Kobe, Garnett are on the trading market

Over this past week, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves appear to be on the available for trades. Both are superstars on teams with minimal support and are headed nowhere fast. Bryant asked to be traded last week after a meeting with team owner Jerry Buss and Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale is finally listening to calls for Garnett.
Bryant is in his late 20s and Garnett is in his early 30s, making it possible for both to contribute for about 5-7 more years apiece. Reportedly, the Lakers are actually interested in acquiring Garnett, but they do not have the pieces necessary unless they are willing to trade every decent player except for Bryant. The Celtics have also shown some interest in acquiring Garnett, but will probably not trade Paul Pierce in a deal. They would need to trade Al Jefferson, their #5 overall pick, and enough contracts, maybe Wally Szczerbiak, to acquire Garnett. Obviously the Knicks are interested, but Garnett wants to go to a winner and I don't think the Knicks would even contend for the Eastern Conference title even with Garnett. Garnett could also go to the Bulls, but I don't think GM John Paxson will pull the trigger on any deal if he needs to give up more than one of the following players: Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, or Luol Deng.
As for Bryant, He could go to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and maybe another player or a draft pick, but GM Mitch Kupchak is unlikely to trade him to their division rivals. This would put the Suns over the top with more offense and more defense in addition to a great closer and Steve Nash as his point guard. Reports also say that he could go to the Bulls or Knicks. Another intriguing possibility is to the Washington Wizards for Gilbert Arenas, who will opt out of his contract after next year.

What New York should do in the offseason

The New York Knicks surprised the NBA for a while last year. In fact, the Knicks actually were the eighth best team in the East in March, but then Isiah Thomas was extended and the Knicks crumbled after that. In my opinion, had Thomas not been extended before the season was over, I think we would have seen the Knicks in the playoffs this year.
They have the Chicago Bulls pick in the first round, which is 23rd overall. With this pick, they can either trade it in a package to get a guy like Rashard Lewis or Jermaine O'Neal, two guys they have expressed interest in or they can draft a small forward or a shooting guard. I know, they already have Jamal Crawford, but he could move over to the point and shop Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis around.
New York is set at center and power forward for the next decade with Eddy Curry at center and David Lee at power forward and Channing Frye backing them up or moving Lee to small forward and Frye starting at power forward. Where their problems occur, other than Thomas of course, is at point guard. They have two people who don't yet know how to win in Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis and an undersized, but productive Nate Robertson. Marbury and Francis have also been sidelined for significant periods of time last year with injuries. Remember, this couldn't have been due to tanking, since they had to exchange their pick to the Bulls in the Curry deal.
For the offseason, I expect the Knicks to go after Lewis, O'Neal, and Kevin Garnett, but end up getting none of them and only be able to use their midlevel exception. In case some of you don't know, the Knicks are way over the salary cap and can't sign any major free agents without doing a sign and trade. Of course, just about anyone they are willing to give up does not generate a lot of interest from most of the other teams in the NBA. I expect them to try to either buy out or trade Francis and if someone offers them something decent for Marbury, he could go too since they are two of the highest paid players on the team.

What Memphis could do this offseason

Memphis lost big in the draft lottery, getting the number four overall pick despite having the worst record in the NBA. Of course, star forward Pau Gasol was injured for the beginning part of the season. If it weren't for Gasol's injury, the Grizzlies might have made it into the playoffs. In my opinion, they might have been one the teams who tanked the last few games of the regular season to try to get the most ping pong balls for the lottery, which the succeeded in doing. With their first rounder, I could see the Grizzlies doing a variety of things. They could trade it to a team like the Portland Trail Blazers, who are looking to move up in the draft to get Mike Conley, Jr., they could take Brandan Wright out of North Carolina, a guy who has the potential to team up with Gasol and become a good tandem of big men, or I could also see them bringing a winning attitude to their team in either Corey Brewer or Al Horford of Florida, the back to back national champions.

The Grizzlies also have a lot to think about for the offseason. They need a new coach and general manager. Since they don't have a top two pick, those tasks could be a lot more difficult to accomplish. The Grizzlies originally talked to Billy Donovan of Florida and Hall of Famer Larry Brown also had interest. Of course, this came with the assumption of getting to coach Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, but that will probably not happen. The Grizzlies also have to deal with the disgruntled Gasol, who demanded a trade last year. He could have gone to the Chicago Bulls, but didn't when the Bulls refused to include rising star Luol Deng in the deal. I expect Gasol to go this offseason, but nobody knows who will take him on yet. I still see the Bulls as a possible destination, but not if they have to include Deng in the deal, especially after his playoff series against the Miami Heat. He could also go to the Knicks, who are always looking to make a splash in player transactions, or the Lakers, who said they will upgrade the team for Kobe Bryant. The Grizzlies have a lot to think about this offseason.