In case you needed an update of everything that happened from last Thursday until now, here
are the highlights:
-Chris Paul was almost a Laker then not, then almost a Clipper and now apparently not and David Stern has pretty much made it clear that he doesn’t want to trade the league’s smallest market’s lone superstar. I don’t blame his position, but his tactics have been pretty bad.
-While all that was happening, Tyson Chandler almost went to Golden State before he agreed to a sign and trade with the New York Knicks. He will not be missed by 14 out of 15 Western Conference fan bases.
-Meanwhile, Dallas decided to take advantage of the CP3 trade that didn’t happen and used the trade exception they got from the Chandler trade and sent that to the Lakers for Lamar Odom-Kardashian (Khlodom for short).
Dallas also let Caron Butler go to the Clippers and appear to be on the verge of letting J.J. Barea head to Minnesota (because they need more PGs). To fill one of those spots they signed Vince Carter and amazingly are now an older team than they were last year when they won the title.
If you’re the San Antonio Spurs (or Oklahoma City for that matter), you love what’s happening in the West right now.
Two of your three biggest rivals have lost major pieces of their core. Meanwhile, the Clippers didn’t become the scariest team in LA and are again a fringe playoff team (barring a Chris Paul trade actually happening). Both the Spurs and OKC have been largely inactive aside from some Richard Jefferson amnesty rumors that haven’t happened. It makes you wonder if either team is planning another move before the season starts. With the shortened camp, teams with the most continuity should have a distinct advantage over other teams. Additionally, the Spurs’ schedule is very home-heavy in January.
The Spurs still need another big. They could go young with someone like Earl Clark or go for someone a little more established like Carl Landry (even if he is a little undersized). They could also use Antonio McDyess’ partially guaranteed contract and a couple of other pieces and see if someone like Paul Milsap or Chris Kaman is available. Regardless, the recent events in L.A., Dallas and New Orleans have only helped the Spurs, but not enough for any fan to feel comfortable for them to not add another big man.
