Rubio as well. Wanting to stay over in Spain for a couple more years so he can become more NBA ready tells me he's scared of becoming the next top bust in NBA Draft history and in the process, embarrassing himself off the many floors of NBA arenas. Hey Ricky, if you didn't feel like you were ready for the NBA, than you never should have entered the draft in the first place! -- Read the full post from bball4life578.

“

Rubio is just what I thought he was...a soft little European punk....I called his pick a waste b/f he was a no show---he ought to be banned for life from the NBA.

” -- uncgradtc11

“

He'll get picked up by somebody in 2 yrs... He just won't be a starter like he would've probably been with the Wolves... His heart is more into getting paid.. not playing basketball at the highest level... What he fails to realize is the money and fame will come when you show and prove... Or maybe young Rubio does realize this and he's trying to get as much as he can upfront in fear that his Spainard game doesn't cut it in the NBA...

” -- Da_mad_Hater

Los Angeles has Kobe Bryant and Blake Griffin. Miami has Dwyane Wade and Hanley Ramirez. Maybe Washington, D.C. will even get in on the act with Alex Ovechkin and Stephen Strasburg.

But if you're talking about the sheer exhilaration of watching two highlight-worthy athletes, Barcelona may rule the world. When it comes to Lionel Messi and Ricky Rubio, just edit highlights, add music and you've got instant goose bumps.

• Youtube: Watch the case for Messi | Watch the case for Rubio
• Vote: How many games will the Timberwolves win without Rubio?

• Vote: Take the Quentin Richardson tour of the country.

Apparently Quentin Richardson comes with a warning that if you do not forward him to a friend within 30 days, great misfortune will befall you. Although considering the Clippers, Grizzlies, Knicks and Timberwolves are among the teams he's been "employed" by since last playing an NBA game, maybe the curse is more of a retroactive deal.

Richardson is not a star player. His impact on the upcoming season probably ranks somewhere in the vicinity of Glen Davis remaining in Boston or Leon Powe heading to Cleveland. But we can't help ourselves; Richardson's tour, paper tour though it may be, of NBA cities is worthy of a blind Greek poet (preferably of the deceased variety).

Let's run through this. On April 15, Richardson scored nine points in 11 minutes as the Knicks closed the regular season with a win against the Nets. On draft night, the Knicks dealt him to the Grizzlies (for Darko Milicic of all people). Then the Grizzlies traded him to the Clippers, who traded him to the Timberwolves, who just traded him to the Heat.

Considering Richardson shot 39 percent from the field last season, we're starting to wonder if Washington, D.C., really has the most popular "Cash for Clunkers" program.

• Voters don't think Dwyane Wade is sticking around beyond this season.
• Groups: Real Miami Heat Fans | Minnesota Sports Fans | Memphis Grizzlies fans

“

Ok, Q must be filming a reality show.

” -- ZEEKERINI

“

I feel bad for Q now. He's no where near as bad as Mark Blount. The Heat might as well throw a parade just for getting rid of that guy

” -- Dwayne_Johnson23

“

Q must have some serious frequent flyer miles. He's gonna be a good bench warmer for the heat.

” -- laranadepaz