NBA Chat With Alex Kennedy 10/14/2011

Join HOOPSWORLD’s Alex Kennedy for his weekly NBA chat this Friday at 1 p.m. ET. Submit your questions early because this chat fills up fast!

  1. jono

    hey alex,
    do you actually think the heat need to sign a tyson chandler type centre to win the playoffs? I mean udonis and joel make a pretty good centre duo, both hard-workers, can rebound, hussle and make a few shots every now and then. And also they don’t have the cap space to sign anyone decent.
    thanks:)

    • Alex Kennedy

      If a player like Tyson Chandler wants to join the Heat and is willing to take a paycut to play in Miami, they should sign him. But like you said, they likely won’t have much cap space so the odds of attracting one of the top free agent centers is slim. Right now, they have Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony and Dexter Pittman under contract. With Zydrunas Ilgauskas retiring and the one-year contracts of Erick Dampier, Jamaal Magloire and Juwan Howard expiring, they may want to sign another veteran to bring off of the bench. Fans in Miami shouldn’t get their hopes up when it comes to Chandler. Cheap alternatives like Shelden Williams, Eddy Curry, Jeff Foster, Francisco Elson or Kurt Thomas are more likely.

  2. Lee

    I’m sure you don’t think the Knicks can get Paul in a trade, and quite frankly neither do i. But if a trade were to happen, what could you see the Hornets receiving in return?

    • Alex Kennedy

      It’s going to be extremely difficult for the Knicks to land Chris Paul from a cap standpoint. Also, I think the Hornets could receive more in return from another team. But for the sake of discussion, I think it would take Chauncey Billups’ contract, Iman Shumpert, maybe Landry Fields as well as picks and cash. It’s still a terrible deal for New Orleans, but that’s about all the Knicks have to offer, assuming they would keep Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.

  3. devonte wilson

    Out of these undrafted free agents which ones are more suited to play with the knicks : julyan stone, jacob pullen, xavier silas, malcolm thomas, or scotty hopson

    • Alex Kennedy

      Jacob Pullen, Xavier Silas, Malcolm Thomas and Scott Hopson have all signed overseas. Julyan Stone, on the other hand, hasn’t signed abroad specifically so he can attend training camp with the New York Knicks when the lockout ends. Several days before the lockout commenced, Stone went to New York and met with management. He received a training camp invite and is hoping the two sides ratify a deal soon so that he can try to make the Knicks’ roster.

  4. devonte wilson

    over/under iman shumpert taking toney douglas’s mins and averaging 12pts and 4ast

    • Alex Kennedy

      Even if Iman Shumpert receives all of the back-up point guard minutes, I think your projections are a bit high. Averaging 12 points and 4 assists off of the bench is tough for any backup point guard, and it would be even more difficult for a rookie. I would expect numbers closer to Eric Bledsoe’s production last season: 6.3 points and 3.6 assists. That’s not a bad start for a rookie and he’ll continue to improve as he plays more and learns from Chauncey Billups.

  5. Lee

    Have you checked out ESPN’s NBA Rank Recently? They have guys like Joakim Noah, Andrew Bynum and Marc Gasol in top 30, and guys like Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan near the top 20. There are plenty of other blemishes, but they seem very blatant. Guys are getting ranked higher because of team play and lifetime achievement. Seriously, they have Joakim Noah like 15 spots ahead of guys like Steph Curry, AND THAT IS A JOKE.

    • Alex Kennedy

      Ranking players is very hard to do. Everyone’s rankings are going to be different and it depends how you’re judging the players. If it’s the best players for the 2010-11 season, maybe the veterans should be a little bit higher. If it factors in potential, then that explains why guys like Noah, Bynum and Gasol are ranked in the top 30. I would never want to take on that task because it leads to angry readers and players. Every fan wants to see their favorite player 10 places higher and I’m sure every player thinks he should be 20 places higher. It’s not an easy job.

  6. Brady T.

    What 5 would you take for an all star game? Id go LeBron-Wade-Durant-Dirk-Howard

    Gilbert arenas, baron davis-Rashard Lewis, grant hill, tay prince, caron butler-Biedrins, Dalembert, Haywood. Pick one from each group the heat should sign

    • Alex Kennedy

      I’ll go with Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard. We’d have a small lineup, but that team would be spectacular on both ends of the floor. That lineup would also feature plenty of star power, which is always important in these all-star games.

      The Miami Heat likely won’t have a ton of money to work with when the lockout comes to an end, but they may be able to ink one of these players if the next CBA includes a reduced mid-level exception.

      Out of the first group, the potential amnesty cuts, I’d sign Baron Davis. He’s on the decline, but he’s a low-risk, high-reward signing on a one-year deal. Last year, Davis averaged 13.1 points and 7.3 assists. He’s friends with several pieces of Miami’s core and he could be the distributor that they need. At the very least, he’s an upgrade over Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers, from a stats perspective.

      Looking at the second group, I think Caron Butler is the no-brainer answer. He’s coming off of an injury, but when healthy, he’s a significant contributor. Over the course of his career, he’s averaged 16.6 points and he would give Miami a huge lift off of the bench. Butler, like Davis, is very close with Wade and loves South Beach. The most realistic option is likely Grant Hill, but Butler would be the best-case scenario.

      Samuel Dalembert is the best option, but he’s probably looking for a payday. If he’s willing to take a paycut to play for a winner, I’ll sign him. Otherwise, I would sign Brendan Haywood. He’s an upgrade over Joel Anthony, but fills that same role of shot-blocker, rebounder and hustler.

