Baseball And Basketball Rumor Time

As always, we love to get back to what we do best here: letting you in on the crazy rumors we’re hear from all across the sporting landscape. In focus today are baseball and basketball. On the diamond, with the first month in the books, many teams are realizing they need more pieces if they want to compete. And with the NBA playoffs in full swing, those unfortunate enough to be sitting at home are busy pondering their futures.

Baseball
Padres looking for center field help?
Jim Edmonds has been a total bust for San Diego and the Padres would like to get younger at the position. There is a lack of front-line talent at the position within the organization, despite a wealth of corner outfield prospects. The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the Friars have explored numerous trade options, including Tony Gwynn Jr. of the Brewers, Coco Criso of the Red Sox, Jeremy Reed of the Mariners and Felix Pie of the Cubs. Pie has been losing time of late in Chicago and the Cubs love Padres’ shortstop Khalil Greene. Personally, I don’t think Greene is going anywhere and the Cubs would be crazy to deal Pie, all five of his tools and his aching balls. I really think that after the Brewers signed Mike Cameron to patrol center, they could afford to part with Gwynn Jr. and that story would be just too perfect to pass up for the Padres. They might have to give up a good amount to snag him but the returns in PR alone would be huge.

Juan Uribe out on the South Side?
According to the Chicago Sun Times, the White Sox have a plan to release one or two players as a means to “shake things up.” One of those guys is sure to be second baseman Juan Uribe. Uribe is making $4.5 million this season and was put on waivers in March, but no one claimed him and his pricey contract. He’s not a great defender and, well, he’s not exactly a threat at the plate either. The White Sox are apparently not thrilled at the prospect of replacing the shaky Uribe with Alexei Ramirez, but they need a change and that appears to be the direction they’ll go in. They’d love to be able to dump Uribe on someone – the Orioles were interested over the winter – even if it meant picking up as much as half of his salary.

The Rockies need pitching help
Why do I feel like I’ve heard this before? According to the Denver Post, the Colorado Rockies are looking for more stability out of their No. 5 starter. Frankly, I think they should be looking for stability out of No.s 1-4 as well, but I digress. They’ve discussed reacquiring Josh Fogg from the Reds and have talked to the Red Sox about Julian Tavarez. But they know Fogg can pitch in Denver and are more familiar with what he can offer as he was on the roster last season. The Reds probably won’t demand too much in return for Fogg, since they were probably going to cut him once Homer Bailey is ready to come back up from the minors. Rumors are also abound that the Rocks have inquired about Texas’ Kevin Millwood and Oakland’s Rich Harden and Joe Blanton.

Personally, I think they’ll go get Fogg, see how he holds up and if they decide they still need help, they’ll make a push for Harden down the stretch if he’s healthy (a big “if”).

Mets looking at Turnbow?
The New York Mets have had internal discussions about signing former Brewers’ reliever Derek Turnbow, according to Newsday. If they did pick him up, it would have to be for a minor league contract and it is not known if Turnbow would accept anything less than a big league deal. The 30-year-old Turnbow, a former All-Star closer, was cut by Milwaukee on Friday after compiling an 0-1 record and a 15.63 ERA through eight games this season. He had 39 saves in 2005, 24 in 2006 (his All-Star year) but suddenly lost his form in the middle of the ’06 campaign.

NBA
D’Antoni wants to coach the Bulls
Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson was in Phoenix on Sunday and Monday to meet with Suns coach Mike D’Antoni and the word out of the desert is that D’Antoni told Paxson he wans to be the Bulls next head coach. Paxson, who interviewed Denver Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap on Saturday, would reportedly need an assurance from D’Antoni that he would emphasize defense and hold the Bulls’ young players accountable for their mistakes.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Steve Kerr and Paxson remain close and are “like-minded” when it comes to basketball philosophy, which means D’Antoni could be a long shot for the job when compared to Avery Johnson. A league source also said that Johnson will be interviewing with the Bulls and New York Knicks some time next week. D’Antoni feels that his system would fit perfectly with the young, versatile roster the Bulls currently have. With Kirk Hinrich he has a point guard who ran an up-tempo system in college at Kansas. And with Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha, he’d have the type of versatile big men and wings he’s had success with in the past with the Suns.

Bynum to have surgery?
We already know that Andrew Bynum is likely done for the season, but the Lakers’ 20-year-old center is slated to get a second opinion on his left knee on Wednesday. He’ll have an exam with knee specialist Steven Gecha in Princeton, New Jersey. If it is determined that surgery would be the best course of action to repair the damage, it could postpone a lucrative contract extension for Bynum, according to the Los Angeles Times. Though he is signed for one more season for $2.8 million, he can begin negotiating an extension in July. A max extension could net him up to five years and $80 million. The Lakers will likely sign him to that deal anyway, unless an examination turns up catastrophic damage to the knee. Bynum is too young, too good a player, too good a kid and too perfect for their system to let him go anywhere.

The Hawks may have to spend some money
The Atlanta Hawks can match any offer Josh Childress and Josh Smith receive this offseason, but they’ll likely have to make a major financial commitment to keep both of them. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that both players would love to stay with the team. Smith, a Georgia native and Childress both have said they’d like to be back and have both said it’s important to keep the team together. The young nucleus pushed the Boston Celtics to a seventh game in the opening round of the playoffs and looks to only improve as they play together more. The Hawks would be crazy not to bring both of these guys back. Smith has developed into one of the best young players in the game on both ends of the floor and Childress came up huge for them late in the season. They need them both and I’m sure both will be back.