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Updated: Feb. 23, 2007, 12:27 PM ET
Trade deadline: Why so quiet?The following are excerpts from the podcast. To listen to the full podcast, click here. Was this a disappointing trade season?
Stein: I think we did have some pretty substantive conversation, and obviously we did have Iverson moving in December, we had an [eight-player] trade in January. And also, as you well know, I mean, Kidd to the Lakers was seriously discussed, Bibby to Cleveland was seriously discussed. ... It's not as bad as it looks on paper. Ford: But "serious discussions"? I mean, don't GMs get paid to do more than have serious discussions? As fans of teams that are disappointed right now that they didn't get any significant improvement ... don't you have to come back to these GMs and say there's 30 GMs in the league and these are the only two trades they could make before the trade deadline? It seems a little bit like maybe there's this reluctance on GMs to move away from the status quo. The fear of getting something wrong prohibits them from doing significant trades. Why wouldn't the Lakers give up 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum in a potential trade for Jason Kidd? Stein: I think part of the reason we didn't see that trade happen is because they're so happy with the gamble on Bynum and how it's worked out so far. You know, they were hit pretty hard when they drafted Andrew Bynum. They took a lot of criticism for it. They've now got a young guy, we haven't seen any consistency from him, but we have seen a lot of potential, a lot of agility for a guy that size. ... On top of the fact that, you know, trading big for small is always frowned upon, I think that's one reason why the Lakers weren't interested in doing that. ... I think Bynum has shown enough progress, he's whet the appetite just enough that I don't know where he's going to be in a year. He might be further along than we anticipate. Sometimes you see flashes from this guy that are unreal. Ford: The Lakers, I'm not so sure, because I look at this team, they've lost 12 out of the last 16. ... I mean, what do you say to Kobe and Lamar Odom? In three or four years when Bynum is ready to compete at a championship level, we'll be really glad we didn't trade for Jason Kidd? ... It seems that while Kidd couldn't give them a guarantee of a championship, he at least put them in the mix with the Spurs and the Mavs and the Phoenix Suns. And that's all fans ask for. Should the Celtics be more proactive? Ford: When I talked to Jeff Schwartz today, Pierce's agent, I got the impression that, Hey, Pierce is hanging in, he's being the good soldier, he loves Boston, he'd love to be there, but he's not going to wait around forever. It seems like this rebuilding process in Boston is taking forever. Stein: I would say those changes have to happen before next season. ... They're hoping that lottery luck shines on them this time because it didn't last time. Maybe they get one of the top two picks. ... I think by May and June we will see what you would term Danny Ainge's last hurrah. He certainly has got to come up with something before next season. There's no way the Celtics can go into next season with Pierce and a bunch of kids, Hey, we're going to give it the old college try. They've got to make a monumental move by then. But not doing it by this deadline, I personally don't have a huge problem with it. Should Chicago have tried harder to get Pau Gasol? Stein: You know, I don't think they're sure that Pau Gasol is the over-the-top piece. And I really think that in May and June that same deal is potentially there for them to go out and make. Ford: I have to disagree with you a little bit because they have P.J. Brown's expiring contract now. They're not going to be able to trade that over the summer. And now you've got to piece together quite a few players because most of these other players that they're interested in -- Tyrus Thomas, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng -- are low-money guys because they're in their rookie contracts. They're going to have a hard time piecing together enough contracts to get a Kevin Garnett or Pau Gasol. I think that can come back to bite them a little bit.
Complete Daily Dish podcast with Chad Ford and Marc Stein • Talk back to The Daily Dime gang • Dimes Past: 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 22
DJ  NBA Photo Library/NBAE via Getty Images
Dennis Johnson, remembered by many as a Celtic, first made his name in Seattle as part of a great backcourt and as MVP of the 1979 NBA Finals. He died on Thursday at age 52.
Making It Count  Dennis Johnson, widely regarded as one of the great clutch players in NBA history, averaged 14.1 points per game in the regular season during his 14-year NBA career but in 37 games in the NBA Finals he averaged 18.3 points per game. Among the 65 players in NBA history who played at least 800 games in the regular season and 15 games in the finals, only two had a larger increase in their finals ppg average over their regular-season mark than Johnson's 4.2: Hakeem Olajuwon, who was plus 5.7 (21.8 to 27.5), and James Worthy, who was plus 4.6 (17.6 to 22.2). • Elias Sports Bureau
Streak Freaks
The Mavericks' win over the Heat on Thursday night extended their winning streak to 10 games.
