NBA Chat With Yannis 7/27/12

Senior NCAA and NBA analyst Yannis Koutroupis hosts his weekly chat this Friday July 27 at 11 am EST. As always, basketball questions from all levels are welcomed.

  1. Gil

    Hey Yannis! Love the chats!
    My question is can you please tell me why the Lakers didn’t go after either Randy Foye or Ronnie Brewer? Possibly even Shannon Brown?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

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

      The Lakers seem to be only interested in adding guys for the minimum right now. Plus, those guys went to situations where they’ll have the opportunity to play a lot more minutes than they would being behind Kobe Bryant.

  2. Hunter

    Are AK 47 and B-Roy enough to convince K-Love that the T-Wolves are ready to win now and not later?And how good can Alexey Shved be in Minnesota…will he start?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I’m not completely positive that they are, but they’re upgrades and steps in the right direction. If they play up to their potential than the Wolves should be good enough to crack the top eight. Shved can be a borderline starter in my opinion, I’m curious to see if he can hold down the fort at point until Rubio is ready to return.

  3. Naj

    Can you rate the offseason move of Bulls? From 5-10. Malcolm Thomas will be a great addition to them.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      They’d be on the lower end, they haven’t really done anything of major substance. Some decent moves, but nothing noteworthy.

  4. Brian Y

    The kings have to be planning on making a move with their back court right? It’s too crowded.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      The value of their guys isn’t really high right now, which could make clearing up the crowd a little difficult. I’m not sure we’ll see them do that until the deadline.

  5. ted the talking bear

    Why aint no one signing ablatche,barbosa, deonte greene, terrence williams,jmoon, weems, lou amundson!, pietrus, delfino, al thorton!? I could go on n on lakers should look on these guys n try to let go of some of their garbage… The heat could use blatche??? Your take on this unsigned free agents??? Please write an article about them if possible. Thanks!!!!

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      If all these guys were willing to sign for the minimum they’d be signed. But, their agents are trying to get them a little bit more than that. Because their lower tier guys their negotiations are dragging out a bit longer. They’ll be on a team by the time it’s all said and done.

  6. Vlad

    What do you think of job Kahn did in MN. Please review the assets in 2009 plus 3 lottery picks and roster in 2012:
    2009 assets: Love and Big Al + rights to Pek plus 3 lottery picks. Those are the assets, correct?
    2012 assets: Love, Rubio, Pek, Luke, Bud, DWill, AK-47, Shved, Roy and ADELMAN.
    So is it a bad job? May be nothing out the ordinary, but not a bad job at all IMO.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I’ve never thought Kahn was as bad as the public tried to make him out to be. He took over for Kevin McHale, who was awful, and didn’t have a lot to work with at the time. Now they’re headed towards becoming a playoff team in my opinion.

  7. Vlad

    So who is going to be covering Wolves and where did Mr. Little go?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      We’ll be covering them by committee. You’ll still get plenty of Wolves coverage. Stephen has moved on to different endeavors in his life.

  8. Gustavo A thomas

    If Houston Gm Daril morey cant trade for D Howard or A Bynum after this mess he has created on Rox franchise,can him lose his Job or he keep it?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      He’ll probably be out by the end of the season if he can’t get either of them I imagine. n

  9. brooklyn adobo

    Yannis now that houston signed some rooks, i think cavs too.will d12 drama really stretch by Feb.? And i think the odds now is on brooklyn to get our superstar center to win it all by 2013. Your educated guess on what will happen?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      The Cavs signed Zeller and Waiters back on July 5. It could, but I don’t think the Cavs rookies were ever deal breakers. I can’t see any scenario in which Howard ends up in Brooklyn. The Magic aren’t going to want the deal they passed on several times this summer in February and there’s no way, unless Dwight signs for the mini mid level, they’re getting him as a free agent. That ship has sailed.

  10. Gustavo A thomas

    If a NBA player get amnesty and clear waiver,then he go oversea and get contract, is this extra money for him or this money count on his NBA salary? Thank you.

  11. Mark

    Do you think the Lakers will try and pick up a decent backup for Nash seeing as how they’ll probably try to limit his minutes? Since Nash will probably play around 30 mins, they need a capable backup for him that can play 16-18 minutes a game.

    Do you think the Lakers are going to address this before training camp? or are they just going to roll with Steve Blake and Darius Morris?

    Thank you for your insight!

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Blake is his back up, few guys in the league are better suited to play that role. They’ll be just fine with him.

  12. ceasar flamingo

    Why would the lakers trust blake as a pg back up if he is kinda like nash that cant guard faster and bigger guards, dont you think he should be traded for a pg not necessarily better offensively but defensively ala andre miller type. Or sign a guy like barbosa ? Grant hill could’ve been a great pick up for the lakers cause he can handle the pg kinda like the great big p.g. ron harper…. Your take?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Look below. Blake is the perfect back up for the Lakers. He plays hard defensively, there’s nobody in the league who can stop the best point guards. Westbrook and Paul will drop 25 on each other every night. Barbosa wouldn’t be any better defensively than Blake. Hill would not have been the answer to the Lakers point guard issues defensively. He’s someone they can live without.

