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lumbardar
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Joined: 3/12/2009
Member: #2561
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Everyone in Sacramento was a little bummed out about the Ricky Rubio visit. Rubio flew into town on Tuesday, had dinner and interviews with the front office and even chatted with the media. However, he came down with a fever and sore throat Tuesday night and wasn't able to work out for the team Wednesday. He was so ill that he didn't even get a chance to sit down with the Maloof family, which owns the Kings.
He was going to try to make a go of it Thursday morning, but he woke up still not feeling well and ended up flying back to L.A.
At this point, Rubio's schedule is up in the air. He'll try to get well and then decide which teams to visit. Another visit with Sacramento is still possible.
One Kings source reiterated that the organization still has doubts about Rubio, and the visit did little to alleviate them. However, there is a split in the camps in Sacramento, with some pushing for Rubio or, if he's gone, Jrue Holiday. Others are pushing for Jonny Flynn and/or Tyreke Evans.
Plus, still more prospects are on their way to Sacramento for workouts. DeMar DeRozan will be in on Saturday. Stephen Curry and Evans will be in town Sunday. This will be the second visit for Evans, whose first visit wasn't terrific, as we reported.
Sources close to the situation continue to insist that, in the end, the most likely scenario is Rubio going to the Kings at No. 4 if he's still on the board. If he's gone, it sounds like Flynn has moved into second place.
However, the focus on Rubio in the coming days may shift to Oklahoma City. The Thunder continue to show strong interest in Rubio and are pushing for a meeting, physical and a review of Rubio's contract in Spain. If Rubio feels better and is up for the visit, that's where he'll head next.
• There obviously has been a lot of talk about what the Suns will do this summer. In the past few weeks, rumors of a Shaquille O'Neal-to-Cleveland deal and an Amare Stoudemire-to-Washington deal have re-emerged. On Wednesday evening, the latest rumor had the Suns dealing Stoudemire to Minnesota for Al Jefferson and the No. 6 pick.
The first two deals were discussed at the February trade deadline, but talks this time around may be premature -- Suns sources say neither deal is hot at the moment. And the one with Minnesota is totally bogus, I'm told. A Suns source says that the team has had zero conversations about it.
Still, rumors are coming out of Phoenix for a reason. The big question continues to be: Where are the Suns headed? Are they still trying to be a championship contender? Or are they blowing things up, cutting costs and rebuilding from scratch?
Trading Shaq or Stoudemire doesn't make much sense in the former scenario. Lose either guy, and the Suns are less likely to be a serious contender. Although the Suns seem way more inclined to move Shaq and keep Stoudemire, a Suns source conceded that both players could be moved, and it could correspond to moving up in this year's draft.
If that's the case, here's a theory (and that's all it is, folks, a theory): What if you combine the two most prominent Suns trade rumors into a mega three-way deal?
It would look like this:
The Suns send Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland and Amare Stoudemire to Washington.
The Cavs send Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic to Phoenix and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Washington.
The Wizards send the No. 5 pick, Etan Thomas, Mike James and JaVale McGee to Phoenix and Antawn Jamison to Cleveland.
Call me crazy, but isn't this the ideal deal for all three teams?
The Suns would lose a lot of talent in the deal and basically would be blowing up the team. However, if they think they'll lose Stoudemire next summer anyway and don't believe they have a real shot at winning a title next season, why not get something for Stoudemire now and jump-start the rebuilding process?
In this deal, the Suns would pick up the No. 5 pick and McGee, a talented 7-footer who would be a good fit in Phoenix. More importantly for them, they would save a ton of cash next season. Pavlovic's salary is only partially guaranteed. Wallace likely could be bought out for less than he's owed. And the Suns would take back less money in the deal to begin with. When you factor in the reduction in luxury taxes and consider that they might save enough to eke below the dreaded luxury-tax line ... could owner Robert Sarver really pass on saving potentially $12-14 million in salary and penalties next season?
The Wizards essentially would replace Jamison, a couple of role players (Thomas and James) and two prospects (McGee and the No. 5 pick) with Stoudemire and Ilgauskas. Yes, Jamison is very important to the Wizards, but he'd be replaced by Stoudemire. And Ilgauskas would give them a legit big man in the middle. Suddenly, they would look like contenders for the Eastern Conference crown. And if things don't work out, they'll have cap room in 2010 when Ilgauskas, Stoudemire and Brendan Haywood all come off the books.
And the Cavs? They would get Shaq, whom they apparently like. And Jamison, an athletic scoring 4 who can do what the Cavs' bigs couldn't during the playoffs -- guard someone on the wing.
I'm not saying this will happen. Again, I'm just putting together two deals that have been buzzing for a while. But the deals would give all three teams clearer direction.
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