NBA Chat With Joel Brigham, 1/12/2012

1. niko#3

   Hi Joel
   Heat needs a veteran help on PG spot, is there any chance of them signing Allen Iverson or someone else?

   • Joel Brigham

     Good afternoon, HOOPSWORLD Citizens, and welcome to another edition of my weekly chat! It’s snowing like the dickens here in Illinois, which means winter appears to have finally arrived. It did what was probably my last outdoor run of the season yesterday in preparation for all this cruddy weather, and my legs feel like rubber as a result. That sort of whooped is a good kind of whooped. The kind of whooped that the Washington Wizards are, however, is something else entirely. We’ll talk more about them later, though, I’m sure. As for now, let’s get on to the questions…

     Norris Cole is going to help them at the PG spot long-term, and I think he’s as far as they’re going to look for now. If they do look beyond that, I sincerely doubt they’re going to take a gamble as huge as Iverson to shore up that position. They’ve got enough scorers on that team; what they need is someone who can run the floor and distribute, maybe knock down some threes when D’s are collapsing on Wade and LBJ. That’s not Iverson’s game, and anyway, can you see him stomaching giving up minutes to Cole and Mario Chalmers? Not a prayer. That’s the sort of thing that could ruin that whole locker room.

2. Ralph

   Are the Washington Wizards/Bullets the lowest basketball IQ team you have ever seen? I watched their game against the Wolves and couldn’t come away with one positive.

   • Joel Brigham

     I told you the Wizards would undoubtedly come up, and here they are! Yeah, they’re pretty bad. They’re so bad that John Wall got outperformed last night by John Lucas III. This is a Wizards team that can’t even score 70 points against a Bulls team playing without Derrick Rose, Rip Hamilton, C.J. Watson, and most of the game without Joakim Noah. Cripes, that’s awful, and I don’t see it getting a whole lot better. Rashard Lewis, though he’s a good guy, has to be considered one of the all-time worst contracts at this point, right? 4 points and 4 boards last night. The rookies are solid, but not stellar, and I was hoping for more of a jump from Wall this season. Andray Blatche got a DNP-CD last night. It’s a mess out there. Absolutely a mess.

     Though I can’t say enough for how beautiful those new uniforms are.

3. Juan Pablo

   Is it possible for Minnesota to bring Harden without giving Rubio, D.Williams or Love in the trade?
   Should they make a big push for two very high first round picks for this year draft? In the best case who would you draft with the first pick Davis or Drummond? And with the second Lamb or Beal?

   • Joel Brigham

     Harden’s right on the cusp of turning into something special, so I don’t see OKC doing anything to trade him right now. I imagine they’d part with Thabo for the right price, but not James Harden. I don’t think Minny is too keen on trading any of those three guys you mentioned, either, so it all sort of seems moot, right?

     Minnesota doesn’t have a first-round pick this year. That pick belongs to New Orleans now, and if I’m New Orleans with two lottery picks, I’m targeting Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond if at all possible, and if not I’d roll with one of those two plus Harrison Barnes or Mike Gilchrist. A core built around Eric Gordon, Michael Gilchrist, and Anthony Davis is one with a legit future. It’d be hard not to follow the Hornets in New Orleans if that was the group you got to watch every night.

4. Bryan

   How long before D. West get his Basketball legs under him? When he does can the Pacers win a playoff series this year?

   • Joel Brigham

     It’s been slow going for him early, and I don’t think the compacted schedule is helping him much along those lines. Even with him at 70% the Pacers look really, really good. Considering how well they’ve played despite the offensive woes from their top players, I’d have to say that they’re absolutely in great shape to nail down homecourt in the first round. Depending on their opponent, it seems perfectly reasonable to expect them to win a series. Would love a Bulls/Pacers rematch in the Conference Semis… Since I live equidistant from Chicago and Indy, that allows me to go to every game, which I’ve got to say was awesome in last year’s playoffs.

     But yeah, I love the way Indy looks, and I think they’re going to be good all year long. Frank Vogel is a really, really underrated coach. He’ll stick around for a while, and he’s only going to get better as he gets some full seasons under his belt.

5. Focuslja

   You are Charlotte’s GM: Who do you make a move for? Terrence Williams, Wes Johnson or Corey Brewer? Why?

   • Joel Brigham

     it sort of depends what I have to give up, but of those three I’d say Wes Johnson has the most upside to him at this point in his career. T-Will and Brewer have showed flashes, but also have had some severely disappointing seasons. Johnson hasn’t been disappointing yet, just shown an upward arc in his abilities the first few years in the league. But I’m not sure what the Bobcats have to offer for him. That’s a team pretty devoid of tradable talent right now, and Minny doesn’t have much interest in D.J. Augustin, who I think the ‘Cats will have to trade at some point this year to let Kemba breathe. Kemba, by the way, is going to be awesome. Love watching that kid play…

6. Anthony

   Have you had a chance to watch any Cavs games? Any thoughts on the two rookies? I have been pleasantly surprised by both, and am starting to expect big things from them. If Cle drafts a scoring wing in ’12, they should be back in the Playoffs sooner rather than later.

