NBA Chat With Joel Brigham, 5/10/12

1. Rockets Fan On Strike till Morey is Fired.

   Vinnie Del Negro seems to be as good a coach as he was a player. He could play, just not at an elite level. Same for his coaching. Last night he had Chris Paul in bounding with the game on the line. Chris Paul is great but even I know you don’t have someone under 6 feet in bound because they can’t see over a taller player. dumb. When is Vinnie being replaced and by who?

   • Joel Brigham

     Good afternoon, HOOPSWORLD Citizens, and welcome to another edition of my weekly chat! My life is a zoo right now in practically every facet possible, but I’m happy to be spending an hour with readers chatting about the playoffs, the draft, free agency, and beyond. So let’s dig right into the questions and get to as many as I can in the next sixty minutes or so…

     I’m not an advocate of Vinny Del Negro. Working in Chicago, I got to see how inexperienced he is, and if I was running a team there’s no way I’d ever hire anyone who never coached before. It wouldn’t matter how personable or knowledgeable they seemed. They’d need a pretty serious coaching resume to offer up in order to be taken too seriously by me.

     But I am not the Clippers, and whatever you think about him, LAC could be on their way to advancing in the playoffs for only like the fifth time EVER (and three of those were in the ’70s before they were even called the Clippers or located in California). If they do that, and particularly if they get any deeper in the postseason, it’ll be hard to replace Vinny. He seemed all but gone two months ago, but thanks to Chris Paul (the real reason LA is where they are right now), he might be saved.

     Not what you were hoping to hear, I’m sure, but there it is. Clippers in the Conference Finals practically guarantees VDN’s return, which honestly would be the worst thing for them. Imagine this team with a real coach?

2. calvinzero

   Miss you Joel. When is the awarding of Rookie of the Year award and the precious Most Valuable Player Award? Personally, I’m kind a excited regarding that. Who do yout think will grab this 2 great awards? Thanks Joel. I hope you will be in a regular flow for NBA Chats in the ton of weeks. Just kidding

   • Joel Brigham

     MVP is last, so we’ll have to hang on a little bit to hear that LeBron James won it. He was a statistical monster this year as well as a serious Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Add in the fact that his team is the East’s best (Whatever the records said, Chicago ain’t it without D-Rose. That might not have been it with him), and you’ve got a perfect recipe for MVP. Durant didn’t really make much of a run at it during LBJ’s vulnerable portion of the season, so I still think it’s King James’s to lose. And honestly, he deserves it.

     Rookie of the Year shouldn’t be too far away, and it’ll be Kyrie Irving. Rubio might’ve been able to put up a fight had it not been for the ACL injury, but Irving should run away with that thing.

3. Rick

   Do you think Kevin Pritchard is telling David Morway he is making mistake talking to portland? after how paul allen fired kp

   • Joel Brigham

     It’s certainly possible, though I’m not sure why Morway would want to leave his situation in Indiana. Larry Bird isn’t going to be doing that job forever, and Morway has played a huge role and building that team to what it is today. Portland’s kind of a mess right now, but it could look a lot better with a couple lottery picks this summer. And we have no idea what kind of money might be at stake. Any of us would consider a cross-country move for the right opportunity and the right paycheck.

     I know and like Morway a lot, so I’ll be interested to see how this all plays out, but I’d rather him stay in Indiana and ride out what he’s helped build there with Bird.

4. AJ

   gotta say you and lang have the best chats. I have 2 things totally unrelated.

   1. why do u guys (the site) cover the raptors? seriously im tired of reading questions regarding derozan and bargnani and the draft etc. they wont make the playoffs in the next 10 yrs im sorry.

   2. what do u think about the lakers trading pau for younger cheaper talent. landry? milsapp? and can kobe re-do his deal to free up space and get help? kob’ already got his money and pau should re-do his or get traded. i can see drew needing his big payday. lakers have no bench because kobe is getting 30 pau 19 and drew 16. mill/yr not ppg.. long i know but thanks for ur time man…

   • Joel Brigham

     Thanks AJ, appreciate that.

     1. Because we cover everybody. We’re a basketball website for basketball junkies, and the plain and simple fact is that Toronto fans have got one of the more voracious appetites for coverage in this league. People don’t realize how great the Raptors’ fans really are, and how much Canada is really behind them. They care about their team, so we talk about them. Supply and demand, my friend. Easy as that.

