NBA Chat With Joel Brigham, 12/13/12

Join Joel Brigham this Thursday afternoon at 3:00pm ET to chat about all things NBA, including everything from trade rumors to fantasy hoops and everything in between.  Get your questions in early and be back here Thursday afternoon to take part in all the fun!

  1. FG7

    Is Jeremy Lin for real after last night? or should I just sell high on him?

    Any thoughts on if I should stick with brandon jenning?

    • Joel Brigham

      Good afternoon, HOOPSWORLD Citizens, and welcome to another edition of my weekly chat! We’re teetering ever closer to Christmas, so hopefully you guys have at least gotten the majority of your gifts bought. Personally, I’m just glad that Ricky Rubio is coming back healthy to my fantasy time for the holidays. The only thing better would’ve been getting Derrick Rose back, but I’ve got a feeling that’ll be more of a St. Patrick’s Day present. We’ll see, I suppose. Anyway, let’s get on with the questions before people start getting restless.

      As you can see, this question was submitted a couple of days ago following Jeremy Lin’s tremendous 38-point outburst against the Spurs, so the answer to this question was provided last night against the Wizards, when he only managed 10 points, which is more or less his average on the season anyway. The huge game came with James Harden out, so I think what you saw was a little flash of what Lin may have had to do were he the primary offensive option on this team, but he’s not when Harden is healthy. If you can get someone to nibble, I’d certainly sell high. His averages this year have been kind of blah. Not bad, just blah.

      As for Brandon Jennings, his numbers have come down to earth a little bit more, but this is essentially a contract year for him so I still expect him to play his butt off for big money. You could do a whole lot worse for a point guard than that, buddy. Good luck!

  2. Chris G

    So, if Thibs was the Lakers coach, where would they be right now record wise? Bulls have no Rose, have been hit by other injuries, integrated in half a dozen new players, and don’t have two of the top 10 players in the game playing right now, yet they’re over .500 and leading a division.

    • Joel Brigham

      Let’s be fair, it’s kind of a crap division, but like I’ve been saying all year, top-five defensive teams almost always make the playoffs, and even without Derrick Rose (and now Richard Hamilton), the Bulls are still a top-five defensive team. I said this in my Central Division grades piece earlier in the week, but the Bulls are 2nd or 3rd in the league in opponents’ PPG, opponents’ FG%, and opponents 3PT%, so even if the points are coming, the guys are defending well and that’s going to help Chicago scrap out some of those grindy regular season wins. Even with Rose back, I don’t see them as anything even approaching a championship team right now, but they’d be good enough to win a playoff series.

      Now, some thoughts on Thibs as hypothetical coach of the Lakers: if he had inherited this team after the start of the season the way D’Antoni did, he would’ve had a hard time teaching his defensive rotations to a mostly old team that I have a hard time imagining as wanting to bust their butts as hard as Thibodeau would want them to. It would take time to get his system in gear, so you couldn’t expect immediate results. Of course, by the time the playoffs rolled around you’d have a nasty defensive team with probably the most driven coach in the league, and that would have the potential to be very, very nasty. Intriguing in Pretendo-World, but I’m glad he’s the coach of my favorite team in real life…

  3. Joel Brigham

    Hi, thanks for doing the chat.

    WHich players do you enjoy interviewing and why?

    Why rookies are you excited to watch this season?

    How did you come across hoopsworld?

    • Joel Brigham

      Another Joel Brigham? I know there’s me and a youth minister somewhere in Canada (what’s up, other Joel Brigham!), but who are you?

      Whomever you are, here’s some answers:

      1. I like guys who think about their answers before they give them and really try to have actual conversations with me. I hate short, cliche answers like “We just gotta work hard and play as a team,” so anybody that doesn’t give me that is the kind of guy I’d love to interview. Jermaine O’Neal and Shane Battier are two of my favorite guys to interview ever. I always loved Gilbert Arenas in his “I just don’t give a darn” years, too. Derrick Rose is better than he used to be, but he’s just so friggin’ NICE. Lots of guys I’ve enjoyed chatting with over the years.

