FanHouse Charlie Bell

The video is already a few days old, but it's still relevant considering Ramon Sessions set another career-high by scoring 25 points to go along with 14 assists in Milwaukee's season finale against the Timberwolves. Now, I imagine most of you probably just asked yourself, Ramon who?

Well, in case you haven't been paying attention (and I understand if you haven't been -- the Bucks did end the season on an eight-game losing streak), Sessions is Milwaukee's rookie point guard who's come out of complete obscurity to average a double-double the last month of the season (11.3 points and 11.3 assists), including an obscene 20 point, 24 assist performance earlier this week. For more, read up on BrewHoop.

You want to know the crazy part? He didn't even make his NBA debut until March 9th, instead spending most of the league terrorizing the D-League. Seriously, Larry Harris, you deserved to be fired just for that. Needless to say, but I'm guessing the first order of business for new GM John Hammond is putting Charlie Bell squarely on the trading block.

After dismissing Larry Harris from the role of general manager yesterday, Herb Kohl spoke to the press about Harris' limitations, or at least the implied notion that Kohl did not give Harris much leeway for making roster related transactional moves. Specifically, Kohl stated that he did veto a Zach Randolph to Milwaukee deal; but also said that he and Harris were on the same page all along.

"Larry has no difficulty or animosity with me over the right I had to say, 'Let's not do the Zach Randolph trade,' " Kohl said. "He would not bring that up to you as any point of contention. He would say, 'Yes, he had the right to do that, whether I agree or not.' "

Nothing smells finer on an early Thursday morning than a little politician double talk. Am I right? What Kohl essentially is saying, at least to me, is that he told Harris he was not going to trade for Randolph (purportedly for Charlie Bell, Dan Gadzuric and Bobby Simmons). And Harris won't contend that Kohl's veto power was outside any scope of normal behavior. Go figure.

Kohl's also discussed his reasoning for not wanting Z-Bo, which, not so shockingly, came down to character issues. Bear in mind that Randolph has a large contract and has had personal issues on/off court, but at least he's better than Gadzuric and Simmons combined.

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.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
It was pretty obvious that the return of Ron Artest was going to sink the fantasy value of other Kings playing the role of erstwhile fantasy star. But it's also easy to forget amongst the crazy and more than occasional injuries that he plays like a fantasy second rounder when he's "good". Like last night, as the Kings routed the Nets and Artest blew up for 27 points (two threes, nine of 14 from the floor), six boards, four dimes, one block and a silly five steals. I'm going to say ride it out while you can, but this is Ron Artest we're talking about, folks -- don't be scared to sell high, especially if you're in a head to head league and have playoffs.

Hot Cakes
Grant Hill made his return from an appendectomy and started again last night. He tallied eight points in 27 minutes. Meanwhile, Boris Diaw put up a Domino's like 5/5/5 in just 24 minutes off the bench while tacking on two blocks and a steal. Looks like Diaw's value will take a hit for as long as Hill stays healthy. (Read: Buy low.)

With Mo Williams out, Royal Ivey started. 10 points, no dimes and five fouls in 28 minutes? Guh. Against the Suns no less. Charlie Bell was far more effective with 11 points and eight dimes. He's the energy filled, versatile sixth man that the Bucks like to use off the bench, but if Ivey can't crank out some decent production, Bell will get most of the minutes. Williams is questionable for Thursday with a sprained pinkie, so it should not be anything major or debilitating enough to warrant making a major fantasy roster move.

The Lakers have a promotion going at their home games that ensures fans will stay in their seats until the final buzzer, even if the home team is up big. If the Lakers win and hold their opponents to under 100 points, each fan receives a coupon for two free tacos from Jack in the Box, retail value of which is a whopping 99 cents. Big effing deal, right? You'd be surprised.

There's really no other way to describe it: the fans go absolutely bonkers for this promotion. This weird sort of collective consciousness takes over the building in the waning minutes of a Laker blowout, where everyone becomes rabid for free tacos. Check out this footage from the cheap seats from a win over the Nuggets earlier this season, and listen to the insane screaming and "WE WANT TACOS!!" chants from the fans.

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.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
Or perhaps you prefer "nighthorse"? Either way, Kevin Durant leaving in the third quarter because of an ankle sprain is bad. Kevin Durant not returning to the game because of an ankle sprain is worse. Worstest of alls? That's he has dealt with this injury most of the season and will deal with the rest of the way home. Yes, the Sonics are phoning in their season, but Durant looked primed for a monster 2008, coming out hot with 23.5 points per game after a mildly disappointing December. I don't want to tell you to trade the next big thing, but if you can convince someone to give you full value on a guy who does not seem intent (as we originally thought) on raising his field goal percentage and who is dealing with an ankle injury, well ... go for it. Just don't do anything all crazy like.

