Reality is it's status quo

With none of the NBA's other, quote, reported discussions leading to anything, the draft Thursday turned into a massive yawner.

No, Steve Nash didn't go to Minnesota for the No. 2 pick.

No, the San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker didn't go anywhere.

And no, neither Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol nor Odom went to Minnesota for that No. 2 pick.

In a departure from most of the other reports, the Lakers actually offered Odom for the No. 2 pick and Minnesota considered it, briefly.

KHLOE AND LAMAR IN MINNESOTA?

No beach?

No hotties in bikinis?

Imagine the first show as Khloe breaks the news to the family, and Bruce asks how she can do that to her mom, who just got over Kim's engagement to some NBA player in ... New Jersey?

Or not.

Actually, Lamar's reaction to hearing he could go to Minnesota was to vow to retire first.

Not coincidentally, the 76ers apparently didn't think Lamar would welcome a trade there either.

Actually, there's a question of how much anyone wanted Odom, as opposed to agent Rob Pelinka trying to get his clients, Iguodala and Derrick Williams, to the Lakers.

In a rare show of exasperation after a week of seeing his players' names in headlines, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak zinged an unnamed agent, whose identity was obvious.

"A lot of the stuff you read the last three or four days was agent-driven," said Kupchak.

"A lot of times agents these days think the way to consummate a trade is to suggest publicly ideas that they come up with, and I think that's part of the problem as well."

Kupchak also noted that a "prominent media member" started this, saying they should "blow up" the team.

That was none other than ... Magic Johnson, former Lakers icon and part-owner.

Of course, Johnson always spoke his mind when he was one of them, too, so if they don't like it, tough.

The journalism version of a food fight was led, of course by ESPN, where any mention of any name in the preliminary fishing and lowballing that precedes real talks, is a story.

Last week's scoops included one headlined:

"Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves have discussed trade involving Steve Nash, sources say."

The story noted in its first paragraph that the talks were over, having never gotten past the "exploratory" stage.

If Minnesota "discussed" Nash, it went something like this:

Phoenix President Lon Babby: Would you take Steve Nash and any other player on our team for No. 2?

Minnesota GM David Kahn: Steve Nash?

With Nash at 37, the whole thing was a joke, showing Babby's desperation in his first season running a team after years as an agent.