FanHouse Peter Vescey

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In case you didn't pick up on the fact, Peter Vescey has written another article for the New York Post in which he purports to uncover some grand schema that has eluded the general public for several years. In fact, in this article, cleverly entitled "Shaq, Riley: 2 of an Unkind", Vescey attributes all of the misdoings in Miami towards Stan Van Gundy to be all the fault of one Shaquille O'Neal. He does this based on an anonymous reporting source that covers the Orlando Magic.

An hour or so after Dwight Howard's transfixing jamboree victory, I had an impromptu conversation with an on-line reporter who regularly covers the Magic as we walked out of the arena en route to our hotel bus. He maintained Van Gundy's exit had nothing to do with Riley and everything to do with Shaq, who didn't appreciate being jerked in and out, especially in the pivotal minutes of tight games.

'Shaq often disrespected Stan,' the reporter disclosed. 'Sometimes it was done playfully. More likely it was meant contemptuously.'

Given D-Ho's current situation in Orlando, which has led to confrontation from SVG, it's not all that shocking that Shaq and Stan might not have gotten along perfectly. But at the same time, if you're willing to believe for a minute that Pat Riley really did the only thing available to him -- stepping in front of the diesel bus and willing to take one for the team by coaching them (*cough* to a championship *cough*) -- then you're more naive open to discussion than I am.

I mean, say what you will about Riley's greatness, and there's a lot to say, but don't forget that he takes trips to NCAA tournaments during the NBA stretch run, he rolls out every time his back hurts and generally treats the Miami head coaching job as one of convenience, simply because he owns the keys to who gets to drive.

There's so much junk floating around Jason Kidd and the possibility that he heads to the Mavericks (or elsewhere, I suppose) that is almost hard to tell what's real anymore. Which probably explains why there are plenty of people that think the Nets are doing their best to artificially drive up his value in the trade market, since it seems that there are not too many serious trade possibilities for the second all time leader in triple doubles.

But Peter Vescey, in today's New York Post, threw an interesting (albeit anonymously sourced, of course) and large twist in the storyline thus far. He states the obvious -- that the Mavs are the team most interested in acquiring Kidd -- and does the standard due diligence on the unlikely Portland-Dallas-New Jersey trade. Then he gets sort of crazy, or at least alleges that Mark Cuban would do something sort of crazy.

Aside from Dallas being a legitimate championship contender as currently comprised (a prerequisite), a source close to agent Jeff Schwartz claims Mark Cuban would be willing to give Kidd the one-year, $20 million extension (for 2009-2010) he was unable to get from the Nets New Jersey Nets.

Now, he uses the word "claims", which is good, because there can't be anyway this is true. Cubes is a little eccentric, sure, but he's at least a good businessman, and he knows that bringing in Kidd is for now, not later. Giving up Devin Harris (who one would assume is a central figure in any sort of Kidd trade negotiations) means mortgaging the future to try and win now, whereas sinking another 20 million dollars into an elderly point guard as he rides off into the sunset is basically giving your team two years before you throw in the towel.

Peter Vescey of the New York Post thinks Sonics star Rashard Lewis screwed up his opt-out clause, which might negate his chance for a big payday this summer.

Vescey's sources say Lewis had two opportunities to submit his opt-out to the Sonics -- within five days of the team's final game, or between June 1 and June 5. Published reports cited the paperwork being submitted in late May. Hence, the problem.

I won't pretend to know anything about contract law and the language in Shard's deal. On the surface it seems odd Lewis wouldn't be allowed to opt out at any point between the first moment he can do it under the agreement and the last moment -- having two distinct and short windows looks weird. But again, what the hell do I know?

Seattle's in a tricky spot if Vescey's accurate: Lewis would probably push for a four-year extension this summer at near-max money, which I'm not sure the rebuilding Sonics want to do -- especially with Kevin Durant in the pipeline. I can't imagine Lewis would be in a position to force a trade, or if he would even want to. He's rather beloved in the Emerald City, and a trade to most destinations would require Seattle to take contracts back. And it's not as if Shard will starve -- he's due more than $20 million the next two seasons. But it's a sticky situation all around... unless, of course, Vescey's wrong. Which he is sometimes.