Pete: Any talk of him being traded, to beef up for the playoffs?
Brendan: Honestly, nothing more serious than any other rumor we’ve heard for the last few years. With Shawn Marion clearly on the market and a more proven commodity, I’d be surprised if we saw anybody trade for Odom. People think he’s overpaid.
Pete: But his contract is expiring…
Brendan: True.
I wrote something down about this…
See, I have a suspicion that no contract worth more than $8 million is getting dealt this year.
Last season’s big deals were about a glut of highly competitive teams trying for the push over the top and into the finals. This year’s contenders are pretty solid as they are, but everybody else would only be negotiating position for the free-agent feeding frenzy to come, and all the biggest players in that world seem pretty poised already.
Pete: Ugh. Bad news for Raps fans.
Brendan: How much is left on Jermaine O’Neal’s deal?
Pete: $23 mil in 2010.
Brendan: Ouch.
I take it back. Bryan Colangelo will try to make something happen there.
Pete: I sure hope so.
Brendan: Not sure if they’ll pick up an expiring deal to re-sign a player though. It’s not like players are busting the door down to play up north.
(No offense, my father is a canuck.)
Pete: You do have a point. Winning attracts.
Brendan: And the Raps are going the wrong way on that elevator.
How nervous are you that Chris Bosh leaves?
Pete: Not really.
Brendan: One more season, right?
Pete: Yes. The big 2010. [Technically, he's got a player option for the 2010-11 season. Thanks, Carolyn.]
Brendan: He’s got to like making franchise money there, anyway.
I’ll tell you a secret.
Pete: Okay!
Brendan: He was my pick as the bird-man in my banner.
I’ve always thought that Bosh looks like a raptor, like a bird of prey. I’ll tell anybody who listens that I think he looks birdlike.
Pete: Or ostrich-like?
Brendan: SURE! Facial features, thin limbs. He’s, like, two evolutionary steps from defunct patagia.
Pete: Hahaha.

Brendan: Not that I dislike Bosh, though I’ve always thought him an overrated fantasy player. Unless you’re playing roto, he’s a second rounder for sure (at best).
Pete: Agreed, but he does have the drive to improve, and he has improved over the years.
Brendan: Absolutely.
I kind of like him in real life.
But you said it, winning is all.
And he might be devalued a tiny bit by 2010.
Lebron + Bosh = rings. All I’m sayin’…
Pete: You believe the rumors – Bosh and LeBron (and Wade?) in New York?

Brendan: Nah, not really.
It’d be terrible for the league, too. As much as we all think talent has been diluted by expansion, the spread of wealth keeps each team profitable.
Pete: Good point. But it would be fun to see the New Big Three.
Brendan: Oh, absolutely, but they’d also be the ONLY thing anybody ever talked about, and that would get old.
As long as they ain’t Celtics, I’m cool.
(there’s no angry-face emoticon)
Pete: (Sure there is!)
x-(
Brendan: Haha. I’m internets-lazy, apparently.
Pete: Hey, I wanna talk to you about a particular player.
Brendan: Bargs, right?
Pete: No…
Brendan: Ah… hit me.
Pete: Check out the poll. See who’s the top pick for Raps SF.
Brendan: Ahhh. I thought that was interesting. Marion vs. Hedo.
Pete: Hedo won. Who-da thunk?
Brendan: That’s the big debate.
I’ve been pretty adamant that Marion needs a pass-first PG, and I think he’s the obvious choice for Colangelo’s Suns-North ideal.
Plus I’m not sure (from what little I’ve seen) that the Raptors’ problem is ball movement.
I’m a little convinced that Turkoglu’s value has been meshing with the system in Orlando, and (sorry Jermaine) O’Neal just isn’t Dwight Howard.
I’m thinking it’s more likely that Marion has a resurgence with fewer expectations (and probably less money) in the new setting than Hedo fits and pushes you guys over the top.

Hedo’s in sync with D-Ho. (from SlamDunkCentral.com)

