NBA Chat With Jason Fleming 10/17/11

Chat with HOOPSWORLD editor Jason Fleming about any and all things NBA on Monday at 8pm Eastern Time. Lockout? Rumors? Possible trades? Anything hoops is fair game. Feel free to leave questions in the queue anytime.

  1. cj

    finally, what about these trades.
    #1 por gets jefferson/favors,uta gets camby.batum, and matthews
    then after the trade, we amnesty roy and go after j.crawford,j.richardson,m.thornton, or s.brown to sure up our SG spot

    • Jason Fleming

      Frankly, I don’t see how that makes Portland better. Jefferson is not the ideal center, and he may just get in Aldridge’s way, which is something you have to take into account. Favors is nice, but is that the ideal backup PF – a lottery pick who is out to prove himself? I don’t think losing Batum, Matthews and Roy and replacing them with the names mentioned is a good idea.

  2. Rosit

    Is there a chance Marc Gasol teaming-up his older brother Pau? What are the possible scenarios? Would Marc accept the back-up role?

    Am I delusional???

    • Jason Fleming

      The only way Marc goes to the Lakers is if he signs for the MLE. So yeah, a little delusional. :)

  3. Saulo

    ESPN has its top 10 rankings coming out this week, why doesn’t Hoopsworld do something similar? –What would yours look like? (I’d go 1. LBJ 2. Howard 3. Dirk 4. Wade 5. Durant, 6. Kobe 7.CP3 8. Amare 9. D-Will 10. D-Rose)

    • Jason Fleming

      Hmm, we might. I’ll pass on the idea. The longer the lockout lasts the more ideas we need to keep things fresh. :)

      I generally like that list, but I’d drop Howard and Dirk a couple spots. Then I’d move up Rose right behind Paul, remove Amar’e, and add in … Blake Griffin.

  4. tony

    Lockout ending this week? Any sliver of a chance?

    • Jason Fleming

      There is always a sliver of a chance, but that doesn’t mean I’d offer up my house as collateral. I really don’t think both sides are done with the posturing yet.

  5. Brady

    G.S. gets: Chris Bosh, Linas Kleiza, Leandro Barbosa, Andray Blatche. – gets a 20/10 franchise player

    TOR gets: David Lee, Dorell Wright, Charlie Bell, Noris Cole.- cuts major salary

    MIA gets: Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, Steph Curry, Javale Mcgee- cash Bosh in for some complimentary players next to wade/lebron

    WAS: Ekpe Udoh, Jeremy Tyler, Dexter Pittman, Joel Anthony- gets rid of a couple knuckleheads while stockpiling some young bigs.

    Looks like G.S. gets too much salary but if you break it down to small trades it works.

    • Jason Fleming

      I think the real problem is Golden State gets too little talent. Sure, they get Bosh, but they lose Lee, Wright, Curry, and Udoh? Isn’t that four starters?

  6. joe, chino hills, ca

    Do you think that the owners are not bargaining in good faith simply by low balling the players and waiting until they miss checks?

    • Jason Fleming

      Well, that depends on your definition of good faith. I’ve been saying for the last year the Players really have nothing they can withhold from the Owners to bargain with if the Owners are willing to miss games. Until there is a point where the Owners are unwilling to do that, the Players will continue to have nothing to offer. I’m not a expert in labor law, but I do know that typcially when a business deal gets down where one party has nothing to bargain with, they lose. The only thing the Players can bargain is their services, which the Owners have made moot by being willing to miss games. Is that not good faith? Or is it business? And if the Players are still unwilling to agree to a deal in the face of that reality, is that good faith, bad faith, or simply a lack of perspective?

      I’m sure it boils down to something less than good faith, but in a business negotiation where one side has all the leverage, when has that ever mattered?

  7. Paul Allen

    How good will the Blazers be? Can you see them making the NBA Finals and beating the Bulls?

    Some probable assumptions to factor in: LaMarcus will be an All-Star. Wes Matthews will win MIP. Roy will be 80% his old self and play 6th man. Camby will miss 20 games. Gerald Wallace will miss 10 games. Oden will be at 80% old self and play 10-12 minutes at backup center, starting in March. The rest of the Blazers will play 80-82 games each.