  7. warriorfanatic

    Why not solve contracts by having a max of 3 yrs guaranteed with 3 additional years of team options that renew each year for 3 years….basically 1/2 guaranteed & 1/2 team options for each new contract. 2&2, 1&1 (contracts must be one of those 3 for vets). You could sweeten the deal for the union by having the % raised each year go up more in the team option years….say 6% each yr and then 10% on team option years.
    Then union allows tough Lux tax rules and in return gets higher BRI…say 52% since they gave NBA the other 2 issues.
    Yes?

    • Alex Kennedy

      A similar system has been discussed, but this really comes down to dividing the issues and giving both sides something to be happy about in the next collective bargaining agreement. Keep in mind that the owners want a 50-50 revenue split and a revised system. If they were asking for system changes and then letting the union take a higher percentage of revenue, we’d probably have a deal by now. The union doesn’t believe they should have to make sacrifices on both fronts. Like you said, the owners and players should decide what’s most important to them and then give each side a few victories. However, that hasn’t happened in negotiations and it likely won’t. The owners have more leverage. They feel that holding out and forcing players to miss checks will give them everything they want.

  8. simon

    Magic get: josh smith (12.4m), chis anderson (4.3m), and ty lawson (1.7m)

    Hawks get: ryan anderson (2.2m), danillo gallinari (4.2m), and quentin richardson (2.4m)

    Nuggets get: jameer nelson (8.6m), zaza pachulia (4.2m), and chris duhon (3.3m)

    how do you like it? (worked on trade maachine)

    • Alex Kennedy

      This is an excellent deal for Orlando, but I don’t think Denver or Atlanta would be interested.

      The Nuggets are trading away players they like such as Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari for Jameer Nelson, Zaza Pachulia and Chris Duhon. With how much they value Lawson, they would probably see Nelson as a more expensive downgrade. Also, I don’t think any general manager wants to touch Duhon’s contract after how he performed last season. Pachulia is also overpriced for the next two seasons.

      Also, do the Hawks really get better by trading Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia for Ryan Anderson, Danilo Gallinari and Quentin Richardson? I think they could find a better package elsewhere.

  9. Max

    who is your favorite for the 2011/12 MVP and scoring champion? I think Dirk deserves another MVP if he leads the mavs to another solid season! How about Carmelo as scoring champ?!

    • Alex Kennedy

      My favorite for 2011-12 MVP is LeBron James. Let’s be honest, there was no way he was going to win it last year. He was too polarizing and, not to mention, still adjusting to a new city, coach, system and team. Now, after the meltdown in the Finals, I expect James to play some of the best basketball of his career and silence his critics. There was a ton of pressure on him last year, but it won’t be as intense during year two. The lockout has created other villains and I just see him stepping up and becoming the alpha male in Miami next year.

      As far as the scoring champion goes, I think it’ll be Kevin Durant or Carmelo Anthony. Durant has to be in the conversation because he’s shown what he can do in recent years. He continues to improve each and every season and I think it’s a given he’ll win at least one more scoring title at some point in his career. But as you mention, Anthony is intriguing. His scoring went up in New York and everyone knows that Mike D’Antoni’s offense leads to higher point totals. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Anthony win it next season.

  10. simon

    how likely is it that dwight will average 30pts and 15 rebounds in a season?

    • Alex Kennedy

      During the playoffs, Dwight Howard averaged 27 and 15.5 so it’s not impossible. With that said, it would by far be the best year of his career and numbers like that are much harder to sustain for an entire season. He’ll have the ball in his hands an awful lot, but I don’t think he’ll be able to get to 30 points and 15 rebounds. He may average one or the other, but both? Probably not going to happen.

  11. marcello robertson

    Orl receives r. gay and marc gasol
    Mem receives d. howard and g. arenas
    Orl starts rebuilding with two cornerstones and Mem gets best big man in game. Basically, last years team w/howard…who says no

    • Alex Kennedy

      Does Dwight Howard sign an extension in Memphis? I don’t think he would. Therefore, the Grizzlies aren’t trading away two of their most important pieces for a one-year rental of Howard and the back-end of Gilbert Arenas’ ugly contract.

  12. Fizz

    While I hated the last lockout, there was an upside. In an effort to win back fans, the NBA made teams allocate a few thousand seats at $10 per game. This made it easier for young and broke fans like me to attend games. The Wizards cheapest pre lockout seat was $19. Afterward, I could go for cheaper than the price of a movie, which made me a fan of the team. Years later, I am a season ticket holder on the pricey 100 level, mostly because the lockout produced those same cheap 400 level tickets.

    What, if anything, can the NBA do to atone for this lockout as a goodwill gesture to attract alienated fans?!? I’d be curious to know your thoughts.

    • Alex Kennedy

      David Stern did an interview with NBA TV’s David Aldridge yesterday and was asked a similar question. He didn’t have an answer, basically saying that they’ll have a quality product for their fans to enjoy just like they did last year. With that said, I think they’ll find ways to make this up to fans. After a deal is reached, they’ll begin to focus on the season and try to do damage control. Reducing ticket prices, as you mentioned, is an excellent start. Also, I’ve talked to several people who think the schedule would be redone if a deal is reached. Rather than canceling the first two weeks of the season and depriving fans of great match-ups like Dallas-Chicago and Miami-New York. Don’t be surprised if big games are moved around so that the new opening night, whenever it may be, features some excellent games rather than the Minnesota-Toronto match-up that the old schedule may have had. I’m just as curious as you are to see what the NBA will do for its fans. This isn’t the NFL, where fans will just come crawling back. They’ll need to do something.

  13. Ben

    Hello Alex,
    nash, ray allen, wilson chandler, lamar and howard versus d-rose, harden, LBJ, haslem and perkins. which team wins?