NBA Chat With Yannis 8/3/12

Senior NCAA and NBA analyst Yannis Koutroupis hosts his weekly chat this Friday August 3rd at 11 am est. As always basketball questions from all levels are welcomed.

 

  1. AJ

    Seems like more international players coming over then ever. Hard question, but off the bat what order would you rank the incoming international rookies (Claver, De Colo, Freeland, Kratsov, Motiejunas, Prigioni, Schved, Shengelia Teletovic, Valanciunas, perhaps others I’m forgetting)?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

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

      I think that Valanciunas, Schved, Freeland, Motiejunas and maybe Teletovic will see the most minutes and therefor contribute more. Not sure the others see much more than just spot minutes.

  2. lawson

    Hey mr.yannis I would like to know out of all returning college players who over 6’4 has point guard like ball handling skills?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Kyle Anderson at UCLA is 6’7 with serious handles, he should be used as a point forward. Michael Carter-Williams at Syracuse is also right around 6’4 with the ability to play some point.

  3. Zeeshan

    1. On a scale 1-10, how lIkely is it that boozer is amnestied next offseason with such a good FA class?

    2. On a scale 1-10, how lokely is it that nikola mirotic jouns the bulls next offseason? If he doesnt, is josh smith a candiate for chicago to sign?

    3. Is Kevin Martin a likely scenario for chicago bext offseason? I believe we can get him at a fair price right?

    4. If Rose comes back playoff time this year, can they beat the heat?

    I Know most of these questions face the bulls future, but try ur hardest

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      4, 0, and no on Smith, Martin and the Bulls being able to beat the HEAT. I don’t think they could have beaten him if healthy this past season.

  4. Zeeshan

    do you think nikola mirotic will play up to the level people expect him to play at in the nba when he comes?

  5. DROSE

    i always wanted my bulls to get either tyreke,ellis,iggy,or kmart. especially kmart cuz of his shooting ability. do we have a shot at any of these guys?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Not a realistic one. It’s gonna be tough for them to get any of those guys.

  6. afhl

    So i think the Bulls are playing smart. When healthy they are contenders. Next year, with all those expiring contracts and maybe amnestying boozer gives them money to go after ellis or kevin martin type players. then, in 2014-2015, they may sign kevin love. right?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      That’s a long time off. A lot can happen between now and then. In theory, they could be in the mix.

  7. Hiipd

    Is kevin martin a top 10 SG in ur opinion?

  8. Jake

    PG-Rose,Kirk,Nate,Teague
    SG-Kevin Martin,Belineli
    SF-Deng,Butler
    PF-Mirotic,Taj
    C-Noah
    Plus their draft pick and Bobcats pick

    Is that roster a contender or pretender?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      In a conference with the HEAT and Nets as good as they are, pretenders in my eyes.

  9. baywalk jeepney ridej

    who Would u rather have jermaine oneal and barbosa or jordan hill? Who would u want as your back up pg,duhon or steve blake? Macri took duhon, steve and lang took blake. Your opinion and why? Thanks bro

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Jordan Hill. He’s more what the Lakers need. When we talked with Jermaine he seemed more concerned about going somewhere they’ll let him score and focus on offense. The Lakers can’t do that and don’t need someone like that. I’d rather have Blake. He’s better suited for the role and is more reliable as a shooter.

  10. korean hot sauce

    Do u feel like doc is over rated as a coach? They won the finals once ,yes. He relied too much in rondo and he admitted that. But look how the heat did it. They let lebron,wade play their game.but in boston, doc forgot how good ray allen , and kg on a one on one.PP gets his iso plays, kg has some, rondo has alot of ball in hand minutes, and he made ray a rip hamilton. Unfair…..

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Ray wasn’t exactly deserving of far more touches. His game was off a bit towards the end of the year. I don’t feel like Doc is overrated at all. He’s one of the best in the league right now. While he may have played a big role in them losing Ray, they ended up with Courtney Lee, Jason Terry and more room for Avery Bradley. What’s there to be upset about?

