The Celtics now have one Ticket, a purchase made with the intention of traveling to the same destination that Mr. Money had in mind.  Needless to say, this is pretty gosh darn huge.  "Big enough to make David Stern stop weeping about Oden and Durant playing for two teams nobody ever sees" huge.  "Big enough to make Bill Simmons stop weeping about acquiring Ray Allen" huge, especially considering Jesus Shuttlesworth reportedly played a big role in pitching Beantown to Garnett.  Hell, it's even "big enough to overshadow the Lakers signing Coby Karl" huge. 

OK, the acquiring of George Karl's undrafted son might have flown under the radar under any circumstances (although it's actually a more inspirational story than KG getting traded).  But when it comes to inspiring Laker fans to sing a tune with an excellent guitar riff, the newest Laker likely won't cut the mustard.  Karl's presence also appears a long shot to prevent Kobe from licking old wounds, a reaction that could make things rather unpleasant.  Thus, it begs the question of where to go from here.

The good news is that Kevin Garnett is rumored once again to be on the move.  The bad news?  The rumors don't put him in L.A.  Instead, Boston looks like the destination du jour, with Danny Ainge's draft-day acquisition of Ray Allen having apparently made Beantown seem more palatable to The Big Ticket.  At least he'll be out of the conference. 

Also, on the housekeeping end, we'll be in Seattle on Monday.  HQ will know, so hopefully everything goes smoothly.

-- BK

We could use a new thread anyway, so check out cbssportline.com's list of the 20 best free agents still available.  Anyone of interest to y'all and more importantly, do you think the Lakers can actually get this cat... and how?  In most cases, "how" would be the more pressing question over "who." 

By the way, I've got it on good authority that whichever team signs the 18th ranked guy, if they're not willing to pay the cost of shipping his wheels, deal's off. 

And wouldn't you know it, five minutes after I put this post through, the Heat agree to all terms involved with bringing the Smushcalade to Miami.  The driver, too.  Congrats to Smush.

-AK

The Hoopshype, that is.  BK and I were part of the site's Bloggers Corner answering questions about the Lakers.  Check out what we and others had to say.  I'm expecting my statement that Mitch should have let Kobe go in 2004 and used the cap space to build around Slava to be somewhat controversial.  But hey, sometimes a man's just gotta speak his mind.

-AK

Just in case anyone ever wants to clarify something, here's a link to Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ.  It's long and occasionally difficult to understand, but also covers just about conceivable question you might have regarding what is and ain't kosher with payroll, trades, contracts, etc.  I also assigned it a category along the side, so you'll know where to find it down the road.

A couple other helpful tools:

ESPN Trade machine

RealGM Trade checker

Hoopshype salary

Carry on.  Or rock on.  Whatever's your preference.

AK

Which explains why "The Today Show" wanted him to drop by and tell it.  Make sure to click the launcher on the right so you can watch the video.

Tim Donaghy's story?  Not quite as inspiring.  Which explains why David Stern had to face the press and explain what the league did and didn't know heading into this shocking mess.  Unfortunately for the NBA, the Commish's conference still leaves questions upon questions to answer.

-AK

OK, the chant is probably a little much, considering America was pretty much guaranteed a victory no matter how yesterday's US Hoops intrasquad scrimmage shook out.  But don't tell that to Kobe Bryant, who swelled with pride after his Blue team emerged victorious in squeaker fashion.  Pride over his 26 points.  Pride over his D on LeBron James down the stretch.  And pride when it comes to pulling that patriotic tank top over his head, a simple act of putting on a shirt that Bryant considered long overdue, especially for an old-school cat like himself.  Another act Kobe might consider long overdue was his teaming up with Jason Kidd, a duo-ization that tickles the Mamba a red, white and blue shade of pink.  But even if he can't help but picture the pair doing their thing in Laker unis, Kobe's leaving that subject untouched.  Or any purple and gold topic, for that matter.  The New Jack Bauer would prefer the talk remain international hoops-centric, or at the very least, not "What does Kobe want-centric."

Derek Fisher officially met the media Friday afternoon, once again a Laker.  But given how things have gone this summer, Kobe Bryant again dominated conversation across the hoops universe (you know, aside from the allegations that a referee had helped fix games, calling into question the integrity of an entire professional sport).  Kobe took no steps Friday to clear up the whole Lakers-or-no-Lakers question when he met the media as a member of USA Basketball.  He admitted his Grand Radio Tour sent mixed signals, but feels this isn't the time to clarify his position, even when given a few cracks at it by an old friend.  Still, he said lots of nice things ... just not the nice thing. 

Fisher began the news conference with an emotional opening statement, thanking the NBA, the Utah Jazz and the Lakers.  He also offered some insight into what his family has experienced throughout this trying journey.  From there, he took some questions from the media, listed below.

-- AK

On his daughter Tatum:
"Tatum's status right now is moving in the right direction and in a great direction.  We've had three rounds of treatment, and she's progressively gotten better each time when we've been back to New York.  We're due back in New York soon to get a follow-up evaluation to the last last treatment, really give us an accurate idea of how she's doing.  But she's doing great, moving in the right direction now and we feel comfortable that right now, three rounds of treatment, where we can settle into and we'll be able to transition into observation and evaluation here in Los Angeles.  Our doctor will remain our treating physician if there are any treatments that become necessary again in the future, but we've found a collective group of doctors that we need here in the Los Angeles area, so that we'll be able to transition into very soon." 

Terms weren't disclosed, but I'm fairly certain that is not what Chris Mihm got from the Lakers when he re-signed today. Assuming the Lakers are serious about only carrying 14 dudes this season, barring a trade or another transaction, the roster is officially full.  Especially now that D-Fish has, as expected, cleared waivers and will officially sign tomorrow. 

Obviously, the devil is in the details regarding the Mihm signing, but assuming the Lakers didn't go hog wild with years and money, it certainly doesn't hurt.  Even coming off an injury, Mihm is almost certainly the best big remaining on the FA market (unless I'm missing a blue-chipper somewhere).  I'm sure more info will come out tomorrow at D-Fish's news conference.  Click below the jump to read the news release from the team.  SLIGHT UPDATE: The deal is for three years. 

Or maybe not.

EVEN BETTER UPDATE: Terms are in.  Two years, $5 million.  That's a very good figure for the Lakers.  No harm, no foul.  If he's healthy, Mihm will be much more than a $2.5-million value.   

-- BK