   • Joel Brigham

     I’ve seen a couple on League Pass this year, and I like what I see out of Kyrie Irving so far. He’s every bit as explosive as Derrick Rose was his rookie year, and you can tell he has the confidence and belief in himself to be the leader the team hoped they were drafting. He’s going to be an excellent pro. Tristan Thompson has been about as expected, at least for me, though I know his numbers are surprising some people. They aren’t blow-your-mind numbers, though, and I’m not sold he’s ever going to be an All-Star caliber guy. Serviceable career PF? Sure. But not a star. I’ll cry over Valanciunas until I die, because I still think he would’ve been a better pairing.

     You’re right about adding a wing in the draft this summer, and there are a few good ones… Barnes and Gilchrist I’ve already mentioned, but there’s Perry Jones, too, and you could add a shooter like Austin Rivers or Jeremy Lamb, too. Plenty of great options, and any of those guys would help Cleveland get back on the road to postseason success. The East is a tough place right now, though. I’d say wrap your head around a five-year plan. If you consider that “sooner,” fine… I think playoffs are still a ways away for this group, even with a great pick over the summer.

7. rodney

   If the Magic continue to win, and dwight decides that he will opt into one more year with the magic, exactly how much pressure does that put onto nj to trade d will?

   judging by dwills body language his demeanor and the fact that last night he covered his face in disgust for like 10 sec at the way that his team was losing and the fashion they were losing.

   Do you think if Dwight were to opt in that he would then demand a trade to orlando to pare with howard?

   • Joel Brigham

     That’s sort of the best-case scenario for Orlando, isn’t it? My gut has told me since the trade from Utah last season that Williams wasn’t going to end up in New Jersey/Brooklyn long-term. I still think Dallas is more likely place for him to end up than anywhere, but I’m sure Orlando would love to have him. Regardless of what Dwight does, I think D-Will leaves the Nets when he can. That team is looking pretty rough, and I think they still would be even with Brook Lopez healthy.

8. Eric P

   What up Joel? Really man , Really John Lucas shoots 28 times in one game? I dont have “inside sources” but got to believe Thibbs flipped out

   • Joel Brigham

     I’m not going to worry about it too much. It was the third game in three nights, The top two-string PG’s were out with injuries, and they were playing the worst team in basketball. Just let the Bench Mob play big minutes and hope that it all works out. 25 points for Lucas is fantastic, even if it took him 28 shots to do it. He’s a cool kid, so I was happy to see him get that opportunity. Sort of felt like a B-Team game in high school last night, didn’t it? Anyway, a win’s a win, and you can bet that when he has the full roster to work with again, Thibs will find his mind again. Lucas isn’t going to play 48 minutes every night.

9. Eric P

   Joel, who are the top 5 3pt shooters you have seen in your life time? Mine would be 1) Reggie Miller 2) Ray Allen 3) Glen Rice 4) Dan Marjle 5)Larry Bird

   • Joel Brigham

     Solid list. Don’t forget Steve Kerr! My buddies and I had a huge argument in college about who was a better pure shooter, Ray Allen or Steve Kerr. Not the best scorer, just the best shooter. I was in the Ray Allen camp, but I had some friends who would’ve fought for Kerr to their deathbed. When I had a casual conversation with Ray Allen about this a few years ago, he voted for Kerr, but I think he was just being gracious…

10. Jaimeson

    Season starting adrenaline rush is over for these guys. FG%’s down, turnovers up, winded players & many defensive lapses. Games are a little rough to watch. Why not a 50 game season w/ a lil more training camp & more days off between games? Is it all about the $? Quantity over quality this year.

    • Joel Brigham

      A 50-game season for the lockout, or forever? If you’re suggesting forever, there’s not a prayer. For just this season, yes it’s absolutely all about the money, both for the teams and the players. A building generations a buttload of cash for every single game, so those extra 16 games are worth millions and millions of dollars for each and every market. Plus, the players lose fewer paychecks that way, and that’s why they were willing to kill themselves at a breakneck pace this season. It is, absolutely, all about the money, but that’s okay. I don’t know about you, but there’s not a single night that there isn’t some sort of meaningful game on somewhere. I sort of like it all shoved up together like this. I hated those 2-3 stretches last season in between Bulls games. I get bored waiting.

      In any event, it certainly is quantity over quality. We aren’t even to the point where teams start resting vets more than ever before. That’s about to happen, too, which will make things even more frustrating for certain brands of fans. At least we’ve got basketball at all, right?

11. Chris

    Hi Joel. What’s up with Noah? Is it health issues, conditioning, big contract-itis, bruised confidence, fewer minutes, etc…? This guy was looking like a 15ppg, 12rpg, 2bpg, 1spg perennial All-Star at this point last season.

