FanHouse Bobby Simmons

MILWAUKEE -- As the New Jersey Nets are ringing up losses, Scott Hastings has a vested interest.

Hastings, you see, was on the expansion 1988-89 Miami Heat that set the record for most losses to start an NBA season at 17. So Hastings is hoping the Nets will knock the Heat out of the record book, right?

Try again.

"Absolutely not,'' Hastings said. "We were a bad team. We deserved our record, and I'm disappointed any time anybody gets close. Go Nets.''

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse.

This is a big week for the NBA, as the trading deadline is here. And some big names like Jermaine O'Neal, Shawn Marion and Brad Miller have already been dealt. But what's it like to be traded? And, more importantly, what would a team get for me if they traded my rights? I posed this question to everyone from Dr. J to P.J. Brown to Gerald Wilkins to Bobby Simmons to find out what I'm worth. The answers (Maury Povich? Oprah?) might surprise you. Check out the video after the jump.

The Nets and Bulls are discussing a trade that would send Larry Hughes to New Jersey, according to two published reports. The Bulls would receive Bobby Simmons in return, with little-used Maurice Ager included to make the salaries match.

Hughes has been disappointed about his lack of playing time in Chicago, especially since Kirk Hinrich returned from injury. It's not clear how much more time he could expect to see in New Jersey behind Devin Harris and Vince Carter (especially with Keyon Dooling playing well off the bench), but sometimes a move simply for the sake of a change of scenery is a good thing.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

The Bucks' have a lot of issues heading into this off-season, and most of them revolve around below average talent (Bobby Simmons and Dan Gadzuric) receiving above average dollars ($16M next season). The team needs to begin getting its roster in better shape for the coming seasons, and the draft may be able to help them do that via trade.

Picks: #8, #37.

Needs: Small forward is the glaring need, but some roster cohesiveness would be nice too.

Best case scenario: That the Bucks use the eighth pick to entice a team to take back one of their bad contracts.

The Bucks are on their way to the fourth straight finish in the Central Division basement, and considering GM Larry Harris entered the season as a lame duck general manager, the players weren't shocked at all when he was given his pink slip yesterday afternoon. In fact, the opposite was true: they were actually expecting it to happen sometime soon. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

"It wasn't surprising," [Bobby] Simmons said during a phone interview on Wednesday. "We pretty much figured something was going to happen the way things were going. Usually you would see him (Harris) at games, but after a while, you didn't see him at all.

It's obvious the team has been contemplating this move for a while -- owner Herb Kohl basically cut Harris off at the knees when he vetoed a proposed deal at the deadline that would have sent Simmons, Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell to the Knicks for Zach Randolph and Fred Jones. For what it's worth, though, Kohl hates the idea that he might be considered a "meddling" owner:

"You know, quote, meddling owner. Mark Cuban," Kohl said. "I'm not Mark Cuban. I honestly believe I'm not a meddling type of a manager, whether it be in basketball or whether it was in the food stores or department stores or as a senator. Most everybody who has worked for me over the years has said - while there were things about me they don't like - it wouldn't be they didn't have the latitude to do their jobs."

Most everybody, of course, but those whom he'd already decided to fire months ago.

With the NBA trade deadline looming, Trade Machinations rounds up real rumors (and creates fake ones) of moves that'd make the NBA a better, brighter place.

There's a rumor floating around the New York Post that the Knicks came to the Bucks and offered Zach Randolph plus expiring contract former dunk champion Fred Jones for Dan Gadzuric, Charlie Bell and Bobby Simmons. And apparently the Bucks rejected it. Which seems odd to me.

Also, a league source told The News that the Bucks' owner, Milwaukee Sen. Herb Kohl, yesterday rejected a trade that would have sent Randolph and either Fred Jones or Jared Jeffries to Milwaukee for a package including Bobby Simmons, Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric, who all have long-term contracts.

Milwaukee GM Larry Harris, who may be let go at season's end, is eager to make a deal to help his struggling team and presented a similar package to Kohl in January. However, Kohl is reluctant to approve any trades Harris brings to him. The Knicks and Bucks have tried to orchestrate several trades this season, including one that would have featured Stephon Marbury.

Now, getting back Z-Bo and Jones wouldn't be anything that the Bucks should consider a "prize haul", but if you can get a player as talented as Randolph and in the process free up a huge chunk of salary, well, don't you want to make that deal, regardless of how much of a lame duck Larry Harris is? Don't get me wrong -- I'm the biggest Chuck Bell fan on the planet, and Simmons scored a bunch of points for the Clippers one time ... but you gotta make this deal. Bell's contract is great because he's locked up cheaply for a long time, but the Bucks don't start him. And Gadzuric averages less points and rebounds per game than millions he makes per year (five something). Simmons can't stay healthy and he's fairly one dimensional anyway (plus, he makes NINE million this year!!). Look, Randolph is crazy, but not this crazy.

Okay, so the Bucks aren't going after Zach Randolph. According to the The Journal Times, they've also decided to pass on pursuing Ron Artest.

What are their plans? To try and trade Charlie Villanueva, Bobby Simmons, Charlie Bell, and Dan Gadzuric and hope they can get someone to bite. Simmons and Gadzuric are grossly overpaid, and Bell was until recently having one of the worst seasons ever. But there's some talent there, so who knows.

Then again, maybe they should get in line. The article's got a list of the other NBA players assumed to be available before the deadline, and it's kind of mind-boggling:

New Jersey guard Jason Kidd, Philadelphia guard Andre Miller, Memphis forward-center Pau Gasol, Memphis swingman Mike Miller, Lakers forward Lamar Odom, Cleveland guard Larry Hughes, Sacramento point guard Mike Bibby, Phoenix power forward-center Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix forward Shawn Marion, Atlanta forward Josh Smith, Chicago small forwards Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni, Chicago center Ben Wallace, Denver forwards Kenyon Martin and Nene, Houston shooting guard Tracy McGrady, Seattle power forward Chris Wilcox, Seattle point guard Luke Ridnour, Miami swingman Ricky Davis, Miami point guard Jason Williams and virtually anyone on the New York Knicks not named David Lee.

This is nothing new, and some of these are suspect. But seeing it all in one place is pretty dizzying.

Back during the 2000-05 season, Desmond Mason was the Bucks' second-leading scorer, and the high-flying swingman was considered a fan favorite. When he was traded to the Hornets, though, it seemed like he burned his bridges to ever return, singling out GM Larry Harris. But now that he's a free agent, he's singing a different tune:

In a radio interview at the time of the deal, Mason called Harris "a snake in the grass" and said he "flat out lied to my face" about the chances of being traded.

But that seems like so much ancient history to both sides now.

"That's absolutely behind us," [Mason's agent Roger] Montgomery said. "If we do return, we're looking forward to finishing what he (Mason) started. He was a fan favorite.

"We barely remember that even happened."

For what it's worth, it seems to be "forgive and forget" in Milwaukee's front office, as well -- in the same article, Harris says, "We've had good discussions and are optimistic it's heading in the right direction." For a personnel standpoint, bringing Mason in makes sense -- the team could use some insurance at the small forward spot considering Bobby Simmons missed all of last year. Plus, he's Michael Redd's good friend, which isn't a surprise since Redd knows Mason will never steal a shot from him.

Previously on FanHouse:
Desmond Mason Brings His Game Into the Studio