Could Knicks land Kobe? Here's how to find out

One day toward the end Scott Layden's disastrous tenure as the Knicks
general manager, two of his most trusted assistants had a little fun
at their boss' expense.

According to a person who was privy to that conversation, here's
essentially how it went down.

"Did you know Layden uses RealGM.com to come up with trades?"

(Laughter)

"I can't believe a general manager of an NBA team uses the same Web
site fans use to make up trades."

(More laughter)

Yes, it's funny that Layden used the same fan Web site as you and I to
see if the trades he dreamt up would work under the salary cap. Go
ahead and laugh, but not too hard now. In this one instance, believe
it or not, Layden was actually ahead of his time. Well, somewhat.

As many as 14 general managers this season will be using RealGM.com to
come up with trade ideas that fit under the salary cap. But there's a
catch. Unlike Layden, these GMs are not using the same program as fans
do.

RealGM.com, a popular basketball Web site that was founded in 2000 and
has only four full-time employees, actually produces a software
program specifically for NBA teams that helps them produce trade
ideas. It costs teams about $30,000 per year, and chief operating
officer Todd Essman (who grew up in Plainview) said currently nine
teams have already signed up for next season. They could land another
five.

Essman wouldn't name the teams, citing how sensitive some teams can be
when it comes to their front-office machinations. But he said when
they first came up with the idea in 2003 and went around the league
trying to sell it, the Indiana Pacers and senior vice president David
Morway were especially helpful.

The patent-pending program is called "Trade Builder," and it differs
from the "Trade Checker" program that is available to everyone on
their Web site in that this program actually comes up with every
potential trades for a single player.

So you can bet every team that uses this Trade Builder program has
been searching for all the possible matches under the salary cap with
the name, Kobe Bryant.

"If you're looking to trade for Kobe Bryant, any team in the league
could plug in Bryant and then see exactly who they can trade to
receive him," Essman, 34, said. "It will essentially give you every
combination and every possible way that you can make the trade work.
It does all the searching, which Trade Checker doesn't do. It

"Trade builder will build your trade, and it essentially automates all
the combinations and taking into account every little nuance of the
salary cap, every rule."

That's the key here, the salary cap ramifications.

Ever since the NBA ended their lockout in 1999 by reaching a
drastically different collective bargaining agreement, the face of
trades have changed incredibly. The rules stipulate that any team over
the cap (which basically is every team) can only make a trade if the
total salaries of the players changing teams match.

So the days of fans coming up trades simply by looking at the teams'
rosters and judging their needs are gone. That's why RealGM.com became
such a success; its Trade Checker program allows fans to enter a trade
into the program and see if it works under the salary cap.

Essman said the revenue they generate from NBA teams pales in
comparison to the money they make in advertising from their Web site.
But of course for four big basketball fans, the fun is working
alongside NBA teams, taking calls from executives, visiting the team
offices and sometimes even sitting courtside at a game.

A 1990 graduate of Plainview JFK and a self-described "very big Knicks
fan," Essman called his place in the NBA world "surreal."

Imagine how he'll feel if their program could help the Knicks land
Kobe.

"777" <Seven.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:inen73trjdtf5o8afgt0fu8uvgjk6avull@4ax.com...
>
> One day toward the end Scott Layden's disastrous tenure as the Knicks
> general manager, two of his most trusted assistants had a little fun
> at their boss' expense.
>
> According to a person who was privy to that conversation, here's
> essentially how it went down.
>
> "Did you know Layden uses RealGM.com to come up with trades?"
>
> (Laughter)
>
> "I can't believe a general manager of an NBA team uses the same Web
> site fans use to make up trades."
>
> (More laughter)
>
> Yes, it's funny that Layden used the same fan Web site as you and I to
> see if the trades he dreamt up would work under the salary cap. Go
> ahead and laugh, but not too hard now. In this one instance, believe
> it or not, Layden was actually ahead of his time. Well, somewhat.
>
> As many as 14 general managers this season will be using RealGM.com to
> come up with trade ideas that fit under the salary cap. But there's a
> catch. Unlike Layden, these GMs are not using the same program as fans
> do.
>
> RealGM.com, a popular basketball Web site that was founded in 2000 and
> has only four full-time employees, actually produces a software
> program specifically for NBA teams that helps them produce trade
> ideas. It costs teams about $30,000 per year, and chief operating
> officer Todd Essman (who grew up in Plainview) said currently nine
> teams have already signed up for next season. They could land another
> five.
>
> Essman wouldn't name the teams, citing how sensitive some teams can be
> when it comes to their front-office machinations. But he said when
> they first came up with the idea in 2003 and went around the league
> trying to sell it, the Indiana Pacers and senior vice president David
> Morway were especially helpful.
>
> The patent-pending program is called "Trade Builder," and it differs
> from the "Trade Checker" program that is available to everyone on
> their Web site in that this program actually comes up with every
> potential trades for a single player.
>
> So you can bet every team that uses this Trade Builder program has
> been searching for all the possible matches under the salary cap with
> the name, Kobe Bryant.
>
> "If you're looking to trade for Kobe Bryant, any team in the league
> could plug in Bryant and then see exactly who they can trade to
> receive him," Essman, 34, said. "It will essentially give you every
> combination and every possible way that you can make the trade work.
> It does all the searching, which Trade Checker doesn't do. It
>
> "Trade builder will build your trade, and it essentially automates all
> the combinations and taking into account every little nuance of the
> salary cap, every rule."
>
> That's the key here, the salary cap ramifications.
>
> Ever since the NBA ended their lockout in 1999 by reaching a
> drastically different collective bargaining agreement, the face of
> trades have changed incredibly. The rules stipulate that any team over
> the cap (which basically is every team) can only make a trade if the
> total salaries of the players changing teams match.
>
> So the days of fans coming up trades simply by looking at the teams'
> rosters and judging their needs are gone. That's why RealGM.com became
> such a success; its Trade Checker program allows fans to enter a trade
> into the program and see if it works under the salary cap.
>
> Essman said the revenue they generate from NBA teams pales in
> comparison to the money they make in advertising from their Web site.
> But of course for four big basketball fans, the fun is working
> alongside NBA teams, taking calls from executives, visiting the team
> offices and sometimes even sitting courtside at a game.
>
> A 1990 graduate of Plainview JFK and a self-described "very big Knicks
> fan," Essman called his place in the NBA world "surreal."
>
> Imagine how he'll feel if their program could help the Knicks land
> Kobe.

I'm sure the Knicks could assemble a trade for Kobe. The question would be,
why would the Lakers ever want to do that trade. We don't have anything
resembling a Franchise player, so there is basically no chance. The one
thing I see in the Knicks favor is that Chicago would have to gut a large
part of what has made them a good team in role players like Deng and Nocioni
which I doubt they would want to do, so that would leave NY, Miami and
Boston as possible destinations. Forget Miami, there is no way they trade
Wade, and there is no way LA does a deal with them unless Wade is included.
Boston would have to trade Pierce, and without him, that teams make up would
be worse than the Knicks. Even though Buss won't want to trade Kobe to a
West team, The Suns make the most sense from a business point of view. They
have the parts in Marion and Stoudmire to make the trade work (one of them,
not both). I think Marion would welcome the trade also since he would be
"The Man" in LA and not have to share the spot light with Nash and
Stoudmire, but the Lakers would probably want Stoudmire over Marion. So it
just would need to be negotiated.