NBA Chat With Joel Brigham, 8/30/12

1. larry the bear

   Do u see similarities on how boston and houston run their team? Both look at it as a business and not as a family no more. Thats why ray allen stick it to the ceotics and signed with the heat. Do u see the c’s as the rockets of.the east 2 years from now? I heard cp3 ,mayo, d12 specifically say they dont want to play with boston. Do u see a new gm in 2 years?

   • Joel Brigham

     Good afternoon, HOOPSWORLD Citizens, and welcome to another edition of my weekly chat! We’re in the doldrums of August right now, with the doldrums of September just around the corner, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have plenty to talk about. I’ll answer as many questions as I can get to today, knowing that in about a month I’ll be at Chicago Bulls Media Day gearing up for another great season of NBA basketball.

     But let’s slow down. A month is a long time when you’re waiting for something, so let’s pass the time by enjoying each other’s company, shall we? We shall. Onto the questions…

     You’ve got a lot of stuff jammed into this question, but I’ll unpack it as best I can. For starters, the way Daryl Morey and Danny Ainge run their teams are completely different, particularly after this most recent summer. Morey is like the basketball equivalent of Billy Beane, making a lot of his roster decisions based on sabermetric-type stats, and he’s a completely cerebral dude who sometimes out-thinks himself into oblivion. Ainge isn’t really that way. He just brings in guys he thinks can contribute.

     I also think Ainge is a top GM in this league and Morey isn’t, so there’s no way Boston replaces him. In all honesty, he’s done a very good job keeping this old team consistently competitive. Morey has been unable to do the same thing in Houston. And it’s not like Dwight Howard was dying to go there, either.

2. shaullenny

   http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bqyw8du
   TO LAL R.GAY, Z.RANDOLPH, 2015 2nd rd pick protected
   TO MEM P.GASOL, M.W.PEACE, S.BLAKE, A.GOUDELOCK

   http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=c5zx9cy
   TO GSW H.TURKOLU, G.DAVIS
   TO ORL R.JEFFERSON, A.BIEDRINS, J.FREDETTE
   TO SAC Q.RICHARDSON

   • Joel Brigham

     1. I don’t think the Lakers are making any more moves. They’ve done well enough for one summer, wouldn’t you say?

     2. Horrible deal for Golden State. Why would they ever do that deal? And Orlando wants to suck as much as possible for the next couple of years so they can earn high draft picks. Adding veterans takes that away, although Jimmer could sure help them with the sucking thing.

3. Jpco

   Hi Joel, can i have your opinion whom Mike Brown consider his best defensive lineup on the floor, thanks

   • Joel Brigham

     Dwight Howard is going to change the Lakers defensively in a lot of really good ways, so they should be fine when he’s out there on the floor. Metta World Peace and Kobe are aging, but both are still plenty affable defenders. Jordan Hill off the bench can be a very good defender, but most of the other big name guys that will play big minutes aren’t defensive guys… Jamison, Nash, Pau. I think you’re just hoping a few hard-nosed guys are enough to hold it down, and I personally believe that they will be.

4. LA in LA

   Joel, I read your top 5 GM article and I don’t have any idea how you put Pat Riley over Mitch, Presti, and Buford. You can argue Riley over Presti. And Riley taking the gamble to clear all that cap space to have room for Bosh and Lebron is praiseworthy regardless if they decided to play together but how is that better than Mitch holding onto Kobe when he demanded a trade THEN getting him Pau Gasol for nothing, plus all the things he did this summer which don’t need repeating? Or Buford, who has been who has been making good trades and finding players late in draft for over a decade?

   • Joel Brigham

     Every guy you’ve mentioned was in the Top Five, which means Buford, Presti, Riley, and Kupchak really are the four best GMs in the league right now, but the reason I had Riley first is because he put together a team of three megastars during free agency while these guys were in their prime. He didn’t trade for them (okay, so technically he did, but you know what I mean); he just convinced them Miami was the place to be. He signed LeBron James when there were other suitors. Kupchak has tripped and fallen into some great circumstances, but come on. Nash is almost 40. Howard made it impossible to be traded anywhere else. All great moves, LA, but Riley’s just got a way of convincing guys they’ll win championships with him. That’s why I put him #1 on that list.

