The NBA's Western Conference Cold War continues

It started with the Memphis Grizzlies trade of Pau Gasol to the Lakers for spare parts to create a better low-post scoring threat to balance Kobe Bryant's perimeter and slashing game.

Then, the much discussed trade of the Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion.

And now, at long last, the New Jersey Nets have pulled the trigger and sent Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks.

Only the gun misfired.

The Nets and Mavs agreed to exchange Jason Kidd for Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Devean George and others. The trade was all but done. On Wednesday night the Nets didn't play Kidd against the Toronto Raptors (and paid for it by losing 109-91 ) and the Mavericks didn't play Harris or Stackhouse. Everything was going smoothly.

Except Devean George refused to waive his no trade clause.

And now, while he is being persuaded to agree to spend some time in the Swamp, Jerry Stackhouse might be ruining the deal by implying that he and the Mavericks worked out a deal where he would get waived by the Nets and then return immediately to the Mavericks.

This situation has become a laughable mess.

But that's what happens in Cold Wars, isn't it? As tension builds, as sides begin to arm themselves and increasingly ridiculous and desperate moves are made, things get out of hand.

At this rate, I'd be surprised if there were any superstars left in the Eastern Conference by the end of the season!

Trade Winds Blow

Once again, the trade winds are blowing around the world of professional sports. In the NHL, there's the usual talk of Mats Sundin or Olli Jokinen being moved to a playoff bound franchise. In Major League Baseball, ace Eric Bedard might be traded to the Mariners, while even bigger ace Johan Santana was traded to the Mets.

However, the big news. The really big news. Is that Jason Kidd wants to be traded from the New Jersey Nets. Again. As SI.com's Chris Mannix explains:

In 2005, Kidd, irate at management for letting Kenyon Martin leave via free agency, reportedly tried to force his way out of the Swamp. Right around this time last year, the Nets were trying to persuade the Lakers to part with Andrew Bynum in exchange for Kidd, only to have the Lakers balk.

Now Kidd has asked the Nets for a trade again, and it appears that this time he will be headed to Texas to play for the Dallas Mavericks. He wants a title before he retires, and it would take nothing short of a miracle for the Nets to get there. Although they are currently in eighth in the east, they have a 19-26 record, and snapped a nine game losing streak just last night.

I'm always torn about situations like this. While the possible Sundin, Jokinen, and Bedard trades are about the teams trying to improve themselves or shed contracts, the Kidd situation is different. Those other examples are teams making business decisions. Jason Kidd is asking to leave a team to improve his own chances at success. He did it publicly too, by speaking to ESPN magazine. In Kidd's own words:

"We tried to make this work. We've found out it doesn't. It's time for us all to move on."

But is that fair? Is it right? Apparently, the fans in the Swamp still support Kidd, but I can't believe they're not disappointed that their floor general is leaving them when they arguably need him most. By giving up on the Nets, he's probably hurt their chances of success even more. When your point guard and veteran leader says he wants to leave because you're not going to succeed, that is going to affect your play.

Basically, Kidd's trade request goes agaisnt the grain of sports ethos. We all subscribe to a team-first, win with your guts and own innovation mentality. So to have someone quit on a team and say "This isn't going to work, and I need to think about my career." is unsettling and disheartening. I'm not a Nets fan, but I do feel for all those involved whether they be Kidd, the owners, the coach, his teammates, and especially the fans. This is not a good situation.

Certainly, Kidd has done more harm then good by publicly announcing his desire to leave the Meadowlands. I hope that the Nets can still move him for some solid players to put Kidd and the fans out of their misery.

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As a follow up to my last post, I'd like to point out two things. First, I wasn't the only one critical of Ross McKeon's claims that the All-Star Game was a success. His mailbag was full of dissenting opinions.

Also, if you look at my last post, anonymous poster "KL" made some excellent points about what can be done to make the NHL All-Star Game better.

I'm generally starved for attention and would like to have more input on my writing, so go check it out and feel free to weigh in.