Are the error messages I get the same ones everyone else gets when their blog crashes, or is it something I should take personally? Kind of like when someone commented on one of my soccer rants by saying "This is why Europe hates you." Europe hates me AND my blog is a zero sized object.

What is a zero sized object? If it was truly zero sized it wouldn't exist and therefore would not be an object. I think, therefore John Rocker. Right?

It's like the Memphis Grizzlies. They are a zero sized object. On the one hand, they are in the standings, and therefore must exist. On the other they exert no gravity, have no influence on any of the other planets in the NBA orbit.

The Grizz (it's a new thing, we'll see if it catches on) leave Vancouver in the dead of night and show up in Memphis, a travel path normally reserved for gun merchants and bad lounge acts. Do they get a cool new name? No. They remain the Grizzlies.

But there are no Grizzlies in Memphis. You don't see them roaming nocturnally down Beale Street looking for a good time ("Hey baby, want to hibernate?") They aren't out at Graceland visiting the twenty-four hour, three hundred sixty-six day a year gift shop. And you don't see Grizzlies chasing down the Peabody Ducks.

No Grizzlies in Memphis. And not much of a basketball team.

Which brings us to Pau Gasol. As bad as the Grizzlies are, at least they had Pau Gasol to build around. Young, athletic, a big guy who could score. Gasol and a few good drafts and maybe you get something going.

Or you could give one of the most talented young players in the league away to the Lakers. Which brings us to David Stern.

Word is Memphis didn't entertain offers for Gasol from any team Jack Nicholson doesn't have season tickets to. Seems odd. Because you could easily dangle a player with Gasol's skill set in front of several teams and run the asking price up to a couple of productive young players and high draft choices.

What did Memphis get? The legend that is Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittendon, two first round draft picks, Aaron McKie, and the rights to Gasol's younger brother.

Gasol for Kwame Brown. Unbelievable.

Brown is actually one of the most famous players in the NBA. Ask any NBA fan. They all know Kwame Brown. The famous bust. Michael Jordan's second biggest mistake (read the tabloids). If they wrote a book about Brown's career, the title would be "20 Minutes A Game: But It Seemed Like A Lifetime".

Which leads me to a conspiracy theory. I've never trusted the NBA when it comes to the New York and Los Angeles franchises. Ping pong balls bounce their way at draft time, rules are bent pretzel shape. The Lakers and Knicks are looked out for.

Here's what I think happened in the Gasol deal. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant and need one more player (capitalized) to contend. The league needs the LA market, the numbers and the buzz. They need Showtime to return to Los Angeles.

Memphis was drawing about 12,000 a night before the trade. After the fans see Brown in action a few games they will look back on 12K a night as a fond memory. Trading away your biggest draw makes no sense.

Unless you're taking on water financially. In which case you might need a line of credit on friendly terms to keep going. You might want to throw your hat in the Oklahoma City sweepstakes. You might need help finding new investors.

The NBA would hate to see you go under. Not because they care about Memphis (or Seattle, or Charlotte, or Oklahoma City, or New Orleans). No, they'd hate to see your roster end up going through a dispersal draft. Inconvenient things happen in dispersal drafts. Like Gasol ending up in Atlanta or Indiana.

So Stern tells you he's your buddy. Your pal. If things keep going badly he'll stand by you. Help find investors, or a buyer, or a new market. Work up a friendly line of credit. Give you time to regroup. There's just one thing your new found friend wants.

Pau Gasol in Los Angeles.

Crazy? Sometimes it gets that way in Memphis.