A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Reports from Adrian Wojnarowski of Y! Sports indicate that the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Hornets have agreed in principle to send Pau Gasol to the Rockets, Luis Scola, Lamar Odom , Goran Dragic and a few draft picks to New Orleans, while Chris Paul heads to Los Angeles.
The Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals have closed a deal that will send exiled quarterback and former Pro Bowler Carson Palmer to the Raiders in exchange for a 2012 first round pick and a conditional 2013 first round pick.
Twitter and Facebook are buzzing about this deal, with most coming to the consensus that Oakland, as they are wont to do, is overpaying for a player with questions surrounding his ability and desire. But if we examine this situation, that might not be true.
The Golden State Warriors are making some serious changes to the organization, and it’s starting right at the top: head coach and superstar.
The Warriors now have a new coach, and soon they may have a new star.
Insiders breaking word that the Chicago Bulls are looking into potential suitors for Carlos Boozer.
The Miami Heat were among this past offseason’s biggest stories. No doubt, no doubt. The teaming of the superstars made waves all over the sporting world and began a new era in the NBA. But at the same time, they aren’t doing anything new. They took the blueprints to success from the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, and numerous other dynasties.
But along with the Heat’s mega-offseason came another side story. The story of Carmelo Anthony and just where he’d end up.
The attention seems to be mainly focused on the Big Apple. You have Prokhorov fighting to the earth’s ends in order to secure Melo for the future Brooklyn Nets, and then you have Amar’e attempting to recruit Anthony to play alongside him in New York. Heck, I’ve even heard Charlotte and Houston mentioned in this crazy mix. It seems as if we are in the midst of a great game of tug-o-war.
But it is yet to be finalized where the Syracuse alum will end up. Will he land alongside Amar’e, and try and build another mega-team? Or will he take his talents to New Jersey and try to continue Prokhorov’s global agenda? I wish I knew the answer.
If you haven’t heard of the Amar’e trades you are one of two, you either have no life whatsoever, or you have so much of a life you could barely pay attention.
So to get to the point, the deadline is under 60 hours away, and one of the league’s best big man is about to be moved, and I can tell you it’ll be at least to two destiniations:
With much talk and confusion breaking loose, there needs to be someone to clear things up.
Ta-da, here I am! And here is what has been going on as of late with Amar’e, Cleveland and Miami.
112 Wins
1328 Strikeouts
Japan’s Central League MVP
That’s Kenshin Kawakami, the pitcher who’s drawn the interest of 7 big league ball clubs, including the Minnesota Twins.
Wait a second, the Twins?
One could certainly make the argument that a team can never have enough arms, but with Liriano, Baker, Slowey, Blackburn, Perkins, and the possibility of a Humber, Swarzak, or Duensing sighting, the Twins seem to be relatively full in the bullpen, especially when it’s been so obvious that they need the help at 3B.
Here’s what Kenshin Kawakami does for the Twins: He opens up the door to deal pitching. The Twins have the option of reopening negotiations to grab an Adrian Beltre or J.J. Hardy type player that otherwise would be too costly. With Kawakami, the Twins have another arm to ante up with the Brewers or Mariners. Using Kawakami as trade bait himself, or possibly being more willing to send a Scott Baker away in order to get a J.J. Hardy, the Twins would certainly have more trade options.
And if no deal was made, we start our season with a devastatingly deep rotation including Liriano, Baker, Slowey, Kawakami, and Blackburn, enough to excite any fan. The Twins could go with a very deep rotation or a much more potent offense, either way it would invigorate some life back into this club after a very slow offseason.
Let’s just hope this doesn’t turn into a bidding war.
