Empty the Bench

- A very minor trade is being discussed between four, potentially five, NBA franchises.

- The Orlando Magic have money to spend, and come hell or high water, they’re going to spend it. First, hulking center Dwight Howard will be inked to a multi-year extension at a crazy-ridiculous number. That’ll be easy. Next, GM Otis Smith will make an offer to Human Victory Cigar restricted free-agent Darko “Just Play Me” Milicic, who has a history of overvaluing himself and his skills, so we’ll see what happens. The biggest news, however, will come when the Magic land a marquee free agent, which they almost assuredly will by mid-July. According to the Orlando Sentinel, players on Smith’s short list include Rashard Lewis, Gerald Wallace, Chauncey Billups, and Vince Carter.

- Speaking of free agency, Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups officially opted out of his contract this week. Today, everyone from my boss to a trainer at my gym was hounding me about “what’s up with Billups?” and “Chauncey is leaving Detroit, eh?” Through gritted teeth, I calmly explained that all parties involved–Billups, his agent Andy Miller, Pistons GM Joe Dumars, probably my orthodontist from fourth grade–knew this move was par for Chauncey’s free-agency course. No surprise. ETB still believes Billups will be back in Detroit for the foreseeable future.

- About that minor trade being bandied about: I was thinking this afternoon that Lakers’ brass probably feels like adding a KG to the squad would not only appease the split personalities of Kobe, but also make them a legitimate contender again. I don’t feel that way, at all. For one thing, KG is a proven liability during pressure situations (blame it on playing under Flip Saunders during his formative years if you will). Yes, yes, I know, Kobe will still be the one taking the big shots. That’s fine. But we’re still not sold on it, especially when they give up Odom and Bynum. MSNBC’s Michael Ventre agrees with me, but for the record, I thought about this first, Mike.

- A week or so ago I mentioned that I was working on a Pistons draft preview for Daily Basketball. Well, procrastination got the better of me (or was it this god-awful heat in NYC?) and I didn’t wrap it up until yesterday. In all its glory, here’s the draft preview. Here’s more draft previews from some great NBA writers.

- FanIQ puts into words what we’ve also been wondering about. This kid from Wisconsin has a very good chance of being the most productive second-round pick of the 2007 class, at least in the short term.

- One marriage between two individuals whose first names are collectively five letters long.

- In today’s “Rising, Falling, Trading” column, DraftExpress president Jonathan Givony says the Nets are willing to part with Boki Nachbar and the #17 pick for oft-injured, seemingly always out-of-shape Sean May (Charlotte Bobcats). Am I missing something?

- Indiana Pacers PF/C Jermaine O’Neal, once considered a franchise-type player, is enduring somewhat of a fall from grace this summer. While we don’t think it wise to put too much scoring pressure on O’Neal, and cannot deny the health issues that always seem to dog him, this kid is still in his prime and is one of the better shot-blockers in the league. When he’s on, he can be unstoppable in the post. Here’s hoping he gets the hell out of that disaster in Indiana and finds himself on a team where he’s not relied upon to be Mr. Everything all the time.

- We hate to link to the same site twice in one post, but FanIQ is just so damn timely with their list of the 10 Worst Draft-Day Trades of the Last 10 Years. Whew, I don’t know–Dirk Nowitzki, reigning league MVP, for Robert “Tractor” Traylor seems like #1 to me.