Gordon could be a target depending on the confidence the Pacers have in his knees. Gordon has had issues with his knees in two consecutive years with this season being the most recent in his fourth year. Gordon only played in nine games for the New Orleans Hornets after he was part of the trade that sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers.

In those nine games, Gordon averaged 20.6 points and 3.4 assists per game but was cut short with knee problems.

This idea for the Pacers could be far fetched and it may have to include sending Danny Granger to the Hornets in a sign-and-trade deal. If that comes into play, you would think that the Pacers would definitely have to pass since Gordon is incredibly injury prone and Granger has been part of the uplifting spirit that is surrounding the Pacers this season.

Granger is a key asset and any addition to him, like Gordon, could only help the Pacers instead of hurt them. Granger averaged 18.7 points per game and five rebounds per game as well. Granger has also scored 1000+ points in every season since his sophomore season with the Pacers.

We will see what the Pacers will do with their cap space.

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Terrence Jones, Perry Jones and Harrison Barnes could all be possible targets for the Raptors unless they decide to trade the draft pick to another team. There are some teams that might want to move up this draft to upgrade their team or possibly pick some caution players in case one star goes down.

Two teams that might be interested in a trade with the Raptors are the Chicago Bulls or the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Bulls are expected to be without Derrick Rose next season due to his knee ligament injury he suffered in the first round of the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls may miss Luol Deng for a period of time if Deng decides to play in the summer Olympics instead of having wrist surgery. The Bulls also have $60 million committed to only six players and could be prone to luxury tax if they do not settle salary cap issues. The Bulls may have to make a tough salary cap dump in order to save their team. Deng could be a viable option to go. He is owed $13.3 million

The Grizzlies are in the same boat as the Bulls are in. They have a lot of money committed to little players, $59.5 million to six players to be exact and might need to make a salary cap dump to save the team. The problem with the Grizzlies is that they might have to trade one of their best players in Rudy Gay to save their roster. Gay would make the Raptors a playoff contender but is earning the maximum salary over three years.

These teams have tough decisions to make and it is going be interesting to see what the Raptors are going to do.

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For teams to bid on Lin, they will have to remember that since Lin has played at least two years or less in the NBA the Knicks will be able to match any offer sheet using their mid-level exception regardless how lucrative any competing offer is.

The Knicks have the best possible shot of landing Lin since he prospered well in New York for the short amount of time that Lin played. However, Lin going to the Mavericks or the Nets could make sense depending on whichever team loses the bid for impending free agent Deron Williams.

The Trail Blazers will have the most to spend on free agency and also need a point guard while the Raptors could go either way with Jose Calderon. The Warriors do not have a lot of money to spend and may have their hands tied this offseason and have a bigger need at the small forward position.

Lin is coming off an injury but should be 100 percent by the time next season starts. In 35 games Lin averaged 14.6 points per game and 5.2 assists per game for the Knicks. He is a huge fan favorite and I’m sure Knicks fans would hate to see him go, however there may be better options for the Knicks on the open market then playing the offer game with other teams.

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The organization has a chance this season to sign a legitimate future hall of fame point guard in Steve Nash. Nash is more than likely going to get a big deal from the Phoenix Suns but Nash will probably look at every option he has before deciding what team he will sign with. One of those teams will be the Knicks since Nash will be able to re-join former teammate Amar’e Stoudemire.

Nash will also be bringing almost 10,000 assists to the Knicks as well if the Knicks do decide to go after him. Nash could also be the missing piece between the Knicks being a contender in the Eastern Conference.

Lin should be second fiddle in the Knicks’ offseason plans. Sure, Lin was great for awhile but when he went down with injury, everyone was able to move on from the crazy Lin high that everyone was on for two, three weeks. I do not see Lin as the true point guard that the Knicks need to succeed in the future. Right now, the Knicks will not have a true point guard unless they draft one this season.

Nash is the man for the Knicks and if they do not make a play for him this offseason, Knicks fans should see it as a major disappointment.

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Drew may have won even more games if it was a full 82-game season. The team finished 44-38 last season so Drew definitely improved the Hawks. His next step is taking the Hawks beyond the second round of the playoffs. The team has not reached the Eastern Conference final since 1970.

Sund released a statement regarding the option to bring back Drew for next season:

“Larry did an outstanding job this season in guiding our team to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, despite a condensed schedule and unfortunate injuries,” said GM Rick Sund. “The Hawks have reached the postseason in each of his years on the bench, and we feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success.”

What Drew has to accomplish in the seasons to come is to make the team a volatile contender in the East to compete with the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls. Right now, they are nothing more than a “meh” type team. They are not really feared but can play opponents tough enough to win basketball games.

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With that being said, the Bulls need another star on the team besides Rose to carry the team. When Rose was out of the lineup during the season, the team proved that they could win without him but in the playoffs they faltered terribly only garnering two wins against the Sixers in the playoff series. The Bulls need to look at trading their two other stars on the team: Luol Deng and Joakim Noah.

