It's the first week of December and the NBA trade deadline is still a distant two and a half months away. But the faint whispers of trade rumors are already starting to reverberate throughout the L, from the lips of fans and sportswriters to GMs and owners. Some of it is wishful thinking and some have a twinge of truth tied to them, but most are juicy and most certainly worth discussing on any self-respecting NBA-related blog.

Big time names like Jermaine O'Neal and Pau Gasol, or perhaps even Jason Kidd or Kobe Bryant could move addresses anytime between now and mid-February. So, we thought we'd take an early look at some trade scenarios that could, and should, play out of the next couple of months.

On the block: Pau Gasol

Why would the Grizzlies trade him?
Ever since Pau Gasol asked to be traded in January of this year his relationship with the Grizzlies organization has been on somewhat shaky ground. Gasol doesn't seem to fit coach Marc Iavaroni's up-and-down offensive system, which demands athletic big men that can finish. Gasol's game is more suited for half-court offenses, where he can operate in the post with his back to the basket and also step out to the high-post for short jumpers and passes to cutting wing players. The Grizzlies are currently playing 6'8" Mike Miller way out of position and need to find an athletic power forward to take his place - allowing Miller to move down to shooting guard and promising youngster Rudy Gay to play small forward.

Which team should trade for him?
The Chicago Bulls seem like the most logical destination if Pau Gasol were to switch teams. Earlier this year, while Jerry West was still running things down in Memphis, Gasol was close to being traded to the Bulls for Loul Deng and Ben Gordon. Bull's GM John Paxon at the time nixed the deal. It seems unlikely that Paxon will agree to deal the promising Deng anytime soon, but perhaps trading players like Andres Nocioni, Ben Gordon and Tyrus Thomas to the Grizzlies for Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro and Hakim Warrick makes sense.

The Grizzlies are 6-10 so far this season and, as constituted, probably aren't going anywhere in the loaded Western Conference anytime soon. Nocioni could slot into the power forward slot for the time being, while Stromile Swift and Tyrus Thomas could split time at Center, playing a really, really poor - almost impoverished - man's version of Amare Stoudemire in Iavaroni's own "7 seconds or less" offense.

On the Bulls end, Gasol would finally give them a legitimate back-to-the-basket presence, while Hinrich, Deng and Navarro could maintain a strong perimeter.

If not the Bulls, another trade that makes a whole lot of sense for both teams involved is a straight up swap of Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. The salaries are an almost identical match and the trade seems to be perfect for both teams. In Odom, the Grizzlies get the mobile, ball-handling, jump-shooting power forward they so crave. He would fit seamlessly into Iavaroni's system. The Lakers pick up a legitimate All-Star threat in the post, which would allow them to move Andrew Bynum back to the bench where the kid can continue to mature with the second squad. In fact, in certain situations, this would even allow the Lakers to run a true twin-towers defense, with both Gasol and Bynum on the floor at the same time. And, to top it all of, Gasol could be reunited with his brother Marc in La-la-land.

On the block: Andre Miller

Why would the 76ers trade him?
The better question is why wouldn't they? The team is 5-11 to date and really hasn't been very competitive. It doesn't make sense for Philadelphia to try to make it work with a veteran point guard like Andre Miller this year, when they really should go young and set their sights on a 2008 NBA draft that could be absolutely loaded at the point. In the meantime, 3rd year pro Louis Williams is a more than adequate fill-in for a sub-500 squad that the 76ers clearly are. Miller is having one of his worst seasons in recent memory, particularly when it comes to distributing the rock, so it might be time to cut ties and let the youth movement get going in full-force in Philly.

Which team should trade for him?
There are quite a few teams around the NBA that are desperate for a point guard - from the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers to the Atlanta Hawks and beyond. In rumorville, the Miller to Heat trade discussions are getting the most play (though Sixers GM Billy King continues to flatly deny the rumors), but trades to the Cavs or Hawks also make a lot of sense.

While Atlanta continues to groom Acie Law, they would certainly have the bandwidth to take on the 2 years at $9.6 million per left on Andre Miller's salary. To make the trade appealing to the 76ers, Atlanta could throw in young talent like Shelden Williams, who isn't getting any run at all with the Hawks this year and showed promise last year, and sweet-shooting Salim Stoudemire, along with perhaps the expiring contract of Lorenzen Wright to match salaries and a future draft pick. The 76ers would get two solid young players and a 1st round pick, while Atlanta would get the point guard they've been seeking to slot in next to Joe Johnson.

