Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
February 15, 2008, Washington Post

Trading Places, Hoping for Wins

The sports news is filled with trade talk.

Shaquille O'Neal, one of the biggest stars in the NBA, was traded from the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns for all-star forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks. The Los Angeles Lakers grabbed 7-foot scorer Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies to help their superstar, Kobe Bryant. And this week, all-star point guard Jason Kidd went from the New Jersey Nets to the Dallas Mavericks.

D.C. United will start the Major League Soccer season with several new faces. Recently the team acquired Quavas Kirk, a 19-year-old midfielder, from the Los Angeles Galaxy.

In baseball, the Baltimore Orioles traded two of their best players -- pitcher Erik Bedard and shortstop Miguel Tejada -- for 10 young prospects. And the Washington Nationals opened spring training wondering if the team will have to trade one of its first basemen -- Nick Johnson or Dmitri Young -- since both can't play at once.

Trades are a big part of any pro sport. Even though kids who play sports are not traded, they understand trading. You might trade food in the cafeteria ("I'll give you half of my sandwich for your dessert") or make trades in games ("I'll give you New York Avenue if you give me Boardwalk").

Kids understand that when you make a trade you try to get someone or something that will give you or your team a better chance to win.

So how will all the recent big sports trades work out?

I think Shaq is too old and slow, and he gets injured too often, to help the run-and-gun Suns. Phoenix will miss Marion's defensive abilities. He was one of the few Suns capable of shutting down the other team's best scorer.

But Los Angeles and Dallas fans must be super-happy. The Lakers got a real steal in Gasol. With Bryant and Lamar Odom, that's a terrific threesome to challenge the other top teams in the Western Conference. And Kidd, with his great court sense and leadership, might make the Mavericks the team to beat in the playoffs.

It's hard to tell whether the Orioles or the United trades will work out. They went for young players, so it could be years before we know if Kirk is star material in the MLS or if Adam Jones, the hotshot outfielder Baltimore got from Seattle, will play center field for years for the Orioles.

Of course, if the new players don't become stars, maybe they will be traded. Again.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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