NBA Chat With Joel Brigham 9/8/11

1. Ali

   I honestly believe the players and owners should come to terms with a “eddy curry” rule that state whatever player refuses to play, comes to camp over weight, or does any harm to his body while under contract (mainly weight issues, or the monta scooter incident for example) has the right to a breach of contract. So tired of a good pick up by a team only to be let down by what he did and watch him riot on a bench collecting my whole life salary!!!!! also what is your take on this additional round to the draft

   • Joel Brigham

     Something like that feels like the least of our concerns in this bargaining session. The only way to really get around that is to just have non-guaranteed contracts, which I don’t think is going to happen. Otherwise, you’d have to stipulate numbers for weight and such where things officially become a problem. I mean, when Jay Williams ruined himself on that motorcycle while with the Bulls, Chicago voided his contract. There’s already language for that sort of thing in there. As for being too fat, not sure that’s ever going to happen.

     I don’t want to cover three rounds of an NBA draft. I’m bored about 7 picks in the 2nd round as it is. If every player (or at least most of them) that was picked in round two was ending up on a roster, then maybe it’d be worth it to take things deeper, but there are so few second rounders and undrafted guys that make it to a final roster anyway that it’s hardly worth it. Waste of time and energy. More important things to hammer out than that.

2. Charlie

   In his latest chat, Mark Nugent supports a trade based around Al Jefferson for Kevin Martin (filler on both side included). Do you agree?

   • Joel Brigham

     Not at all. That leaves them with way too little in the backcourt and still no true center. I also know that Houston looks at Kevin Martin as they’re best player, so if they’re going to trade him it’s going to have to be for All-Star caliber talent, and Al Jefferson isn’t that at this point in his career. Would be a bad move for the Rockets.

3. Brian

   Ok so rumors have been Eric Gordon isn’t a huge fan of LA. He loves Indy. IF he were to demand a trade to Indy, Pacers get Eric Gordon/Randy Foye, Clips get Iggy/Granger, 76ers get Kaman Twolves 1st rounder from clips and Pacers 1st rounder. EJ fits age of team and Paul George is at SF

   • Joel Brigham

     A Granger/Gordon trade would help both teams to a certain extent and would bring EG back home, but LAC would have to be insane to make that. I’m a big Granger fan and think he’s a great, hard-working guy, but he’s not par with Gordon.

     All that said, How exciting is a Pacers lineup of Collison/EG/Paul George/David West/Roy Hibbert? Talk about an ideal offseason. Maybe a little lofty in terms of expectations, but still fun to dream!

4. Trevor

   What do you think of the Magic being able to make the moves necessary to keep howard and stay competitive? Do you think hedo for Maggette would make them better especially with JRich most likely gone? Also any takers for Meer to improve the team and go all out with Gil? Thanks

   • Joel Brigham

     Do you really want to go all out with Gilbert Arenas? Does that not make you throw up in your mouth a little bit thinking about? I mean, you’re stuck with Gil because of his contract, so Nelson is clearly the more moveable PG, but man… I’m not comfortable with that when there’s so much at stake regarding D-Howard staying in Orlando beyond this season. All that said, if Jameer can return a legit talent (I’m not sure he can), then trading him makes sense. Short of that, though, I don’t see it as a smart hoops decision.

     Why would Charlotte make that trade for Maggette? Turkoglu has a whole extra year on his contract (it’s a player option, but come on… he’s definitely picking up that $12 million), and can’t be a guy that the Bobcats would see the need to trade for. They’re cleaning house, going young, and getting this rebuilding thing underway full swing. That move sets them back a whole ‘nother year. No thanks.

     In short, I’m not sure what to tell you about keeping Dwight happy. Win games. Find the chemistry you had in ’09. Make basketball fun for him again. If you can’t do that with the guys you’ve already got over there, you’re probably out of luck. One trade isn’t going to make too much a difference unless it’s for Derrick Rose. And honestly, we know how likely that is.

5. Max

   The Mavs just showed us how important it is to have great front court depth. shouldnt the clippers keep kaman and Jordan and use them the way carlisle used chandler+ haywood? couldnt they even be on the court together at times? Mo williams – EG – BG – Kaman – DJ?