Deng and Noah are two underrated players of the Bulls who have been with the team for all seasons in the NBA. Deng averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this year while Noah averaged 10.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Both players also helped the Bulls a lot in the absence of Rose.

Neither player can carry the Bulls team as we saw in the playoffs. An idea that may help the Bulls is trying to pull off some kind of deal to acquire the fledgling New York Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire. Deng, Noah or even Carlos Boozer could be the forward heading east along with a Corey Brewer or Kyle Korver.

Before everyone jumps on me about Stoudemire, a fresh start for him could do him well. He is extremely injury prone though and that is where it may hurt the Bulls, having two injury prone stars on their roster. However, Rose is a point guard and Stoudemire would not have to contend sharing his shooting spots with Rose. There are pros and cons of every situation.

If this team continues to under perform in the playoffs and if they under perform without Rose next year, maybe a break up of the Bulls could be a good thing. However, another star is needed in Chi-town. Deng and Noah are not going to do it themselves.

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Stepping into the Yankees closer role is Rafael Soriano. Manager Joe Girardi gave Soriano a vote of confidence Tuesday when he told reporters that he does not doubt Soriano can do the job and that he has seen Soriano do it before. We all have seen Soriano do it before when he saved 45 games for the Tampa Bay Rays the season before he joined the Yankees in 2011.

The question now for Soriano is could he conjure up the same spirits he conjured up in 2010 with the Rays. That season was the last season he was used as a primary closer. He saved 45 games in dramatic fashion. In 64 games for the Rays he recorded an ERA of 1.73, the best season of his career.

Robertson was in line to be the future closer of the Yankees but the future came too soon when Mariano Rivera tore his ACL shagging balls in the outfield. Robertson was the man ready for the role and this injury is a bit of a set back.

However, Soriano has righted his ship and in 14 games, he has recorded an ERA of 2.57. Soriano is the man right now and all Yankees fans need to get behind Soriano, he needs all the confidence in the world right now.

The Yanks currently have a stranglehold on the third place spot in the American League East division.

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Carlisle has coached the Mavericks for the past four years and owns a 198-114 record with the team. He also had three straight seasons of 50+ wins from when he started in 2008 to 2011. He may have reached 50 wins again this season if it were an 82 game season and not a lockout shortened one.

Owner Mark Cuban released a statement Tuesday as well. Cuban said, “We are excited that Rick will be back with the Mavericks for at least the next four years,” Cuban said. “He is a proven winner, a great teacher and a coach that will help the Mavericks improve as a team and as an organization.”

A big vote of confidence from the big man upstairs.

Carlisle has been a great coach in the NBA compiling a record of 479-325 in 10 years in a career that includes three teams: Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and the Mavericks. Carlisle also won the 2001-02 Coach of the Year award in his inaugural coaching year with the Pistons.

The Mavericks need to improve though if they want to get back to the NBA championship in years to come. Dallas may not have the incredible tools anymore to win right now, but we will see what happens this upcoming off season.

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It was an interesting Mother’s Day to say the least. The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning when Lucas Duda grounded out to score Kirk Nieuwenhuis then a Daniel Murphy RBI single scored David Wright who was at third base. The Mets would hold the lead for another few innings until the seventh came along.

In the bottom of the seventh the Mets replaced starting pitcher Jon Niese with Ramon Ramirez. Emilio Bonifacio tripled to start off the inning then catcher John Buck would deliver his fourth home run of the season to tie the game up. The Mets would strike back one more time though.

After replacing Ed Mujica in the top of the ninth, it was an opportunity for closer Heath Bell to regain some confidence in his pitching ability. However, it did the opposite. Bell would allow a double to Justin Turner who would plate home Murphy and Ronny Cedeno.

The Mets would lead 4-2 into the bottom of the ninth.

Frank Francisco would come to close out the game for the Mets but another Bonifacio triple and a Buck walk would only cause more trouble for the Mets. Greg Dobbs pinch-hit for Bell and Bonifacio scored to bring the game to one run. Then after a Reyes sac-fly from Reyes to plate pinch runner Brett Hayes, Stanton would deliver the game-winning grand slam.

A big win for the Marlins who have been fishing for wins and they finally got a big confidence boost. Hopefully they will right the shift.

Jennings was out of the lineup Sunday and missed his sixth straight game due to the knee injury. The Rays are expecting to place Jennings on the disabled list since the progress on his knee is indeed stalling. Maddon told reporters Sunday that the team is not seeing progress nor is he seeing regress.

For right now you are probably going to see Ben Zobrist take over the left field duties and Will Rhymes to fulfill the second base duties while Zobrist is in the outfield. Rhymes has been batting .243 in 11 games so far for the Rays, while Zobrist is batting below the Mendoza Line at .198 in 33 games this season but is leading the league in walks with 33.

As for Jennings, he will definitely be missed by the Rays since Zobrist is batting so low. Jennings was batting .265 in the 31 games that he has played. Jennings also had stolen eight bases before being injured. Jennings also hit three home runs and drove in 11 RBI so far this season.

The Rays this year have had a lot of pitching help in their wins. They are currently in second place in the American League East division and are 1.0 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place.

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