$54 Million Pants Reaction, Jermaine O'Neal to Lakers Snags, Johnny Buss Mistakens MySpace for the AP

- If you haven't already, check out Krunk's commentary on the judge who wants a ton of money over his missing pants that he loved so much, he cried over the loss in court!

Also check out the 19 (!) replies that came in this morning. I'd like to think that my quip:

I hate to imagine what would happen if he had a non-matching pair of socks.

had something to do with the influx in traffic.

- I can't believe there is controversy regarding Dodgers' Pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo's HR last night, and his subsequent bat flip (video link inside). Look, the bat flip didn't look intentional; so what if he got a bit excited? Not only did he hit his first bomb of his career, but it came at the tail end of a back-to-back-to-back! I mean, it's not as if he stood at the plate for five seconds, admiring his shot.

That being said, would I be surprised if the Mets retaliated tonight? Not really.

- So the big story in the NBA--other than the crap-fest that is the Finals--is the Jermaine O'Neal to Los Angeles rumor. I talked about this possibility in an earlier blog entry, but now that talks between the teams seem to be heating up, let me delve into this topic in more detail.

I offered this possible trade scenario to Indiana:

How about Jermaine O'Neal, Jamaal Tinsley + assorted garbage for Odom, Brown, Farmar, Evans, and [the 19th pick]?

The salaries are close enough to matching: O'Neal and Tinsley make a combined total of $26 million, and Odom, Brown, Farmar, and Evans make a combined total of about $25 million. The Pacers get a pair of expiring contracts (Brown and Evans), a young PG, and a star with a relatively manageable two years and $28 million left on the deal. The Pacers also get to dump a pair of huge contracts.

(Edit: I had previously mentioned here about trading Jeff Foster for cap relief, which was a really foolish statement. After all, an expiring contract, by itself, provides cap relief at the end of the season. In an earlier blog entry, I said that the Pacers could try to trade Foster's expiring contract for veteran help; that's what I should have said in this spot.)

As for the Lakers? They go further into cap hell, pushing all-in with Jermaine, Kobe, Bynum, Tinsley, and a slew of garbage. Even if Radmanovic returns 100%, and Walton is re-signed, the Lakers will still be lacking a consistent shooter, a perimeter defender, and a reliable big off the bench (Chris Mihm?). Not to mention, the trade puts the Lakers at ~$58 million, and that's not including Walton. We know the Dr. Jerry Buss are adverse to paying the luxury tax, and if we assume the luxury tax threshold next year will be close to this past year's amount--$65 million or so--that doesn't leave the Lakers much room to fill out the remainder of their roster. Therefore, I see a 0% chance that this trade will happen.

Some people have suggested "offering" Radmanovic in a package for O'Neal. I think Indy has enough overpaid white guys on their roster (Murphy, Dunleavy Jr.) with totally untradeable contracts. Sure, Odom, Vlad, and the #19 for O'Neal works numbers-wise, but what does Indy get out of the deal? They'll see zero cap relief for two years! And people are talking as if the #19th pick is some gem. Yes, this year's draft class is really deep, but the #19th pick is in the Nick Young-Daequan Cook-Josh McRoberts class. Not exactly jaw-dropping talent, would you not agree?

Laker fans are screaming for the team to not trade Odom and Bynum in any deal for O'Neal, and I gotta agree. Paraphrasing Bill Simmons here, you shouldn't trade two assets (or stars, or a combination) for one asset, unless you're getting a super-duper star. And no, Jermaine O'Neal does not qualify as a super-duper star.

The only trade that makes any sense for both teams is Odom, Brown, and the #19 for O'Neal and David Harrison. The Lakers get their established post-presence, and young player on the last year of his deal, while the Pacers get an expiring contract and a draft pick. The Lakers would be at $52 million for eight players, and have enough room to re-sign Walton and get some veteran help. Most importantly, they would also keep their one remaining bargaining chip--Bynum--for another possible deal.

Does this get the Lakers to the NBA Championship? No. Does it make them much more competitive? Yes, if O'Neal stays healthy, and if they can get veteran help.

- One more bit of Lakers news: apparently Johnny Buss--son of Dr. Jerry Buss--has mistaken MySpace for reputable news sites such as the AP, Reuters, etc. Johnny, on his MySpace page, had this message for Laker fan:

If you've been following the Kobe drama, I want to let you know it's not really drama -- sometimes we all need to make a change in our lives and that's all it is. Popular or unpopular, when it's time, it's time. Good luck Kobe wherever you go!

How old is this guy? Seventeen? I'm surprised he didn't write up a rap or a poem, or respond with "Bye Bye Kobe LOLZZZZOMGWTFBBQLMFAQ!!!!!!!1111111eleventyoneoneone!!!!"

(That last "word" took me about five minutes to come up with.)

If I were Kobe, this ludicrous message would be enough for me to demand a trade. I always thought MySpace was used for friends to keep in touch with each other, local bands to advertise their music, and for people to deceive others by pretending to be celebrities.

(Then again, I do get most of my news from Digg, Consumerist, etc., instead of CNN, MSNBC, etc.)

By the way, to prove Johnny Buss' credibility, he was President of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks!

(I'm just sayin'...)