Hot Cakes
Don't look now but one of my favorite players and erstwhile mancrushes, Charlie Bell, has ripped off two straight 20 point games. Michael Redd, not coincidentally, missed his third straight game with a bruised thigh. Redd could miss a few more, so Bell is a superb play for the near future in daily leagues. If Mo Williams or Redd miss any significant time, snatch Bell up immediately.

First, Charlie Bell nearly went overseas. An American opting for Europe over the NBA would've been a real eye-opener. Then, Andrei Kirilenko suggests that he'd be willing to give up millions to play in front of his people year-round.

You can add one definite, and one maybe, to this growing list. SPORT (translated by Hoops Hype) tells us that dispelled Warrior and singing hero Sarunas Jasikevicius is headed to Panathinaikos, reigning champs of the Euroleague. He'll get about $9.8 mill for two years, plus some money to help with the buyout. Jasikevicius's arrival in the NBA was supposed to be a big deal. But he never really found a niche, and certainly never got a chance to matter like he does internationally.

And Sasha Pavlovic, who may or may not be key to the Cavs' future, is at very least using Europe as leverage in his contract talks. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the two parties are nowhere close to agreeing on a figure; as a restricted free agent, Pavlovic has to go back for at least one season unless he heads for another league.

Jasikevicius is the poster child for this movement, since his NBA salary was relatively low and his contract would be high by European standards. Pavlovic has much more in common with Kirilenko; as famous as AK-47 is, no non-NBA team could ever afford to pay him a max-type deal. Pavlovic, on other hand, simply benefits from inflation. He'd be good in Europe, probably, but "good" over there just don't pay like it does here. That's why, in the end, both those guys will probably find a way to suck it up and play in the NBA in 2007-08.

So much for hitting up the singles clubs with Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal in Miami. No, instead Charlie Bell will remain in Milwaukee after the Bucks decided to match the Heat's five-year, $18 million offer sheet.

This comes as at least a mild surprise, not because Bell isn't worth it (he is) but because he flat-out admitted he didn't want to play for the Bucks after the way they've ignored him for most of the summer. From Charles Gardner's blog on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

"Inside my heart, I just won't be there," Bell said last week. "I won't feel the same toward the organization."

Bell's agent, Mark Bartelstein, said he talked with Bell today and that the 6-foot-3 guard was "kind of digesting it."

"This is all part of the business," Bartelstein said. "They realize Charlie Bell is a heck of a player, a huge piece of their present and future. They decided they wanted and needed to have Charlie with them."

That's putting a nice spin on it, but it's not hard to see why Bell felt jilted. Instead of coming up with a legitimate offer themselves, the Bucks left Bell stringing along to see how the rest of the league valued him. Fortunately Miami came through with an offer, because the best deal on the table to that point was a two-year, $9 million deal from a team in Greece.

The Bucks just signed point guard Royal Ivey yesterday, but Bell should be the primary backup to both Mo Williams and Michael Redd. Desmond Mason will be in the mix, though considering he literally has no outside shot, he'll be used more at small forward.

Just when it looked like Charlie Bell was headed to Greece (and surely turn the balance of power in the NBA on its head in the process), the Miami Heat have decided to do their part to keep him stateside. Ira Winderman is reporting in the Sun-Sentinel that Bell has signed an offer sheet with the Heat worth $18.3 million over five years. The Bucks will have until this coming Monday to match the offer.

Bell had reportedly turned down a previous offer from the Bucks that averaged $3 million, though it's unclear how many years that offer included. He was originally hoping for a five-year deal worth $20 million, but the offer sheet from the Heat (which averages $3.66 million) isn't a bad compromise -- especially considering it'll keep him in the NBA.

It's not too surprising the Heat went after Bell -- I suggested they do as much a couple of weeks ago -- but it does mean that Pat Riley has that much more salary to dump if he's going to avoid paying the luxury tax this season, which he's already indicated he's committed to doing. So what's the next step? Perhaps dumping free-agent-to-be Jason Williams' contract. The Heat can get away with using Smush Parker and Bell at the point, especially considering Dwyane Wade has the ball in his hands on most possessions anyway. A trade may not happen before training camp, but I'm willing to wager it's a sure thing before the All-Star game.

HT: TrueHoop