NBA Chat With Yannis 10/5/12

Join senior NCAA and NBA analyst Yannis Koutroupis for his weekly chat this Friday October 5 at 11 am est! As always basketball questions from all levels are welcomed.

  1. Rocket

    If the Lakers starting core was all at 25 years old, how would the rest of the teams in the league fair as is?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Welcome everyone to this week’s chat! Let’s get right into it.

      I don’t think it’d be much different honestly. I think it’s the long-term look that changes greatly, but in the present they’re still scary.

  2. Peter

    What would you think if the Wizards picked up Fisher for the stopgap at the point guard while Wall is out the first 4-5 weeks of the season? Only need him to play 15 minutes a game. His championship experience and veteran presence will be nothing short of amazing for Wall. Just to teach him about the game on and off the court. How how to be a true professional and winner. An 8th seed is a possibility if they can weather the storm till Wall gets back. Maybe trade him at the deadline to a possible contender in the case of an injury. We all know Fisher is as clutch as it comes especially in the playoffs.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I wouldn’t be opposed to that. He could definitely help Washington.

  3. Edward Lee

    Hi Yannis!
    I am somewhat disappointed with what Shaq is doing to D12. Shaq seems a better person than what he is saying right now. He must hate the Lakers so much even with his number scheduled to be retired that he has to do everything to bring D12/Lakers down.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I was talking with Steve Kyler about this earlier. Shaq has some reason to have animosity towards Dwight cause he did steal the whole Superman theme from him, but man he really has gone out of his way and beyond reason to diss him. I think it’s more of a Howard thing than Lakers thing. His beef with the Lakers, especially now that they’re retiring his jersey, appears to be over and done with.

  4. T.J Wilson

    When Kris Humphries became a unrestricted free agent this past summer, how come teams didn’t come rushing trying to sign him? The guy averaged like 13pts…11rbs last season. Also, with the addition of Iggy, will the Nuggets consider Corey Brewer expendable and try to move him or will George Karl somehow find a way to get him decent minutes? Thanks for your time!!!!!

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Let’s just say he’s not a great locker room guy, and they knew the Nets wanted to keep him and he wanted to stay there once the whole Dwight possibility passed. Before then he was one of the many players held up by Dwight. It’s gonna be tough for Corey. I’m not sure how much time there is going to be for him there. He’s definitely expendable. I can see him being moved just as a favor to get him somewhere he can play more in a contract year.

  5. Chris

    Hi Yannis, with media days and open scrimmages popping up, the offseason is almost over. Seeing the footage of the open scrimmage of my Clippers made me cheer for that among of fun they were having. So i would like to come up with a kinda unusual question. Which player(s) do you recognise as the worst, when it comes to creating teamspirit and locker room atmosphere? Maybe someone, who wasn´t able to change that behavior during his career and misbehaved even as a veteran guy.

    Thanks for your time sir.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Coach Dunlap told me he knows Haywood likes to lead and will look for him to do that with the younger bigs.

  6. ricky st, jean

    i just read your comments on the warrriors having the best off season in the pacific.
    i would take the suns — scola , dragic, beasly,johnson , oneal , marshall ,over bogut ,landry, jack , barnes and rush never mind clips — hill , odom crawford, barnes , hollins
    please explain
    thanks
    ricky

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I just think they improved more drastically. Suns are a question mark to me and while the Clippers got better, their jump isn’t as big as the Warriors.

  7. Bryan

    What do you expect from OJ Mayo and Darren Collison this year? Also do you see Jae Crowder becoming a good player some say hes gonna be the steal of the draft

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I expect them to be serviceable starters. In their best case scenario they’re fringe All-Stars. And, I love Jae’s game. Definitely think he can be the steal.

  8. bill

    First time reader here… What’s your take on which 5 man unit is better? Dwight, Pau, Metta, Kobe and Nash or Bosh, Lebron, Battier, Allen and Wade.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      The Lakers, because it’s more traditional and fit better in my opinion. However, I won’t rule out that the HEAT could beat them.

  9. JJBB

    Omer Asik put up some very impressive defensive numbers last year on a per minute basis but very weak offensive numbers. There have been rumblimgs from Houston that he really isn’t that bad offensively and the Bulls just didn’t need any offence from him. Do you think Omer can score 10 ponts a game and improve his FT shooting enough to be out there at crunch time?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I think he can score 10 a game without a doubt and I’ll be some trust in him as a free throw shooter, although that’s with a lot of hesitancy. His per minute numbers should not be read into too much because he can’t stay out of foul trouble.

  10. Vincent

    If Bogut gets injured again this season (out for 1-3 months), should my Warriors keep him, despite their need for a true center, or trade him for a backup center + draft picks.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I’d keep him and use that as a reason to offer less than the max.

  11. Jerry

    Hi Yannis, was curious what your favorite era for NBA basketball was? 70,s 80′s 90′s 2000′s… current?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Current, just think guys are stronger and more athletic across the board than they ever were in any other era.

  12. Grant

    The 3-6 spots in the western conference seem pretty fluid right now. I’m a big Nuggets fan and love the Iggy trade. Is there any chance they can surprise and earn a 3 or 4 seed? Which player would have to step up the most to make this happen?

  13. WIZARD

    how much will longer nene can play on this level?How serious is wall injury?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I’d say 2-3 more, maybe 4. Not that serious, no real long-term concern.

  14. MikeM

    Do you think the progress of the young Spurs, namely Leonard, Green and Splitter will be enough to keep the Spurs in the conversation for a title?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Yes, but they need things to go perfectly to be the best and that rarely happens.

  15. Grant

    Do you think MKG will surprise people & prove to be a great centerpiece to the rebuilding Bobcats?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I don’t think that’s going to be overly surprising. I think he can be that. I don’t think he’ll be their number one option, but definitely think he’ll be a big part of their rebuilding efforts.

      Alright everyone, that’s it for me this week. I’ll be back next week at the same time!