Robert Horry knows a bit about trades, trade rumors and trade fodder, having been dealt twice in the last two years.
Horry has no idea whether he might soon say goodbye to teammate Eddie Jones in a rumored swap for Sacramento's Mitch Richmond, but he does know Jones is just as in the dark about his future."He might not show it, but inside it kind of messes with you at times," Horry said before Tuesday night's game featuring Richmond and Jones.
Horry spent his first four seasons with Houston, then was traded to Phoenix before last season, then sent to the Lakers in January. And after winning two NBA championships with Houston, he was a subject of many trade rumors that never became fact.
"With me, the first time, it threw my game off," Horry said. "But after the first time you just say (forget) it - if it happens, it happens."
The best cure for trade-rumor blues? Ignore it all.
"Everything's possible. You just don't pay attention," he said. "Everybody knows it's a big business. You just gotta go out and play. That's our job."
When the rumor becomes a transaction, it's even tougher, he said.
"It really messes up your whole world. You're unhappy off the court, unhappy on the court. People don't realize, they think, `Oh you're making all this money.' Money can't make you happy."
Horry said Richmond, a five-time All-Star, would obviously be a nice addition to the already talent-rich Lakers, but not an automatic improvement, as everyone assumes.
"You don't know how Mitch would play in this system," he said, noting that Richmond is the featured player in Sacramento but wouldn't be on the Shaquille O'Neal-led Lakers.
"The one thing you worry about is the chemistry. We have chemistry with Eddie," Horry said. "But with trades, you always have second-guessing."
The bottom line? "You really can't go wrong, because they're both great players."