      2. Enjoying watching Dame Lillard and Ant Davis and MKG. Nauseated by Austin Rivers.

      3. Probably Google. I don’t know, I read it long before I wrote for it, back when it was bskball.com. Anything with trade rumors, I was all about, and HOOPSWORLD always seemed to be the best source. Loved reading Steve Kyler’s stuff. Still do.

  4. Wes

    What are the odds Dwight leaves LA this offseason?
    What do you think Houston will do at the trade deadline/free agency?
    What should they do about Jeremy Lin? I don’t think him and harden are a good fit because both are pick and roll dominant. We need someone who can play off James

    • Joel Brigham

      1. Probably kind of good, especially if the Lakers continue to play like hot garbage (well, everybody except Kobe, that is). I’m not even sure who will have the money because I haven’t looked that far ahead yet, but I imagine he’ll want to shop around a little bit. With an ego like that he’ll at least want to make the tour and get wooed for a couple weeks. I know he loves L.A., like, a lot as a city, but that doesn’t even necessarily mean he has to stay with the Lakers. cough cough Clippers? Lakers are still the favorite, but he’ll definitely shop around. Winning a title would help keep him there, though.

      2. Your guess is as good as mine. They’ve still got plenty of young assets, but moving off Kevin Martin for Harden sort of makes it hard for them to take on another big deal. My guess is minor stuff that won’t really impress anybody all that much.

      3. Can’t trade him because of that silly poison pill deal, so hate him or love him, he’s probably a Rocket for the next couple of years at least.

  5. Jim in CyberSpace

    Kevin Martin seems to fit in just fine in OKC? Considering the salary cap relief and draft choices Sam Presti got out of the deal? He must be secretly smiling like a Cheshire Cat?
    K-Mart has to be one of the early favorites for sixth man of the year?

    • Joel Brigham

      Saved some money with Kevin Martin, too. Look, K-Mart has always been this good, but he really wasn’t feeling the situation in Houston and we all know there are pro ballers who can turn it on and off whenever they please, especially when it comes to a change of scenery (Vince Carter, anyone?). But I still wish the Thunder would’ve kept Harden. I loved that core, and what they got back (Martin, Lamb, and late first-rounders) just don’t quite make up for the talent they shipped off. I still think the Western Conference goes through OKC, but I would’ve had a lot more fun watching them if Beardsanity was still there.

  6. keo

    I know yao retired but he’s still young on nba standards…with the two years he took off wouldn’t his feet heal within that time? Do you think he will made a nba comeback soon or later

    • Joel Brigham

      No. His joints are destroyed. You can’t be that big and play as much basketball as he played in such a short period of time and not have degenerative issues in your joints. Brandon Roy is healthier than Yao Ming right now, if that tells you anything. Kiss that pipe dream goodbye, Keo…

  7. LA in LA

    I read Kyler’s Josh Smith article, and I have two questions:
    1: are the Hawks REALLY going to give him a max deal? I think that’s a terrible idea by Ferry, who has made all the right moves so far.. I don’t think he’s worth more than $15mil per year, and that’s being generous. If he gets. $100mil over 5 years he’d be getting more than Harden, K.love (yes their only on second contracts, but still), Zach Randolph, and as much as Deron Williams and likely CP3′s contract this summer. He’s worse than all those players.

    2: If I’m the Hawks, I’d try to trade him for equal or better value. Would Marcin Gortat, one of their forwards or bigs, and a first rnd pick or two be a good enough package

    • Joel Brigham

      First of all, your #1 isn’t a question, LA in LA. It’s a statement. Secondly, your #2 is a question, but there’s no question mark at the end, so all I can conclude is that you’re intentionally goading on the English teacher just to fluster me halfway through my chat.

      Well it’s not working, and I still like you despite your grammatical transgressions. AND, I’m still going to answer your comment and question.

      1. I agree.

      2. That would be good enough for the Hawks, for sure, but I don’t understand why Phoenix would jump on that. Might have to trim down the offer from their perspective a little bit to make that work.

