NBA Chat With Joel Brigham, 4/12/12

1. Will

   Do you think Orlando should go after Stoudemire this offseason in a trade?High risk/reward.

   • Joel Brigham

     Good afternoon, HOOPSWORLD Citizens, and welcome to another edition of my weekly chat. We’ve got way more to talk about than I can even begin to try teasing right now. I mean, you guys know what’s at stake… teams are jockeying for playoff position in the last couple of weeks in the regular season, the draft is just around the corner, and even the high school kids are finishing up their commitments to colleges. It’s crazy. Plenty to go over today, so let’s get to it…

     Will, my question for you regarding this particular inquiry is what the Magic are supposed to be able to offer New York that would not only match salaries but properly compensate for Amar’e's level of talent. Granted, that level of talent is looking very, um… level… but even if the Knicks were interested in, say, Ryan Anderson as a starting point, that doesn’t even come close to making the money part of a trade work.

     The real issue here, and there were a lot of us who at the start of the season said New York would regret using amnesty on Chauncey rather than saving it for Amar’e in case things got bad. I think we all know what kind of contract the Knicks are going to be stuck with in a couple years. Chandler’s been amazing defensively for them, but it’s hard to say if it was worth the risk for what STAT will eventually become.

     All that said, would Orlando even want that contract? High risk, indeed…

2. The JOkeShow

   So if the Jazz get 2 draft picks, do you try and trade both + Milsap and Harris for Rondo or just draft a PG and SG or SF, and build them and let Milsap or Jefferson walk after next season?

   • Joel Brigham

     There really aren’t any point guards that I like in this draft… Kendall Marshal and Marquis Teague aren’t NBA stars, in my opinion… so if there’s something Boston is interested in then I say absolutely do something in the ilk of a Rondo trade. Millsap and Harris doesn’t feel like anywhere near enough for Rondo, but if there’s a top-ten pick in this draft tossed in, it might be a little more feasible. And if Utah has two top-ten picks to play with, it might be easier to swallow trading one of them. I think everything depends on how deep Boston goes in the postseason. If they look cooked and Allen/Garnett look poised to move on, then looking at a Rondo trade might make sense. I just don’t know that it’s all that realistic. Not a bad idea at all, just not something I see Danny Ainge pulling the trigger on without some more sweetener.

3. calvinzero

   2 Questions:

   1.What can you say about the Celtics performance right now? Is it truly to say that their burst of victories is a strong sign to the so-called “final bid” to the NBA Finals this season?

   2. If you were Erik Spoelstra, how you will motivate your players to become a championship contender again? Is it a good argument that BENCH SUPPORT shall be emphasize going to the playoffs? Why or why not? Thanks Joel. I am excited to watch playoffs.

   • Joel Brigham

     1. I love the Celtics’ performance right now. When they beat Miami a couple of weeks ago it was a statement that they really were capable of sneaking through another postseason and making another Finals, old as they are. Then, when they beat Miami this week, it was even sweeter because the HEAT actually really wanted to win that game. The fact that they couldn’t when they really, really came out motivated to win speaks volumes for how serious the C’s are right now. There isn’t a single Eastern Conference team right now that I could see handling them easily in a seven-game series. There’s no one I can’t see them beating, which scares the crap out of me as a Bulls fan. They’re playing great ball right now. Love Avery Bradley, too, by the way. Great kid, infectious defensively.

     2. LeBron James shouldn’t need motivation. He’s one of the most gifted players physically in the history of the game, and he’s not living up to his potential. That should piss him off. Kevin Garnett, for example, is pissed off, and that’s why he’s playing so much better lately. LeBron has actually gotten worse (in general) as the season has gone on. And Wade is a champion, man… these guys shouldn’t need a coach to remind them what’s at stake here. It should be inherent.

4. Hew

   Marcus Thornton isn’t a good enough defender. He should be sixth man so tyreke can play sg. Thoughts?

