NBA Chat With Joel Brigham 8/25/11

1. Trevor

   Do u agree spoelstra made a colossal mistake letting bosh b the primary defender on dirk? I think he shouldve made bosh suck it up n play the 5, then have bron at the 4. Joel got WAY too much playing time. It was basically 4 on 5 on O.

   • Joel Brigham

     Bosh at the 5 causes a whole new set of problems, though. He would’ve had a hard time banging with Dallas’s bigs all series, and he’s got more height and length than LeBron to cover the bigger guy, not that anyone can block Dirk’s shot. Those couple extra inches, though… they make a difference.

     All that said, if you’re LeBron and you really want to win, don’t you take over and ask for Dirk on defense? “That’s it, I’m stopping this right now.” That sort of thing?

     I don’t know… Spoelstra was outcoached in a lot of ways this past Finals. There’s a lot of reasons Miami lost, and that fact is only one of them.

2. Mynor

   Knowing that there is no others like the big three of Chicago, if you had to pick 3 under 25 year old players from any team, which three players now a day resemble Jordan, Pippen and Rodman potentially? Is there any?

   • Joel Brigham

     Good afternoon, HOOPSWORLD Citizens, and welcome to another edition of my weekly chat. I believe I’m the first chat on the new site, and since questions posted to the old version of the site don’t transfer over here, I don’t think we’ll have quite the full chat we usually do. Feel free to throw in as many as you can as quickly as you can, and if I’ve got enough we’ll do the full hour. In the meantime, though, understand that this is my first time chatting with the new tool and there might be some slow responses or screw-ups along the way. Please know and trust that I’m doing my best!

     Okay, onto the questions…

     I don’t know that I can really say that ANYBODY under the age of 25 has that sort of potential, and anyway, we’re talking about three of the most unique players of their eras, and probably ever. Rodman, for example, is impossible to duplicate. There just aren’t a whole lot of young guys in the league who really, really want to rebound and play defense and are that inept on the offensive end of the floor. In his prime, Ben Wallace wasn’t too far off in terms of skill set (even though they were entirely different players), and Joakim Noah is the closest thing the Bulls have got today. He’s way better on the offensive end of the floor, but his shot is just as cringe-worthy and both guys have those outgoing personalities with a focus on defense and rebounding. But all that said, nobody is even CLOSE to Rodman today.

     Pippen I guess has some guys with similar builds and skill sets… he’d be the easiest to replicate I suppose, but no names are jumping out at me. The guys with similarly long bodies are too skinny or not as complete a player as Pip was.

     Kobe’s the closest we’ve seen yet to Jordan, and I don’t think anybody else is even close. It’s blasphemy to name a kid that young an Heir Apparent.

3. Scott

   Hi Joel, does it bother you to lose a debate to a newsline editor? I mean you are a senior writer!

   Keep up the good work and do you think the Bulls add anyone this offseason?

   • Joel Brigham

     Who says I lost? I thought my age limit argument was pretty good… I made it more from a personal standpoint than a basketball one, and I guess since most people have a hard time relating to pro athletes, it’d be a hard connection to make. Whatever. I thought I was convincing, but Mark made his fair share of good points, too.

     As for the Bulls and additions, I think they’re going to be active in trying to add a scorer, but they were good enough last year that they aren’t going to make any huge sacrifices to get that done. That also means that if they do nothing they’ll just spruce it up with the sort of PR that says, “We were so good last year with soooo many new pieces and a new coach. Let’s give this group another shot at it before we go adding or subtracting any major personalities.” So they’ve got an out if they need it, but for my money I’d rather they add the SG and be aggressive about it.

     My gut tells me they’ll stand pat, even though we all know that Thibs couldn’t have squeezed anything more out of that team than he already did.

4. Sump

   I think Barbosa is a solid vet SG who can play combo guard that the Bulls should be looking at trade scenarios for. Barbosa is wasting his years in Toronto (I am a Toronto native so not hating just being honest) he was a key 6th man for the Suns and I think with Rose he could re-ignite the old Barbosa and help the Bulls win a chip or at least make it to the finals. No he can’t guard Wade, LeBron, Kobe et al but he can score the ball well and he’s not a head case like OJ Mayo would probably be.

   • Joel Brigham

     Nowhere near the worst idea I’ve heard and, oddly enough, the first time I’ve actually ever heard the Barbosa suggestion offered up. He and Derrick would offer a pretty speedy backcourt, which means they could continue to run the hell out of the ball. Not sure what it would require Chicago to give up in order to bring Leandro Barbosa in here, but it’s worth a serious thought, if nothing else.

5. devonte wilson

   do you think the new league in vegas will benefit rookies and why?

