Lakers Dump Sasha Vujacic, NJ Gets Maria Sharapova

  The basketball gods have had enough of Sasha Vujacic's good luck streak. The 6'7" two-time champ Slovenian has been traded from the Lakers to the New Jersey Nets. Despite being best Italian-speaking buds with Kobe Bryant, the Lakers dumped Vujacic and his $5.5 milion expiring contract for journeyman Terp, Joe Smith.

  Vujacic's run as a repeat champion is over. The Lakers have barely had any use for him since the arrival of Matt Barnes this season. Barnes, also 6'7",  is better on both ends of the court and consistently plays harder than Vujacic. Yet the Slovenian will make almost $4 million more than Barnes this year despite playing less minutes than any other Laker. He also makes almost $2 million more than Laker legend and starter Derek Fisher.

 The Lakers don't need an overpaid and fading Europuff whose only show of toughness has been his non-skirmish with fellow Slovenian, Goran Dragic. What impact will the trade have on Vujacic? How will he transition from basketball heaven (Los Angeles) to hoops hell (Newark)?

 Vujacic's last day with the Lakers was spent celebrating their championship with President Barack Obama . Perhaps Vujacic had an idea he was about to be dealt as he stood near the embattled president. Maybe he secretly identified with a guy who's own team (Democrats) were turning on him the way the Lakers were distancing themselves from Vujacic.

 Vujacic's fiancée is tennis player Maria Sharapova. Unlike Laker wives Vanessa Bryant and Khloe Kardashian, Sharapova built a substantial career on her own before linking with a Laker. Her $13.6 million career earnings are on par with Vujacic's $14 million as of last summer. Yet as her own career fades, she must have enjoyed living in the limelight with a champ like Vujacic, no matter how small his role on the Lakers. Those days are over.

 It's likely Sharapova and Vujacic are feeling denial and anger over his banishment to Newark to join the 6-19 Nets.

 The transition from sunny Cali to the tough cold bitter winter months of Newark may be even more brutal than the long losing streaks Sasha will endure with the Nets.

 Fortunately, potassium helps geographic and emotional adjustments. Sharapova's love of bananas will serve her well in her transition.  

 Vujacic will join ex-Laker teammate Jordan Farmar with the Nets. Together, they have more NBA rings (4) than the entire Miami Heat roster combined (3- Wade, Haslem, House). The Nets are like the Eastern Lakers. Imagine how dominant they could be if they add another ex-Laker and man without a team, Adam Morrison. 

 OK, not that dominant. But at least they'd all have each other.

 The biggest winner of all will be New Jersey. Not the Nets, but the people of New Jersey. Between majority owner and bachelor Mikhail Prokhorov's babes, part owner Jay-Z's wife Beyonce, Kim Kardashian (currently dating Nets forward Kris Humphries), and now Maria Sharapova, the fine female factor in New Jersey stays on the rise.

  Maybe Snooki should link up with Brooke Lopez before her fifteen minutes are up.

Cap City

From Mark Cuban to Pat Riley, Jay-Z to Donnie Walsh, NBA front office hustlers are ready to make deals with players who are looking to get made and paid. Armed with salary cap room and hype machines, teams are hours from unleashing furious sales pitches to sign a variety of all-stars. Championships won't be guaranteed, but ticket sales will.

Here's how the big front office players are stacked up on Free Agency Eve.

Once Dwyane Wade opts out of his contract, the Heat will have an astonishingly low payroll of less than $6 million for only 2 players, Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. They have the most cap room, Pat Riley's influence, the lure of Wade already being a winner there, and the weather and vibe of Miami. They are possibly in the best position to capitalize on this summer of the stars. 

 

Jay Z and his Russian financier have gotten the Nets' payroll down to only $19.8 million. Rising stud Brook Lopez will only make $5 million over the next 2 years. Cap space is a plus but spending 2 years in Newark may be a challenge. 

The Knicks have also slashed their payroll with only the last year of Eddy Curry's hefty deal weighing them down. Yet owner Jimmy Dolan has created an atmosphere of losing that may destroy the lure of playing in the so-called Mecca of basketball Madison Sq. Garden.

