NBA Chat With Susan Bible 9/22/12

Please join Susan Bible for her NBA Chat this Saturday at 11:00 am EST.   Susan is a Newlines Editor and a member of the fantasy team at HOOPSWORLD.  She covers the Oklahoma City Thunder and the NBA at large.  Drop in your questions now.

  1. Steve

    Do you see calderon in a raptor jersey after trade deadline?

    • Susan Bible

      Good morning! Let’s get to it:

      I’ll tell you, this team intrigues me. Hope you read our 2012-13 Raptors Season Preview: http://www.hoopsworld.com/2012-2013-toronto-raptors-season-preview/ So about Calderon, I have to rely on the guy in the know, Stephen Brotherson, and he says Casey has started a campaign to show Colangelo his has value. He’s got a few months to prove why he shouldn’t be traded.

  2. LA in LA

    What is your top 5 pg list, in order? Do include Derrick Rose (assuming he is on it…lol) despite his injury.

    • Susan Bible

      Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, (a healthy) Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo.

  3. Jim in Cyber Space

    Hi Susan. Luxury tax wise, Harden’s situation dominates the whole scene in OKC?
    What about Maynor? He’s talked about “sacrifice”…keep the team together. How does OKC afford Maynor?
    It would be easy to argue that he’s one of the top 2-3 reserve PG’s in the league. What’s he worth on the open market? He could start lot’s of places. He’s a perfect change of pace for RW don’t you think?

    I don’t have a segue…

    Congrat’s to Kevin Ollie. One of my favorite X Thunder players. He got a nice HC’ing GIG at UCONN.

    • Susan Bible

      So happy for Kevin Ollie. I used to really enjoy talking with him in the locker room, mainly about our kids and his coaching aspirations. His wife and kids stayed in CT while he was in OKC, and he missed them so much. I hope he takes this opportunity and shines.

      The Harden situation does dominate discussions of late. I haven’t given up hope of an extension by Oct. 31st. If not, we’ll see if OKC will match what is sure to be high-dollar offers next year. Of course, they could trade him.

      Nobody’s talking too much about Maynor, but he definitely wants to remain a part of this team. I can only deduce that he has to prove he’s completely recovered from injury before talk of a long-term future in Oklahoma City. That was major surgery and rehab he experienced. Pre-injury, he was one of the top PG reserves and I agree, he was/is the perfect backup to Westbrook. I even wrote an article last year calling him the “anti-Westbrook”: http://www.hoopsworld.com/eric-maynor-the-anti-westbrook/ He’ll earn $2.3M this year and has a qualifying offer of $3.4M next season. I could see the Thunder offering him like $16M/four years. Given the team’s salary challenges, they may not match some other team’s offer. In that case, Reggie Jackson will be given the reins; he’s under contract through 2014-15.

  4. Jim in Cyber Space

    Who is your favorite All Time Sooner Basketball player?

    I like Wayman, Gar, Alvin, Mookie…Choo Kennedy, Hollis Price, Blake…all those guys.

    For me.. it’s still Stacey King. For some reason…MJ didn’t seem to like him much with the Bulls?

    • Susan Bible

      For me, it’s Wayman Tisdale… for reasons both on and off the court.

      My favorite all-time Stacey King quote: “I’ll always remember this as the night Michael Jordan and I combined for 70 points.” (said after Jordan scored 69 and King scored 1 vs. the Cavs I think)

      It was a battle of verbal shots with those two.

      “I hope there’s a jump shot in there.” – said Jordan to King, who was walking into the locker room with a box.

  5. Dennis

    Andrew Bogut just had an interview where he admitted he has not yet played 3 on 3 basketball and hasn’t dunked in over 8 months. He is working out, improving every day. But I have a difficult time believing he will be able to improve from this level a month before the start of the season to being able to play 3-4 times a week / 82 game season. The human body can only take so much. Questions: Did you see this interview? And are there example of centers who barely played before the season who ended up playing 70+ games over the year?

  6. Frank

    Brandon Roy is attempting a comeback with the Timberwolves despite the wonky knees. In your opinion, how many minutes per game do you think he will average next year. Care to project a statline?

    • Susan Bible

      That’s quite difficult to do given we haven’t seen him play. Though he expects no step back when he returns, he admits his body and lift aren’t what they used to be. I remain skeptical that he can endure an 82-game season. But we’re talking averages, and as long as you don’t hold me to it (and keep in mind, I really want him to do well – he’s one of the good guys), I’ll say Roy plays around 20-22 minutes at 12 ppg.

  7. Charlie

    Was looking at the Bobcats squad and they are slightly improved over last year. Ben Gordon off the bench, Brandon Haywood at center (allows Biyombo to shift over to PF). Less playing time for Tyrus Thomas which is good. And BJ Muellens had a strong 2nd half last year. Clearly the Bobcats will improve their terrible winning percentage from last year. In your opinion, what is a reasonable number of wins to expect for next year. 15? 20? 25?