   • Joel Brigham

     I’m about as low on Tyreke Evans as anybody, and I’m also a big fan of Thornton (albeit for offense-related reasons), so I’m the wrong guy to try to persuade on this one. The Kings are a mess with too many ball-stoppers in the backcourt just in general. The fact that they’re all so young and so talented tells me they won’t make any changes to that core group of guards, and that’s going to be an ongoing problem for them for years.

5. Hovito

   Lets say the Thunder Dominate the playoffs. And teams are looking for improvements. What do you think if this trade

   Orlando get: Noah, Horford, Kyle Krover
   Chicago get Josh Smith, JJ Reddick, Marvin Williams
   Atlanta get: Dwight Howard, K. Krover, Boozer

   Orlando gets florida alums who are direct opposite of D. Howard
   Chicago gets rid of Boozers money start Asik, Jsmoove, Taj rotate at 4/5 plus bench is stronger
   Atlanta: gets the hometown guy and boozer is a good comp to him and Howard, Johnson, Boozer not a bad big 3

   Orlando PG, JRich, Turk, Hortford, Noah
   Chicago: Rose, Hamilton, Deng, Smith, Asik
   Atlanta: Teague, Johnson, SF, Boozer, Howard

   • Joel Brigham

     Bulls aren’t trading Noah AND Boozer for Josh Smith and those table scraps. Not a prayer.

6. Deven

   Hi Joel. After Bynum’s 30 rebound game against SAS, do you consider him as a candidate for most improved player award? And would you also give credit to Mike Brown’s system for being the player that Bynum is?

   • Joel Brigham

     The public are going to want that award to go to Jeremy Lin, even though he’ll have only played in a little over half of the games this season (and he started only 25 of them), but even though he’s been such a phenomenon, that’s going to be tough. Guys have played fuller seasons and been almost as impressive. Kyle Lowry is the guy who immediately jumps to mind for me. Nik Pekovic is another one. I look at guys who we thought were mediocre at best who then exploded into starting-quality guys seemingly out of nowhere. I mean, Lin went from 0.03% of his potential to like 150% of his potential in a matter of weeks. Lowry is more like 40% to 95%, and Pek is like 20% to 85%. Bynum, though… he’s shown flashes of this in the past, he just hasn’t been healthy. It’s not “Most Healthy for the First Time In His Career” award, it’s most improved. Bynum has always been good, but he definitely has gone up a notch this season. Still, I give him like a 65% to 90% of potential jump this year.

     I say it’s Lin’s, but the injuries make it tough. Lowry would’ve gotten it without Linsanity.

7. vhalz

   hi Joel.

   who would have thought that mike woodson is a genius. Playing MELO at the 4 position is nightmare for the nba….

   they should resign woodson and what should they do to Amare?
   …Melo at the power forward is the knicks Foundation…

   • Joel Brigham

     To be fair, he’s sort of playing Melo at the four out of necessity, but man has that worked out well for the Knicks. I’m pulling them to win their butts off the next two weeks so Philly drops and Chicago has an easier first-round matchup. I don’t think the Knicks could beat Chicago 4 times out of 7 but that doesn’t mean I’m not scared.

     As for what they do with Amar’e, what can they do with Amar’e? His injury history plus his contract mean he’s stuck in New York for a good long while, so when he’s healthy he’s got to play four so Chandler can play five. Still, I think you take the overall talent over the positional advantage you’ve got with Melo for now. Eventually, teams would sort of figure out how to game plan for that and it would lose a little of its effectiveness. Love it for now, but you’re stuck with STAT. Like I said, should’ve saved that amnesty. And that’s not just hindsight; I felt that way the minute they cut Billups loose.

8. Prem I.

   With Portland looking for a coach do you feel flip saunders would fit for LA and the blazers?

   • Joel Brigham

     After seeing Flip in Washington and Detroit, I’m not sure what exactly he brings to a team. If my team announced he was my new coach I’d have an eyeroll all cued up. No thanks. Portland’s got to have some better options than that, and if it were me I’d comb through some assistant coaches for a prodigy, someone who’s ready for his own team. Failed retreads don’t do it for me. Unless Vinny Del Negro becomes available.

