As many pointed out on Twitter yesterday, if the Lakers got both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, they might as well start the next lockout immediately. We aren’t trying to rain on anyone’s “end of the lockout” parade. Quite frankly, we don’t believe it’ll happen either. But it’s a thought, a thought that a few people in the business have. What if it just so happened that the Lakers didn’t just get Dwight Howard (a very real possibility), but they also nabbed CP3 as well? Howard has this weird fascination with following whatever Shaq did. He also wants to play with Kobe more than anyone else. He also loves warm weather. The Lakers also have assets up the a–. The Magic are also extremely worried – getting more nervous by the day – that Superman 2.0 will leave them just like the original did. That move will be speculated to no end. But Paul could also find his way there as well. The Lakers can showcase Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, and lots and lots of dough. The Lakers were right behind the Knicks in value ($655 million to $643) last season, but with their new TV deal extravaganza set to start up next season, they will go from making a profit of $45-60 million in a year… to freakin’ $150 million. Actually as of right now, Chris Broussard is saying of everyone, it’s the Knicks who have a great chance to land CP3. But the opportunity could be there for the Lakers, and it would be insane … Meanwhile, the Knicks are considering adding… Kwame Brown. But at least that’s not all. Sources close to Jamal Crawford are saying if he doesn’t return to Atlanta, he wants to come back to the New York area with either the Knicks or the Nets. His new agent, Andy Miller, has strong ties to both teams. We get the feeling Crawford would love playing for D’Antoni … If you thought the Game of Thrones that was going on during the playoffs last season in Oklahoma City was kinda jarring, wait until Russell Westbrook signs his new deal. Check this out (via Daily Thunder): Under the new CBA, players with six or fewer years of service in the league can sign contracts with a maximum first-year salary equal to 25 percent of the salary cap. That would add up to about $14.5 million, which is what Kevin Durant signed for last year. But the twist in the new deal is that if that player has already made an All-Star team (as guys like Westbrook, Kevin Love and Derrick Rose have), he can make 30 percent in the first year of his second contract. That means Westbrook could soon be signing a deal that will pay him $17.4 mill, nearly $3 million more than his man KD. We’ll never believe this is another KG/Steph situation. These two cats legitimately love playing with each other, and are some of the most down-to-Earth, hard-working and lovable dudes in the league. Even if this did go down, we doubt it would create any animosity. Only losing seems to do that out in OKC. But who knows what could happen? … Keep reading to hear about the Portland exodus of Brandon Roy …
As we have been reporting, Brandon Roy is not likely to be in a Trail Blazer uni next year. The rumors are flying out of Portland that owner Paul Allen does not want to entertain the oft-injured Roy in training camp, with one league executive telling The Oregonian: “Brandon’s out. Don’t know the exact details, but everyone around the league knows it’s way, way done. Paul and Bert (Kolde) are calling the shots on this one.” Damn, just like that? Allen must have forgotten how far B-Roy has taken that once law-plagued Blazer squad. Someone will be happy to sign a player like Roy and pair him with building pieces once free agency/player movement starts (take a hint Chicago) … Other free agents that could be of interest are Nene and David West, but the most intriguing could be AK-47. The athletic do-it-all forward is currently injured and overseas, and pending a return from Russia, Kirilenko is also a nice piece to add, and seems interested in places like New Jersey (for obvious reasons) and Los Angeles … In the meantime, check out our list of the top 20 free agents that are either available, or (in some players’ cases), one blowup away from being sent back from China in a box … Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that so far, the Chinese clubs are showing no inclination to let their star NBA players – otherwise known as half of Denver’s team – come back home. How much would it suck to be Aaron Brooks, who just recently signed in China no more than a week ago? For a man who constantly chucks pull-up transition threes, it’s so like him to be inpatient. And if J.R. Smith was willing to skip practice to go to the mall before, imagine what he’ll do now in order to get sent home? … Jordan Farmar is coming back to the States. It was assumed being an NBA player that he would, but Farmar let it be known he’s had a great time in Israel playing for Maccabi. On the court, he was fine, averaging 15 and four in Euroleague play and then 13 and six in Adriatic League play. But off the court might’ve been even better, and now he’s sad to be leaving and said he would even consider coming back to play in the future. Compared with all of these other “NBA player goes overseas, fails and causes a ruckus” stories this summer, that’s good to hear … Adam Morrison also exercised the NBA option in his contract to leave the Red Star of Belgrade. We’re sure NBA teams are foaming at the mouth … LeBron James: back when he had cornrows. Insert hairline joke here … In college ball, Louisville, Florida, Marquette, Memphis and Cal all won easily. No. 11 Xavier went into No. 19 Vanderbilt’s house and beat them in overtime, 82-70. Last season, Vandy lost close game after close game because they were seriously one of the worst defensive teams we’ve seen in the last five years. And what do you know, despite 20 points from John Jenkins, Vandy couldn’t contain Xavier’s star guards, Mark Lyons (19 points) and Tu Holloway (24 points), in the second half. Then in the extra session, they got mutilated … University of Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe, one of the top power forward draft prospects in the country, is sadly out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee … NBA.com’s John Schuhmann confirmed on Twitter yesterday that the 2012 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, June 28, which is only two days after the scheduled Game 7 of the NBA Finals … And some more great details leaked from the new prospective CBA agreement. First of all, non-tax teams can make trades now where the salaries are only within 150 percent (plus 100K). Why does that matter? It used to be 125 percent. You know what that means? More trades. Also, the whole “trade a guy to a crappy team then wait for them to buy him out after he doesn’t show up so you can re-sign him again” acquisitions are out. Once you trade someone in-season and he is waived, you cannot pick that player back up until July 1 at the earliest … We’re out like Urban Meyer‘s “family time.”
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