The $13 Million Chip

Over the course of a little more than 72 hours, the Western Conference sent a message to the Eastern Conference, and the message was "we ain't dead yet." In fact, the West appears very much alive, poised to regain status as Top Dog in the NBA, after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers on their home courts, while the Spurs visited a similar pain on the Celtics at the Gahden yesterday.

So if the Western Conference sent a message, I guess the next question is whether anyone was listening? With the February 19th trade deadline looming, all eyes will be on the Two Dannies, Danny Ainge and Danny Ferry. Ainge, head of basketball operations for the Celtics, has been biding his time for most of the season, turning down opportunities to sign Dikembe Mutumbo and others.

One advantage Ferry, head of basketball operations for the Cavs, has over the other Danny is a $13m chip in the form of Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract, kind of like Theo Ratliff's contract before the KG trade. Ferry is said to be angling for Clippers' big man Marcus Camby, but he only makes $8m, and Ferry has other smaller chips he could exchange for him. So let's just say the Cavs have a few options to explore.

Meanwhile, the Celtics have some contracts they can move, but it's unclear what Ainge is willing to do other than trade JR Giddens and Gabe Pruitt. The Celtics were competitive against the Lakers until the very end of both games this year, which Ainge may interpret as a sign to stand pat. As I'll write later, he's not looking to add bodies to the roster, he's looking to add talent. Talent makes a bigger difference than height.