NBA Chat With Stephen Brotherston 9/17/12

Join HOOPSWORLD’s Stephen Brotherston for his weekly NBA Chat covering the Toronto Raptors and all things NBA every Monday at 3pm ET.

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  1. Roger

    Hey, another question for you! Okay who would win a best of seven from these two generation teams? Team #1: PG John Stockton, SG Micheal Jordan, SF Scottie Pippen, PF Charles Barkley, C Hakeem Olajuwan. Team #2: PG Jason Kidd, SG Kobe Bryant, SF Lebron James, PF Tim Duncan, C Shaquille O’neal. Arguably each was the best of their generation at their respected positions. Who would eventually come out on top in you’re mind?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Welcome to this afternoon’s chat.
      It look like its going to be a busy, so we’ll get right at it.

      Those are 2 fantasy teams that everyone would have enjoyed watching head-to-head.
      Assuming everyone in their prime, I’d give the slight edge to team #2 because of what LBJ brings at the SF position

  2. Steve

    I read the recent preview on the raptors, and there wasn’t much talk about Landry Fields’ production to the raptors. In your opinion, could we see landry have a breakthrough season judging the fact that he wasn’t getting his chances on the knicks.

    • Stephen Brotherston

      I expect Fields will be back to his rookie numbers, maybe better, maybe a breakout season – but I see Fields as more of the glue-guy on this roster. He doesn’t have to put up big stats to have a big impact – just be in the right place at the right time at both ends of the floor and assume the Jorge Garbajosa role that made the 2006-07 Raptors so effective.

  3. Talong

    which is better Odom+barnes or Jamison+ebanks?

    if Lakers get barbosa, is it possible their starters will
    PG NASH (Back-up by Blake/Duhon)
    SG BARBOSA (Back-up by Meeks)
    SF BRYANT (Back-up by Artest)
    PF GASOL (Back-up by Jamison)
    C HOWARD (Back-up by Hill)

    I hope they get rid of blake and/or duhon, and sign barbosa. Blake and duhon for alec burks or maybe jeremy evans could they get that deal?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      It’s tough looking at a STACKED Lakers roster and honestly coming up with a “what if they made this or that tweak they’d be better argument”

      I like Barbosa’s game a lot – but Meeks will do just fine backing up Kobe
      The SF spot can/should be a role player who provides some defense – Lakers have plenty of scoring.

      Jamison was a great pickup – he can still play at a high level and he doesn’t have any issues to get over.

      Sure the Lakers could cut Duhon and sign Barbosa and be slightly better off – but in all likelihood, no one would be able to tell – the Lakers are not winning or losing anything based on this decision. If Nash, Kobe, Gasol, & Howard aren’t enough to win – no move the Lakers make around the edges is going to be enough.

  4. LA in LA

    I read the Spurs are sending Marcus Denmon overseas. Will the Spurs still have his rights when he is over there or do they have some verbal agreement that he is coming back?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      The Spurs can’t “send” a player to another league and retain their rights (unlike in the NHL that has 2-way contracts) – but a player can go on their own/take the Spurs advice and go – and as an unsigned 2nd round pick (59th), the Spurs retain his NBA rights while he plays elsewhere.

  5. Chumpalump

    In the two years Kobe Bryant didn’t have a dominant big man to play with in 2006-2007 + 2007-2008: Shaq, Pau or Bynum the Lakers were a 7th seed both years and bounced by the Phoenix Suns in the 1rst round. The inability to carry a team to victory during these years impacts where I place Kobe on the all-time great list. Players such as Dirk Nowitzki consistently wins 50+ games with Dallas despite a constant turnover of players or Allen Iverson who took Philly to the Finals with only Aaron McKie and Theo Ratliff as his sidekicks. Yet Kobe can’t get do better than a 7th seed or get out of the first round??? Do these years of underachieving by Kobe when he didn’t have a dominant bigman impact your view on how great the SG was? Why or why not?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      No one wins a championship by themselves in a team sport – not Shaq, not James, not Wilt Chamberlain – no one , but how far an individual can carry a subpar team does indicate their impact on the game. Dirk has been amazing and often grossly underrated/under-appreciated – shown more dramatically by how he carried his German National team. Kobe got a subpar Lakers team into the playoffs, that’s pretty impressive too.

  6. T.J. Wilson

    With the acquisition of Kyle Lowry, are the Raptors still looking to move Jose Calderon considering the fact that he doesn’t want to be a backup PG? Also, do you see any team picking up guard Justin Dentmon from the D-League?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Colangelo recently called Jose a very valuable trade asset – that has nothing to do with Jose’s willingness to backup Lowry, rather it’s his $10m expiring contract that’s so valuable and Jose can still start in the NBA or be a 1st rate backup on a contender. Jose can’t be moved without a good asset coming back because he’s too valuable to Toronto to just dump for nothing – Jose has been a good backup in Toronto before and he can do it again. He played limited minutes for Spain this summer without compliant.