     Kidding. Obviously.

9. John L

   Who will da Bulls look to draft? I am hoping for Lamb outa Kentucky

   • Joel Brigham

     I’m not going to put a lot of faith into a Chicago draft pick considering it’s going to be in the 28-30 range. That looks like a reasonable falling range for Doron Lamb, and he definitely helps with some shooting guard depth. They might look for size because they do need a fifth big guy. Arnett Moultrie is a nice player and I wouldn’t mind him. Fab Melo is a huge talent, obviously, but I don’t know if he’s the Bulls’ kind of people. I’m guessing it’s a big, but I wouldn’t be upset with Lamb at all.

10. Jazzfan

    Just a fun question say you have a equally balanced team, if you had to decide between a player with great offense and avg defense or a player with great defense and avg offense which would you choose?

    • Joel Brigham

      It depends who else I’ve got on the roster. If we’re pouring all the players into the pool and drafting from scratch, I can say that my first pick would be someone who could score, though I’d take somebody who can also play some defense, too. I would hate that I would take LeBron James first.

      Later, though, when it comes to adding guys around the stars, I’d mix things up. Defense matters, for sure, but you’ve got to score the ball, too.

11. Grandad434

    Morning!
    The Knicks have seen STAT go down twice in 2 years right when it really matters for the team’s championship chances.
    His contract is awful but do you see NY moving him to say Houston for Scola/K-Mart/1st round pick or Detroit for Gordon/Maxiell/Daye/2nd round 2012 pick?
    Sounds crazy, but he’s got to go to help the Knicks move forward and Melo obviously isn’t going anywhere.

    • Joel Brigham

      Wow are there are a lot of Amar’e questions today… I could see that Houston/New York trade being possible, but seems kind of risky for Houston to give up that much for a guy who’s so damaged physically. The Detroit deal feels a lot less likely. That one would be harder to sell to New York fans, though it does shore up a few positions rather nicely. I still love Ben Gordon and think in the right situation he could do some damage, even in the postseason. Daye’s a good kid, too.

12. love a bull

    Who would be a steal for us in this deep draft? Tony wroten, kim english, doran lamb, will barton, william buford, darius miller, john jenkins,alex young, mike snear,kris joseph,. Wow just to name a few. Who should we take a look at so many options?

    • Joel Brigham

      You’ve just expanded very nicely on some guys who could be available for Chicago at #30. Would love if Tony Wroten fell that deep, but I don’t know that he will. He’d be a nice fit, and he can play some point guard too if the need be. Darius Miller could be good, too. Those Kentucky guys are hard to gauge because you just can’t tell what they’ll be since there was so much star power on the team. Put one of those dudes on a different D-1 team where they’re the star and you might have a very different player. In short, though, plenty of options for sleepers for Chicago late in the first round. Deep draft, for sure.

13. Phil

    Is it possible that the bulls move CJ next year and have JL3 as the primary backup? CJ is better, but JL3 is cheaper which could free up money, what do you think?

    • Joel Brigham

      There is some league interest in C.J., but he’s a more credible and versatile player than John Lucas. As much as I love JL3 (he’s a good dude, too), I just can’t see him as a primary backup. He plays every game like he’s playing rec league ball, and that’s going to kill the Bulls some nights. It’s saved them once or twice, too, but he’s too risky a player to depend on if Rose goes down with something serious to take him out a full year. You need a guy like Watson as a backup. I’d actually like to see them look at veteran PG’s who play the position a little more traditionally for next year. Someone better than Mike James, I mean.

14. Brian

    Good day, Joel!

    You are Kahn, who are the first two players you target in the offseason?

    Thanks!

