NBA Chat With Alex Kennedy 12/12/12

1. Wil

   Hi Alex a question on Melo and perceptions. When he came into the league, he was thought of as a selfish gunner, then the team advanced in the playoffs and he was regarded as on par with Durant, then Melo-Gate (with Denver doing better and NY worse) and it was back to the old labels. Now NY is on top of the East and he is coming up in MVP discussions. So my question, has Melo really changed during his career or just the result (i.e. wins) which has changed our perceptions of him (but he is essentially the same player)? Thanks.

   • Alex Kennedy

     Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by and submitting your questions. I’ll try to answer as many as I can before I head over to Orlando for tonight’s Magic-Hawks game. Next week, my chat will once again be at 3 p.m. ET. Let’s get started.

     I think it’s a combination of both. There’s no question that Carmelo Anthony has matured and is more of a team player now. He’s had all of the individual accolades and he understands that he’ll be judged on wins and postseason success. However, I agree that the perception of Anthony has changed from year to year even though he’s consistently put up the same stats and had the same impact on games, but we see that with a lot of players. When players are winning, they aren’t criticized. When players are losing, people pick apart their game. When Kobe Bryant is winning, people say he’s the best player in the league and one of the greatest of all-time. When Kobe Bryant is losing, people say he’s a ball hog and bad teammate. The team’s success, or lack thereof, always changes how players are perceived.

2. Golden Refugee

   With the Warriors playing so strong, do they finally get an all star this year? Curry has been healthy and been on fire. Shouldn’t there be talk about Myers for exec of the year? Landry, Jack, great draft with 3 contributors.

   • Alex Kennedy

     It’s possible that Stephen Curry could be selected as an All-Star reserve. He just needs to continue to play at a high level and get some exposure.

     I completely agree with you about Bob Myers. He did an amazing job over the offseason. He turned the Warriors into one of the deepest teams in the league and set them up to make the playoffs, even if a key player goes down with an injury. Once Andrew Bogut comes back, this team will be even better. Golden State has done an excellent job and if they keep this up, Myers has to be in the Executive of the Year conversation.

3. Deven

   If the Spurs are this good like they always are, then why haven’t they won a title in 6 years?

   • Alex Kennedy

     In the past couple of years, they’ve been beaten by younger teams that they can’t keep up with. That’s why they’ve made an effort to bring in younger contributors such as Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills, etc. The Spurs are a very good team even though they haven’t won a title. They’re in the mix every year, which is more than most teams can say.

4. Jim in CyberSpace

   I guess Steve Nash is going to be the “Savior” for the LAL’s?

   The team is old, with bad legs…a huge salary?

   As good as Nash was, if the LAL’s face the thunder…Russell Westbrooke will dominate him. No one can D RW heads-up certainly not Nash. He will have multiple broken ankles. At his age?

   • Alex Kennedy

     Mike D’Antoni’s offense needs a talented point guard to reach its full potential. Steve Nash is familiar with the offense and he’s still one of the best distributors in the league. I think he’ll make the Lakers better. With that said, Nash turns 39 years old in a few months. It’s scary that the Lakers are relying so much on a soon-to-be 39-year-old who has been injured all year.

5. Wesley W

   Any moves at all you see the Rockets making at the deadline? And is there any chance of the Rockets moving Lin? He can’t seem to get comfortable without dominating the pick and roll because of Harden. I think we should go after another point who can play off of The Beard.

   • Alex Kennedy

     I don’t think we’ll see any moves at the deadline. I think the Rockets will wait until the offseason and try to make a splashy free agent signing. Also, Jeremy Lin isn’t going anywhere. Not only because they believe he’ll develop into a very good point guard, but also because he’s bringing in a ton of money and exposure for the Rockets.

6. Clayton in Portland

   The Pelicans. It really has a (terrible) ring to it. Is this a way to market Anthony davis’ unibrow, like the silhouette of a bird flying in the distance? I can think of no other reason a business person would choose such an awkward name for their franchise. Is this really the name they will adopt?

   • Alex Kennedy

     It sounds like the Hornets will become the Pelicans in the near future. Tom Benson wants that to be the new name and nobody in the process seems to object. I don’t get it. I like the idea of the logo being a silhouette of a pelican flying and making it look like a unibrow though. You may be onto something!

7. Bill

   Why don’t the HEAT see availability of jermaine Oneal and bring him back he has great defense this season

   • Alex Kennedy

     The Heat could’ve signed Jermaine O’Neal over the offseason. Same with the Lakers. I was at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas when O’Neal was working out for teams. The Lakers watched him work out and the Heat were in the gym as well. He looked good then and he looks good now. They should’ve offered him a minimum contract. He would’ve signed in a heartbeat.

8. Alex

   which player do you enjoy interviewing the most?

   Who is your favorite big 3 of all times?

   Which players do you see moving before the trade deadline?

   Which rookies are you excited to watch this season and why?

   • Alex Kennedy

     1) Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Jamal Crawford, Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Thomas, Kendrick Perkins and Maurice Evans are some of my favorite players to interview.

     2) I’ll go with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, mainly because that summer was so much fun to cover and it put the NBA back in the spotlight.

     3) Jose Calderon, Anderson Varejao, Derrick Williams, Pau Gasol, etc. are all names that will surface between now and the trade deadline.

     4) Damian Lillard is an obvious answer, but I’ve been covering him for about two years so it’s been great watching him develop from the star of little Weber State to a Rookie of the Year candidate. Andre Drummond is exciting to watch too, he has so much potential and fills a highlight reel with his dunks and blocks.

