NBA Chat with Mark Nugent 9/7/11

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. Shad

    Is this a good trade? Utah sends Bell and AJ to the bobcats for Diaw and Augustine. This would give the jazz two additional expiring contracts to add to Miles and Memos.

    • Mark Nugent

      I think Jefferson is worth more than expiring contracts. I’m a big Al Jefferson fan and think he is better than he gets credit for. If I’m Utah I wouldn’t make that trade.

  2. TJ

    Hey how r u? I hope ur having a great day. My question us what do u think of gortat? 13 and 10 in his first legit season and do the suns have a shot at the playoffs they have a good lineup and bench o and nash. And a could be great backup in robin lopez and brooks

    • Mark Nugent

      The way the Suns are currently constructed I don’t believe they have any shot at the playoffs. They need a lot more talent before they start challenging for the bottom spots in the playoffs.

      As for Gortat, I think he is a very capable starting center in the NBA. I don’t think he will ever be a star, but he is very serviceable and it was a huge mistake for the Magic to trade him to the Suns last year. The Suns got the better end of that deal in my opinion.

  3. TJ

    Hey whats up with the droid app my phone won’t let me update it I was just wondering because I loved looking at the nba news every morning

    • Mark Nugent

      I believe the Droid app is being fixed right now and should be out very soon. The Iphone app is already updated and can be downloaded on Itunes.

  4. justin

    Barbosa/Calderon for Bell/Millsap who says no?

    • Mark Nugent

      Utah doesn’t seem interested in trading Milsap right now, so I would guess the Jazz say no.

  5. justin

    What will it take for utah to make the playoffs, other then a new cba?

    • Mark Nugent

      Their young guys have to really step up and play above expectations. They are in rebuilding mode, so they are going with the youth movement, which I think is the right thing to do. The only real chance they have at the playoffs is if the rookie of the year ends up being Kanter or Alec Burks

  6. justin

    Do you think Houston would trade K. Martin/G. Dragic/Budinger for Al Jefferson/Cj Miles/Evans?

    • Mark Nugent

      I think Houston would, they want a big man to build around. I really like this trade, or a trade that involves Jefferson for Martin, it makes a lot of sense for both teams.

  7. JC

    Mark – Not much real NBA action during the lockout. How would you see a hypothetical 2012 Finals matchup between the Bulls and the Thunder (as currently constructed) playing out?

    • Mark Nugent

      I would say whoever is better between Durant and Rose, that team would win in 6 or 7 games. If Deng can make Durant work all series, then the Bulls could win, they are better from 1-10, but the Thunder’s top 3 is definitely better than the Bulls top 3. So it would be close and it would come down to which star hit the clutch shots, rose or Durant. Of course westbrook could decide to go crazy like he did against the Mavs and take all the end of game shots, which means the Bulls would likely win.

  8. Brian

    Hey Mark, 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

    • Mark Nugent

      Gordon isn’t being traded and won’t demand a trade out of LA. But, hypothetically I think that trade is pretty good for everyone. Not sure the money works out evenly, but as for who goes where it’s pretty decent, the one thing I would say is, the Pacers won’t give up Granger and a 1st rounder for Gordon. I think they would have to keep the first rounder. This trade makes the Clips a lot better right now and really helps the 76ers, but I don’t think it does anything for the Pacers.

  9. SuperDwight

    if you had to make the best NBA European starting five of all time who would you go for?
    I take Pau Sabonis/Nowitzki/Stojakovic/Petrovic/Parker, your thoughts?

    • Mark Nugent

      I would go Parker, Drazen Petrovic, Manu, Dirk, and Sabonis in his prime when he was still playing for the USSR.

  10. Aaron

    Is there any star player in the NBA who receives more criticism and disrespect from the casual fan than Dirk Nowitzki? Apparently now people are claiming that his title team was “stacked.” amazing revisionism.

    • Mark Nugent

      I would say LeBron receives the most criticism in the NBA these days, and I don’t think it’s really close. Dirk’s team was very good, in fact the last 4 teams in the playoffs were all stacked. you don’t win a championship without a stacked team. Except for the HEAT in ’06 when they got every call in the Finals.

  11. airjazzy

    Why do men HATE the WNBA so much? Whats wrong with women playing professional competitive basketball, its a great game.

    • Mark Nugent

      I don’t know that ALL men hate the WNBA. I think that is a bit of a generalization. I would say the NBA is much more popular because it is played above the rim and therefore is viewed as more exciting to watch. I’m glad the WNBA is around, I have a young daughter and I think it’s great she has women athletes to look up to. To say all men hate the league is way to harsh.

  12. airjazzy

    Is the WNBA product entertaining enough (with the proper advertising) to possibly become a 20 team, 6 month long season, and 13 player roster success? With players having respect and some form of stardum and a decent paycheck (500k – 1mil for top players)

    • Mark Nugent

      I haven’t looked at the numbers, but I don’t believe it is popular enough right now to justify it being anywhere near a 20 team league. It seems like most teams are struggling as opposed to making money. Again I haven’t looked too closely at the numbers, but I’m pretty sure the league isn’t in a position to expand to that size.

  13. Tony

    Do you feel that the NBA product would be better served by both contraction and less games per season?

    • Mark Nugent

      I am not a fan of either contraction or less games. The season is 82 games and has been for a long time, I love basketball, so I have no problem watching from November until June. Last year, there was interest the entire year, so I don’t think the season needs to be shortened.

      As for contraction, it is pretty easy to make an argument to contract the two teams that are struggling the most financially. It helps the owners and the league increase revenue, but I think there is enough talent in the world right now to support 30 NBA teams. What I would rather see is the poorly run teams in the NBA get better GMs and ownership groups so they aren’t run as poorly and I think some teams should move cities. If Memphis isn’t making money right now after such a successful season, move them to Seattle, or put a second team in Chicago. There are cities, like Kansas City, that could support an NBA team. So to me, there is no reason for contraction.