Lakers Interested In Garbajosa

Former Toronto Raptor forward Jorge Garbajosa has gotten an offer from the Los Angeles Lakers according to MARCA (note: site is in Spanish). For the Lakers to get Garbajosa, they would have to work a sign and trade since they are over the salary cap. Rumored players involved in the sign and trade are Vladimir Radmanovic and Lamar Odom. Garbajosa is good friends with Pau Gasol, another Spainard, and they both play on Spain's national team. Will they get to team up together on the Lakers?

More On The Odom/Marion Deal

As a followup to the report that the Lakers and Suns have been working on a deal involving Lamar Odom and Shawn Marion, it is still being worked on, and is not done yet. The holdup seems to be that Marion wants an extension, which would be in the $65 million range over three years, and the Lakers are wary of giving the extension. Marion didn't get the extension that he was looking for in Phoenix. If the trade does go down and the Lakers didn't give Marion an extension, Marion could become a free agent after this season, and possibly leave, meaning that the Lakers will have lost both Odom and Marion.

Marion has said that he "wants the deal to go down, and he sounded genuinely excited about the possibility of changing scenery. Marion also said he spoke with Kobe Bryant over the weekend and was left with the impression that Bryant supported the trade." If Marion does not end up getting traded, he has said that he will still show up for training camp with Phoenix.

Odom To The Suns For Marion?

The Lakers and the Suns are discussing a trade that would bring Shawn Marion to the Lakers, while sending back Lamar Odom and filler (most likely Brian Cook to make the salaries work) to the Phoenix Suns. The Suns are unwilling to give Marion a contract extension, which is part of why he wouldn't mind leaving the Suns. The source says:

"One sticking point with the Suns is that Marion was told that if he does opt out, he will not be re-signed. Another goes back to before the draft, when the Suns had a deal in place to send Marion to the Celtics -- Boston had agreed to extend his contract if the trade went through. 'I didn't like that,' Marion said. 'It was like they were trying to force my hand by taking the Boston deal. I have been with this team my whole career. I was like, wow.'

I asked if the team's refusal to give him an extension played into his unhappiness with the team. 'It was part of it,' Marion said. 'It's not like that was the last straw or anything. It was just part of everything that has gone on. People have made assumptions about me, but I don't think all those people know everything that has gone on.'"

The trade helps both teams. The Suns get the better all-around player in Odom. Odom adds more height than Marion, and Odom is a better playmaker, helping to relieve Steve Nash. The Lakers get a more consistent player in Marion. Marion is more high energy, and plays better defense, which the Lakers definitely need. The deal is being called a 50/50 chance of going down. If this deal goes down, both teams get help that they are looking for.

A Fallback Plan?

With the plans that the Lakers had of getting at least another star player to play beside Kobe Bryant close to being shut or shut down already, the Lakers possibly have another plan to fall back on. A trade with the Milwaukee Bucks would send Yi Jianlian, who doesn't want to report to the Bucks, and Bobby Simmons to the Lakers in return for Kwame Brown, Jordan Farmar, and a future first round pick with Sasha Vujacic or Maurice Evans being thrown in the deal if needed.

Normally, I don't think the Bucks would take the deal, but if Yi still refuses to play for them, they might be forced to take the deal if they get no other deals that fit what they are looking for. Still, the Bucks would get a nice up and coming point guard in Farmar, a decent post defender in Brown, and a first round pick to help in the future. The Lakers get someone who has been said to have a lot of potential in Yi (the Lakers were one of the few teams to work out with Yi, and were said to be impressed), and get a good defender in Simmons, which the Lakers definitely can use any defenders that they can get. Everything depends on what Yi ends up deciding to do.

A Trade Between Co-tenants?

With the injury to Elton Brand, the Clippers lost a major player from their team for at least part of the season. They will need someone to step up at the power forward position, or trade for a power forward. It has been suggested that the Clippers trade Corey Maggette and filler (to make salaries match) to the Lakers for Kwame Brown. This trade gives the Clippers a short term fix for the power forward position, giving them a decent post defender who is on the last year of his contract, and gives the Lakers another scorer to go along with Kobe Bryant.

Question is, would both teams want this deal? For Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, absolutely! He would be out of his mind not to take this deal if it was offered. The Lakers would be getting a very good player and getting rid of someone who is not very good at all. For Clippers GM Elgin Baylor, I would highly doubt that he would take this deal, even with the Elton Brand injury. Kwame has a horrible time even catching the ball, let alone scoring, and would not help the Clippers very much. So even though Laker fans would definitely want this deal to go down, unfortunately, there's no way that this deal happens.

The On Again, Off Again O'Neal Story

We keep hearing about Jermaine O'Neal first wanting to be traded to the Lakers, then saying that he didn't say that. Whatever it is, at least two people think that it will actually happen. From Hoopsworld:

"Right now Jermaine O'Neal is a Pacer. However any decent general manager knows you don't want guys on your team who want to be traded. Simple as that. I expect him to go to the Lakers when he's moved. One reason is Kobe Bryant has yet to see the Lakes make a move to better the team now. New Jersey is a long shot. He's in the same conference as the Nets. Can't see that happening. They don't want to lose to the Nets in the playoffs with O'Neal killing them on the inside. He'd have to go out West."

Also, Fox Sports gives its take on the whole situation.

Three Way Deal Including Odom Fell Through

According to Yahoo Sports, a three way deal among the Lakers, Bobcats, and Nets fell through when Bobcats owner Michael Jordan pulled out of the deal. The Bobcats would have received Richard Jefferson from the Nets, the Nets would have received Lamar Odom from the Lakers, and the Lakers would have received Gerald Wallace from the Bobcats.

In my opinion, this would have been just a lateral move for every team, and it wouldn't have helped or hurt any of them. All of them have similar stats and skills, so the trade wouldn't have pushed any team over the top. From Jordan's perspective, it seems like he felt the same way and didn't want to make a trade just to make a move unless it would help his team, which is of course what any owner or GM should think about when making a trade.