WATERCOOLER CHAT: DWIGHT’S COURTING, CLIPPERS GET SERIOUS, YASIEL PUIG TALK OF THE TOWN

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the free agency wheeling and dealing has begun.  The big ticket item right now is of course Dwight Howard, and yesterday he met with the Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers about what they could possibly offer him if he went to/remained with their franchise.  They each gave their best pitch — the Mavs apparently saying they will make him their franchise player, and the Lakers having Kobe Bryant tell Dwight that he was passing the baton of Laker leadership over to him.  They gave their best pitch, and now it’s up to Dwight.
Elsewhere in the NBA, while the Lakers essentially beg for Dwight to stay in town, their inner-city rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, are getting very serious about winning.  They already brought in a fantastic coach in Doc Rivers, and now they swung a very intelligent 3-team deal.  They have finally decided to deal one of their most attractive trade chips in Eric Bledsoe.  Bledsoe was a late first round draft pick who turned out to be a fantastic and explosive back-up point guard.  A lot of teams wanted him, and the Clippers liked the Suns offer the best.  Phoenix will receive Bledsoe, and in a 3-team deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Clippers will receive sharpshooting J.J. Reddick and a new back-up point guard in the Suns’ Jared Dudley.  That’s exactly what they needed, and if Rivers can turn that team around, they will be a very tough team to beat next season.

BASEBALL

Finally, in baseball, the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig is the talk of the sports world right now.  Once in a generation a player comes along that transcends the sport.  Now it’s Yasiel Puig, a Cuban 22-year old who seems to be able to send just about any pitch over the wall.  Tuesday night, he hit his 8th home run in just over a month, and is now batting .443.  This guy is built like an ox, and has excellent fielding skills as well.  Some have dubbed him the next Bo Jackson, a marvelous athlete who can seemingly do anything.  The Dodgers shut out the Rockies and look to be back on track.  If they keep this up, we may just see them in the post-season.  LA Dodgers 8, Colorado 0.

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