We learned something today, or rather we had the obvious truth confirmed to us yet again – Michael Jordan is about as good at picking players as he was at hitting curveballs. His former number one pick Kwame Brown is wasting away in basketball hell, averaging 3.4 points per game for Detroit after not contributing to any team at any point before now. Now Adam Morrison, his first pick for Charlotte, number three overall, has been dumped to the Lakers for not much more than a couple of used basketballs. Morrison has been a decidedly underwhelming pro, plagued by injuries and unnecessary drama. He was obviously fun to watch at Gonzaga, but he peaked at 20 and has gone steadily downhill since then. His biggest legacy as a pro so far has been what he isn’t – Jordan picked him ahead of much better players like Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay. Anything can happen, but I will be shocked if Morrison plays any kind of significant role in L.A., just like I don’t have very high hopes for Vladimir Radmonovic, who went the other way in the deal. There will be big deals before the trade deadline, but this is not one of them.

Speaking of big deals, rumors are flying hot and heavy that Amare Stoudemire is on his way out of Phoenix. I absolutely do not understand this. Phoenix obviously has to make big changes to rebuild a contender, but this move makes little sense. Stoudemire is the best player on the team right now, and he is young and in his prime. THe same can’t be said about Steve Nash. There is no way you are going to get fair value for Stoudemire, so I would blow the team up and build it around him. There are a lot of teams in need of good hel at the point, so they could get a good price for Nash, and he’s in the last few years of his career anyway. That would hurt in the short term, but it’s not like they stand a chance this year anyway.