    • Susan Bible

      The Bobcats set a record for the worst winning percentage in league history at .106 last season. The rebuilding is in full swing, though it will take time; in addition to those players you mention, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Ramon Sessions strengthen the team and I expect Kemba Walker to show nice improvement. The acquisition of new head coach, the energetic Mike Dunlap, is also a step in the right direction. I’ll, optimistically, say they win 18, giving them a winning percentage (.220), more than double from last season.

  8. LSO

    Hiya Susan – I’m wondering about Thunder rookie, Perry Jones. Did he recover OK from his injury? (Am I remembering that right?) Have a feeling how much we’ll see him play. Does his style fit in well with the team? Just some background…….

    • Susan Bible

      Jones has recovered (minor injury during the Summer League) while concerns linger about the durability of his knee. Jones may log time in the D-League in the early-going, but I think he’ll find a spot in the rotation. Not huge playing time, but I think they want to see what they’ve got in him. Jones is thrilled to have landed with the Thunder and is on record saying Durant is his favorite player. I’m hoping he can toughen up a little – maybe Perkins can help in that area. As far as fitting in, the answer is yes. He’s quick and versatile; things OKC greatly value. And the 6’11” player can shoot the three and pass really well. I’m thinking a Lamar Odom-type of player, in time. Jones has talked about how welcoming the guys have been. I think it’s a great fit.

  9. Deven

    Hi Susan. What do you think will happen to James Harden if he doesn’t sign an extension?

    • Susan Bible

      He’ll become a restricted free agent with offers pouring in, wherein the Thunder will match or not, or he’ll be traded.

  10. Deven

    Do you see a Miami-OKC Finals rematch?

  11. Adrian

    Good morning Susan! Hope you had a great week. A lot of us Angelinos here in L.A. were so hyped about the endeavor flying in yesterday. Anyhow, what do you think OKC will eventually do with Harden?

    • Susan Bible

      Kudos to the Endeavor! I would be shocked if they let loose of Harden. The guy has steadily improved in nearly every facet of his game in his three years in the league. He gladly accepts his Sixth Man role though he could be a starter for many teams. He just turned 23 last month, nowhere near his prime. I wonder just where his ceiling lies. Harden defines the word versatility. I think (hope) news of an extension hits soon.

  12. Adrian

    Any idea where Derek Fisher will land?

    • Susan Bible

      I assume you heard what Scott Brooks said recently? Sounds like Brooks hasn’t given up hope of a return to the Thunder, but that doesn’t make sense to me. I also assume you heard he worked out in L.A. with Nash? That set the rumor mill buzzing. He’ll land somewhere; early reports said Bulls or Cavs.

  13. Chumpalump

    When speaking of PER (Player Efficiency Rating) Coach Macri stated he was not surprised Kobe Bryant ranked 17th overall last year as “he took a ton of bad shots and was not operating in the flow of the offense.” Question: If Kobe’s team still had Smush Parker and Kwame Brown this need to hog the ball and huck up forced shots would be more acceptable. But why does Kobe feel the need to do this last year playing with former all-stars Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol?? I know he has a huge will to win, but wouldn’t Kobe be better served playing team basketball?

    • Susan Bible

      At his core, Kobe is a shooter. Like any confident shooter, he feels like every shot is going in.

  14. Sam

    Everyone is crowning the lakers as the western conference champs.
    My feeling is theyll have loads of trouble handling the speed of OKC.
    I think a lot of people are not realizing, that the lakers will be a very average team in terms of team speed, and I think this will haunt them. Is this something OKC has to look at exploiting? Westbrook, and Harden both had higher ppg against the lakers compared to their season average.

    • Susan Bible

      Definitely. Their speed and athleticism carries them to many wins; the age of the core group hovers around 23-24 years old. No doubt, the new-look Lakers will present challenges to OKC if Nash is still Nash and Howard returns as Howard.

  15. bucky ducky

    Will dfish coach or play? Or will he replace david stern?

    • Susan Bible

      Fish isn’t quite done – I see another year.

  16. Mycroft Holmes

    I’ve noticed that Harden plays with a beard. Does he keep snacks in there for energy boosts mid-game?

  17. steppxxxxz

    why does nobody talk about the age of the Lakers? I dont see them staying healthy. And even if they do, Im not a believer. The bench is awful. And they are OLD. Your thoughts?

    • Susan Bible

      Actually, I have seen/heard talk of the Lakers’ age: Nash turns 39 in February, Bryant just turned 34, Gasol is 32, Jamison is 36, World Peace turns 33 in November and Howard is the youngster, turning 27 in December. It’s a valid point, especially in a full 82-game season with a postseason. We’ll see!

      That’s one hour — thanks to all who participated! Be sure to look for my 2012-13 Oklahoma City Thunder Season Preview in a couple days!