Pete: So you think Marion’s not breaking down? Still something left in the tank?
Brendan: I think he’s DEFINITELY got some great game left, but he – more than ANYBODY on those Suns teams – thrives under pace and with a PG feeding him on the break.
Plus I think Turkoglu’s a little flukey.
Pete: I know – he’s on my fantasy team for the second year in a row.
Brendan: Oooohhh. I warned ya. One of my few correct calls this season.
Pete: And I agree, Raps need a Marion-type more than a Hedo-type.
What about your Lakers? Offseason, that is.
Brendan: I like this team. I do.
I think they might actually benefit from losing Odom, as horrible as that sounds. He’s been a warrior for us, playing hurt in the playoffs.
And I’m not nearly as hard on him as a lot of folks, but he’s just not being maximized by any stretch of the imagination.
I’m not fully convinced of our ability to score off the bench. Jordan Farmar is nobody’s Pistol Pete.
But as constructed, I think they’re a title contender for years, obviously. It just means more minutes for the starters.
I’m very content, ultimately.
(And, incidentally, the Ariza-for-Cook trade was the beginnings of Mitch Kupchak’s emergence as a good GM!)
Pete: And once Odom’s gone, do you guys have much cap space?
Brendan: Not really. Haha. He’s got a sizeable contract, but we’re pretty well over the cap. Not a big 2010 destination for anybody.
Pete: And Bynum’s contract starts?
Brendan: That seems to be the plan.
Would you go to war with Bynum/Kobe/Pau as your core?
Pete: It seems to work, no?
Brendan: Absolutely.
I was up and down on Bynum – I honestly was – but you don’t score 40 points by accident, you know?
He could be a legit offensive presence someday, and maybe rather soon.
Pete: You know, I was thinking: Hedo would work in LA.
Brendan: HE WOULD! But he’ll command around $10 mil this year, and we don’t NEED him. He’s not the best wing defender, and our intermittent/lazy D is our achilles heel.
But that’s a triangle player right there.
Pete: True. That’s what I thought. But his so-so D … another reason why he’s not good for the Raps.
Brendan: Honestly, we have an embarrassment of riches.
And Marion is forgotten as a tenacious defender. He was the ONLY actually defender on those Suns teams. He can guard 4 positions, etc. You don’t lose that in your early 30s.

The Matrix can still defend like old times. (from Basketbawful)

Pete: That’s why I want him!
Brendan: As well you should!
Pete: Just scared by his health.
Brendan: Yeeeah. But again, your options are slightly limited.
And he’s nowhere near the risk you took in acquiring JO.
I think it’s a fit, but a trade would have happened by now if it’s gonna.
I’m thinking the FA price of Marion is around $13 mil. Somebody’ll give him that, maybe a little less. And that’s a paycut.
Pete: Would Matrix be too proud? Go to Europe?
Brendan: Probably not. He’s got the NBA bonafides, and somebody will pay him, probably the Raps if they can make the cap work.
I like your GM. I do.
Pete: Me too!
Brendan: Hang in there, Toronto.
(Maybe the best Raps blog name: Mediocre Forever.)
Pete: I thought the best was Pete Marasmitch.
Brendan: OMG! I am SO SORRY Master Pete! Look what I’ve gone and said.
Seriously though, “Smitch’s Smash” is great. If only you had the Smitch…
Pete: He’s now hanging out at the Atlanta Hawks games.
Brendan: Is he?
Pete: Apparently.
Brendan: Is Mike Woodson on the outs?
Pete: Smitch – whatta vulture.
Seriously, I dunno.
Brendan: I can’t see them firing Woodson after sticking by him and them becoming a playoff team. I wouldn’t mind him in Memphis though…
Pete: Hey, one more thing before we leave the fire.
Brendan: Sure.
Pete: How goes the Chinese Magic Johnson?
My countryman?
The Monkey King?
Brendan: He prefers “The Monkey King”!
Pete: Snap!
Brendan: Sun Yue’s a fan favorite. A Chinese victory cigar.
I don’t see anybody that deep on the depth chart in LA making a name there. But from what I’ve seen, he wears warmups VERY well.
Pete: Haha. But he hasn’t been cut (yet), so that’s positive for him.
Brendan: Sure. I guess he’s got some talent.
And remember, Sasha Vujacic was a practice player for a few years, so maybe that contract is coming after all.
Pete: The Machine, The Monkey King, and Kobe. LA has it all.
Brendan: Best buddy-cop movie ever?
“The Machine, The Monkey King, and Kobe”
I’d shell out nine bucks, ’cause I sure can’t afford Lakers tix.

Looks more like a crime drama to me. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)

Pete: Kobe has to feed his family.
Brendan: Hehe.
Rick Fox is crying to himself somewhere becaus he thinks we could be serious, and that Kobe could get cast in something.
Pete: I could see that. MJ got to work with Toons, why not Kobe?
Brendan: In this economy, why not? Mother of all career reinventions…
Eagle, CO to a new Looney Toons flick.
I honestly shudder at the possibility.
For all the world, really.
Pete: On that note…
Brendan: On that thoroughly depressing note…
Pete: Thanks for sitting down by the fire with me.
Brendan: Hey, it was honestly my pleasure. I love Pete Marasmitch!
(Was that the line we agreed to?)
Just kidding!
Thanks a ton. I’d love to do it again.
Pete: Great!
By the way, what does the “K” stand for?
Brendan: “Kelly.” My lineage is apparently of Irish cop characters from old Hollywood movies. I am “Brendan Kelly O’Grady.”
Try not to do a borderline-offensive accent on it.
Pete: I can’t help it now!
Brendan: Ha! Nobody can.
Thanks, Jeff.