      Dentmon was terrible on the Raptors last season when he was called up – I haven’t seen him play since then, but if he’s still at the same level last I saw, he’s not coming back to the NBA.

  7. Ryan

    Do u think the Heat’s small lineup is gonna make it impossible for the Lakers to beat them? Example: spread the floor and let Chalmers take Nash to the basket. Is Steve really that bad on D like everybody says?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      You beat the HEAT by controlling the pace of the game and taking away run out opportunities – no one can control the game better than Nash, so this should be interesting.

      Is the aging, slower, sore-back Nash an issue on Defense, sure, but the Lakers will have Howard & Gasol behind him to deter drives from the 3-pt line at the basket. Miami is not going to run that many iso plays with their PG with Wade & LeBron on the floor (2 most expense decoys in history? I don’t think so)

  8. duo

    Hi, what sort of minutes split do you see between lowry and calderon? i’m reading that casey loves what lowry can bring but will that be reflected in 32+ mpg??

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Lowry is probably a 32 minute per game guy – that’s him for the last 2 seasons in Houston. Casey will have a starter and a backup.
      Jose can still get 20 per game over the season – great shooter and 2 PG lineups are becoming more common throughout the league.

  9. tony

    Stephen iam a big hawks fan i know josh smith is saying all the right things what do you think of a trade of josh smith to houston for (lamb) (parson) martin(expining contract)and a future no#1 I feel this would help both teams houston gets a face of the franchise and the hawks get a small forward and young talent to go with their up coming lottery pick this way the hawks can hurry up the rebuilding process

    • Stephen Brotherston

      If the Hawks decide to rebuild, that’s a solid move, but it would be a tough move for a GM to do unless the Hawks slip out of the playoff race or don’t believe Smith will come back. With Horford back, the Hawks should be a playoff team, if they aren’t – I agree, they need to trade Smith by the deadline and rebuild.

  10. Jim in Cyber Space

    What is your honest opinion of Oak Hill Academy and other such places? The are sort of like the Kentucky of High School Basketball, it’s serious business.
    What about letting a kid be a kid? At what age do we start pimping our children out?

    You have to be invited. They will have enough pressure on their shoulders when they are in college/Pro’s with all the assorted “leeches” ala LBJ’s Posse. And their Parents are normally pushing ‘em. Talk about growing up fast.

    • Stephen Brotherston

      The specialty prep schools that turn out players for College & future pro careers are great places if the young student “makes it”. I agree these kids are not allowed to be kids and the one’s who don’t either finish college or play pro ball are being hurt – but that is what has become accepted by society as reasonable risk-reward.

      I have no answers to the problem created by this trend – and I can relate – I have a relative who was getting college offers before he started grade 9 – this isn’t exactly easy for himself or his parent’s to deal with.

  11. LA in LA

    Who are your top 5 current PGs, in order?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Paul
      Russell
      Rondo
      Williams
      Nash

      Rose should be back in the top 5 after he returns to the league – Wall and/or Irving will get here, just maybe not this season

  12. Robert

    Who’s the better player right now, Kawhi Leonard or Kenneth Faried? Who do you think will have the better career overall?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      I am a huge fan of Leonard – I agree with Pop that this kid will be a star in the league, but he’s an impact player on a contender now.
      Faried I need to see more from – if he becomes more than an energy big man, then he has star potential. We’ll see how fast he develops, but its been impressive so far.
      Long term, Leonard should have the better career, but its way to early to tell.

  13. Hassan

    who do u think has a better team the Raptors or the Warriors and who is a better Lowery or Curry

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Both teams still have to prove the moves they made will work – both have made great moves on paper.
      I give the edge to Toronto as I believe they’ll have an easier time making the playoffs than GS and playoffs is the ultimate measure that survives the season.
      I’ll take Lowry’s 2 good ankles over Curry every day and twice on game day – its a prove-it season for Curry – Can Curry stay on the floor for 75 games or not? (I do like Lowry’s defense over Curry, even when Curry is healthy)

  14. DJV

    Do we know what kind of contract Lou Williams got with Atlanta? I havn’t been able to find details.

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Lou Williams, 3 years $15.7m Check out the HW team salary page here.

      HW keeps up to date team salary pages on every team

  15. raul

    If the bulls stayed one more year after the 3peat would they be able to beat the young duncan spurs with prime robinson? They say that team is one of the deepest and looking at the bulls they were only 6 to 7 players deep.