The Chicago Bulls are stuck with 4 more years of Luol Deng for $50 million, but they have Derrick Rose cheap for the next 2 years and one more season with Noah making $3.1 million. They have cap space and a storied tradition behind them, but loyalty concerns surround the franchise.

The Clippers have cleared decent cap space but they're stuck paying Baron Davis $40 million over the next 3 years. Chris Kaman is a decent big man, but also expensive at $23 million over the next 2 years. Factor in their history of disasters and who wants to play on a jinxed team with the underachieving and overpaid?

And then there's the sadness of the Mavs and Cavs. Dirk Nowitzki is opting out of Dallas and even without his huge contract, they're still maxed out with Dampier, Terry, Butler, Kidd and making $47 million between them. Cuban doesn't mind the luxury tax, but his team won't be much better with or without Dirk next season.

The Cavs are similarly strapped with LeBron opting out, leaving Cleveland with Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams and Varejao for multiple years of $35+ million combined. If they re-sign James, how will they improve? If they lose him, the franchise and city are heading further into an abyss.

Even more teams will undoubtedly play a big part in the coming roster shuffles. Speculation will happen, signing will happen and again, amazing will happen. This time next year, who will be the studs and who will be the duds? We're 82 games from finding out.

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Nets Don't Fret

Nets fans, things are looking up. Don't believe any negative press. Yeah New Jersey had the worst record in the league last year and threatened to be worst of all time, but they finished winning 5 of their last 12 including their only back to back wins of the season. In that stretch, they beat the Spurs and Bulls, both of whom were battling for playoff positioning.

OK- things have been hard in New Jersey. They survived Stephon Marbury and were rewarded with Jason Kidd. 2 invigorating trips to the finals and several years of strong basketball were the most excitement ever seen in the swamp of the Meadowlands. Yet no championship and questionable front office moves sent all the best Nets elsewhere while the few fans who showed up were humiliated by loss after loss.

Things are different now. The team is beginning its final season at the Izod Center formerly known as Continental Airlines Arena formerly known as Brendan Byrne Arena. They'll spend 2 years in lovely Newark, New Jersey. It might not be New York, but at least it's a city, not a swamp. After that, they will move to their final destination, Brooklyn, New York. With the Nets Dancers' recent invitation to a Manhattan major movie premier, it's almost like they've already moved into the spotlight in the Big Apple.

Even better, the Nets' new owner, 6'8" billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov envisions making the team a globally popular brand from Brooklyn to Manhattan to Russia throughout Europe and all the way to Asia. Mike (as he likes to be called) plans to inspire Knick fans to become Nets fans. He's considering changing the team name when they move to Brooklyn - a great idea. And he's set his sights on making the playoffs next season and winning a title within 5 years. 

Prokhorov was the owner of a very successful Euroleague team, CSKA Moscow. The NBA will be a much bigger challenge, but he will enlist the help of minority owner Jay-Z to ease the transition. He's already removed GM Kiki Vandeweghe and spoke openly about the team's need for a strong PF to play with Brooke Lopez. He knows the game and wants to win now, but he doesn't feel pressure. "I've never lost my cool, even in love affairs," he said. "If you have Plan B and Plan C, you are all the time relaxed." 

Some Nets fans lamented missing out on the number 1 pick in the draft lottery on Tuesday. However, the #1 pick is no guarantee of a great player. In the last 15 years, less than half of the #1 picks came into the league as strong players who went on to dominate. 1st pick disasters like Kwame Brown and 2nd pick busts like last year's Hasheem Thabeet are just as likely as late pick gems like Rajon Rondo at #21 and David Lee at #30. If the Nets put together a good scouting team, they should be able to come away with a pick that will be a strong player for years.

So Net fans, don't fret. You're at rock bottom. 2 new cities, 2 new arenas, 1 new owner and a cast of new players later, you might just find your team deep in the playoffs. Jason Kidd made lighting strike twice. Imagine what billionaire Big Mike can do.

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