NBA Chat With Jason Fleming 8/29/11

Chat with HOOPSWORLD editor Jason Fleming Monday at 8pm Eastern about the latest news surrounding the NBA. With the lockout firmly in place there is still plenty going on!

  1. Matt from Australia

    Couple of trade scenarios, any chance you can give your thoughts?
    Bynum to Atlanta For J-Smoove and Teague?
    Kamn To The Hawks, J-Smoove To 76ers, and Iggy to the Clippers?
    J-Smoove and Iggy straight swap?

    who says yes/no for them?
    cheers.

    • Jason Fleming

      Scenario 1: I think the Hawks would do that deal for Bynum. I don’t think that’s enough for the Lakers though. L.A. probably says no.

      Scenario 2: Philly says no. Smith replacing Iguodala is a step backwards for them.

      Scenario 3: Ditto.

  2. Pat Riley

    Who says no? MIA gets: Dwight, Hedo. ORL gets: Bosh, Haslem, Mcgee, Blatche. WAS: Pittman, Orton, Joel Anthony, Norris Cole

    • Jason Fleming

      Washington may want to get rid of Blatche, but that’s a horrible deal for them. They say no.

      Miami might say no too. Obviously getting Howard is the jewel of the trade, but would they be better off than they are now? They would have even less bench. Knowing you, Pat, you’d pull the trigger and deal with it later, but it would probably mean no championship for another year.

      Orlando SHOULD think about it, but they wouldn’t and would say no. They simply are not at a point where they would trade Dwight for anything less than, well, LeBron. And even then they would probably hang up the phone.

  3. Sergio

    What up? How you think the Kings will do this season? I love Evans and want him to be recognized as one of the better pg in the league but needs a winning team to get noticed. Any word on what he’s doing this offseason? I also really like Hickson, and Wade is my fav player. To help both teams, why not trade Hickson and Jimmer for Bosh and Chalmers? Just off the top of my head without much thought.

    • Jason Fleming

      I think the Kings will do better, but I don’t see them being a playoff team with their personnel with Paul Westphal as their coach. He’s too hands off to reign in the personalities and force them to run a more rigid offense – and play defense. The Kings absolutely have talent, but they need stronger leadership.

      I’m also not sold Evans is a point guard in any way, shape or form. He is a fantastic player, but forcing him to be the team’s point will take away from everyone’s effectiveness. The trade sending out Udrih was a step in the wrong direction in my opinion. They now have a lot of guards – Evans, John Salmons, Fredette, Marcus Thornton – but I don’t have confidence any of them can come close to competing at the one with most starting point guards in the NBA. Until they shake that out it will hold them back.

      I don’t see how Hickson and Jimmer for Bosh and Chalmers helps Miami in the least. That just puts even more pressure on Wade and LeBron and weakens the rest of the team. It would be a step backwards.

  4. john

    do you think there is any hope that we can watch a Miami game and not see Wade and Lebron drive in every time and get the call. It got so disgusting last year i coundnt watch any more. Yet Kobe cant get a call to save his life. Whats going on?

    • Jason Fleming

      Kobe can’t get a call to save his life? Kobe was 10th in free throw attempts (583) last season – James (663) and Wade (652) were fifth and sixth. Kobe gets plenty. Watch him though – he doesn’t drive and throw his body around nearly as much as he did, say, four years ago. In 07-08 he had 742 attempts and the season before he led the league with 768. Most slashers, as they get older, tend to try going through players less and relying more on slick moves to create open jump shots. To me, that’s what Kobe is doing.

      LeBron and Wade, on the other hand, don’t seem to care. Their time will come (at least, it should in Wade’s case – LeBron is a freak of nature) and they too will stop driving the lane and creating as much contact.

      I also have to admit – most all of the time they get those calls, they sure look like fouls to me. Frankly, I think the refs COULD call more.

  5. Roger

    What do you think the best options are for the Lakers with a season in session? What would be realistic for them to get back to the Finals?

    • Jason Fleming

      Like what kind of trade could they make midseason?

      I think asking that before a season has begun and teams have started to shake out into whatever they will be is a bit premature. Then again, the players they would offer up in trade then are the same they would offer now – and does anyone really have any interest? Unless the Lakers are trading Pau Gasol, they don’t have much that teams want where the other team would give up an asset to make the Lakers better. Steve Blake, Ron Artest, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom – all are solid players. But looking at it from the perspective of another team, are they players you give up good talent for?

      I really don’t think they are. Unless the Lakers want to trade Gasol, this is the team they will have this season. Even Bynum’s market is limited because of his injury history, despite his talent.

  6. Josh

    Jason,

    What do you think are the Jazz’s plan for the future at PG? Do you think they stick with Harris for upcoming year or do they target Kabongo or Teague in next years draft or do they try and make a splash for a upper tier PG in free agency…

    • Jason Fleming

      To be fair, I think sticking with Harris for the upcoming season and targeting a Kabongo or Teague in the next draft are kind of the same thing. :) That said, if they did that and managed to bring in a rookie point guard, keeping Harris until his contract runs out would be a smart move, allowing the rookie to learn the NBA game without the pressure of being a NBA starter right off the bat.

      Harris is a solid player. He’s not a great point guard, but he can distribute and he can score. I think Utah fans are down on him because of how he played after the trade, but he was battling injuries. Plus, he simply isn’t Deron Williams. Never will be. Unfortunately for him that’s what he will be compared to in Utah and he’ll never measure up to it.