  16. reaper22

    http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=8o5mddg
    to Utah Danilo Galinari, Ed Davis
    to Den Paul Millsap, Demar DeRozan
    to Tor Willson Chandler, Raja Bell
    Looks fair enough for everyone.

    Utah gets starting SF and make room for Favors.
    Starting lineup: Jefferson, Favors, Gallinari, Foye, Williams
    Toronto gets starting SF and make room for Ross.
    Starting lineup: Valanciunas, Bargnani, Chandler, Ross, Lowry
    Denver gets starting PF & SG
    Starting lineup: McGee, Millsap, Iguodala, DeRozan, Lawson

    Your thoughts?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Wilson Chandler didn’t look all that great after he returned from China and then he got hurt – I’d like to see him play before even considering adding him to the Raptors roster for free.

      Galinari shows potential to keep getting better – I’d rather send Chandler to Utah for Millsap?

      Toronto wants to know what they have with DeRozan & Davis, if they made this deal, that would signal they thought both guys were a bust, which hasn’t happened yet. Why does Toronto take on Raja Bell salary dump without at least getting a 1st round draft pick for their troubles?

      Way too early for this type of deal – teams need to get a look at what they have – but you are addressing possible needs they’ll find as the season progresses.

  17. The Grimm Reaper

    Which aging superstar will have the most drastic drop in performance this season?

    Kobe
    Duncan
    KG
    Dirk
    Wade
    Pierce
    Pau

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Not expecting any of these guys to take a big drop this season, but most of them are just 1 unfortunate knee bang away from a rough season.

  18. Steven Sisterston

    Rookie of the year… GO!

    • Stephen Brotherston

      NBA Rookie ladder post summer league – Lillard, Lamb, Henson, Jones, Beal. Summer League means nothing!

      My Rookie Ladder: Davis, Valanciunas, Robinson, Lillard, Beal

      I expect a season long battle between Davis & Valanciunas for ROY.

  19. The Lithu Guy

    Do rookie big men get into foul trouble because they play too aggressively? Or do they just do not know how to work in the defensive scheme well enough yet? Please elaborate good sir…

    • Stephen Brotherston

      1. Inexperience – there is no substitute for experience
      2. Referees don’t believe rookies can do that yet without fouling
      3. Everyone they are playing against is stronger than anyone they faced in college.
      4. It’s rough being a rookie in every profession – not just sports – ask a rookie banker or lawyer about their experiences

  20. Raygie Millen

    In their prime… Ray Allen vs Reggie Miller in a shoot out…

    • Stephen Brotherston

      I always like Ray Allen’s shot – but really – there isn’t any difference here

  21. Dunker Machine

    Best dunk of all time… shootout or in game… GO!

  22. bike messenger

    If the okc thunder fall again this season. Can we go all in and take westbrook from them and offer them anyone except jv!? Even take perkins contract just to get our hands on a legite superstar. I know lowry is good. But westbrook is the new drose. Why not right?!

  23. Andrew Bargnasty

    Why does Bargnani rebound in such low volume? Why does Dirk manage to get 8-10 per game per year? What is the Italian missing?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Bargnani gets out of the way of his own players when rebounds are going to his own team – he would get 2 more per game if he was more aggressive, but Raptors were 10th in rebounding differential last season +1.5 per game – so its not really an issue anymore.

      Dirk’s career average is 8.3 – last 3 seasons about 7 rebounds per game – It been a decade since Dirk got 10 boards and he only did it once.

  24. jay sox

    Would ernest kanter be a good fit with jv? Can the raps be able to trade for him?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Raptors are too young already – Bargs is likely the better fit as Jonas likes to play in the paint – Kanter & Jonas would be in each others way.

  25. chris mccracken

    stephen always enjoy your chats and coverage of the raptors.
    i think the will be the first year that i can remember that this team has an identity. i’ve always thought a team takes the personality of the coach and this team is certaintly on its way to that.

  26. dub

    If the raps make playoffs this year or are atleast close to it. Do you see BC going over the cap next year to get a big name free agent or 2. You have to spend money in order to win, the majority of NBA champions are over the cap.

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Only way Toronto can spend big money next season is on their own guys or trade – it won’t be that easy to get to the luxury tax line for Toronto for 2 seasons.