Cleveland could also get into the Andre Miller sweepstakes, along with possibly the Mike Bibby sweepstakes or the Stephon Marbury sweepstakes. But, in Miller's case, unlike the higher profile Bibby or Marbury, they would get a player who would be content to rack up the assists playing alongside LeBron James, only putting up the occasional mid-range jumper. Miller wouldn't take any of the offensive focus away from LeBron, which Bibby and Marbury likely will. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they don't really have the young talent, high draft picks or expiring contracts that the 76ers would likely desire. So, any trade involving the 76ers and Cavaliers would have to be a 3-team affair.

There you go, some food for thought on possible Andre Miller and Pau Gasol trade destinations, as we wait for the next big NBA deal. We'll continue with this series of "on the block" posts throughout the season, leading up to the February trade deadline. So, stay tuned.

Name: Mark Aguirre
Position: Small Forward
Height/Weight: 6'6"/232 pounds
Teams: Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons

What made him so special?

Mark Aguirre took his college team, DePaul, to the Final Four during his freshman season. He won multiple college "player of the year" awards. He was the 1st overall pick in the 1981 NBA draft, going ahead of players like Isiah Thomas, Buck Williams, Tom Chambers, Danny Ainge and Larry Nance. He ranks as one of the top 50 scorers of all-time and holds a career scoring average of 20 points per game.

Despite all of that, Mark Aguirre remains relatively anonymous. When you think of the "bad boys" Detroit Pistons teams of the late 80s and early 90s you think of names like the aforementioned Thomas, and Dumars, Rodman and Laimbeer. Even on the Dallas Mavericks teams that Aguirre played on earlier in his career, the general notoriety went to players like Rolando Blackman and Derek Harper. Aguirre was throughout his career the silent assassin. For all his skills and accomplishments, Aguirre played out of the relative limelight. While revered by his teammates and feared by opposing defenders, Aguirre hardly got the fan recognition he deserved.

As friends Isiah Thomas, who Aguirre met when the two were teens growing up in Chicago, and Magic Johnson, who used to ball with both Aguirre and Thomas during summers in East Lansing, Michigan, went on to capture all the glory, Aguirre put up numbers good enough to be our second ever "Old School Baller of the Week".

During his pro career Aguirre averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while shooting 48% from the floor and 74% from the free throw line. He also played on 3 All-Star teams.

Mark Aguirre's game is most like...

Jerry Stackhouse. We'll get to the statistical similarities in a second, but on a more general level Aguirre and Stackhouse's careers followed similar paths. Both played for the Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks. Both were hired guns brought in to provide firepower off the bench for a team with championship aspirations - Aguirre on the Pistons and Stackhouse, of course, on the current Dallas Mavericks. They also had similar games, relying quite heavily on the pull-up mid-range jumper as their go-to move on offense. Though Aguirre was a little meaner and tougher, and played a bit more in the post.

Statistically, Stackhouse, to date, averages 19.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists over his 12 year career. Numbers that are pretty similar to the stats Aguirre put up during his 13 season run.

Outside of Stackhouse, Carmelo Anthony also comes to mind when comparing Aguirre's game. But generally, Jerry Stackhouse is probably the closest replica of Mark Aguirre in today's NBA.

Aguirre on Aguirre

"I put a lot of vicious poundings on opposing teams that I think opposing coaches didn't like, because I would really try to take a guy's heart. In taking a guy's heart, you get real nasty in doing that. I got nasty every night and I don't think that coaches really liked the fact that I got that nasty. My mode was not to just beat you but to destroy you.

If he played today.

Aguirre had a sweet mid-range stroke and knew how to use screens to get open shots, but his quickness, or relative lack thereof, and stocky arms would probably be that much more noticeable in today's NBA. Aguirre's game was very much Earth-bound, and in today's high-flying NBA he might not have been quite as successful and may have had a harder time getting his shot off against longer players at small forward like Tracey McGrady and Gerald Wallace. Still, given his offensive gifts, even in today's NBA Aguirre would have been well ahead of average.

