The NBA trade rumor bonanza is in full swing. NFL coaches have been fired and hired and the MLB rumor mill is still churning away in the background.

No matter which of the big-three sports you like or what team you may root for, this is the time of year for hope.

Cubs’ fans can still hope Jim Hendry will convince Roger Clemens to suit up on the North Side. Sox fans can hope that Kenny Williams does the impossible and pull Jim Thome and Javier Vasquez from the Phillies and Diamondbacks (wait, he already did that).

Bears, Rams and Colts fans can look forward to the combine and see if Vince Young would, if he had to, kill his cat for survival. (That is seriously one of the questions that have been on the Wunderlic test given to all the potential draft picks).

But the most fun and amusing part of trade rumor season are Chicago Tribune writer Sam Smith’s columns.

There is not a player in any major professional sport that has not been a part of a Sam Smith trade idea. This man lives in such a fantasy world that he honestly believes it would be mutually beneficial for the Sonics to trade Ray Allen to the Bulls for Ben Gordon or for the Denver Nuggets to trade Kenyon Martin to the Bulls for the useless and, essentially teamless, Tim Thomas.

He is so bonkers he might even start making college trade proposals. (I hacked into his computer and I found a trade offer that involved George Tandy and the expiring scholarship of Josh Gomes for Warren Carter and a recruit to be named later. Okay, not really).

My second-favorite part of the season is seeing which ridiculously bloated player contracts that New York Knicks’ general manager Isaiah Thomas will take on. Thomas has never heard of the phrase salary cap and he just adds and adds players to his team at will. He has been connected lately with over-paid players like Steve Francis, Lamar Odom, and the trouble-making combo of Ruben Patterson and Darius Miles.

He already has the likes of Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury making maximum contracts and sitting on Larry Brown’s bench.

Thomas went so far as to trade an unprotected first-round draft pick for Curry’s irregular heartbeat, irregular effort and irregular weight gain.

New York fans wont even get the satisfaction of getting a No. 1 draft pick after such an awful and heartbreaking season.

But don’t worry Knicks fans, or any other fan for that matter. Trade rumor season is a time for hope and disregard for logic. It is a time for people like me to waste countless hours pouring through websites and blogs like I was an FBI agent searching the Balco labs. There must be nothing better in this world than a little tease of hope. Why else would Wrigley sell out every game?

If you think the DEN should trade Joe for a $20 gift certificate to Chubby’s, email him at jwal717@yahoo.com.