  27. Richard

    Hi Stephen,

    The raptors SF is debatably the weakest position on the team. Michael Beasly is a SF who can shoot, score in the paint, and rebound all pretty well. His defense, poor attitude, and off court issues are defiantly red flags, but I envision Casey as a coach who could fix these problems, especially the on court ones. I just don’t understand why we would not have even entertained bringing Beasley to town as he still has the tools and potential to be a star in this league. He also signed a 16 mill deal with the suns, quite a decent contact, meaning we could have had him for around the same price. Although i do like the Feilds signing more than most, i see him as our glue guy off the bench and not our answer at the 3. What are your thoughts at not taking a look at a player that could have meshed well with Lowry, Jonas, Bargs,and DD in Beasley? Thanks Stephen

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Colangelo passed on Bease when he could have had him in the Bosh deal with Miami. It’s a question of maturity and a willingness to take the risk. If Bease becomes who he could have been when he was drafted, the Raptors missed out big time – if not, they dodged the bullet on a player who continuously teases you.

  28. Tony romo 4 MVP

    Is the current roster better than the 09-10 team who just missed the playoffs?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      I don’t believe the current roster will have anyone on it who quits on the coach – this roster is better.

  29. C-dube

    I don’t look at DeRozan as a starter in this league yet. I mean he can put up numbers but his lack of defense and shooting combined with inefficacy as a scorer don’t bode well for a team trying to make the playoffs. Your thoughts and what his role and his potential?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      DeRozan definitely wasn’t playing like a starter in his first 2 seasons. Last year, they needed him to start. This year is when we find out if the investment in DeRozan by Colangelo was worth it. DeRozan has gotten better each season and shown signs that he could become a legit starting wing, this year there is enough talent on the roster and DD has enough experience that we’ll see if he can do it.

  30. Peyton Manning

    What type of offense do the rappers run? Does it have a specific name like the “princeton offense” or “triangle offense”??

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Raptors like to run a lot of pick-and-roll sets and will also run drive-and-kick/dish with Lowry.

      Casey added more 3-pt shooting to make this more effective this season.

  31. David

    As a Lakers fan, my biggest concern is back-up PG position. In order for Nash to play 30-31 min/game, Lakers need reliable PG to play 17-18 min as his back up. If both Blake and Duhon struggle during the season, would the Lakers trade for back up PG, and who/what would be asset to use it?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      I wouldn’t worry – Blake is a good backup PG, Duhon is a good 3rd string PG. Lakers have already committed a fortune to future luxury taxes – they don’t need another starting caliber PG just in case.

  32. Joseph staller

    What if Calderon holds on to his starting spot like many other times he has been challenged for the starting PG ROLE? He beat jarret jack, tj ford, and jerryd Bayless all in recent memories? Is it possible?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Calderon “beat” those other PG because he was better than them to begin with. This is the first time the Raptors are asking him to backup someone who is the better player and that makes a HUGE difference.

  33. bhagdeep

    Hey Stephen,

    I saw the picture taken of Jonas Valancunius after he landed in Toronto. He doesn’t seem much bigger than when he was drafted a year ago. Isn’t this a big concern for the raptors that Jonas didn’t add much muscle and it might mean that he won’t transition to the nba game as hoped this season (considering the bigger guys he will face in the post)?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      When you are 7′ tall, 250 lbs doesn’t look big. Jonas had a very good workout routine put together for him by the Raptors training staff last season – he is bigger and stronger, but he was playing Olympic ball this summer so he will not have had the same weight training opportunity other players did.

      Not concerned – Jonas was playing against MEN – not college kids – last season. He’s a physical player already who like to mix things up in the paint.

  34. Mark from san juan capistrano

    If:
    1) Kobe gives the ball up to Nash
    2) Peace hits 40% of his three’s

    Do the Lakers walk away with the Title?

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Lakers can play beautiful team ball and they still have to take it away from a very good Thunder team before they get to face Miami. No guarantees in sports

  35. Hassan

    im having a debate with my friend cause he thinks the warriors are better then the raptors . so my question is which team is better and which team is better by position

    Lowery vs Curry
    Demar vs Klay
    Field vs Barnes
    Andrea vs Lee
    Jonas vs Bogut

    • Stephen Brotherston

      PG Lowry defense & health
      SG toss up
      SF I like Fields, but that’s my Toronto bias
      PF I believe Bargnani has All-Star potential, Lee doesn’t – but this is a toss up right now
      C Bogut if he’s healthy – experience trumps rookie potential

      Overall Toss up

  36. Jmar

    Any raptor player here in T.O already or when they should be here

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Most of the team is here – Jonas arrived on the weekend.
      Informal workouts & practices only – no one has to be here yet. Camp Oct 2. Media day is probably on Oct 1

  37. ziad

    WESBROOK FOR RONDO !!!!
    why not !!!

    this is the best trade for both teams . why isnt that idea discussed !

    • Stephen Brotherston

      Mostly because trading stars between teams is rare – you almost always like your own guy better and when you don’t like your own guy anymore, the rest of the league finds out and tries to fleece you!

      That’s all for today – Thanks for all the great comments and questions.