     2. I don’t see either of those two deals happening. If Utah traded Millsap it would only be to free up time for Favors, and bringing in Pau wouldn’t end in that. Also, if New Orleans wanted Gasol, wouldn’t they have asked for him in that Chris Paul deal last year instead of letting him go to Houston in the three-way deal? And no, Kobe’s not restructuring his contract. Who in their right mind gives up a big chunk of a $30 million payday? Ain’t happening.

5. Jazzfan

   Joel thanks for your time, Raja Bell and CJ Miles each took some shots at Ty Corbin citing his “communication skills”, do you think this is anything to be concered bout or is it just a case of a couple of players that struggled and lost playing time and are still sore about it?

   • Joel Brigham

     Probably the latter. Nobody expected Utah make the playoffs this year, and they ended up having a pretty freakin’ good season. The players obviously were huge in that, but Corbin deserves a fair amount of credit himself. I’d say as long as you aren’t hearing those sorts of comments from Paul Millsap or Gordon Hayward or Al Jefferson, you’re probably okay. Corbin will stick around. He did a great job last season.

6. Maurice

   What do you think are the Bucks weakest position and what they need to do to address it

   • Joel Brigham

     It’s got to be a center at this point, right? They’re obviously okay at the two starting guard spots, and power forward looks good for now with Mbah a Moute and Ilyasova and Gooden. Small forward is a little thin, but I look at Ekpe Udoh and Larry Sanders and feel a little empty inside. They’re not going to have a great draft pick, but grabbing someone like Tyler Zeller could help there. As long as they steer clear of Meyers Leonard, I’m happy. I like Quincy Miller if they go small forward.

7. John

   Hi joel thanks for doing the chat, my question is how will you remember nash dirk duncan and kobe on and off the court when they retire?

   • Joel Brigham

     Hall of Famer, Hall of Famer, Hall of Famer, and Hall of Famer.

     We’ll just start there.

     Off the court, though, things will vary. Duncan has never been a big fan of the spotlight, but he’s stuck with one franchise and done a ton of community service stuff for San Antonio. Nash and Dirk are both great guys, too. Kobe, less so, but when you get to a certain point it doesn’t matter how much people like you on a personal level. It’s not like Michael Jordan is some super-nice guy or anything, but who cares when you’re the greatest ever?

     I’ll never call Kobe that, but he’s way the heck up there, and depending on where he ends up on the career scoring list, we could be talking way, way the heck up there.

8. John

   what was your favorite moment or memory of basketball?

   • Joel Brigham

     1998 NBA Finals, when Jordan pushed off Byron Russell to hit that last shot and clinch Chicago’s sixth championship in eight years. I grew up about an hour south of the city, and was the perfect age to idolize those teams, so when they were doing all that it was like drifting around in a dream for like 12 years of my childhood. That shot was crazy, because I remember thinking, “That’s the last shot he’ll ever take as a pro. He’ll retire with all those rings, all those big moments, all those awards and records, and this clutch shot will be the way he goes it.”

     I was wrong, of course, thanks to that stupid Washington Wizards comeback, but in that moment I just had goosebumps all over. I’d never been happier watching basketball in my life. Probably haven’t been since, although covering that Bulls/Celtics series in 2009, with all those overtimes? That was the craziest thing I’ve ever attended live. What an amazing series that was. I wish I could get those games on DVD or something, but not sure how to go about that.

     Anyway, there you go. A little glimpse into my heart as a hoops journalist.

9. Gery

   what about harden and ibaka for klove?Minny gets SG and defense and OKC gets 3 headed monster.

   • Joel Brigham

     Not in a million years for OKC. That’s two big-time players for a team that’s rolling in exchange for a guy who doesn’t even play the same style of ball as the rest of the Thunder.

     Minny, meanwhile, would probably pull the trigger in a heartbeat. Harden could be a beast as a full-time two-guard.

10. Roon

    Any chance Stern could put pressure on Michael Jordan to sell the Bobcats? He seems apathetic when it comes to the perfomance on his club. The season Charlotte had this year was totally unacceptable. IF they land the #1 pick things could turn around, but knowing Jordan, he would pass on Anthony Davis and take Fab Melo or trade the pick for Kwame Brown. I’d love to see an ownership group centered around Carolina Panthers’ owner Jerry Richardson and Larry Bird (who wanted to buy the team last time around) come in and swoop the Bobcats from abyss of mediocrity.