  8. Zach

    Does Varejao get traded this season?

    Seems like OKC can put together the best package for him with some combination of Kendrick Perkins, the Toronto pick, Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones III, and the Dallas pick.

    Does Varejao improve OKC enough to make them clear title favorites?

    • Joel Brigham

      I don’t know that Andy is a big enough improvement over Perk to say that any sort of trade involving those two guys would immediately make OKC the favorite to win it all. I kind of like the idea of Varejao as a member of the Thunder, but I’m very much against moving the Toronto Pick or PJ3. Lamb, other draft picks, fine. But I still dig Perry Jones and the Houston pick is guaranteed lottery. You’ve got to get back something pretty special to involve that pick in a deal, and as hot as Varejao is playing this year, I don’t know that he justified a lottery pick.

  9. Chris

    Hi Joel. I’m going to call b.s. on Dwight knowing his destination. What do you think? A.) repeating his uncertainty (like he did a few weeks ago) creates more problems for team already full of them. B.) risks repeat of last season’s bad PR. In sum, his statement is all PR.

    • Joel Brigham

      I can not believe this guy is physically incapable of shutting his mouth. You’re right that it’s got to be frustrating for the other Lakers, who are trying to focus on righting a ship right now, because while he’s thinking ahead to next season (already!) everybody else is trying to win the games that are happening right now. I don’t know what kind of PR he thinks he’s generating with those kinds of statements, but it ain’t good. We might have to stage an intervention for this guy to go to silence rehab. All talking seems to do these days is get him into trouble.

  10. Jason

    Ray Allen has been wearing 2 small round patches on both of his calves , what are these patches being used for?

    • Joel Brigham

      I somehow doubt that they’re nicotine patches, but a quick internet search didn’t do much to quell my curiosity. The most realistic answer I could find was that they’re magnets. Some people believe (wrongly) that magnets have special powers. In this case, the little dots on Ray’s calves could be magnets meant to inspire more perfect balance or something. He’s been wearing those on and off since he was with the Celtics (and maybe sooner, but I don’t know), but I don’t know for sure why. If anybody out there does know, we’re all officially curious now.

  11. Chris

    With Gasol’s value at an all-time low, but Toronto possibly interested, would there be an opportunity for the Lakers to possibly reduce payroll and get a bit younger in an expanded deal? Gasol and Duhon to CLE, Bargnani to CLE, Calderon, Tristan Thompson and the expiring deals of Walton and Casspi would possibly work under the cap.

    • Joel Brigham

      I think Pau’s value being so low means he’s even less likely to get moved, because why would the Lakers want to get lower than market value for a player valued so highly? Plus, I just can’t see Toronto shipping off Calderon until Lowry gets a clean bill of healthy. That might not ever happen this year, even if he plays stretches, so surprisingly, Calderon may stay put. Without him, it doesn’t seem like much of a trade for L.A. I’d say nay on this one. Probably ain’t happening.

  12. Kyle

    Luol Deng is a great player and very underrated and i don’t mind if he remains a Chicago Bull for the rest of his career. But i also keep thinking about the teams that could really use him, and if the Bulls did trade him they could get back young talent and possibly a top 5 draft pick. If you were the GM what would you do?

    • Joel Brigham

      Luol is my guy. He’s the only player on the Chicago roster who’s been a member of that team every year since I started covering them. Kirk Hinrich is back, but was gone for two years, and I never got to know him as well as I know Deng. I’m a tremendous fan of him on a personal level, but I also have liked what he’s done on the court the last few years and was thrilled to see him named an All-Star last year. Of course, he’s leading the league in minutes this year after leading the league minutes last year, and that makes me afraid that he’s just going to get to a point where his body breaks down sometime relatively soon. For the right deal, the Bulls would absolutely have to consider moving him, but I don’t necessarily think a top-five pick would be the bait they went after unless they were in serious cost-saving mode. If they move him, it’ll have to be for another experienced star. Like, as the centerpiece in a trade for Kevin Love, yes, I would send Luol Deng packing. Knowing the Bulls and how much they love him, though, it would really take a godfather offer to move the kid.

