WATERCOOLER CHAT: PRE-DRAFT RUMORS, BLOWOUT FOR CUBBIES
BASKETBALL
In the NBA, with the draft just a night away, even more trade rumors are swirling. The latest is that the Atlanta Hawks are dangling their forward Josh Smith in exchange for Pau Gasol. This move would give the Lakers more athleticism, but they would lose their towering front court. Then again, in today’s NBA, it’s more about explosive, quick power than it is having just two big dudes down low. In the Lakers case, their combo of Gasol and Bynum made up a very intimidating threat to other teams, but that tandem barely got them past Denver in the opening round of the playoffs. This would be beneficial for the Lakers, but it’s hard to imagine how this will help the Hawks get better. Gasol would make the team marginally better, but wouldn’t put them in a position to compete with Miami in the Eastern Conference.
Also out of Los Angeles, the Clippers have expressed interest in Lamar Odom. Odom was a HUGE disappointment for Dallas last season — so much so that they had to shut him down for the year. Odom’s heart just wasn’t in it, as he has been dying to return to Los Angeles. However, would he accept a job with the Clippers instead? Odom’s passion has been playing for the Lakers, and while the Clippers are certainly sure they would like his athletic ability, they’re not sure on the investment as Odom might treat the Clips with the same apathetic treatment he showed the Mavericks. There’s also talk of the Clippers taking Odom and making room for him on the roster by sending Mo Williams to the Lakers (a team in serious need of a point guard, as it’s likely that Ramon Sessions will be heading out of town).
BASEBALL
The Chicago Cubs were looking for a three-game sweep over the New York Mets, but the Mets would not make it easy on the Cubbies. Jeff Samardzija took the mound for the Cubs, (as you may remember, Samardzija was the star wide receiver for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a few years ago). He opted for baseball over football, and has done pretty well so far. But Wednesday, the Mets absolutely ROCKED the Cubs. The game turned into a home run fest. They got TWO home runs from David Murphy, and later in the game Scott Hairston off of Samardzija to make it 16-1. This was a huge blowout. David Murphy would bat in another run to really put the cherry on top and make it 17-1. When you lose that badly in baseball, you really have to do some self-analysis. There had to be at least one moment during that game where Samardzija wished he had chosen playing wide receiver over pitcher. NY Mets 17, Chicago Cubs 1.
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