Empty the Bench

-We all know that Grant Hill has agreed to a two-year contract with the Suns that will pay him $1.8 million the first year and a player option of $1.9 million for the second year. Lost in the the shuffle is the impact this could have on ETB favorite Trevor Ariza. Brian and I may disagree on this, but I think the kid is extremely talented. He’s not going to be an outside scorer (that’s what they got Rahsard for), but he’s a great defender and slasher who GM Otis Smith has called a future “star.” Ariza is a real hustle guy who can make a positive contribution without the ball and given the minutes he could easily average 15 points a game to go along with 6-7 boards and 2 steals shooting 50% on FGs.

-According to a Newsday piece over the weekend, “Talks between Minnesota and Golden State about a trade that would send Kevin Garnett to the Bay Area are real and advanced.” Right now they’re on hold because Brandan Wright, the 8th overall pick in this year’s draft, cannot be traded for 30 days. The package would likely include Wright and future All-Star Monta Ellis and several expiring contracts. If the Wolves could convince Golden State GM Chris Mullin to include Andris Biedrins it would be a great move for Minnesota. Either way, as a KG fan I’m really hoping he gets a chance to move on and has a legit shot at winning a title somewhere. It’s not going to happen with the T-Wolves.

-As fashionable as it was to be on the Greg Oden bandwagon over the last few years, people are already jumping off. He had a terrible debut in summer league on Friday, being tagged with three personal fouls in the first three minutes of the game and fouling out by picking up 10 total fouls. So what? Everybody should know that this is a young, raw player who will take time and significant polish to reach his potential. The biggest adjustment he’ll have to make is learning how NBA officials call the game, and I expect to see him continue racking up fouls in the foreseeable future. “It’s a different game. They call it different. There are a lot of things you can’t do with hand movements and hand checks,” he said. While he finished with only 6 points and 2 boards in 20 minutes, the physical talent, the body and the work ethic are all there and the poor showing does nothing to diminish my excitement about this young man or Blazers’ extremely promising future.

-The Miami Heat are serious about adding another perimeter playmaker to pair with Dwyane Wade. Mo Williams, Corey Maggette and Ron Artest are atop their wish list. The Heat have a midlevel exception worth roughly $6 million to pursue help outside, and they could also work out a sign-and-trade that would ship James Posey or Jason Williams out of town.

Mo Williams is a nice player, but he’s not a true point. He’s more akin to the combo-guard that Wade plays with better outside touch. He would be a major upgrade, but considering the dearth of PGs out there it would surprise me if they could land him for the midlevel. Corey Maggette is an offensive playmaker who can take it to the hole, draws a ton of fouls and makes his FTs. He’s also a defensive liability. As shocking as it may sound, I think the Tru Warrior makes a lot of sense here. He’s still the best man-defender in the NBA who’s a more than capable offensive player when he stays within his game. While Artest is always a threat to blow up, he also has the highest upside of the three and would give the Heat a legit shot at another title in the next two years before Shaq melts into the couch.