5. Azzar Nadvi

   whats up? i read that mark cuban said he was close to trading for kobe bryant. so close that he thought it was done at one point. that caught my interest. do you happen to know what kind of package he was offering for kobe bryant? do you know what other offers were being made for kobe bryant back in 2007 during “Doomsday in LA” or whatever they called it?

   • Joel Brigham

     I have no idea. I can’t even confirm with certainty that what Cuban is saying is actually true, because it seems kind of odd that if the Lakers really were going to trade Kobe back in ’07 that it wouldn’t be within their conference, let alone to a Western Conference team as good as Dallas. Maybe there were conversations, but it obviously did not happen and so is a moot point. I think it’s safe to say Kobe isn’t going anywhere now.

6. Chumpalump

   In Michael Jordan’s 6 Championships, he was Finals MVP all six times. In Kobe Bryant’s 5 championships, he was Finals MVP only twice. This means in the MAJORITY of the championships Kobe won, he wasn’t even deemed the best player on his team (Shaquille O’Neil). To me this closes the case of even arguing Kobe vs Jordan. What do you think?

   • Joel Brigham

     I’m an unapologetic Bulls fan, so it’s very difficult for me to speak objectively on the Kobe vs. MJ debate, but the fact that Jordan left the game in 1993 for 18 months makes it hard for us to compare the two guys’ careers. Kobe will have played far, far longer by the time he’s all said and done, so he’s going to hold some career numbers that are going to prove very, very difficult to match. Plus, if he can win another couple of rings, the 7-to-6 argument (regardless of Finals MVPs) leans in Kobe’s favor.

     Personally, I tend to believe what you’re essentially saying, that Jordan was the #1 reason the Bulls won six championships, and Kobe was the #1 reason the Lakers won 2 of his 5 championships. Jordan was transcendent that whole time, and Kobe has had times in his career where he was the man and other times when he was the second fiddle. That’s why, to me, Jordan was the better player. Because he was the more dominant player over the longer period of time.

     But let’s face it, both guys are great, both guys had tons of talent to help them win rings, and playing for Phil Jackson never hurt anybody, either. Despite all that, Jordan will always be #1 in my book.

7. Charlie

   Coach Macri stated he thought the Denver Nuggets would win more games than the LA Clippers this year. Not sure I agree. Difficult to bet against a Chris Paul run team in this PG dominated NBA (not to slight Ty Lawson or the Nuggets). Denver lost some perimeter shooting and have no low post scorer. Which side are you on and why?

   • Joel Brigham

     I don’t know that I can say Macri’s wrong. It would actually be a pretty interesting bet to make, truth be told, because Denver and LAC were only two wins apart last season (the Clippers winning the two extra games), and I think Denver improved this offseason quite a bit more than the Clippers did. The Clippers made some nice moves by adding Grant Hill and Jamal Crawford (we’ll see about Lamar Odom), but the Nuggets are much better coached, are much better defensively, and have almost as many players to get excited about as the Clippers do. I get that Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are the best two players on either team, but Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala, Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler, Gallo… I just really like the looks of Denver this year, and win totals are going to be close between them and LAC. Great question.

8. Frank

   Looking at the size of Atlanta’s backcourt, seems they may be in trouble on the defensive side of the ball: Jeff Teague – 6′ 2″, Lou Williams 6″2″, Devin Harris 6’3″ will all get major minutes at the 1-2 spots. Questions: Will this become an issue during the season? And will teams with big SG constantly post-up?

   • Joel Brigham

     Yes, it’s a problem, but Atlanta knew what they were getting into when they traded away Joe Johnson’s big contract. Al Horford and Josh Smith make for a very good frontcourt, but I’ve got about zero confidence in what the rest of that team is going to be able to do this year. I expect ATL to end up in the lottery, which is probably the best thing for the future of that team, anyway. It’s not going to be pretty in the Dirty South this year.

