WATERCOOLER CHAT: BLOCKBUSTER TRADES IN BOSTON, DWIGHT HOWARD’S COURTING, BRAZIL WINS CONFEDERATION CUP

BASKETBALL

The major news from the weekend came out of the NBA.  It’s rare to see a blockbuster trade, but they can happen, and typically happen around draft time when teams are most optimistic and think that draft picks can turn into superstars.  The Boston Celtics have publicly admitted they are rebuilding, most notably because they shipped off their coach Doc Rivers (who won them a championship) because he said he didn’t want to be part of their rebuilding effort.  Now the Celtics have decided to shed more skin, shipping off their most name brand players Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets.  That officially ends the Big 3 era in Boston, with Ray Allen jumping ship for Boston last summer.

In exchange, the Celtics got a bunch of first round picks and a handful of players who likely won’t remain in a Celtic uniform for a full year and a solid young player in Marshon Brooks who can put up points pretty quickly.  As for the Nets, they now have a star-studded (albeit slightly old) starting line up which they believe can now challenge Miami in the East.

Elsewhere in the NBA, the Dwight Howard sweepstakes have begun with Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and of course Los Angeles all bending over backwards to get him.  Apparently, Kobe and Steve Nash have already reached out trying to keep him in a Lakers jersey.  On the other hand, Dirk Nowitzki said he would love to have Howard next year, and a local Dallas restaurant has offered Howard free chicken fingers for life if he dons a Mavs jersey.  Then again, Howard might want to return to his home town Atlanta to try and get them a championship.  Either way, you can bet that Howard is enjoying the courting.  It’s good for his ego, and it seems catering to his ego seems to be a big factor in getting him on any team.

SOCCER

It was the Finals of the Confederation Cup in Brazil.  The Confederations Cup is one of the biggest soccer tournaments in the world.  It’s played every few years, and is typically viewed as the warm-up to the World Cup, as it is usually hosted in the same country as the World Cup.  This year it was in Brazil, and featured a championship match-up between Brazil and Spain.  Everyone expected a great game, but Brazil simply took care of business on their own soil.  A nice victory for the Brazilians, but you can be sure that a mighty team like Spain is squarely focused on the real victory:  The World Cup in 2014.

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