NBA Insider articles...

["Jaims" <jaims@info.com.ph>]

Hi Guys...sorry if this not pure Celts related but some might want to get some
inside scoops...enjoy.

Trade Rumors: Penny, the Jazz, Van Exel

Every Friday, NBA Insider will run down the hot trade rumors running through
the league as the Feb. 21 trade deadline sneaks up on us. . .

One week after trade talk really started to heat up, a few new rumors have
surfaced in Phoenix, Utah and Denver.

For starters, the latest name -- it should come as no surprise -- being
mentioned on the trade block is Penny Hardaway. The Suns like coach Scott
Skiles and would like to keep him around. Skiles' frustration with his team's
lack of effort and defensive intensity has been well documented, but most of
his ire has been directed toward Penny and Tom Gugliotta. Gugliotta has an
excuse, he is suffering from tendinitis in the quadriceps tendon above his
surgically repaired left knee. Penny, by all accounts, is healthy. He's
playing well but isn't playing Skiles basketball, which is a big part of the
problem. The other problem is that both players have large, long-term deals
that will be next to impossible to move. The Grizzlies may have shown some
interest this summer in Hardaway, but with Pau Gasol coming on strong and
Shane Battier, Lorenzen Wright and Stromile Swift (occasionally) looking like
the real deal, they'll focus instead on using their trade exception on
Warriors center Marc Jackson.

The Grizzlies could offer Grant Long (in the last year of his deal), a
first-round pick (the Rockets owe them one that's lottery protected this year
but has no protections the year after that), and cash. Jackson, who befriended
Gasol in Spain, has been on the Grizzlies' minds. "We've had conversations
with Golden State, and we'll continue to have conversations," GM Billy Knight
told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "Right now, we're just talking."

So who would be interested in Penny? That's the question the Suns are asking.
Expect a lot of blank stares.

The Jazz are getting lots of calls about several of their players. Bryon
Russell is in the last year of his deal and seems to have taken a back seat to
rookie Andrei Kirilenko. Russell's defense, unselfish attitude and moderate
deal ($5.1 million) have several contenders knocking on the Jazz's door. Ditto
for Donyell Marshall. The Jazz own a one-year option on Marshall and have
shown some reluctance to talk contract extension this summer. The most
surprising player getting an unusual amount of interest is inconsistent center
Greg Ostertag. Several teams, desperate for a big man, aren't scared away by
Ostertag's deal, which ends with him making $8.6 million in the 2003-04
season. Why Ostertag? Several GM's remember how tough Ostertag plays Shaq.
Sure, that's about the only time he shows up to play, but for teams like the
Mavs, Blazers and a handful of Eastern Conference teams, neutralizing Shaq in
the post is the battle.

Are the Jazz interested in dealing? Owner Larry Miller doesn't value large
amounts of cap room the same way that someone like Magic GM John Gabriel does.
He knows it will be difficult to lure top-flight free agents to Utah. If he
could trade for a couple of young ones, guys who will complement Stockton and
Malone now, and play well with Kirilenko and DeShawn Stevenson in the future,
why not?

Here's a thought (this is an idea, not a trade rumor): Maybe the Jazz and Suns
should start talking to each other. Russell would give the Suns the defensive
intensity and veteran grit they're looking for, Ostertag is as good as anyone
they have in the middle and getting Penny's salary off the books gives the
team some salary-cap flexibility and luxury-tax relief down the road. Penny
would have plenty of shots in Utah, and when John Stockton retires, could go
back to playing the point, where frankly, he has been more effective in his
career. If the Jazz could talk the Suns into sending along Jake Tsakalidis,
they'd have a nice center to develop and Penny would give them just enough
juice to make some noise in the playoffs one last time. Even with Penny on the
books, the Jazz would still have significant cap space (assuming Karl Malone
retires) to make a run at a free agent in the summer of 2003. Whether coach
Jerry Sloan would have the tolerance to deal with Penny is a legitimate
question, but maybe Stockton and Malone will stick around long enough that
some of their professionalism and toughness would wear off on Hardaway.

Finally, Nick Van Exel's on-again, off-again agent, Tony Dutt, is working hard
trying to broker a deal that would get Van Exel out of Denver. "I feel at this
stage we're proceeding," Dutt told the Denver Post. "There are options out
there, but there is nothing out there that is on the table. But there is a
good possibility we can get something done before the deadline. For any deal
to happen, it has to be fair for both sides. We're exploring every option."

Dutt has had some success, working out complex trades in the past. He brokered
the Derek Anderson-to-Portland deal this summer and played a role in getting
Shawn Kemp to Portland. Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said: "Again,
I'm not excited about trading Nick. But I understand the circumstances, and in
this situation it is not uncommon for an agent to try to help."

Dutt wasn't divulging who would actually be interested in Van Exel, but given
his track record, you think it could be Portland?



Denials: Kwame's sticking; Rose not on the block; Spree indifferent

With all of the trade talk, the Wizards and Pacers went out of their way to
debunk swirling rumors concerning Kwame Brown and Jalen Rose. And Latrell
Sprewell said he's indifferent to all of the trade talk swirling around him.

Wizards coach Doug Collins told Brown that he would not be traded to the Trail
Blazers, or anyone else, the Washington Post reported.

"We want you here," Collins said he told Brown. "I had to tell him just in
case he thought we were shopping him. He's not going anywhere."

With the Wizards experiencing success, even players like Jahidi White and
Hubert Davis, who were on the block earlier this season, now seem to be safe.
Even little used Etan Thomas appears to be safe.

"I want Etan and Kwame to think about being our power forwards of the future
and Brendan and Jahidi to be our centers of the future," Collins said. "Right
now, they have to say one of these days, not long from now, 'We're going to be
the four guys in the rotation on the floor.' "

According to the Post, if Washington makes a trade, it likely would involve a
lesser-used player, such as guard Courtney Alexander, or a player in the last
year of his contract, like forward Tyrone Nesby. In return, Washington would
most likely seek a draft pick, younger player or low-salaried veteran who
could fill a need for a playoff run.

The Pacers also responded to growing rumors that Rose is on his way out of
Indiana. "Jalen is not on the trading block," Pacers president Donnie Walsh
told the Indianapolis Star. "He never has been. That's as simple as I can say
it."

Despite the fact that Rose has struggled with the new role coach Isiah Thomas
has given him, Rose doesn't want to be traded either.

"It's not something I want at all," he said. "I've put a lot of time and
energy into establishing myself in Indiana. I've been through ups and downs.
For the most part I'm happy here, and I want to see not only some championship
banners hanging in the rafters, but my number hanging in the rafters."

As for Spree, he's taking all the trade rumors in stride. Asked how he'd feel
if it happened, Sprewell told the N.Y. Post, "Indifferent. I understand it's
part of the business. I don't want to leave New York, but if it happens, it
happens. I want to be here, bottom line," Sprewell added. "If something
happens, it happens, I can't control that. I don't concern myself with trade
talks."