9. Mac

   This might sound crazy but how the Lakers are playing can they just rehire Mike Brown as their Defensive couch, they can’t get any worst, can they?

   • Alex Kennedy

     Good luck getting Mike Brown to come back. Somewhere, he’s cracking up at the Lakers’ struggles.

10. Edward Lee

    With the way the Lakers are playing, they might not even make the playoff. Do you really think the return of Nash would make them a great team?

    • Alex Kennedy

      I think they’ll make the playoffs. I think Nash will help make everyone better, I think Dwight Howard will be 100 percent soon and I think they’ll get better as they all develop chemistry. Whenever a team brings in several new stars, there’s always an adjustment period. By January or February, they may be looking like the juggernaut we all expected them to be. We’ll see.

11. T.J. Wilson

    Do you think the Nets will give Andray Blatche a guaranteed contract since he’s been playing so well lately? He looks better on the court….I hear Avery Johnson been staying on him about maturity and consistentcy.

    • Alex Kennedy

      Andray Blatche has certainly earned a guaranteed contract. He has been a huge surprise this season and he’ll be in the conversation for Most Improved Player. I think he realized that his career would be over if he didn’t grow up and work hard. Sometimes, being humbled and having no team offer a guaranteed contract is exactly what a player needs.

12. LA in LA

    Hey Kennedy 2 unrelated questions:
    1) Who’s the better athlete, Westbrook or Lebron? I thought everyone agreed it was Lebron but apparently Chris Palmer of ESPN disagrees

    2) I don’t want to see Gasol traded but if he was traded, would the Nets be interested? I’d rather have Gasol for $19 than Humphries for $12, but idk who Nets could offer Lakers.

    • Alex Kennedy

      1) I think LeBron is the better athlete. He’s a freak of nature. Someone that big shouldn’t be able to run that fast or jump that high. Chris Palmer is a good dude and I usually agree with him, but not on this one.

      2) I don’t think Gasol will be traded anytime soon. They want to see how he plays once Nash comes back. If he’s still struggling as the trade deadline approaches in February, that’s a different story. Then he may be dealt. However, I can’t see any team giving up significant pieces for a struggling 32-year-old with knee tendinitis and a huge contract.

13. James

    Let me get this right the HEAT struggle and it’s on the news cycle nonstop in 2010? The Lakers are horrible and has the least coverage. Media Bias at its finest

    • Alex Kennedy

      Are you saying the Lakers’ struggles haven’t gotten any coverage? That’s ridiculous. They’ve been talked about non-stop. Look at this chat. A ton of these questions (and many more that I haven’t answered because they’ve asked the same things) have been about the Lakers. They’ve definitely been under the microscope during the first five or six weeks of the season. No way they’ve had “the least coverage.”

14. Sylvester Bassey

    The keyword for the “Big Three” of the Heat was sacrifice when talking about what it would take to make there union work. Yet everyone on the Lakers is using patience. Other than talent do the Lakers have championship qualities if no one’s willing to sacrifice for the better of the team?

    • Alex Kennedy

      The Heat and Lakers are very different.

      When the Heat were first assembled, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were too unselfish. Nobody wanted to step on any toes and nobody wanted to take over games. That’s why they struggled so much late in games that first year. They all deferred to each other.

      With the Lakers, you had Kobe Bryant saying it was his team from day one. Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol both want their touches because they’re used to being more involved offensively. The problem isn’t that the players are being too unselfish, it’s that they aren’t adjusting to their new roles and they have several guys who want to be the alpha male.

15. Matt

    Hi Alex,

    Do you think Kobe’s ball dominance is preventing rest of the players to get into any kind of rythm at all? I believe they win more games when Kobe scores around low 20′s.

    • Alex Kennedy

      The Lakers are 1-10 when Kobe Bryant scores 30+ points. They’re undefeated when he scores 19 or less. Kobe needs to go into facilitator mode and get everyone else involved. That would get everyone in a rhythm and make them more active on the defensive end as well.

16. Bryan

    How bout them Mavs? I truly believe we could be a darkhorse team out the west your thoughts?

    • Alex Kennedy

      They have looked great and they’ll be even better when Dirk Nowitzki gets back. O.J. Mayo has been a huge surprise and he’s definitely going to get paid next summer. If I’m a team in the West, I don’t want to play the Mavs in the postseason.

17. Royce White

    Would a change of scenary be best for me? Since I have beef with the Rockets, I think i should get traded to Sacramento for James Johnson. I can play all home games, and bus to Oakland,LA,Phx,Portland and Salt Lake. When the Kings play elsewhere I’ll just play in the DLeague in Reno. thats approx 50-60 games a year. doesnt that make sense?

    • Alex Kennedy

      I don’t think a change of scenery would be good for Royce White, mainly because most organizations wouldn’t be as flexible as the Rockets have been. Go watch the ESPN video that followed Royce White on the night of the draft. Houston was basically the only team that was willing to take a chance on him in the first round. His agent rattled off team after team that wasn’t interested. I think White and the Rockets should continue to work together and find a plan that works for both sides. That seems to be what’s best for White.

18. Devonte

    Prediction: how far do you believe the Knicks will go this year? Is there anybody you would trade on the Knicks how well do u expect amare and iman will do for this team?

    • Alex Kennedy

      They could win it all. They’re playing very well and they’re doing it with ball movement and good defense. They’re also capable of knocking down a ton of three-pointers on any given night, which means they could upset a team if they get hot. Once Amar’e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert come back, they’ll be even deeper. I think Mike Woodson will make it work.

      Thanks for all of the questions! I’ll be back next week at 3 p.m. ET. Have a great week!