    • Joel Brigham

      No, Stern can’t force Jordan to sell the team. And I wouldn’t necessarily call him apathetic; this was just the first year in what is sure to be a pretty painful rebuilding process. Remember when those post-Jordan Bulls teams sucked historically bad for year after year? We’re talking like four or five straight years of just awful records and really high draft picks. No one called for Jerry Reinsdorf’s head because they just knew he was in a rut while the team rebuilt.

      There’s less patience for something like that with Charlotte because they didn’t just come off six championships, but that doesn’t change the fact that they absolutely did need to blow that team up and rebuild. Things weren’t going anywhere as they were. So you be bad for a little while, amass some picks, and hope they land.

      It took the Bulls like three cycles of that before landing D-Rose. First it was Elton Brand and Ron Artest, then Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry, then Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon… now here we are, and if things had been different in the injury department we’d be talking about a top team in the league. Rebuilding means some rough years. It just sucks that’s pretty much all Bobcats fans have ever known.

11. Josh

    Joel,

    If the GS pick gets bounced back to #8 do you think the kings would do a trade of Harris and #8 for Reke and Jimmer?

    Also what about #8 and Harris for Iggy and Holiday?

    • Joel Brigham

      Your Philadelphia trade would never happen. That’s asking the Sixers to give up too much for nowhere near enough.

      As for Sacramento shipping out Tyreke Evans and Jimmer Fredette for Devin Harris and the #8 pick, I just can’t say that sounds like Utah’s kind of trade. They want (and desperately need) a better point guard, and sending out Harris for someone who’s even worse at running an offense (let alone two guys who are worse at running an offense) doesn’t make a lot of sense.

      And by the way, what a great bit of drama for Golden State and that #7 pick, eh? If someone behind them jumps them, they lose it completely to Utah, or they could end up with a top 3 pick if the ping pong balls bounce their way. That’s quite a swing, isn’t it?

12. John

    Hey Joel do you think J.R. Smith would have been a better fit for the Lakers rather than the Knicks? I think he would have been a great addition to the bench would add a scoring punch at sg and give kobe the much needed rest

    • Joel Brigham

      Maybe, but I don’t think he was particularly interested in being a guy off the bench. I think he was looking for a really big role for a playoff team (not that he started for NY, but he did play 35+ mpg), and playing behind Kobe Bryant on the depth chart isn’t exactly the way to make a name for yourself, particularly if you’re just playing out the rest of this season so you can look for a better contract in the offseason.

      Also, don’t forget that at the time of his signing the Lakers looked alright, but there wasn’t a more exciting team in the league than the Knicks. I mean, they kind of looked like a team that could do some playoff damage at that time, and when you toss in Madison Square Garden and Linsanity, it probably looked pretty hard to pass up. I’m guessing the money was probably better with the Knicks, too, and there’s your clincher.

13. Deven

    Hi Joel. Would you consider the Bulls-Sixers series to be an upset, if it were to happen tonight? To me it isn’t. Thoughts?

    • Joel Brigham

      Yeah, it’s an upset, because the Bulls are a better team than Philadelphia even without Derrick Rose. Philly is not a good halfcourt team, and Chicago’s supposed to be the best defensive squad in the league, with or without Rose. That should be a recipe for more Bulls wins like the ugly one we saw in Game 5, but it hasn’t been mostly because Chicago hasn’t been playing defense up to the level they’re capable of. It’s really as simple as that.

      I’m telling you, when I walked in that post-game locker room after the Rose injury, those guys looked absolutely defeated. They didn’t have a look about them that suggested we should expect them to rise to the challenge. They looked like somebody had just died, when in reality it was just their title hopes flatlining. Until Game 5, I hadn’t seen an ounce of fight in those guys since before the injury. The Noah ankle and the Taj Gibson ankle just kept letting more and more air out of the tires, too. They’ve beaten themselves in this series by not putting in the sort of effort they’re capable of.

      So if they lose, we call it an upset. The Bulls should’ve won this with or without Rose, and honestly, they still can. But it shouldn’t have been this hard.