  13. Deven

    If Dwight Howard knows where he’ll sign next year, where is it going to be?

  14. robb

    There was a report today that the pacers offered paul george for james harden, but the thunder took the rockets offer. Had this gone down who do you think would have won that deal?

    • Joel Brigham

      It would’ve worked out great for both teams, probably. The Pacers really wanted Eric Gordon this offseason because they’re hungry for a prototypical two that can come in and score consistently big numbers every night. George has made a leap of sorts this year, but consistently scoring is still a problem for him. George in OKC, though, would’ve been monstrous. I could really see him flourishing there. But the Houston offer gave them another good young prospect who’s much farther away from his first non-rookie deal, plus K-Mart’s expiring deal and solid draft picks. No way an Indy offer of George and whatever else would’ve come close to the other offer.

  15. Tyreke Evans

    Wat can my team do to get over the hump and actually win 30 games a season? Do I get traded to bring different talent back or should I stay in Sac and help us grow??

    • Joel Brigham

      I gave up on Tyreke Evans long before everybody else did, so I’m not going to even pretend that I’m surprised by how painfully average he’s been this year. I’m sure there are teams that are willing to take a flier, but not at fair market value. I get the impression that Sacramento probably wants higher than market value for him, and that just ain’t going to happen. That’s probably why he’s actually still in Sacramento. If there was a fair deal to make, they’d make it. I seriously doubt he’s untouchable at this point. Just hasn’t been the right offer.

  16. Ali Abbas

    Do the Raptors low up their current roster for a long term rebuild (i.e. trade Bargs/Calderone//kleiza & even Lowry/DD/AJ/Fields – as many as they can from this list for future draft picks/developing talent/tough veterans?
    Toronto fans are deeply upset with Colangelo/Bargs in particular – what is the perception around the league for the Raps in general and these 2 in particular?
    Tks
    Ali
    Karachi

    • Joel Brigham

      Keep Valanciunas, keep Lowry. I’d be okay kissing everybody else on that roster goodbye. I think rebuilding is the way to go, but the young guns currently on the roster don’t look like dogs that’ll be doing any hunting. Severely disappointing year for the Raps, and fans should be mad. Just know that with Lowry healthy, things are different. If he’s going to stay hurt, though, this could be a long season…

  17. David Echard

    The Kings badly need a floor general. Will the Kings entertain the thought of Kyle Lowry for Tyreke again?

  18. Kahari young

    Where do you rank Allen iverson in being one of the best combo and shooting guards ever?! Have a safe holiday break Joel!

    • Joel Brigham

      I’d need you to define “combo and shooting guard” before I told where I thought he’d fit. I mean, what other guys should I be considering? Other scorers, or better all-around combo guards? I think a lot depends on that. And anyway, the idea of a combo guard is kind of a new-ish one. Penny Hardaway comes to mind. I guess we could consider Magic Johnson one. Lots of good ones in the league today. Tough call, but Allen Iverson could score the ball better than a lot of guys over the course of the league’s history. He’s definitely up there!

  19. JW

    Good afternoon. Love your column.
    Who/when is a realistic target for a bulls trade?

    • Joel Brigham

      It’s hard to tell right now because A.) I really don’t think they’re going to make a move because they believe they’re really good with Derrick back, so no point breaking anything up until he returns as the team is still hard to watch, and B.) They’ve got lots of money tied up in just a handful of guys, and nobody’s got a certain sense of what the team will do with Carlos Boozer and the amnesty provision. Personally though, I’d make a hard push for Kevin Love. Anybody not named Rose for that guy, and then figure the rest out. I would love, love, LOVE to watch that team play basketball, even if I wasn’t a Bulls fan.

      Well folks, that’s my hour. I’ll be seeing Mike Birbiglia this weekend with Wifey and some buddies, so if you’re unfamiliar look him up on YouTube and enjoy the free giggles. Very funny guy.

      In the meantime, keep up the great questions, and we’ll do this again next week. Have an awesome weekend, and go Bulls!