    Assume we have a 50-game season, since this feels like a repeat of 1999.

    • Jason Fleming

      While I would be flattered if this really were Paul Allen, the email address indicates otherwise.

      I don’t see this Blazers team getting to the Finals. I did a couple years ago, before the injuries to Brandon Roy, but with all due respect to Wesley Matthews he’s not the same player. And Roy isn’t the player he was. Plus, you have to look the big man situation. Oden may never be the player he was capable of becoming, and Marcus Camby turns 38 in March (along with long, long injury history himself). I don’t believe Roy has the right mindset, yet, to embrace a true sixth man role.

      I gotta ask. If Oden isn’t playing until March and Camby misses 20 games, who is playing in the middle? Chris Johnson and Earl Barron? Aldridge and shift Wallace to the four (assuming his missed games are different than Camby’s)? There are far too many questions around the key members of Portland’s roster for me to even see them making it to the second round.

      And you know what? It’s sad. It really is. Four years ago this team was the darling of the league with championship aspirations. People forecasted multiple titles. This is why I can’t get too excited about that stuff, because then life happens. Injuries happens. People disagree and front office changes happen.

  8. The JOker

    If they lower the BRI for the players, can they keep the salary cap the same? More money for the owners to spend on their prized players.

    • Jason Fleming

      Well, they could do whatever they want, but the salary cap is tied to BRI. (Check out this link from the NBA Salary Cap FAQ).

      I personally don’t see how it would be possible, unless they blow up the entire system and start from scratch. But if the cap figures are not derived from a set percentage of BRI it’s just not going to make sense. At issue here is the amount of money owners can spend on players, with the constraint on that being the salary cap. If the cap stays the same and BRI goes down, then what exactly is being discussed? The two are tightly interwoven.

  9. luvabull

    Boozer and charlotte 1rd pick to washington for young resign and blacthe. boozer and lewis gives them vets. leave pt for mack,crawford,singleton. they still have some cap space

    • Jason Fleming

      Yeah, but the Bulls don’t have any. They have $65.5 million on the books for next year (with Jimmy Butler). If Young signs for more than $3,156,604 in the first year of a contract, he becomes a Base-Year Compensation player, which makes him more difficult to trade to a team over the cap because he only counts for 50% outgoing for the Wizards (under the old rules). Boozer makes $13.5 mil, Blatche makes $6.4 mil. Young would have to sign for at least $5.325 mil for that trade to work for the Bulls. Depending on where the cap comes in, Washington may not be able to make up the difference with cap space. That would be a difficult deal to make happen.

  10. Andrew

    It seems to me like the owners are trying to make a more evenly competitive and opportunistic league with these negotiations and the players, especially the stars don’t want that because it might be more difficult to become a dinesty. Those players that are speaking up (Fisher, Wade, Peirce, Durant, Rose) are the stars or on teams that want to hog all of the talent….aka lakers/celtics. These stars don’t want to see an evenly disbursed BRI, but want a system that allows the league to continue to pay their stars ridiculous amounts of money. I believe that if we create a system that more or less evens the chips to each team, the league, and therefore the players would only benefit by more viewing because of the competition and the unpredictability of the outcome of a given season. MORE MONEY FOR ALL. Much like the NFL system creates. How do you view the sides and their motives behind the lockout and negotiations? They are both being greedy on some things, but I’m swaying toward the owners on this one. (My team is a small market)

    • Jason Fleming

      You had me a little until you said the part about the NFL. How much is Peyton Manning making this year for not playing? What kind of deal did Donovan McNabb just sign? (Not a question to you, just making a point that the NFL hasn’t rid itself of the same issues.)

      I don’t necessarily think competitiveness is a goal for the Owners, at least not in the way fans look at it. The Owners are far from altruistic on the matter. What matters to them is dollars coming in. It is true that when games are more competitive and everyone has a chance to win, income will go up. It’s also true that good teams make money, no matter the collective bargaining agreement. Fans pay to see teams win games. They pay less when their team is only competitive. They don’t spend anything when their team is completely out of it. In that sense, yes, perhaps the Owners want a more balanced competitive playing field – but it’s about the dollars, not the love of the game.

