Sports 4 Dorks

OK, less than three hours to go before the NBA trade deadline. Can you feel the excitement? I can! Brian Windhorst — and his secret trade murmurs — literally have me pacing around my living room wondering what type of pupu platter the Cavaliers are scrambling to put together. (My random guess: crab rangoon. Ira Newble and crab rangoon.)

But whatever the package, it won’t be for Vince Carter. Nets president Rod Thorn, via the Star-Ledger’s Dave D’Alessandro:

"We’re not going to move him. Not before the trade deadline, anyway," Thorn said of Carter. "I’m not saying we’ll never move anybody, but we’re not going to move him (now).

Thorn added that his team is not likely to make another move today ("We’ve got nothing going on right now"), and other Nets officials — who cannot be identified because they don’t speak for the club — said the team is out of the running for both Mike Miller and (by choice) Jermaine O’Neal.

Look, I’m one of the biggest Vince-haters around — it’s in my Canadian blood — but Thorn’s call to stand pat today sounds like the right decision. As D’Alessandro notes: if Carter were to be moved for expiring contracts — because, honestly, who wants Jermaine O’neal? — the Nets would be lucky to crack 75 points a game. And that’s not an exaggeration. New Jersey’s season would be over.

So why not wait and see how a (rejuvenated?) Carter and Richard Jefferson combo plays out? Those two, when motivated, can still take over games. Throw in a healthy Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop’s interior defense, Marcus Williams with some significant minutes under his belt, Sean Williams‘ spark … that’s actually not that bad of a team, especially in the East.

Put together a little winning streak and suddenly you’re looking at the Magic, Raptors or Cavs in the first-round of the playoffs. Difficult match-ups to win, sure. But not impossible.