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Trading-deadline truths

steve kerr

STEVE KERR'S THREE POINTS

1. PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dwyane Wade – The Miami Heat won three straight games last week as Wade averaged 36 points on scorching 58-percent shooting. Miami may finally be getting on the kind of run that NBA fans expected. And if Wade continues to play like he did last week, the Heat could challenge Detroit in the East.

2. STAT OF THE WEEK
54.8 – That's the field-goal percentage of San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker. Going into Wednesday's action, he ranks second in the NBA in shooting percentage and is the only guard among the top 16. Remarkably, Parker – who gets most of his points in the paint and owes his improved percentage to better shot selection – feels his revamped jump shot is still a year away from real improvement.

3. GAME OF THE WEEK
Friday: Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers – Granted, this is not a huge matchup, but to be honest, there aren't any barnburners on the NBA schedule this week. Still, the Lakers need to start winning again to solidify their playoff spot in the West, and they'd love nothing more than to knock off their Staples Center neighbors. Clippers forward Elton Brand continues his spectacular season and will be difficult for the Lakers' front line to handle.

With the trade deadline coming (Thursday at 3 p.m. ET), plenty of marquee names are being tossed around. But as is usually the case, most of the rumors floating around are purely fiction, not fact.

I wasn't surprised the New York Knicks added another big contract Wednesday when they acquired Steve Francis from the Orlando Magic.

It had been no secret that the Magic were shopping him, but his enormous contract and subpar performance this season seemed to make him less than attractive to most teams.

So, why did the Knicks make a move for him? Because, well, they're the Knicks.

There's been speculation that Drew Gooden will be moved by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he's not likely to go anywhere. He's too important for the Cavs as they continue their quest to make the playoffs.

Ben Gordon's name has surfaced, but it would be shocking to see him leave the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls are committed to a youth movement and they want to give their players a chance to prove themselves, so look for Chicago to stand pat, let its young players develop and play its cards this summer.

"We know we need a go-to guy," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "But what if he's already in our locker room and we just don't know it yet?"

I have a hard time seeing Kenyon Martin ending up anywhere. The Denver Nuggets power forward is 1½ seasons into a seven-year, $92 million deal, and with K-Mart's bum knee and less than inspiring play, most teams will avoid him like the plague.

The most likely Nugget to be traded is Earl Watson, who has drawn plenty of interest. Denver already has two other small guards in Andre Miller and Earl Boykins, so Watson is expendable. The Nuggets could use both Watson and the injured Nene Hilario as bait to try to bring in a shooting guard or another big man.

The most likely candidate among the superstars in the league to be dealt might be Ray Allen. With the Seattle SuperSonics struggling and the franchise in financial flux – and a contentious fight over a new arena in the Seattle area – Allen could be a trade-deadline casualty. He has four more years on his max contract, and he's playing at a very high level. If the Sonics feel like they have to move him for financial reasons, now is the time.

  • If the slam dunk competition at All-Star weekend had been merely a made-for-television event, it would have been one of the most spectacular contests in the history of the NBA. A little editing would have eliminated the 20 or so missed attempts by Nate Robinson, allowing viewers to fully appreciate what both he and Andre Iguodala accomplished.

The fact is, each player made dunks that fans have never seen before. In a contest that has been going on for over 20 years, both players were unbelievably creative in their approach. The problem was, of course, that there was no editing.

Robinson's 13 straight misses in the final round sucked the life out of the Toyota Center, making his successful 14th attempt seem more of a relief than a cause for celebration. Still, because of the archaic rule that a player gets as many tries as he needs, Robinson was given a high mark on his last dunk that led to his victory.

Anyone watching at home or at the event couldn't help but feel Iguodala was robbed of the title. His dunk off the back of the backboard was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, and his rebound/around-the-back slam was something that had never been done in this event, either. Iguodala also was quick to abandon efforts that weren't working and move onto other ideas. Robinson, on the other hand, stubbornly stayed with his plan and still somehow won.

If this were the Olympics, the judges in the competition – a contingent of former Houston Rockets players – would be investigated for fraud. Iguodala clearly should have won. That's why it's time for the NBA to alter the rules of the contest and only allow two or three missed dunks before penalizing the player. And the league should make sure its judges know what they're doing.