  13. Gustavo A thomas

    The 3 best and worse deal on this off season for NBA team are? Thank you,

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Best – Lakers getting Nash, Brooklyn getting Joe Johnson for nothing to ensure D-Will stays and the Celtics keeping KG at a reduced rate. Worst – Magic sign-and-trading Ryan Anderson for Gustavo Ayon, the Nets giving Brook Lopez a max deal, and the Magic holding onto Dwight so long that the offers are actually getting worse.

  14. gator vil

    With the way orlando is dealing with things, they kinda are the ones looking bad now. Clearly its every man for him self. Do u think teams in the future will give orlandoa hard time together with free agents because of the way they handle stuff? Lastly do u expect jimmer or tyreke to be traded in the upcoming season???

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      It’s teams that are mad at them, not agents necessarily. I don’t think there will be any long-term negative impact for them. I think Jimmer’s contract expires and he ends up out of the league before someone actually trades for him.

  15. tinolang manok

    Why are there still alot of good free agents in the market?! Is because of.the pending d12 deal?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      No, because teams are trying to get guys for the minimum at this point.

  16. pompelmo

    Since 2006, we have seen enough of East teams coming from the weak side of the bracket and beat the superior but mentally drained and physically exhausted teams of the west at the finals, don’t you agree?

    It again happened last year: The Boston team, which could only took out a weak Sixers team in 7 games, took Miami to 7 seven games and three quarters. Then, that Miami beat OKC which were excellent but exhausted along the way to the finals.

    I can throw 6 teams from the west that can make life difficult to Miami, but they will only have to play one of them. Until then, they will target practice on mediocre teams and keep fresh. How about cross-matching (west’s first against east’s eight)? That way no one can enjoy the unintended benefits of playing in the weaker division.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      No I do not agree. Getting through the East has never been a cakewalk. How was OKC exhausted? They swept the Mavericks, handled the Lakers in five, and won four-straight games against the Spurs after losing the first two. How in any way is that more exhausting than what Miami went through? You’re underestimating the Eastern Conference tremendously.

  17. Wil

    Good morning Yannis, a question about GM tendencies, it seems some continue to stockpile redundant talent while not addressing other team needs, Kahn and Petrie in particular seem to be the worst offenders right now. Khan realizes he needs a shooting guard, right? He could have had Lee or Mayo for half the price he is paying Kirilekno, still had his draft pick, and finally give Williams a chance to shine. So what gives?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Kirilenko is his starting small forward. Williams can’t play the three full-time, that’s why they went after Batum so hard first. He’s going to be primarily a four. Lee and Mayo are shooting guards and they already have Roy and Shved.

  18. dub

    I hear alot of people crapping on the Terrence Ross pick. I think the guy will be pretty good. He’s already got a better shot than derozan and you might say pretty well the same athleticism. I predict he makes derozan expendable after his rookie or sophomore season, Agree?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I think they’ll be good together. They did reach a bit to get him, though.

  19. dub

    Any chance Jose Calderon accepts the backup pg role? I think it would be great if the raps could resign him next summer on the cheap to have him as the backup. Him and Lowry could be one of the strongest pg combos in the league.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      He’s a professional. If he loses the spot in training camp, he won’t have a choice but to accept it. They definitely have a lot of potential as a duo.

  20. Joe

    Do you think Portland can finish next season 500 or 42/42. also do you think LaMarcus Aldridge goes to the all star game.and Lillard goes to rookie softmore
    game if he is the starting point guard for the Blazers.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      .500 may be tough for Portland. Aldridge can be an All-Star, though, and Lillard should definitely make that game.

  21. jack

    Will the Lakers get DH?

  22. Sam

    Hey man, love your chats. I know you guys don’t like these questions, but if you were to rank the 4 Dwight scenarios of most-least likely what would it be.

    1. Trade to LA- before season
    2. Trade to BK- mid season
    3. Dallas-FA
    4. Trade to Houston…

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I would rank 1 and 4 at both 50%, don’t think 2 and 3 are possibilities.

  23. RoB

    sup Yannis! Has the tide shifted in LA LA land? it seems the Clips are beefin up while the Lakeshow only added Nash and Jamison so far (no disrespect for those two). Do you think that makes the Clips better than the purple and gold as it stands right now? one more question: Any news on who the sixers are looking at to replace the void left by E.Brand? Thanks!

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      The Lakers were better last year and I’m not sure how they’re not better this upcoming season too. They got better and while the Clipps also did, they were the ones trying to catch up. Sixers amnestied Elton Brand so they could re-sign Lavoy Allen.

  24. JM

    Is Lowry really a big improvement over Calderon? Can the 2 play together in a small backcourt for 10-15 min a game?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I’m not sure about them playing together. It could be something we see, but with Ross and DeRozan I doubt we’ll see much of it. And, yes, Lowry is an upgrade over Calderon.

  25. sam

    So have the t wolves given up on derrick williams or what>

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      No, but he’s an expendable piece. They’ve tried to move him and will continue to do so, especially if he increases his value by playing well.

      That’s going to do it for me this week folks. I’ll be back next week, likely at an altered time as I travel to Los Angeles fro Adidas Nations.