9. Mac

   In your opinion, who wins more games next year: Sacramento Kings vs Phoenix Suns. Frontline of Thomas Robinson and DeMarcus Cousins will be a lot to handle for opposing teams. But other than that, Sacramento has a mishmash of redundant talent and ALWAYS seem to underachieve (even when they have loads of talent). Your thoughts.

   • Joel Brigham

     Another good question. I’d probably lean towards Sacramento, just because their guys have been together a little bit longer and I think Aaron Brooks and Thomas Robinson are the kind of new-comers that can have major impacts on their new team. Nothing against Dragic, Beasley, etc. in Phoenix, but DeMarcus Cousins is on the cusp of All-Stardom, and if they could just trade Tyreke Evans and Jimmer Fredette for players who actually fit into a team philosophy instead of me-first offensive ball-stoppers, I could see myself really liking this team. Not their uniforms (barf), but the team itself. It’s a shame it looks like they’ll be relocating just as they’re getting back on their feet as a franchise.

     All that said, I like a lot of the moves Phoenix did this offseason and think they’ll be okay, too. Just might take longer for that new core to gel.

10. Chumpalump

    In an earlier chat, someone mentioned an injury to Chauncey Billups. Never heard that. Is it true and how long will it keep him out for the start of the season?

    • Joel Brigham

      Perhaps they were referring to his Achilles injury from last season?

11. NBA MANIAC/Shaullenny

    where do you think josh howard will land.

    perhaps CHI, NYK, CHA or suprise team

    who do you think nets will sign
    d.james or d.green or j.childress, or s.young, or curry

    what about the heat who will they sign as a big

    who do you think orlando will cut (they have 17 players) what about cleveland

    what teams do you think are done for their offseason?

    • Joel Brigham

      Josh Howard won’t be a Chicago Bull, despite their reported interest in him, because they can’t add another veteran. They’re hard capped because the way they assembled their roster this summer and can’t even take on a veteran min at this point. I’d be in support of that move, I suppose, but it’s just not possible. Had read he’s working out in Charlotte this week, so I could see that, but I think at this point he’d just be happy to get a job.

      If the Nets sign Eddy Curry, they’re silly. No one has ever put his name on a dotted line and ended up grateful.

      Don’t worry about the HEAT. They’re fine.

12. Dennis

    I think people are severely underestimating the Brooklyn Nets next year. If you don’t concentrate on JJ’s contract, but only focus on next year. A Deron Williams/ Joe Johnson backcourt is straight dirty. Add a workhorse PF and a top 5 center in the East (although everyone chirps his rebounding) and we have a team easily ahead of New York, Philly, Chicago and Altanta. Agree or Disagree and why

    • Joel Brigham

      At this point, I think the HEAT, Pacers, and Celtics are better than Brooklyn, but I’ve got them slated as the 4 or 5 seed in the East. New York will be up there, too, but I absolutely think they’re heads and shoulders ahead of the rest of the conference. Chicago is busted without Rose, Washington looks better but still not great, Toronto looks interesting but young, and I’m not buying into the hype with Philly. Brook Lopez is not my favorite player by a longshot, and you’re right about his rebounding, but I think there’s definitely enough talent on that Nets roster to end up with home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. With the most expensive starting lineup in history, I suppose there better be.

13. JR

    Referring to your Kings to Seattle article, I think it’s sad what happened to the Kings. I’ve lived in the area for 7 years and I can sense that the fans never quite recovered from that fixed WCF in ’02. The arena is basically a warehouse and it’s looking really grim to getting a new one. That being said, it’s clear to me that a new team may never move back to the area, which is sad since they had some great fans back in their heyday. Can a huge basketball-crazy area like NorCal only have one team? Especially considering that many people took the Clippers for granted when they stunk.

    • Joel Brigham

      You’re right about Sacramento’s great fans getting screwed, and that’s absolutely the worst part in all of this. They probably would’ve almost preferred they not get jangled around like they have the last year and just set the team loose already. I’ll never forget that game at the end of the 2011-2012 season when all the fans refused to leave the arena and just hung around for hours after the last game. Moving stuff, and proof why they’re such a great fan base.

