Jason Richardson for Andrei Kirilenko!!!!!!!!

Golden State -

I addressed a lot of individual issues in my last post. In retrospect, I should have mentioned how very possible another trade may be on the horizon for the Warriors. It is sure that, after the return of Jason Richardson, they will have far too many shooting guard types on the roster. Another athletic bigger wing or post player would balance the roster out far better. If the Warriors are serious about making the playoffs, they will cast aside a Pietrus, a Richardson, a Jackson or perhaps even, reluctantly, an Ellis to get the guy they need. Matt Barnes is a nice SF but if they had a better option on that front line to go with Harrington and Biedrins then Barnes would make a good sixth/seventh man for them.

Watch NBA rumors carefully for a trade involving a Warriors shooting guard. In my wildest of dreams, the Bay Ballers would find a way to pry AK47 from the Utes, giving Millsap and Harpring more burn for the Jazz, giving them an actual shooting guard, and turning up the amperage on the Golden State running game. Kirilenko was born to run and Jerry Sloan prefers to walk the ball up. It makes too much sense!

Were I Chris Mullin, I would offer JRich and Caparkapa for AK47. If rejected, I would seek to send JRich and Pietrus to Utah for Kirilenko. The dollars work in both cases and both teams would benefit greatly from the switch! True, it would be a trade within the Western Conference but both teams are in different divisions and both have gone 4-6 in their last ten games so each side can see the need for adjustment.

Both JRich and AK47 have five year big buck contracts. Both Caparkapa and Pietrus have expiring deals. Zarko could use a new home and Pietrus will be looking for a new deal at bigger bucks than Golden State would now be willing to cough up. Yep, it oughta happen. Will it? Hey, Chris!!!

Pacers -

Marquis Daniels will get a shot at shooting guard for Indiana. I don't expect that to work out, but he'll get a big uptick of minutes as Rick Carlisle finds out! He really cannot shoot from outside and that needs to change before he is a viable shooting guard for them.

Jeff Foster may see his minutes drop to historic lows, at least at first, as Carlisle tries to work several bigs into the mix. Foster has always been good field, no hit and that won't change. The lost minutes will make him fantasy irrelevant as his rebounds and steals in particular go down.

If Mike Dunleavy cannot play good minutes at shooting guard, one has to think he will be part of a subsequent trade. I can see him being a kind of point forward on the offensive end but his defense is just as offensive.

Troy Murphy will get a chance to replace Al Harrison's minutes and, if he is healthy, may well flourish. He is still something of a defensive liability.

In fact, Indiana now has a couple of bigs who score better outside and a few guards who score the ball better in the paint! A very odd situation indeed. Indiana has more firepower now but much of it is in guys who are both bigger and slower athletes such as The Horse.

So why not Dunleavy for Maggette?

Yep, the Dun can be traded right away without another player being thrown in. Maggette has been unhappy in LA and coming off the bench. He is also more of a guard-type, which is what Indiana needs while the Clip's coach might well like seeing his son starting as the small forward or taking on the role of sixth-man-who-gets-starter-minutes. Yes, it makes so much sense, plus dumps a bit of the salary burden Larry Bird took on in the last deal. If the Clips are serious about making the playoffs, they have to think on such a deal.

Radical idea - The Spurs and Dunleavy! Trade FinDog and Eric Williams (with his expiring contract) for Dunleavy! The Dun can play major minutes as a small forward as Bruce Bowen's game slowly sinks in the West. Finley comes back East, gets bigger minutes and finds his stroke again and Williams provides veteran swingman depth plus, again, two expiring contracts. With the burn he gets now, Finley looks like yesterday's toast. The Spurs should bank on Brent Barry as the backup shooting guard and Beno behind Parker and enjoy Dunleavy's team-oriented game from the three spot. Does this cause San Antonio to take on salary big time? Yes, but how many more years are left on the Big Fundamental before you give up on trying to win the Big Dance and begin rebuilding? I say grab it and growl, baby!