Disgruntled Stars

With the 20th anniversary NBA Draft coming up tomurrow, more highlights and GM attention has been focused on major NBA players. Currently, disgruntled stars around the league are requesting trades left and right, Paul Pierce the latest to join this frenzy of Trade Requests. Before I get to the actual draft coverage, I would like to analysis each player and the possible trades or jerseys they will be occupying next season.

Jermaine O'Neal Indiana Pacers - Rumors of this trade have been swarming around the league like bees since the middle of the Regular Season. The question is, does Jermaine O'Neal actually want out? The answer is yes, in one case he does on the condition that the Pacers choose to Rebuild. According to Larry Bird, this isn't the case.

"We're not rebuilding," Bird said. "And if I have a say in it I'll never rebuild. You take what you've got and you add to it. I don't believe in dropping to the very bottom to build yourself up. … You have to add to your core group and build from there."

But, does Jermaine really have anything to look forward to? I mean, the Pacers have no draft picks in this upcoming draft which posses to be one of the deepest drafts in the 20 year history. The Indiana Pacers are so much over the cap that it's stupid to even think about. Possible trade scenarios would be Jermaine O'Neal and Troy Murphy to the Lakers for Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom, plus their number 19 pick.

"We will get a good shooter," Bird said. "We'll get one of the top shooters in the league. It might not be the biggest name in the league but we will get a guy that can shoot the basketball. We can go either way (either by acquiring a draft pick or a veteran) but we will get a shooter."

One of the only teams currently in the league that is under the Salary Cap is the Atlanta Hawks who has the rights to pick 3 and 11 in the draft. So, is it possible that we trade Jermaine to the hawks for the 11th pick ( which was ours anyway) and clear some salary cap space? Then the Pacers could probably go after a shooter in the draft or free agency.

We'll see by 8:00 tomurrow.

Kobe Bryant Los Anglos Lakers -

"Kobe Bryant has played his last game in a Laker uniform," Espn's Rick Bucher said Friday. "That, at least, is the message consistently from Kobe's camp and the one he has sent to the Lakers more than once….

Kobe Bryant is currently and widely thought to be the very best player in the league today. It would be very hard to trade a 27 year old Michael Jordan. He has a contract that is monstrous in size, a no trade clause, and who's to say he tries to do this again with another team. Kobe Bryant is actually 2 years from his opt out year, so what if he doesn't win at his new home? Bulls GM John Paxson commented on how hard it would be to get Kobe.

''There's nothing going on,'' Paxson said. ''That's just the reality of it. I put myself in the other person's position when talking about deals. Unless that franchise would ever have a change of heart that they just have to do something ... what we would have to give up, I don't know how that would work for us.

''They've got maybe the top talent in the league -- definitely top-three. What we would have to do to get there ... I don't even know what it would be, but it would be significant. And then, are we better? That's what you'd have to ask yourself.''

Lakers Management is currently not giving any comments on this situation. But when you look at how frantic they are trying to deal, you can tell that their trying to get some talent and quick. But really, is giving up Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom worth getting a Kevin Garnett or JO in return? With a few more trades, maybe a duo of those two could win a championship. Maybe not, who knows?

Kevin Garnett Minnesota Timberwolves - As far as I know, KG hasn't actually requested a trade. But, everyone knows that he is disgruntled and wants out. Remember 3 years ago when the Timberwolves signed Sam Cassel and Latrell Sparewell? KG won the MVP that year, and made it the Western Conference Finals. The next year, Sam went to the Clippers, and Latrell barely played up to par.

Kevin Mchale has made a trade this off season, sending Mike James to the Rockets for Juwan Howard. 4 years ago, Howard could have signed with the Timerwolves.

"Even though I did not sign with Minnesota, it always was in the back of my mind when I was in Orlando [and] I second-guessed my decision," Howard said. "Nothing against Orlando, but I felt I should have signed with Minnesota."

Timberwolves basketball boss Kevin McHale said Howard is coming to Minnesota to "help stabilize the locker room and help stabilize the team, and it balances out our roster a little bit, so it was a good deal."

Maybe KG will be playing in a TimberWolves jersey next year. Who knows.

Paul Pierce -

"I’m expecting to make our pick tomorrow," Ainge said. "I’m excited about the fifth pick. I think the fifth pick can be an exciting part of our team this year and an important piece of our future." As to how Paul Pierce is going to react to this summer's inactivity, Ainge said what he had to. "Paul wants to win," said Ainge. "It’s that simple. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to be able to figure out that he wants to win. They all want to win. We all want. We’re all trying to become a more competitive and a winning team. It’s that simple." With this summer's inactivity and the lottery disappointment, this summer has to be considered another disaster for the Celtics and it will be interesting to see what Pierce's next move is.

Pierce wants another veteran in Bean Town or he's out. There's really not much more to say, no one wants to join him there. Shawn Marion followed suit about joining the Franchise and Kevin Garnett's agent told Celtic's Management that he does not wish to go to the Celtics.

Paul Pierce may be wearing a different jersey next year for the first time in his career.