      As for Seattle, I thought they were an equally excellent home crowd, and if the Kings are going to end up anywhere, it seems like Seattle should be the city to get them. Bring the Sonics back, I say. Not at the expense of Sacramento, but only if they’re going to lose their team anyway.

14. Anderson

    Do you have any idea where will be Leandro Barbosa when training camp starts?? Is Scott Machado confirmed in Rockes camp???

    • Joel Brigham

      No, and it’s amazing that Leandro is still out there. He’s easily the best free agent left on the market and I’m shocked he hasn’t found a home yet. As I’ve said before, I think he’s waiting to see what Cleveland (the last team with real cap room) does before taking a minimum offer somewhere. Would love to see him back in Indiana, who I’m sure would have him for the right price. He fit will with that team last year. Absolutely one of my favorite guys in the league, and I’ll be curious to see where he ends up. Rest assured, he’ll get a job. Plenty of teams can use a glue guy like that in their locker rooms.

15. Rashad

    Do you think the Bulls would position themselves to get Kevin Martin? You think he’d be a good fit?

    • Joel Brigham

      Not sure how they’d go about it because I don’t see any obvious contracts to swap out in order to make that happen. I really do think the Bulls are kind of stuck with what they’ve got for this year. Summer of 2014 is the first time you’d should expect to see major changes with this group. Until then, you’ve just got to get Derrick healthy and hope that he’s enough to keep you in the championship conversation. Healthy, he probably is, but the HEAT have a pretty firm hold on this Conference right now. Not sure Martin would be all that great a fit, anyway. He’s not known as an effort guy and doesn’t really place defense. He and Thibs would probably not get along too well.

16. Charlie

    It seems many are high on the Minnesota Timberwolves to make the playoffs next year. But with no Rubio till Jan, no 7 footers on the team, no shot blocking (Pekovic and Love averaged less than 1 each), and a SG who can’t play heavy minutes in Brandon Roy. I’m not seeing it, despite what Kevin Love says. If you were a betting man, yeah or nay on the playoff for the T-Pups this year?

    • Joel Brigham

      I think of all the Western Conference teams who didn’t make the playoffs last year, they’re the team with the best chance at doing it this year. Kevin Love is just so good, and we don’t know what Brandon Roy is going to end up doing. Andrei Kirilenko was a great addition, Chase Budinger adds the outside shooting they needed so badly next year, and Derrick Williams is finally going to get an opportunity to show what he’s made of. If they can tread water until Rubio gets back, they’ll have half their season at full strength, which is plenty of time to build enough momentum to get into the bottom part of that West playoff picture. They’re not championship contenders, but I could absolutely see them knocking out Utah for that #8 seed.

17. gabriel

    sup joel
    do you think the suns are being overlooked? they made some solid moves during this offseason, adding a solid vet in Scola and 2 good pgs like dragic and marshall.
    i think they can have a breakout season or be a complete disaster depending on how beasley adapts

    • Joel Brigham

      Beasley will be fine, but Marshall is NOT a great point guard, at least not at the NBA level. Expect him to struggle with the speed and strength of the game and really spend his career as a back-up. That’s not bad, but it’s the truth.

      Outside of that, the team’s two best players–Dragic and Scola–are good and everything, but they weren’t enough to make the playoffs in Houston; what makes us think they’ll be enough in Phoenix? Them plus Gortat and Beasley makes for a talented core, but I don’t think they’re better off now than they were a year ago with Steve Nash at the helm. I see this group as a non-playoff team who’s just good enough to be out of the discussion for a top overall pick.

18. Shamwow

    The next time you’re in the bay area let me know. I’ll buy your ticket to a warriors game. Originally from chi, but the bay is pretty cool. Let me know dude, I got you on the ticket.

    • Joel Brigham

      Ha, thanks! I love San Francisco and California in general, so I’ll make sure to advertise loudly and clearly next time I’m out that way. Always down for some NBA basketball.

      That’s my hour, folks. Want to say thanks for all the great questions today and I look forward to doing more of the same next Thursday. Only a month away from training camp, boys and girls. Let the countdown begin!