   • Joel Brigham

     The “worst” case scenario for the Clippers is that they end up keeping both guys, and that’s honestly not a bad thing. The lineup you suggest is possible, but with more and more stretch fours in today’s game it’s going to create some serious mismatches at the four. Against the right team, however, it could be pretty effective.

     At the end of the day I think if you can cash Kaman out for a starting quality small forward, that’s the better all-around move for the Clippers. Whatever they end up with, Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin are about as solid a two-man young core as there is in this league. As I’ve said all along, as soon as they get a real coach, we’re looking a perennial playoff team.

6. devonte wilson

   would tayshaun prince be a good back up for carmelo and can the knicks use him and should he be a free agent the knicks look at and go after?

   • Joel Brigham

     Of course he’d be a good backup, but they’ll want to spend their money on more pressing needs than small forward. I don’t think that’s a signing they make. Tayshaun can earn better for a different team.

7. devonte wilson

   i think theres a chance the knicks could land chris paul but i think if we can build a soild team that can play both sides of the ball would give us a better chance at winning a title soon rather than later?

   • Joel Brigham

     Chris Paul isn’t going to be a Knick under the new CBA for so many reasons. The first is that the cap is going to be lower, which means the likelihood that NYK can slip in another max stud with two already on the books is miniscule. Secondly, teams/players are probably going to have new incentives to keep a guy in his home market, including getting rid of the sign-and-trade. With Paul’s injury history, and this being his last max deal, the extra year or two a home team could offer might make a huge difference. Unless he takes waaaaay less money than he’s worth (which I don’t see happening), he’ll end up somewhere other than New York.

     And anyway, as we’ve seen with Miami, having the three superstars doesn’t guarantee you a ring. With Paul in NY, that would mean two such teams in the East, so it wouldn’t even guarantee a trip to the Finals. It’s hard finding good guys to put around your Big Three with how little money you’ve got to spend. Without a MLE, they might not get any help, ever. Too hard to build a team that way, so I don’t think New York seriously has a shot at that anyway.

8. devonte wilson

   is there a chance that free agents would join other teams and take less money if there is a hard cap?

   • Joel Brigham

     I think a hard cap makes that sort of thing more common than ever before. Less money to spend means smaller contracts means less to lose by taking less to play with a contender. If you’re talking about a star switching teams for chump change, though, you’re only going to see that sort of thing happen if a team is VERY close to a ring with playing time to offer. There’s not a lot of that stuff out there for starter-quality guys, but for the mid-tier? Absolutely.

9. devonte wilson

   Josh Harrellson could be a player like david lee, high motor, rebound, but might have to work on a post up game and a consistent mid ranger jumper what you think?

   • Joel Brigham

     I’m not confident that happens. I’m thinking more a career D-Leaguer/European player.

10. pocket rockets

    who do you think can help the team more: vince, tmac, or gilbert

    • Joel Brigham

      Help who?

11. pocket rockets

    if the rockets can land a quality center, how good do you see them being? and what are they lacking to be a championship contender BESIDES a center

    • Joel Brigham

      It looks like they’ll have the money to spend on a decent summer, but I don’t know that Tyson Chandler is going to be worth the paycheck he’s likely to command after a great 2011 season. Nene feels like a lock to stay in Denver. Marc Gasol could be an awesome fit with the Rockets, but they’ll have to overpay him since he’s a restricted FA. He’d be my favorite guy to have end up in a Rockets uni, at least of the free agent center options that’ll be there, and a lineup with him and Scola in the frontcourt and Kevin Martin scoring like a crazy person in the backcourt is more than a little interesting.

      Jonny Flynn and Kyle Lowry aren’t elite point guards, but they’re serviceable, and there’s some other talented guys on the roster (T-Will, C-Lee) that are worth noting. Scrappy team that causes headaches, but not a serious contender for a ring. They need an All-Star for that. Even Gasol probably isn’t that.

12. Renee

    What do you think the Suns roster will be and what do you think of Markieff Morris?

    • Joel Brigham

      It’s going to be pretty bare bones, honestly. Nash’s last year under contract means he could end up traded at some point during the season, and if that happens all that’s really left to root for is Marcin Gortat, Aaron Brooks, and a bunch of guys nobody really expects to be much. We’re looking at a pretty sad team here for a few years.

