BYU sports links: Jimmer trade rumors, BYU bowl destinations

Lots of news from disparate sources this morning. Let's dig into it.

First, devotees of #FREEJIMMER would be happy to know that Jimmer's name is popping up in trade rumors again. The most recent, as reported by Ken Berger of CBS, is that the Kings are offering either Marcus Thornton OR Jimmer to the Nuggets in exchange for Andre Miller (a Ute! Wouldn't that be something).

Granted, should Ferdette move to Denver, he'd still likely be the 3rd point guard on the roster, behind Ty Lawson and Nate Robinson, so 30 minutes a night probably still isn't going to happen. Still, NBA fans who still believe Jimmer has a shot at an NBA career would probably applaud any move that gets him out of Sacramento, which has been one of the more chaotic rosters in the NBA.

Second, national NBA writer Chad Ford said in a chat yesterday that serving an LDS mission isn't entirely off the table for LDS phenom Jabari Parker, who famously signed with Duke instead of BYU.

And I'm told a Mormon mission still isn't out of the question for him. I asked several GMs about what would happen to his draft stock if he declared for the draft and then said he was going on a two year mission. I was surprised how many of them said they'd still consider him with the No. 1 pick.

I'm never going to tell somebody over the internet whether they should go on a mission or not. That's 100% their call, and I don't think that's an easy decision at all. I'll just say this...I'd be very surprised if a projected top 3 NBA draft pick decided to postpone everything. Not saying that it couldn't happen, or making any value judgement on that decision, only that it would surprise me. But hey, Ford knows more than I do.

The Deseret News breaks down how the playoffs are going to impact the potential bowl prospects for Utah, Utah State, ad BYU. This shouldn't surprise anybody, but BYU's bowl destination next season, should they make one is...murky.

"I know for next year’s game, we’re working on something new," athletic director Tom Holmoe said in December. "I can’t say anything about it until it gets done."

Speculation is Holmoe is referring to landing a deal with a new bowl game. There are a couple postseason games that hope to begin in 2014, which are still without certification. One of those is the Christmas Bowl, a game its hopeful sponsors want to play in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum — though not actually on Christmas Day.

I'd estimate that BYU would probably need to go 11-1 next season to realistically be in the BCS "at large" bid pool (and win out for the playoffs, obviously), but I could also envision a scenario where BYU goes 10-2(ish), and ESPN finesses a deal with another conference that couldn't fill all their slots. College football is weird, and if BYU wants options next season, they better plan on winning almost all of their games.

Also, since I'm under 30, I don't really follow baseball, so I had no idea that Jack Morris went to BYU. Sadly, he missed out on his final bid for the Baseball Hall of Fame. If you want to rap in the comments section about why the Hall of Fame is stupid, hey, you'll get no argument from me. It IS stupid.

Also, speaking of baseball, BYU will try to replace multiple draft picks in their quest to win the WCC this season.

Finally, I'll leave you with this Mika injury update.

Rose: "Hopefully, somehow, (Mika) gets to where it feels comfortable enough that we get a few minutes out of him (against Pepperdine)."

— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) January 9, 2014