Sports fans share their basketball wish lists

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Every week, our panel of sports fans discusses a topic of the moment. For today's conversation, Emma Carmichael (writer, Deadspin), Hampton Stevens (writer, ESPN and The Atlantic), Patrick Hruby (writer, ESPN and The Atlantic), and Jake Simpson (writer, The Atlantic) try to make sense of the recent NBA trading madness.

Hey, guys,

Who would've thought when the NBA lockout finally ended three weeks ago that we'd be experiencing the kind of roster upheaval (or, at least, threats of roster upheaval) we're now seeing throughout the league. I don't know about you, but I'd personally prepared myself for a few weeks of peaceful training camps, a blockbuster trade or two, and the usual Danny Ainge shuffling that makes me cringe each season.

It's been almost nothing like that, has it? My own panic set in last week, when I heard that Chris Paul would be leaving New Orleans to join Kobe and the Lakers and set up a fearsome backcourt in Los Angeles. (The frontcourt, I realize, would have been laughable—but I wasn't looking for silver linings at the time. I was just panicking.) And it's only gotten more hectic since then. Paul is heading to the Clippers. Tyson Chandler will join Amar'e Stoudemire in New York to give the Knicks a great defensive frontcourt, Lamar Odom is wearing Maverick blue, and Dwight Howard is actually interested in going to New Jersey/Brooklyn.

It's enough to make a person crave that mythical peaceful training camp, isn't it? Or, at least, the relative calm of the league's five opening day games on Christmas. So I'm curious: How have you guys dealt with the madness the past few weeks (and David Stern's deplorable disruptions), and what's the actual blockbuster trade you'd really like to see? I'm happy to keep the C's together as they are for the next season, but I definitely have my wish list. Hampton, what's yours?

–Emma