It's the third time this season that Dallas has had a winning streak of at least 10 games. Only four other teams in NBA history have posted three double-digit streaks in one season: • Elias Sports Bureau | More from Elias Records At A Glance |
"Inspired" Bulls, Ben Get It Done
Bulls stop short-handed Cavs in Cleveland
Like A Glove  AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
Denied. Rejected. Dejected. Defeated. Pick your verb after the Mavs smothered the Heat -- their nemeses -- in Dallas, rolling to a 32-point lead and winning 112-100.
Extreme Behavior 
Thursday's Best
Thursday's Worst
Quote of the Day
• See how all 64 who played stacked up -- Royce Webb
Out Of Reach?
After the Mavs' thrashing of the Miami Heat, and one day after Dwyane Wade's shoulder injury, Marc Stein reports from Dallas on the state of the champs. Here's an excerpt from Stein's blog: Just making the playoffs, even in the lowly East, depends far more on Dwyane Wade being able to put off surgery and return in April for the last couple weeks of the Heat's favorable finish: 15 of their final 25 games are at home. Yet it'll also require Shaq, who turns 35 on March 6, to rebound strongly from the knee surgery that has cost him 39 of Miami's 54 games and serve as the Heat's focal point for the first time since the '04-05 season. Can the champs limp into the postseason? They'll have to hope this wasn't an omen, but on another rough Thursday in February in Dallas, Pat Riley couldn't even talk to Wade directly. After Wade flew back to Miami for medical evaluations, Riley said he had to hand-write a note to him and FedEx it for overnight delivery because Wade's phone couldn't take any more messages. I don't think he was kidding, either, so hold your jokes about Riley not being able to crack Wade's five.
Karma Cops
On Thursday, John Hollinger assessed the impact of Dwyane Wade's shoulder injury on the Heat and the Eastern Conference playoff race. Here's an excerpt from Hollinger's blog: If the New Jersey Nets were hoping to get a boost at the trade deadline, they sure got it. The twist is that, after weeks of rumors involving potential Nets deals, this boost had nothing to do with their own deal making. Instead, the Nets' playoffs hopes are vastly improved today because of the demise of one of their rivals, Miami, thanks to Dwyane Wade's dislocated shoulder and the impending resignation of coach Pat Riley. (OK, I'm kidding on that last part. But have you ever seen somebody's karma account evened in such dramatic fashion? Somewhere, Stan Van Gundy is laughing his mustache off.) • Complete John Hollinger blog
The Wizards Of Odd
News, notes, quips and quotes after a typically quirky Wizards win, decided by instant replay when the officials wiped away a potential game-tying shot by Sacramento's John Salmons after Washington blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead:
"There are different ways to win in this league," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "And the most important thing is we won." ...
 Gilbert Arenas scored 30 of his 43 points in the first half and finished with an extremely active box score line: 12-for-22 from the field, 3-for-8 from 3-point range, 16-for-17 from the free throw line, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals and nine of the Wizards' season-high 23 turnovers. ... Gilbertology update: Arenas offered up his best excuses for dodging reporters this week. He said he left quickly after Tuesday's victory over Minnesota because he wanted to see the movie "Hannibal Rising" -- he shrugged his shoulders in disappointment when asked for a review -- and beat a quick path out of the arena Thursday to prepare for the upcoming road trip. "I have to pack," he said. Why couldn't he pack before the game? Because, Arenas said, a power outage prevented him from getting into his own house, which has a sophisticated security system. Apparently, he's saving "the dog ate my homework" for a later date. ... Neither team made a move before Thursday's trade deadline. The one player who might have been on the block was Bibby. "I think any time there is speculation, it can affect you," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "There won't be any speculation now." ... DeShawn Stevenson, who has been calling himself "Mr. Fifty" to reflect his shooting mark, stayed above break-even by going 8-for-14. -- Associated Press
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