14. Chicagoan_in_MN

    Curious on your thoughts about this Sacramento-Dallas trade proposal: Evans for Marion and Dallas’ 1st rounder. Sacramento gets another pick in a solid draft year and gets a savy vet presence filling a need at small forward. Dallas gets a young scoring two-guard and more cap space to chase Deron / Dwight.

    • Joel Brigham

      They can always amnesty Marion or Haywood if all they’re after is cap space. I don’t think Tyreke Evans is the answer there, particularly if they’re serious about bringing in Deron Williams. Can’t see those two guys don’t great things together.

15. Jason

    Can orlando get nash?

    • Joel Brigham

      Depends on what they do with Jameer Nelson. And anyway, no, probably not. If you were Nash, you’d be looking at a very few possibilities:

      1. Phoenix, because they’re been so awesome to him and he’s got his roots there.
      2. Miami, because would there really be a faster track to a championship for him? It makes so much sense that it makes me angry for the rest of the league.
      3. L.A. Lakers, because they could use a point guard (yes, even with Sessions) and L.A. is obviously a great place to live and play basketball.
      4. Toronto, because there isn’t a fan base in the world that would love their 40-year-old former MVP more.

      Outside of that, I can’t see him considering much. Maybe New York. But not Orlando. I just don’t see that as a high-profile destination for him when other franchises make more sense.

16. stefan

    i thought raptors would have gotten a higher draft pick but aside from that. Who do we draft? and who do we trade?

    • Joel Brigham

      You can still keep your fingers crossed for some lottery luck, but if they stick at #8 I really don’t see a lot of difference makers still hanging around. There are seven players scouts are really, really excited in this draft (Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Robinson, Beal, Barnes, Drummond, and Sullinger). Toronto picks 8. Soooo… Tyler Zeller? Terrence Jones? John Henson? Perry Jones? I’m not sure who I’d consider best available at that point, but it’d probably be one of those four.

      On the bright side, Jonas Valancianas will be with the team next year, and he’s pretty much the equivalent of a lottery pick, so you’ve got that look forward to, right?

17. jovan

    joel pleas answer this question.

    Whether people want to admit it or not the bulls need a sidekick for rose, and we have to give up a core player to do it, so why not blow a team away with a trade to do it.
    Bulls trade Noah,Boozer,Brewer and Bobcats pick, to the blazers for lamarcus aldridge and wesley matthews and 1st rd pick

    • Joel Brigham

      I’d have to be sure LaMarcus Aldridge was totally healthy, but I wouldn’t be fundamentally opposed to that. Omer Asik could start at center, and Aldridge would definitely be the second star the team needs. Nobody here would miss Boozer, but Noah–injury-prone as he is–is one of the best big-men passers in the game. You might have a hard time getting the Bulls to pry away both.

      Plus, Portland loves LaMarcus and Wes and really wouldn’t have much incentive to trade them for a disappointing Boozer and constantly banged-up Noah. Cool idea, but it just wouldn’t happen. The Bulls are too high on their guys.

18. Jason

    Pacers have alot of cap space again this summer, everyone here in Indy is calling for Eric Gordon (he was in the stands game 5)… wouldn’t it be smarter to save that money though considering we have to re-sign Hibbert, Hill and down the road George? IMO we should give Lance Stevenson some consistent minutes at backup SG and go with what we have

    • Joel Brigham

      You’re exactly right, Jason, and that’s what I think Indiana management means when they say they’ve got to be smart about their cap space this summer. They’ve got to re-sign Hibbert first, and that’s not even really a discussion. What will matter is how much they pay him, and they’ll have to be careful not to overpay, but that’s where they start. Signing Eric Gordon means kissing Paul George goodbye long-term, and I could see the pros and cons of going either way on that. I know EG is a Hoosier, and he’d be a great fit with this team, but it would have to change their thoughts on what to do with Paul George & George Hill long-term.

      That might be a risk worth taking, though. If that’s a real option for the Pacers this summer, they’re going to have to think long and hard about pulling the trigger. I can’t say with confidence that I’d pass on Gordon…

      And that’s my hour, folks. Thanks for all the great questions, and I’ll be back here in two weeks for more of the same. I’ve got a conflict next Thursday, but let’s do this again on the 24th. Have a great weekend, and go Bulls!