Orlando's No. 1 pick and Drew Gooden to Golden State for the No. 11 pick and Nick Van Exel. Why it makes sense: Golden State is about to lose center Erick Dampier in free agency and could use some help on the interior. They would get Gooden, a native of the Bay Area, and either Howard or Okafor. Orlando would fill its point guard hole with Van Exel, a veteran capable of taking some of the scoring load off McGrady's shoulders. And getting the No. 11 pick to boot would still allow the Magic to snag a big center. Orlando's No. 1 pick and Drew Gooden to Washington for the No. 5 pick and power forward Kwame Brown. Why it makes sense: History says that it often takes players making the leap from high school to the NBA a couple of seasons before hitting stardom. Such was the case for Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal and McGrady. Brown has the athleticism to be a dominant post player, but has only shown flashes in Washington. Could he be on the verge of a breakout season? Getting him and the No. 5 pick (to select a point guard) might be enough to convince the Magic to jump on this trade. Timberwolves point guard Troy Hudson, who is guaranteed $2.1 million next season unless he opts out of his contract, still is expected to leave for free agency. Hudson, who was to get the cast removed from his right ankle Tuesday and get a walking boot, is healing well. The Wolves prefer that Hudson remain with them. If Antoine Walker returns to the Mavericks next season, it will be as a sixth man or perhaps even lower in the rotation according to two sources close to the team. The Mavericks are committed to getting bigger, which means finding a true center. Though free agents cannot be discussed until July 1, the team may be interested in Utah center Greg Ostertag. Orlando's No. 1 pick and Juwan Howard to Chicago for center Tyson Chandler and point guard Kirk Hinrich. Why it makes sense: Chicago has grown tired of dealing with the Baby Bulls -- a.k.a. Eddy Curry and Chandler -- and would like to move one of them this summer. Howard would give the Bulls the professionalism that they lacked much of last season and Okafor could improve their shoddy defense. Not only was Jack McCloskey incorrect in his statement that Julius Erving is "not in the mix" for the Raptors vacant general manager's position, according to a handful of NBA sources, the fact McCloskey knew nothing about the reality of the situation speaks volumes for what's transpiring at the very top level of the organization. League sources say Erving still remains a viable candidate for some kind of front office position he's spoken at least once with minority owner Larry Tanenbaum and another meeting is expected and the Raptors are said to be considering several ways to bring him into the fold. One way said to be under consideration is to have him head a revamped basketball operation that includes one or two assistants. McCloskey, meeting with reporters before the team began workouts with potential draft picks, shot down the possibility of Erving joining the team, which was undoubtedly the situation as he knew it to be. Kenny Anderson wants to come back to New Jersey. Anderson, once considered the Nets' future, has been an afterthought on the Pacers' playoff bench. But when he sees the plight of the Nets' point-guard position beyond Jason Kidd - who "definitely will have his MRI this week" on his left knee - Anderson has definite interest. And the feeling is mutual from the Nets. Orlando's No. 1 pick to Memphis for center Pau Gasol. Why it makes sense: Gasol has the skill set to be a star in this league. He's long, athletic and has a nice touch on his shot. The word around the NBA is that he could be had for the right price. In the Eastern Conference, he could play either center or power forward and thrive. Memphis needs another tough defender if it is ever going to make serious noise in the rugged Western Conference. Eddy Curry acted almost embarrassed by the attention his Bulls off-season conditioning has received. But he also said he understood why club Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, general manager John Paxson and Skiles all have impressed upon him his value to the franchise. All three told Curry his work habits could affect summer personnel decisions. Curry's poor conditioning habits last summerexacerbated by an eye injuryled to him reporting to training camp out of shape and suffering a hamstring injury on the second day. Curry's typical slow start set the tone for a Bulls season in which much more was expected of the team and its young cornerstone. Curry said that he called Tyson Chandlera Berto Center regular this springMonday night to try to get a handle on what to expect at the workout. Troy Hudson can be a free agent. He will test the market. The Wolves must convince him to come back for a final conversation before he signs elsewhere. The optimum scenario would seem to be this: Hudson returns as the starting point guard, with Sam Cassell taking the instant offense role as the sixth man. To this point, Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan have given no indications of dropping out. "I don't think I should ever judge anybody for not coming, but they all have their own reasons. But I'm thrilled that [Iverson] would come," said Larry Brown, who coached Iverson the previous six seasons with the Sixers. "A lot of guys aren't coming because of injuries, [and] you know the injuries he's been through all year. A partially torn ligament in his left knee probably will keep Pacers' forward Jermaine O'Neal from participating in the Summer Olympics in Athens. Shortly after the Pacers bowed out of the Eastern Conference finals with a 69-65 loss to Detroit in Game 6, O'Neal said his knee "will take four to six months to heal." O'Neal suffered the injury in Game 4 against the Pistons. Pistons coach Larry Brown