As July 1st moves closer and closer, the Lakers are becoming slightly nervous that they will be unable to move Shaquille O'Neal.  With Mavericks owner Mark Cuban standing as firm as he can on not relinquishing Dirk Nowitzki, the Lakers are speaking to other clubs with even greater urgency.  Reports indicate that the Clippers, Pacers and even the Kings are in the running.

If O'Neal is not traded before July 1st, the Lakers situation with Kobe Bryant becomes that much trickier.  It is clear that it will take a small miracle for these two superstars to ever play together again and if O'Neal is still on the Laker roster, Kobe will likely test the open market with even greater tenacity.

The San Antonio Spurs are readying their summer courtship of a superstar, much in the same way they did last year for Jason Kidd.  Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will actively recruit Bryant to come to Texas, which is the place most suited for Kobe to win championships.  His goal this summer though, besides his Colorado trial, is to begin building a championship team up from scratch, a la his imitated idol Michael Jordan, with the Suns being the leading contenders in that category.

A Western Conference official said a deal was discussed whereby the Charlotte Bobcats were to select Malik Rose and send him to the Knicks for Dikembe Mutombo and cash.

"It's nothing that I've heard of," Knicks president Isiah Thomas said.

Back-up Point Guard Answer?
LAST UPDATE: 6/5/2004 6:09:58 PM
Posted By: Kori Ellis

By Kori Ellis
SpursZONE.com

One glaring weakness of the 2003-04 San Antonio Spurs team was their depth at the point guard position. After an extensive search in the offseason, they headed into preseason with Anthony Carter and Alex Garcia backing up Tony Parker. But after injuries to both Carter and Garcia, as well as Parker, San Antonio found themselves with the NBDL?s Jason Hart starting and Australian Shane Heal coming off the bench. Fortunately for the Spurs, Parker recovered quickly from an ankle injury and Hart filled in admirably in his absence.

But as the season progressed, Spurs? head coach Gregg Popovich found himself using shooting guard Manu Ginobili as Parker?s primary back-up. Even after acquiring veteran Charlie Ward midseason, San Antonio used Ginobili at the point in their motion offense with Ward and Hart sitting on the bench.

...

The 6-4 Jasikevicius is a strong playmaker who can not only distribute but can shoot from distance. Last summer Jasikevicius was MVP of the European Championship tournament, chosen over the likes of Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Andrei Kirilenko.

"He's the leader on the floor -- he's always talking to his teammates," Parker said of Jasikevicius. "He's a great shooter and a very good passer. He's perfect for Europe. Could he play in the NBA? There might be some questions about his defense, but he runs a team pretty good."

?We are talking about a true winner here, with two straight Final Four titles under his belt, and a European Championship and MVP nod to boot,? writes Jonathan Givony of DraftCity.com. ?That is on top of another championship and MVP award in Spain last season playing for Barcelona.?

Does Jasikevicius want to make the transition to the NBA?

?In Barcelona I talked a lot with my friend Dejan Bodiroga, the number one player in European basketball,? says Jasikevicius. ?He has the same philosophy: if it happens one day, fine. If not, that's also fine.?

Jasikevicius is obviously very comfortable playing basketball in Europe, but would he pass up a chance to play with the world?s best in the NBA?

The Spurs hope not.