    • Joel Brigham

      I don’t know how much I screw around with, honestly. I’d just like to get Rubio healthy, let Beasley walk, and see what Rubio, Love, Derrick Williams, and some of the other pieces are capable. If Ricky doesn’t go down with the knee injury this year, Minnesota might be a playoff team. Eventually they’re going to have to pay Ricky pretty big cash, so I’m hoping they don’t spend too frivolously in the meantime. Don’t screw up that cap space, and keep Love/Rubio as long as you can.

15. Anthony

    I would like to see Cleveland make a push for Hawes this summer. Do you think that Spencer plus their 2012 draft selections would be enough to get them back in the playoff picture?

    • Joel Brigham

      Two first-rounders for Cleveland again this year, which is great in this draft, especially considering Kyrie Irving has worked out so well for them and Tristan Thompson has been better than a lot of us expected. Looks like they’ll have a pick somewhere in the top five, but I’m not sure who they end up with of that batch or even who’s best for them. Brad Beal would be a nice fit, but I don’t think you can justify taking him over someone like Andre Drummond or Thomas Robinson even though you’ve already got guys who play those positions. That pick in the mid-20s won’t make as a big a deal, but as we’ve already established this is a deep draft and there plenty of guys who get picked that late who could still contribute.

      As for Spencer Hawes, again I think it depends what they do with their draft pick. If they take Drummond, they’ve got him and Varejao and that means no shot at Spencer. Someone I know with the Sixers told me they knew they’d regret only signing Hawes to the one-year deal, and here we are, and you could find a lot worse fits for him than Cleveland. He’d fit into a nice young team like that pretty well. Don’t think Cleveland needs huge moves right now, just draft luck (and drafting well) and letting the kids grow together.

16. Reggie

    Hello, and thanks for taking time to chat with the fans…
    As a season tix holder in Bobcats we have suffered a lot to have a shot in the lottery. If we dont win the lotto who would you target and what moves would you suggest to build this pathetic franchise?
    what is your opinion of the rookies we got Bismaks and Kemba?

    • Joel Brigham

      Bismack has showed me flashes this year, particularly on the defensive end. If he ever plays 30-35 minutes a game he could average 3 blocks per game without even over-exerting himself. He’s been soooo inconsistent, though. It’s like we’re looking at 12 points and 9 boards one night, then 5 and 2 the next with no change in minutes. Biz is still learning the NBA game and he’s still very young, but he’s got to get better on a consistent basis if he wants to get the chance to be as great a defense presence as the team imagined when they drafted him.

      Kemba is going to get better, particularly if DJ Augustin is allowed to walk away this summer. He had a slow start, too, but I still really like him as a pro and think in a couple years he’ll be a respectable point guard.

      All that said, Charlotte needs a stud, and the only guy in this draft I see becoming one is Anthony Davis. You don’t get him, you’re in trouble for a little while longer, Reggie. Gilchrist can make a difference, as can Tom Robinson and Brad Beal, but I see a lot of these guys as the sorts of players who are like three or four players out from making the All-Star team every year.

      If no Davis, I’d take Gilchrist, Robinson, Sullinger, Drummond, Beal, in that order.

17. Will

    Do you think Orlando trades D12 this offseason if he doesn’t sign longterm?

    • Joel Brigham

      Ugh, do we really have to talk about this again already? I don’t know. I really don’t know the answer to this question. It feels to me like it would’ve just been better to severe ties with the kid this past trade deadline, but maybe they just appreciate having the extra few months to put together a better deal than the one they were toying around with this year. (Boy did they dodge the Brook Lopez bullet or WHAT?). We’ll see what happens to Stan Van before saying anything certain, but I mean, Orlando has to consider trading him, right? They’d be crazy not to, because there’s still a huge chance he’ll bolt for nothing next summer.

      And that question officially exhausted me, which is good because my hour’s up. Thanks for all the great questions, folks, and I look forward to more of the same next week. Enjoy the waning weeks of the regular season, and I’ll see you all here next week for more of the same. Have a great weekend, enjoy Bulls/HEAT tonight, and make sure you pace yourself eating all of your children’s Easter candy. Moderation, folks.

      Oh, and go Bulls!