   • Joel Brigham

     Other than the possibility of injuries, I don’t see how it couldn’t benefit rookies. Any situation where first-year players are getting game experience against NBA veterans is a good thing because it helps prepare them for the seriously more challenging and physical NBA game to come. It’s a serious adjustment for these kids, so getting the opportunity to play before the season is definitely a good thing, especially since nobody got to play any summer league games this year. That’s usually players’ first experience going up against any sort of big league talent.

     And if you compare this experience to, ya know, NO experience, then yeah, it’s pretty clear that playing in the sort of league Impact has been rumored to be considering is certainly a good thing. Rooks should get a lot out of it, and I think the veterans will too. They need a way to stay in shape as much as anybody, right?

     Just sad that the “league” is only expected to last a couple of weeks. Wish it was longer. And wish I had a ticket to Vegas to cover it!

6. devonte wilson

   wilson chandler tweeted that nyc is a possiblity in the near future what do u think he means?

   • Joel Brigham

     I’m guessing it means he’s considering coming back to New York if the money is right. He liked it there, and I don’t blame him. I’d prefer NY to Denver, too, especially the way each team is built right now. I feel like Wilson have a better opportunity to play and score in another situation, but the Knicks are a lot closer to winning than some other franchises are, so I get it. Not sure I agree, but I get it.

7. 1mike1matt

   I think Jonas Jerebko would b a great stretch 4 the Bulls to add, Booz for Jonas,Rip and 1st?

   • Joel Brigham

     I dig Jerebko, who everybody forgot about last year because an injury kept him out of the full season. Not sure Detroit is willing to send him out and a #1 pick just to offload Rip and return an even worse contract. Doesn’t make a lot of sense for Detroit, who seems to be getting younger, not older.

8. 1mike1matt

   what do think of the Bulls overseas stash Nikoli Metoric or whatever his name is?

   • Joel Brigham

     Nikola Mirotic, and I’m a fan. I’ve watched just about every YouTube video there is on the kid and with every passing minute of film I watched, the more excited I got. I just kept thinking, “This kid could help right away!,” but his contract situation is such that he’s at LEAST three years away from heading over to play in the States. Four years isn’t impossible, either.

     From what I see is you’ve got this big kid with range from all over the floor. He’s aggressive offensively, a perfect stretch four in the NBA game, but he’s not overly athletic (neither is Dirk though, I guess). I’ve read that he’s a very smart player, that the game comes easier to him than most and that he’d immediately contribute off the bench for an NBA playoff team right now. He’s a lottery talent who slipped to the mid-20s because of his contract situation. He’ll pay off in the long run, but man, it’s a loooooong run.

9. 1mike1matt

   I really believe Booz is overpriced and to old to mesh well withthis Bulls group, the 2012 draft is heavy with great plyers. Move booz for talent and 1st picks?

   • Joel Brigham

     Easy for most fans to say, but what team is taking on four years and $60 million worth of Carlos Boozer after watching him play last year? What NBA team looks at that situation and says, “Yes, I would like to add that player for that amount of money. That is a wise financial decision on our part.” Name one. You can’t, because there won’t be one.

     And even if there was one, it’s certainly not going to be a team offering up a high first-round pick in order to get him. Chicago might end up with Charlotte’s pick this year from the Tyrus Thomas trade. I forget the protections, but if the Bobcats are just good enough to surrender that over, it’d be a great year to have that pick. Even in the 10-20 range there are going to be a couple of potential All-Stars. Really exciting draft, so I understand your desire to see the Bulls play a bigger part in it. I just don’t think that happens in a trade for Boozer.

     Anyway, I don’t think that’s where Bulls management wants to be as they build this team moving forward. Big-minute rookies aren’t something they’re looking for. They want to win rings now, which means veteran talent takes priority. If they move Booze, that seems more likely–getting another vet that might fit a little better with that Chicago roster.

10. Trevor

    So your another one of these guys claiming LeBron folded? Go back n look at the tape, Dallas clogged the lane on bron. y do u think bosh had such a good series? Do u at least agree if we get Dalembert we will b the favs (if we aren’t already)?

    • Joel Brigham

      He didn’t fold, he just didn’t come through. There’s a difference. You can see him fold in the 2010 playoffs, and this wasn’t that. This was just… falling short.

      Sam Dalembert makes no difference to me in regards to Miami’s chance to win the championship. He’s a mediocre role player with questions his entire career about work ethic. He doesn’t push the HEAT over the hump. LeBron learning a post game and stepping it up a notch next season does. I can absolutely see Miami winning a championship the next NBA season, whenever that may be. But Dalembert being the reason why? No way.

11. devonte wilson

    is iman shumpert the next russell westbrook?

    • Joel Brigham

      No.

      And that’s going to do it for this week’s chat. With such a short gestation period in the system, there just weren’t enough questions to push a full hour, but we’ll take 45 minutes as a test-drive and get back to the full load next week at the same time. Everybody who asked a question got one answered today, and that’s always a good thing.

      Looking forward to working with the new site more and getting tons more great questions next week. Until then, folks!