Links: Damon Fallout, Conley Blogs, Gasol Rumors/Wishlists, Staxtacular '08, NBA Blogger Award Ballot and All-Star Team

We've already covered the Damon trade demand from top to bottom and side to side. Now let's take a look at the fallout.

Kelly Dwyer has some good thoughts about the situation and the future direction of the team over on Yahoo's NBA Experts Blog, along with a mention of our little old site. Thanks KD!

Chris Vernon also has a take on it, although in his typical way, he is less than complimentary of what he perceives to be "whining".

Predictably, fans of teams around the league needing a PG upgrade or depth (like Cleveland) are posing scenarios to acquire the former Rookie of the Year.

In related news, Michael Conley updated his blog to talk about his first career NBA start and admits to being nervous.

ESPN's Daily Dime jumps on board with the "Chicago could really use Gasol right now" movement:

Team that needs to make a move, or else
The Chicago Bulls. Their two best players are Ben Gordon and Luol Deng. Both are up for contract extensions, both are unsigned. Scott Skiles has been fired.

What this team needs now is to develop an identity, which can be helped by getting an interior scorer and go-to guy. Getting Pau Gasol would be a great move for them, a face-up shooter who can complement their tremendous perimeter players. Seems like they have a glut of young big guys like Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah who do the same type of things.

To follow that up, over on RealGM, there is a piece by Patrick J. Austin where the title really says it all: Grizzlies Need to Move in a New Direction: Deal Gasol. The highlights:

Change is never easy. It’s always a scary and unpredictable proposition, but one that is ever present in life. People cling to what they know for fear of what’s “new and unknown.” The Memphis Grizzlies are currently facing this grim reality. They are a franchise in flux mired in another disappointing season and cellar dwellers in the most difficult division in the NBA.

However, the cold hard fact of the matter is that Gasol has not elevated the Grizzlies to a competitive level, despite the team emphasizing his talents and making him the focus of the offense for the majority of his career in Memphis. The organization saw flashes of a superstar player in Gasol’s earlier years and tried to make him the face of the franchise and go-to guy on the court. He repaid them by demanding a trade this past off-season and is nagged by various injuries. Moves were made to try and appease Gasol including using a chunk of cap space to sign a complimentary big man in Darko Milicic and dealing away a first round pick for Gasol’s good friend, Juan Carlos Navarro. Neither move has made the team markedly better and Gasol has not put up better numbers.

I believe the trade below would be perfect for both teams…

Grizzlies acquire:
Tyrus Thomas
Ben Gordon
Joe Smith
Chris Duhon

Bulls acquire:
Pau Gasol
Brian Cardinal
Juan Carlos Navarro

In other words, it is a rehash of what has been written by many people in many different places, including by our own bloggers here. I'm just curious why it is that we have to trade with Chicago in all these scenarios. Sure, they need Pau the most, but they really don't have what we need the most in return, IMO.

Are you ready for Staxtacular '08? In case you don't know what that is, here's a brief explanation from the link provided:

STAXTACULAR returns on Friday, March 7, 2008!
The city's wildest "soul-shakin' throwdown," hosted this year by Brian and Danielle Cardinal, Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay and Mike Conley from the Memphis Grizzlies, is back, bigger and better than ever--and now YOU have the opportunity to buy tickets before they go onsale to the public!

Call 901-261-6385 now to purchase your tickets before they are available to the public. Tickets are $150 each, and as always, all the proceeds will benefit the life-changing music education programs of the Stax Music Academy.

Sounds like a great event, as well as benefitting a good cause.

Over on Hardwood Paroxysm, they have released the NBA blogs that will be voted upon for various awards, as well as the First and Second Team All-Stars. Our fair blog did not make the cut for any of the categories and it would be fair to say that I'm disappointed. Nay, not disappointed -- OUTRAGED!!! After all, how many other blogs have sat down over chicken wings with their team's GM? How many I ask!?! If that's not enough to get you some recognition, then I don't know why I roll out of bed at noon every day to update this blog. We even got shut out of "Rookie of the Year" because of some technicality based on the fact that we posted a couple of times late last season about Greg Oden and the draft. Well that's not right and I refuse to stand for it! Give me my internet award right now! Sorry....just had some righteous indignation left over from yesterday's Damon post and had to get that out of my system.

In all seriousness though, everyone go over there and look at all the great blogs/websites that were nominated in preparation for the voting which will take place in April.

Blog/Website of the Day: The Basketball Jones