Phil Jackson loves LA. He loves the short commute from his Playa Del Ray home to the Lakers practice facility in El Segundo. He presumably loves born and bred Los Angelian and owner's daughter Jeanie Buss. He certainly loves the laid back California vibe. And now, he also apparently really loves the 2 year $24 million contract extension he got from the team.

But, while we're happy for Phil and his 24 million new GWs, the first thought that came to mind when hearing this news, just like every other Laker-watcher we're sure, was, "does this have any Kobe implications." Jackson himself was quick to address that question, telling a press room full of curious media on Thursday night, "The decision to return as coach and the decision to be asked to return as coach both had very little to do with Kobe Bryant and very little to do with the talent. It's about the situation here -- the proximity that I feel to this organization, the comfort I feel working for this organization and the progress I think we're making."

Ok, fair enough Phil. We understand that you can't speak for Kobe. The proper messaging, for you folks in PR, was for Phil to address his own situation and not create unnecessary news by tieing it into anything related to Kobe, the trade demands and the summer of discontent. As always, nicely played Phil. Still, while $24 million is certainly plenty compelling, Jackson isn't hurting for money or employment opportunities should he decide to leave Los Angeles. So, why then do you lock yourself in to 3 seasons with a team and an organization that seems to be teetering on the edge of chaos?

The Lakers squad as it is constituted today is nowhere near championship caliber. Young players like Jordan Farmar and Andrew Bynum, while showing some talent of late, is just as apt to induce a migraine headache with their still inconsistent play, as they are to garner praise. The GM is inept. They're possibly one long losing streak, or Kobe outburst away from all hell breaking loose. The owner's son doesn't get along with the team's superstar, and the superstar's personality is bi-polar at best. So, unless Phil knows something that we don't, as much as he loves LA and the $12 million per season, the extension just doesn't add up.

Is the house that Jerry, Phil and Kobe built getting structural reconstruction behind the scenes? No-one on the outside looking in, from sports writers to fans, know the answer, but the circumstances, as they are, certainly make you wonder.

What we do know though is that Kobe seems happy - or happier. His much-maligned teammates are playing relatively well, he seems content with the role of facilitator and everyone is all smiles.

"I think it's great," Bryant said of the signing. "He's clearly, in my opinion, the greatest coach of all time. When you can lock him in, that's always a great sign."

Sign of what? That the Lakers are finally showing Kobe that they are serious about winning?

Just wanted to double-check, but did the space-time continuum spontaneously reverse itself on Monday night? Are we now living in a parallel universe? Is this what the Wachowski Brothers were going for with The Matrix? Seriously, what else could explain what happened last night in the NBA?

The underdog became king, as just about every league powerhouse lost, and some in blowouts, to the season's bottom-dwellers. It was like revenge of the nerds, where Beno Udrih played Louis Scholnik and Tim Duncan was Stan Gable. The Sacramento Kings beat down the San Antonio Spurs 112-99, the Golden State Warriors outscored the Phoenix Suns 129-114, the Gilbert Arenas-less Washington Wizards took out the Dallas Mavericks 110-98, the Minnesota Timberwolves surprised the New Orleans Hornets 103-94 and even the lowly New York Knicks, given all of their off-court issues, took out the Utah Jazz 113-109. Only the underperforming Houston Rockets, who beat the Los Angeles Clippers 88-71, and the Orlando Magic, who bested the Portland TrailBlazers 85-74, escaped the foreboding clutches of "upset Monday" in the NBA.

Maybe, what's happening in college football is contagious?

We hope not, because there needs to be a certain order to things. Edward Lorenz and his Chaos Theory can keep itself out of the NBA, thank you very much. Every year, there are teams that are good and teams that are bad, and the predictability and comfort that comes from that knowledge can spur euphoria when in the rarest of cases a 8 seed like last year's Golden State Warriors upsets the 1 seed Dallas Mavericks. In that case, the event was unpredictable and unusual. That's what made it special. But, when this becomes a regular occurrence we end up with widespread parity. And upsets become almost expected. That homogeny works perhaps in the NFL where parity is king, but can't be useful for David Stern's NBA.

