NBA Chat With Mark Nugent 11/16/11

Join HOOPSWORLD’s Newsline Editor Mark Nugent for his weekly chat this Wednesday at 5pm EST.  Mark is based out of Chicago and covers all things NBA so get your comments and questions in early.

  1. dyrese

    jerome jordan the knicks 7’0 rookie will be coming in can you give projection on how he will play

    • Mark Nugent

      Sorry, I haven’t seen him play and know virtually nothing about him.

  2. brendan gibson

    what do you think of my fantasy team? i got stuck with a late pick. what advice can you give me?

    The Care Bears

    pg: steve nash, toney douglas, kyrie irving, baron davis
    sg: joe johnson, stephen jackson
    sf: tony allen, thaddeus young
    pf: blake griffin, zach randolph, glen davis
    c: roy hibbert,

    • Mark Nugent

      Fantasy team? Really? how are you keeping score? Based on pickup games or overseas games?

      I like your team pretty well. Obviously the big concern is center. If you only start one center than you may be ok, but I doubt Hibbert plays more than 28 minutes per night, either because of foul trouble, they go small, or better matchups. I’d look for an upgrade. Not sure where you drafted Nash, but if you could trade Nash for a stud Center I’d consider it. I’m not convinced he’ll be able to keep up what he has been since he is now like 38 or 39 years old. also, I love the Davis pick and he could fill in nicely as your starting PG, depending on what team he ultimately ends up on.

      Lastly I could see steals being an issue.

  3. Edward Lee

    I hope the lockout would last forever so that Lebron, Dwade, Durant and co. would just have to play chess for a few thousand bucks a tournament (that is if they managed to win)

    • Mark Nugent

      Not sure where the chess thing came from. Did I miss a meeting? I hope the lockout ends immediately because I want to see them play and I believe the issues they are now arguing over only affect a couple of guys per offseason, and I think it’s ridiculous that both sides blew up the season over something that likely affects less than 1% of the players.

  4. BSaintM

    Hey Mark,longtime reader first time question asker here.

    I was wondering what your thoughts are on the rumor of AI wanting to join the C’s if there is a season. Would he be able to play well enough to be a bench contributer? Would the C’s even be interested?

    Thanks and keep up the good work!

    • Mark Nugent

      First time asker, well keep them coming. For the record I generally answer 100% of all real questions asked to me, so fire away.

      I believe the Celtics might, key word, MIGHT, consider bringing him in for a tryout. AI has been out of the NBA for basically two years I believe, and if he will truly take a bench role and play for the league minimum, then why not bring him in for a tryout. The Celtics won’t hand him a contract though without first seeing him play, I would think. But if there is a season, that means Allen and KG are still under contract, so why not bring in another big name if he can help off the bench. A big problem for the C’s last season was they had no bench scoring, especially after Daniels got hurt. If AI could fill that void Boston would definitely consider it.

      Now let me say this, I don’t think it will happen. I don’t think AI can play at the level that he would need to play at. Keep in mind, he’s never been a great shooter, he was a 6’0” slasher, that’s hard to do at the end of your career. And he is no point guard.

  5. tony

    So what is more likely to happen no season now? Or 50 game season?

    • Mark Nugent

      I truly believe now, that if they don’t reach an agreement by November 25th, which would be early enough for games to still be on Christmas day, which is a very big deal for the NBA and the networks, then I don’t think there will be a season. Once it’s clear there is no hope of games on Christmas, I think both sides will dig in even further, especially the owners, and this will head to court. If there is no basketball on Xmas then I believe there won’t be any real talks until the courts rule on these lawsuits, which will give one side or the other more leverage to make a deal.

      Lastly, if a deal isn’t struck by November 25, I believe the owners really will pull the 50/50 BRI split off the table, and they will also look for a flex cap. There are too many owners that want to lose a season to get the deal they want, and if a deal isn’t reached soon I believe that group will win the day and we won’t have a season.

  6. Rad

    I really wish there was some way that the Clips could get Honeycutt from the Kings to run at the 3 spot. Wouldn’t a trade of Honeycutt/Gomes for Aminu/Garcia benefit both squads slightly? Kind of a lateral move, but I can see where each team would come out ahead.

    • Mark Nugent

      It’s unlikely the Clippers would make that move. Aminu was a lottery pick and still has upside, more upside than Honeycutt, in my opinion. And Gomes is at best a deep bench player on a good team. So I don’t see the benefit for the Clippers.

  7. Rad

    I know I’ve probably seen this suggested before, but what about Danny Granger for Josh Smith? Pacers have Paul George to run at the 3 & get Smith, who I think would work well with Roy Hibbert. Hawks have a deadly 2nd scoring option(bye-bye Jamal Crawford) & slide Al Horford over to his preferred 4 spot. The Hawks would still have to find a better center to start…maybe Marvin Williams for Robin Lopez or something…but it works doesn’t it?

    • Mark Nugent

      I don’t see the advantage for the Pacers to make this deal. Smith is only a slightly better defender than Granger because he is always out of position. Granger can be a could defender as he proved in the playoffs and since it’s likely the Pacers will add talent via free agency (whenever that is) he won’t be required to score as much. Granger is so far superior to Smith offensively and doesn’t come with the baggage that Smith does, I can’t imagine any reason why the Pacers would ever consider this deal. I’ve said it for almost a year now, the Pacers want to add to Granger and build around him, not trade him.

      The Hawks have to find a starting center so they can move Horford to the 4. Until they do that, they won’t ever be a serious contender in the east. I believe they are trying to trade Smith for a center. One rumor early in the offseason was Smith for Chris Kaman, that’s a deal that makes a lot of sense for both teams. Kaman moves right in as the starter, and Smith can start at the three for the Clippers and play some four when Griffin heads to the bench.

  8. Jonathan

    When Howard and Paul are free agents who do you think the Knicks would speak to first, and would Howard want to play in NYC?

    • Mark Nugent

      My guess is the Knicks will speak to Paul first because of his relationship with Carmelo and Amar’e. Paul did give a toast and Anthony’s wedding. Also, Paul has gone on record as being a fan of NYK, so I think that’s where they start. As for what the Knicks really need, read this, it’s my article from Saturday.

      Howard hasn’t said he wants to play anywhere yet, but he has gone on record as saying he thinks he may have done all he can in Orlando. Take from that what you will.

  9. Anthony

    If there is no NBA season and the new CBA does not allow a sign and trade, is there any hope of Sacramento using its cap space for Paul and Howard? The Kings have a ton of cap space and can build around Paul, Evans, Cousins and Howard. Paul and Howard will be happy to play with a fellow all star and 2 possible future all stars.

    • Mark Nugent

      It is extremely unlikely either of those two players would want to go to Sacramento. There is so much uncertainty about the future of the team in Sac-Town, that I can’t imagine any big name stars would want to go there. Also, if there is no season, next summer, there will likely be several teams with lots of cap space that could sign one or two of the big stars. I just don’t think it’s possible either player would head to Sacramento when they could play for the Clippers or Nets or even the Knicks.