      I don’t buy the argument players don’t want balance, or would be against it. Why would they?

      I also don’t see how there would be more money for all. Players income is static. Under the old deal it was 57% of BRI. Under the new deal it would be a different number, but it would still be that same percentage. And no matter what, it will never match what they earned at 57% (or at least, not for a long time). Each team has the same cap, the same tax, the same ability to spend their money where they choose, and to spend as much as they choose. That is a decision, again, by the Owners, not the Players. They have zero control over how much the owner is willing to spend.

      In reality, the only way to get a true even playing field is with a hard cap, which maybe is where you were going with the NFL model. As long as the amount spent is subjective to the whims of the owner, balance will not truly exist. And that’s their choice, they can run their business how they choose. Fans are free to support whichever business they like.

      And yes, I can argue for both sides, and I can argue against both sides. Both have valid points, and both have invalid points. My feeling is the Owners will get whatever they want and it’s just a matter of time. Why stretch it out?

  11. Jermaine

    Dwight Howard finally said he ready to leave orlando in so many words….la or chi town?

    • Jason Fleming

      Chicago also has no chance of signing him.

      Even if sign and trades are allowable in the next CBA, why should the Magic do him a favor? If the cap truly is lower and Howard will make much more money by staying, make him make a decision. Just about any deal will not make Orlando better, so why bother?

  12. luvabull

    Robin Lopez/dudley for brewer/asik

  13. WC

    Are the owners legally allowed to just say “screw you” to the players and bring in D leaguers, college players, scabs, and anyone willing break away from the union etc… to restart the league?

    • Jason Fleming

      Um…this is one of those where I would have to do a lot of research in the middle of the chat to give you a 100% answer, but I don’t believe so. Unless the union decertifies, I believe the owners are legally required to work with them. Again, I might be wrong…I’m sure someone will correct me if I am.

  14. luvabull

    mayo/arthur for taj/korver

    • Jason Fleming

      Memphis MIGHT consider this…but they need more.

  15. luvabull

    dudley/lopez/childress/piutress for brewer/deng/omer

  16. luvabull

    deng/boozer/asik for lee/ellis/wright

    • Jason Fleming

      I have no idea why the Warriors would consider that.

  17. Jay

    What do you make of the latest Dwight Howard interview? Do you think he’s LA or Bklyn bound?

    • Jason Fleming

      Not unless you mean the Clippers. Neither the Lakers or the Knicks would be able to sign him under the old cap, let alone a new, lower one.

  18. luvabull

    Would willie green,cdr,belinelli,dunleavy ,reggie williams,nick young, delonte west,thorton or shannon brown. Who be really effective with the bulls

    • Jason Fleming

      Thornton would be my first choice, followed by Young and Brown.

  19. Jay

    Thanks for responding, but I was referring to the Nets with Bkyln, not the Knicks. Any chance?

    • Jason Fleming

      Ah, right, Nets. They have a better chance to sign Howard outright than those other teams – only $39.1 million committed to 2012-13 – but him going there depends on Deron Williams. If Deron leaves, why would Howard go there? Think Dwight could convince Deron to stay, and have them both sign deals at even amounts, a la what happened in Miami? That would be interesting.

  20. Eric

    What’s your gut feeling on when the lockout will end?

  21. Jay

    Who do you think has more upside Ed Davis or Derrick Favors?

    • Jason Fleming

      That’s a good question. They are different players – Favors can be all over the place and Davis, to me, seems like a safer, solid, productive player. I guess that means I think Favors has more upside, but I’m not yet convinced he will harness his talents and be a steady, long-term player. He hasn’t proven to me, yet, that he’s better than Tyrus Thomas. With Davis my expectations are lower, but I think it’s more likely he will live up to them.

  22. Jermaine

    They could trade bynum and other pieces for dwight howard it makes more sense to get something..ask the cavs…

    • Jason Fleming

      And the end result is the Magic spending the same amount of money and being worse overall. That is what doesn’t make sense to me.