Kidd to Dallas. He's flying there Tuesday morning, according to someone who would know. All Kidd wanted was one last shot while he still has something in the tank.
This sets up a titanic struggle in the west, with Dallas putting Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard up against the Lakers' trio of Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol; the Spurs' Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker; and the Suns' Shaq-Steve Nash-Amare Stoudemire threesome. (Just a notch below: Utah's Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur, and the Hornets' Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler.)
Awaiting the survivor: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, or Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince.
I read a lot of writers gassing about how great New Orleans was, and it was, because the people could not have been nicer or tried harder all weekend, and the league couldn't have put more effort into its assistance to the still-rebuilding city. But what they're really talking about is how good the league's elite teams are this season. Yes, most of the east stinks. But there have never been more teams that have a realistic chance at winning a championship. I just named more than a quarter of the league. (And that doesn't count teams like Cleveland, Denver, Orlando and Houston that no one would want to face in the first round.)
We're back to the days when the Lakers brought the likes of Michael Cooper and Mychal Thompson off their bench, and the Celtics had a Bill Walton or a Tiny Archibald or a Scott Wedman at the end of their careers. When Detroit brought a not-yet-crazy Dennis Rodman, John Salley and Vinnie Johnson off the pine. When the elite teams weren't just good, they were deep.
UPDATE: A couple of guys with Western Conference, playoff teams--guys I really respect--have both said the same thing independent of one another--they're thrilled that Devin Harris is out of the conference. One guy said Harris gave his player--who you saw in Sunday's All-Star game--fits at the offensive end. Harris is just too quick to be believed.
UPDATE II: Here's Cuban's take.
Inquirer reporter Mike Jensen is the college basketball columnist for the Inquirer. Each year, he gives a special insight into the tournament.
Inquirer reporter Jeff McLane is the beat writer for Temple. He will pick the tournament.
Inquirer reporter Tom Fitzgerald will blog about Hillary Clinton's Pa. visits March 10 &11.
Inquirer reporter Larry Eichel will post updates on Bill Clinton's March 7 visit to Media.
Inquirer reporter Tim Panaccio will write about National Hockey League trade talk. 
Inquirer reporter David Aldridge will live-blog the week before the NBA's trade deadline. 
Peter Mucha began this blog, before moving on to other writing duties.
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