      Markieff is solid enough, but he’s not ever going to be an All-Star player, so in the big scheme of things I don’ t think we should expect him to make a huge difference. Guys like that rarely do.

13. h

    Do you think adding Kwame Brown and Michael Redd or Grant Hill to one year deals for the Knicks will be possible and/or helpful? I think adding them to the current team puts us in the top 4 of the east.

    • Joel Brigham

      Any or all would help this current Knicks lineup. Kwame Brown could even start for them, which is a little scary and sobering. Considering that you’ve got probably your last year of Chauncey to run with Amar’e and Melo, I don’t see how adding some older vets like that hurts anything. Grant Hill especially has some game left in the tank, and while I’m not optimistic about what Redd brings to the table, he’s a great locker room influence and could be good for Toney Douglas and Landry Fields. Hill would be my first choice, then Kwame, then Mikey Redd, but all three at low price tags would be nice.

14. Scott, Chicago

    I just read your solving problems on the Bulls and was wondering if you could help me see how adding VC would be a good thing. Adding a non defensive player, who has been a me first player, who is waaay past his prime doesn’t seem like a recipe for success. How is he better than Ronnie Brewer? Because he is willing to jack more shots?

    Don’t you think it makes more sense to either hope for Richardson with a MLE, if it survives, or trade one of the bigs for a guy like OJ Mayo?

    Adding Carter will hurt the Bulls, not help them.

    • Joel Brigham

      You know what I honestly think happens? Nothing. The Bulls don’t have any money to spend, and they’re coming off a great season. Like I said in the article, it’s not crazy for the organization to say “We were sooooo good with this core! Let’s keep it going!” We’d all hate that (all us Chicago fans, anyway), but it’s a real possibility. Right now, I think the most likely scenario.

      I’ve come to expect that the MLE won’t exist, which means the old prayer Chicago has of pulling in a free agent with their current payroll is at vet’s minimum. In terms of the guys who will likely be available at that price, Vince is the best talent. I don’t like the guy as a player any more than you appear to, but I do think he’s certainly more talented than Ronnie Brewer, even at this point in his career, and what the Bulls need is somebody to score. That’s why his name came up and why it’ll continue to come up. Not saying I like it, just saying it’s a path Chicago may explore.

      There’s no team dying to give Chicago their top-tier talent for draft picks, bad contracts, and maybe not even for Taj Gibson or Omer Asik. I’m not optimistic about the team’s options, though trading Taj is probably the best shot you’ve got at bringing in a talent you can really have a positive effect immediately.

15. JC

    Nice article on the Bulls roster need. I don’t think Vince or McGrady is a good fit from a mindset perspective but agree that Rip could be a nice short-term fit. I thought Noah would dominate more in the Euros. Is something off?

    • Joel Brigham

      It’s a different game out there, and he doesn’t really play a position or offer a skill set that would allow him to dominate out there. He’s got a front row seat to Tony Parker right now, though, which has to be counted as a positive experience the way that TP is playing right now. Noah’s not a guy to really dominate a game. It’s just not what he does. The best he can do is D up and rebound, and he’s doing enough of that in EuroB right now to maintain his reputation.

      As for Rip, he’s still the guy I think is the absolute best-case scenario. It’s also one of the least likely scenarios, but the one I’m most interested in. An interesting side note is that if an entire season is missed, that means a buyout would only be buying out one year. That seems a little more possible than swallowing two years’ worth of huge contract. Hopefully we don’t miss a full season, but in this one case it might actually mean something good for the Bulls. Beyond that, though, obviously the whole thing sucks.

16. Jon in PDX

    Do you see any of the young guards on the Trailblazers panning out and having an above average career in the NBA?

    • Joel Brigham

      Does Wes Matthews count? Because I think he’s going to be someone we speak fondly of when his career is all said and done. Felton’s above average, too. I like both guys, but neither is like to ever be an All-Star, if that’s what you’re fishing for. Roy was their best chance at having a future Hall-of-Famer, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen now.

      I guess I’d be more concerned about the frontcourt living up to its potential. Oden’s been such a disappointment, and LaMarcus is right there on the cusp. Does he have more room to grow, or has he already shown us everything he’s got? That’s the question I think holds more bearing.