said he hasn't thought about what his team would be like if Carmelo Anthony had been drafted. "Why would I?" Brown said. "I don't worry about things I have no control over. We made a decision to draft a young, big kid. It was for the future, and I'm confident it's going to be a great pick. "I don't worry about what I don't have. I'd like to have Shaq." Las Vegas oddsmakers dont believe the Pistons have much of a chance to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Lakers are a 5-1 favorite, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which sets the line for Vegas sports books. The money line has the Pistons at plus-350, meaning that you will win $350 for a $100 bet. The Lakers are at minus-500, which means you need to bet $500 to win $100. For Game 1 on Sunday, the Lakers are a seven-point favorite, with the over-under at 171. Pistons President Joe Dumars is on the selection committee for the U.S. Olympic mens basketball team. Larry Brown is the head coach of the team, which will play in Athens this summer. Yet, because USA Basketball hasnt made the official announcement, neither wanted to comment about what Ben Wallace made public just minutes before Game 6. Wallace has been asked to play on Team USA this summer. Yep, he said, confirming the news. They called me, I think, after Karl Malone pulled out. Neither the Pacers nor Pistons are of championship caliber. Someone had to get there by default. They both played terrific defense and we should give them credit for that. However, the Pistons are about to get exposed as the fourth-best team in the NBA behind San Antonio, Minnesota and the Lakers. Karl Malone has already earned his keep with the Lakers. He's not tagging along for the ride; he guarded Tim Duncan for six games in the second round, then Kevin Garnett for six more games in the conference finals. They are the two best forwards in basketball, period. And here's Malone, 40 years old, guarding them with very little help. During this period, when some of us have questioned why the Lakers are great more frequently, the two players above reproach, who don't have to answer that question, are Malone and Derek Fisher. On a team with great players and great role players, Malone and Fisher might be made of the toughest stuff. Among the players the Heat has summoned to Miami for predraft auditions: LSU power forwards Jaime Lloreda and Brandon Bass, Providence small forward Ryan Gomes and Vanderbilt forward Matt Freije. All are potential second-rounders. This week, the Heat's auditioning two shooting guards: Oregon's Luke Jackson (a likely first-rounder) and Western Carolina's Kevin Martin, a high-scoring potential second-rounder who intrigues president Pat Riley. The Lakers are in the Finals, despite having to win without home-court advantage against the defending champion Spurs and then the Timberwolves. Of course, the conspiracy theorists among you will argue that this was set up all along. Normally, we'd say you're all crazy. Commissioner David Stern has always bristled at such suggestions, saying it would be felonious for the NBA to rig stuff. We've had his back. But after what ESPN radio's broadcast crew overheard during Game 6 between the Lakers and Timberwolves, we're starting to wonder, too. Play-by-play man Brent Musburger and analyst Tim Legler overheard referee Eddie F. Rush ask the scorer how many fouls O'Neal had after O'Neal was charged with his fifth. Musburger dutifully reported the conversation, and Legler - to his credit - wondered out loud why a referee would need to know such a thing. Good question. He wouldn't, unless he intended to protect the player. Now, we're the first to say that folks pay to see the best players decide the outcome of games. But if O'Neal has five fouls he has five fouls. If he commits another he's out of the game, and the Lakers are more than likely going to Minnesota for Game 7. That is, unless we're watching some less-than-reality television. New 76ers coach Jim O'Brien now has a new assistant coach and old friend to help analyze film as the team gets prepared for the June 26 NBA draft. The team announced yesterday that it had hired former Boston Celtics assistant coach Frank Vogel and that they will work out a quartet of possible draft choices, including local favorites David Hawkins of Temple and Anthony Frazier of Cheyney. Gheorghe Muresan, the 7'7" former Bullets center, is beginning a second career as an entrepreneur in the business of basketball. He plans to teach the game to youngsters at a chain of basketball schools he is working to set up in the Washington area. The first year-round "academy" is scheduled to open in September. The idea came to him during his quiet year after retirement, when he was soul searching and contemplating life after the game. In fact, spending time with his 6-year-old son, George, inspired the project. Muresan figured working with George and his other son, 3-year-old Victor, was the perfect post-playing career. The Detroit rap scene was well represented in the pre-game routine. The national anthem was performed by Uncle Kracker, formerly of Detroit native Kid Rock's band, Twisted Brown Trucker. "Lose yourself," by Detroit native Eminem blared as the players took the court. Among the notables in attendance Tuesday night were former Detroit coach Chuck Daly, who led the Pistons to NBA titles in 1989 and '90, Lions receiver Charles Rogers and Kris Draper of the Red Wings. Jermaine O'Neal was grooving to rap artist Jadakiss before the game, with his iPod music player turned up to a pretty loud level. Rick Carlisle walked over and, without a word, turned down the music down. O'Neal had an amused look on his face but didn't touch the volume button after Carlisle walked away.... Subliminal hint? O'Neal was wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers hat before the game. Source Benmaller.com