      Chances are Utah won’t have FA money if the lockout ends in time for games this season, but next summer they should have some – but it won‘t be enough for an upper tier PG. That might have to wait for the following summer, when Harris’ contract expires.

  7. Zac

    With the bulls needing another 2 guard that can score from the three and take pressure off Drose what do you think of leadro barbosa as a option? One trade i came up with would send ronnie brewer, jannaro pargo and john lucus for barbosa. I think brewer would make a hell of a backup for Derozan and pargo and lucas would help solidify the point guard spot even for limited minutes.

    • Jason Fleming

      It’s an interesting idea, but I don’t see the appeal for the Raptors. Also, Barbosa would be a poor choice as a starting SG He’s only 6-3 and isn’t big enough to handle roughly any shooting guard who wants to get physical. Teams would run over him all day. Yes, he’s quick and he can get in passing lanes, but do you want your SG gambling all the time?

      All the Bulls need to do is find themselves a veteran shooter who can play good enough defense to keep teams somewhat honest.

  8. Aaron

    all-time, who would you rather have, dirk or granett? I would personally rather have Dirk but am interested in your opinion and rationale.

    • Jason Fleming

      This is tough to answer in a vacuum not knowing who else was on the team, but I’m going with Garnett. I love Dirk’s game, and his offense is about ten times better than Garnett’s while his defense has improved, but in my mind Garnett’s offense is plenty good enough and his defense makes a major difference.

      It would be a nice problem to have for a coach or a GM, wouldn’t it? Both should be first-ballot Hall of Famers.

  9. justin

    Can Utah trade Harris, Millsap, & the Golden State pick for Stephen Curry, Dorral Wright?

    • Jason Fleming

      This is my first chat in the new system, so bear with me…but welcome! As always, I’ll try to touch as many subjects as possible. The queue looks pretty thin today, but maybe things will pick up.

      Justin gets my first attempt here…

      The answer is – it depends. See, if the cap stays the same after the lockout, the Warriors have about $9 million in cap space. Curry/Wright is about $7 million and Harris/Millsap totals about $17.4 million. GS would have to throw in something of minimal value – say, Louis Amundson. The Warriors also have cap holds for 11th pick Klay Thompson and free agents like Vladimir Radmanovic they would have decide upon first as well in order to use the cap space.

      Like I said, that assumes the old cap. That won’t happen. So the real answer to “can” they is I have no idea. Should they? GS is giving up the best player in the deal and taking on salary, I would advise them not to do it.

  10. justin

    Once the new cba is in place how soon will it be, before Millsap gets traded? What r they going to do about a back up pg? Should they go after Dragic as the future pg. Maybe Jefferson for Martin/Dragic? Helps both teams. Lee can take over the 2 for Houston. Utah gets a decent back up pt plus the 2 guard they’ve been needing

    • Jason Fleming

      Here’s the deal with Millsap: He’s getting starter’s money – $8.1 mil this year, $8.6 mil next – and he’s putting up solid numbers: 17.3 points, 7.3 boards, 53% shooting. Why would you trade him? Why trade him and keep Al Jefferson? Millsap could do everything Jefferson can, and he does it for $6 million less. Millsap just keeps getting better and he’s a great team player – trading him would be a mistake.

      However.

      Offering up Jefferson for a Goran Dragic/Kevin Martin combo would send Daryl Morey into a giggle fit. (I have no idea if this is true, but you get the idea.) Martin is one of the best shooting guards in the league. Houston may be open to taking on Jefferson, but Martin assuredly won’t be involved. But, the Rockets have cap space…they could trade for him and take some salary off Utah’s hands.

  11. aditya

    lebron for dwight. what are some pros and cons, and how feasable is it?

    • Jason Fleming

      Neither player is available, neither team would pull the trigger – it’s not feasible at all.

      It makes some sense for Miami, but having Howard and Bosh in the middle might just end up clogging the middle. I’m not sold it would work as well as the Miami lineup they have now.

      Same goes for the Magic. Look at their roster and imagine it without Dwight but with LeBron. Yuck. Sure, they have LeBron, but they have a gigantic hole in the middle with no one to fill it, and they then have contracts like Hedo Turkoglu’s on the bench. They could go small, but is that really a winning formula? LeBron’s Cleveland teams were better.

  12. Jay In DC

    What kind of player will Jan Vesely be? I know nothing about his game aside from YouTube dunks. Can he play solid perimeter D as a SF or is he going to be forced inside? Any current NBA player that he most resembles?

    • Jason Fleming

      Last Question! My queue ran dry…

      I believe Vesely can be a good perimeter defender. As long as Washington demands that of him, he can do it. He has the talent, he obviously has the athletic ability. Just like with any rookie he will need to be kept on a short leash until it’s ingrained in his game, but I feel defense won’t be a problem.

      I hope the Wizards keep him as a three. He will be more effective there, even if they trade Andray Blatche. Whether they will or not remains to be seen. Hopefully they don’t try and keep Rashard Lewis in that spot because of his contract.

      Can you imagine a run-and-gun lineup featuring John Wall, Jordan Crawford, Vesely, Blatche, and JaVale McGee? That talent has to have Wizards’s fans excited.

      Thanks for all the great questions! Next Monday is a holiday, so my next chat will be September 12th. Follow me on Twitter!