The NBA has always thrived when there were powerhouses to rule the land. The proper order of things, dictated the repeated Finals match-ups between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 80s. It influenced the yearly Eastern Conference playoff rivalries in the 90s amongst the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. It drove Sacramento and Portland fans to absolutely and unconditionally hate the Los Angeles Lakers teams of Shaq and Kobe. It defined rivalries and added a necessary level of predictability to every NBA season.

So, please leave us alone Mr. Parity. The NBA needs the dominant players, the teams you love to hate. It needs repeat champions. It needs a general order to things. Nights like Monday can be fun in moderation, but let's not make it general practice.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman are nowhere to be found, but the Wayback Machine is in full effect on the "Fans' Voice" NBA blog. Starting now, every week during the NBA season we'll take a trip back in time and profile one old school NBA baller. Generally, the NBA ol' timers profiled here won't be your household stars with names like Chamberlain and West, but rather the forgotten stars that had a significant impact on the game. Because, boys and girls, without the NBA (...and ABA) pioneers that came before we wouldn't have the game we so love today. Knowledge is power, as they say. And believe us, we expect these posts to be a cathartic exercise for us as well, as we hope to use this forum to brush up on our own familiarity with NBA history. On to this week's "Old School Baller of the Week".

Name: Bobby Jones
Position: Small Forward/Powar Forward
Height/Weight: 6'9"/210 pounds
Teams: Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers

What made him so special?

Robert Clyde Jones, or otherwise known as Bobby, played 12 season of pro ball - 2 in the ABA, followed by 10 seasons, mostly with the Philadelphia 76ers, in the NBA. During that playing career, which lasted from 1974 to 1986, Jones was named to the All-NBA, or ABA, defensive team a whopping 11 times and was selected 5 times to the All-Star team. Jones was also the consummate team player, as his teams made the playoffs every single year he played pro ball. Jones won an NBA championship toward the end of his career in 1983 with the Philadelphia 76ers of Julius "Dr. J" Earving and Moses Malone, and was presented with the NBA sixth man of the year award that same year. Jones was Tayshaun Price before the Pistons All-Star was in his mamma's womb and Bruce Bowen before the Spurs forward was just a toddler.

Tall, lanky defense-oriented players like the aforementioned Prince, or Gerald Wallace, or even Andres Biedrins, whether consciously or not, are playing the same type of basketball today that Jones revolutionized more than 25 years ago. Jones was such a great defender that following his on-court battles with Dr.J, when the Sixers played the Nuggets in the waning years of the ABA, instead of having the good doctor face Jones' stifling defense as an opponent any longer, Philadelphia decided to trade for Mr. Jones. Jones, unlike players such as Ron Artest for example, didn't use gimmicks like hand-checking, grabbing the uniform or bodying up on his opponent when playing defense. Instead, Jones used his quickness and sheer hustle to stay in front of his opponent defensively and used his length to challenge every shot that came into his space.

During his 12 pro seasons, Jones averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. At the same time, he shot 55% from the floor and 76% from the free-throw line.

Bobby Jones' game is most like...

Tayshaun Prince. The career numbers are eerily similar, though Jones' defensive averages are much more impressive at this point. Check it out for yourself. Prince, for his career, is averaging 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, .7 steals and .7 blocks. Compare those career averages to Jones' numbers above. There are of course a few differences. Jones was more athletic and displayed that athleticism with his share of high-flying dunks, while Prince is a better shooter from beyond the arc. But, if Jones was playing today, watching him on the court probably would have been a lot like watching Prince work for the Pistons every night.

Dr. J on Jones.

"He's a player who's totally selfless, who runs like a deer, jumps like a gazelle, plays with his head and heart each night, and then walks away from the court as if nothing happened." - Julius Earving.

If he played today.

We probably won't say this about too many of our profile candidates, as we generally don't think NBA skills translate well across eras, but we truly believe that if Bobby Jones played today he would as just as good, if not better. He would of course have to build on the lanky 210 pound frame, but Jones' incessant hustle, unselfish play, crafty mid-range game and incredibly high basketball IQ would make him a seriously precious commodity. Every championship contending team would be falling all over themselves for Jones' services, because he's the type of player that would be the final cog in turning a winning team into an NBA champion.