    • Joel Brigham

      Everything comes into play, and I think you can add the emergence of Omer Asik, too. That plays into the “fewer minutes” thing though, I suppose. Still, Omer’s been so freaking good defensively and on the offensive glass early this season that he’s seeing a huge rise in minutes. That directly affects how much Jo plays, and I think that’s having an effect. He got banged up a little last night, but really he’s been healthy this season. I don’t think he was particularly out of shape, either. Might be confidence issues, or having the weight of that contract extension on his shoulders, but whatever it is we know at this point he’s a guy who’s going to miss some games, but also is a guy who’s going to win some games for you with his energy. He’ll find his groove at some point this season, and as long as that happens by the postseason, I shan’t complain. Just glad that Omer has stepped up so well by Noah struggled.

12. Will

    If D12 gets traded to Lakers for Bynum,do they become favorites in the West?

    • Joel Brigham

      Boy, Bynum sure has to have Orlando thinking about that trade, should they ever change their mind about moving their stud. That said, you have to keep in mind that Orlando has zero plans to trade Dwight right now. The Magic are winning games right now, which means Dwight is likely happy. As long as he’s happy, there’s no reason to move him. So for the record, I don’t think Howard is getting trade to the Lakers or anybody else this season. He stays, at least for now.

      But. If he was traded to the Lakers, depending on who they gave up, I think we’d have to consider it a huge help. The Thunder would still be my favorite in the West, and the Clippers and Blazers would still be right there, but L.A. would get a slight boost. Keep in mind how well Bynum is playing right now, though. Is Dwight good enough to drastically and immediately improve that team? Not really. So long-term, it’s a great move for them. For this season, though, I’m not sure it makes as huge a difference as some thinks. Not the way Bynum is playing right now.

13. ShaulennyFrom Queens

    HELLO TRADE MACHINE IS GETTING UPDATED AND TRADE CHECKER ISN’T LETING ME TRADE O.J.MAYO SO CAN YOU CHECK IF THIS TRADE WORKS UNDER NBA RULES
    HERE’S THE TRADE
    TO IND O.J.MAYO
    TO MEM D.JONES,P.GEORGE
    COMMENTS PLEASE

    • Joel Brigham

      I don’t trade Paul George for O.J. Mayo straight up, let alone tossing in Dahntay Jones. I think George is the better long-term pro, and between him and George Hill I think you can make the SG position work just fine in Indiana. To me, it looks like the Mayo-to-Indy thing is dead. Don’t see much hope in it being revived any time soon.

      And yes, life without the trade checker is a dreary existence. This is true.

14. Chicago Charles

    Did the Bulls newest player Mike James get signed for the year or for a 10 day trial–at what salary?

    • Joel Brigham

      The guy didn’t even have a name on his jersey last night. I wouldn’t look at him as a permanent fixture this season, because John Lucas has clearly proven he’s worthy of more than just garbage time minutes, and when Rose and Watson are healthy that pretty much wraps up the point guard rotation. I think they’d rather keep their roster options open for the addition of another big somewhere down the road. There’s a big Joakim or Boozer injury coming at some point this season… you can almost bank on that. Mike James won’t help when that happens. So this is short term, but if there is a need for a guard later in the year, he could just as easily get called right back up.

15. JazzFan

    considering the Jazz took the Lakers down to the wire in OT and was aona 5 game winning streak do you think the Jazz can realistically make the playoffs this season?

    • Joel Brigham

      I think it’s time for me to admit that I was wrong about Utah. I picked them to have the worst record in their conference, and that clearly is not going to happen. Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap have been so good early on, and that’s led to some pretty solid wins for this group. I like them more than I thought i was going to.

      As far as making the playoffs, I think we have to consider the following teams locks: OKC, LAL, LAC, POR, SA, and DAL. That leaves two spots for the following teams: UTA, DEN, MEM, GS, and maybe PHO or HOU. Of that second batch, I would think Denver would get in, and teams like the Warriors and Grizzlies have been so disappointing, so Utah most certainly has a shot if they can fend off those other groups. If they do make it in, though, it’ll be by the skin of their teeth…

16. Dominic

    Can the Nets come out of this year on a high note? It seems to be Dwight or bust….

    • Joel Brigham

      That’s exactly what it’s starting to feel like. My goodness is that an awful team right now, which is surprising because usually when a team has at least the one superstar they can at least float around .500. For Deron Williams, 2-9 is sort of unacceptable, right? So many of the other teams in the lower part of the East don’t have that superstar and are playing overall better basketball. It’s hard to explain, but if the Nets can’t get Dwight I don’t see much good happening for them. The best case scenario is that they go on a tear, and MarShon Brooks starts looking like a future All-Star and Brook Lopez comes back strong. if that doesn’t happen, I don’t see much shot at D-Will extending there. I just don’t. It’s going to be a long season, Nets fans. Brace yourselves.