  11. jaworski #7

    Shouldnt the lakers take a look on al thorton rather than ebanks? He was drafted higher and is more athletic than ebanks. Your take?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Being drafted higher means nothing. Being more athletic just barely means more. It’s about fitting a role and being ready when called on. Ebanks proved he can do that. And, his deal is only for $1.4 million. Thornton should be in the league, though, I’m not arguing that.

  12. LA in LA

    Would you trade Bynum for anyone besides Dwight Howard? More Laker fans say no than I expect when this gets asked.
    Bynum might be the 2nd most talented Center but I don’t trust him to stay healthy and more importantly I’m not convinced he will ever give his full effort on defense consistently. I’d give serious thought trading him (not necessarily straight up) for another talented big like Al Hoford, Marc Gasol, Ibaka (Ibaka and Pau played well together in Spain), etc.
    (BTW I’m not saying those teams would be interested in doing a trade).
    What do you think?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      He’s great for the position they have him in right now, which hides his inconsistency because he’s surrounded by so many other talented guys capable of carrying the load. There are other guys outside of Dwight I’d trade him for, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to do so. Only if a great offer came along would I take it. I suspect the Lakers to seriously consider it if they have another early exit with him this year.

  13. Brett

    Im confused…if the magic are so dead set on rebuilding and getting most picks and cap relief as possible, then why are they still trying to convince d12 to stay? Also I really don’t see the nets an option even at the deadline because I really don’t think they like Lopez with that contract and the draft picks they will be getting will be at around after pick 25

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      They’re dead set on picks an cap relief if they can’t convince Howard to stay, which appears to be a certainty now. If they can keep him, of course they’d rather do that. I’m with you. I don’t see the Nets offer being any more appealing at the deadline than it was this summer.

  14. David Rivas

    Should Kings sign Mickael Pietrus?

  15. Ry Guy the Fly Guy

    Is there any move you see that my Raps need to make to become true contenders? Not for this year but in the future…

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      They’ve done a good job improving this year. Don’t see anything they could do now that makes them immediate contenders. They’re going to have to grow from within.

  16. Dayvon Daniels

    good morning yannis i was wondering what is the chances dwight comes to LA by the end of next week

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I’m sure there’s a chance, but I see this dragging out to before training camp. I don’t think we’re fortunate enough for a quick ending at this point. It’s gonna keep on going for a couple more months.

  17. Alex

    There are a lot of teams that are rebuilding after losing their All-star player (ex. Cleveland, Utah, Pheonix, Houston, Orlando, New Orleans, etc.) Of all these teams, rank your top 5 teams with the best chance to win a title first and why you picked them.

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      They’re all really far. Cleveland and New Orleans have the best chance in my opinion to get into the mix soon. But, if any of those teams won a championship in the next five years, I’d be pretty shocked.

  18. jack

    Will the Lakers make a move soon?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      If an opportunity for them to improve their team comes around, yes.

  19. Charlie

    If you were a NBA GM, which center would you prefer: Robin Lopez at 5 million a year, Omar Asik at 8 million a year, DeAndre Jordan at 10 million a year, or Javale McGee at 11 million a year.

  20. Frank

    In your opinion, what was the most under-the-radar signing so far this offseason which will have the most unexpected positive impact?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I really like the Lakers keeping Jordan Hill, the Celtics getting Courtney Lee, the Kings getting Aaron Brooks, Mavs getting O.J. Mayo, and S.A. keeping Boris Diaw.

  21. Josh

    What are the advantages for a star player to sign an extension in this new CBA. With Howard, Bynum, and CP3 opting to hit free agency for an extra $25 million, what are the selling points GMs have when trying to convince these players to extend on their current deals?

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      Immediate security is one thing. Also, in Bynum’s situation he’s in a position where he will be eligible for the most amount of money available when he’s got 10 years under his belt, which is three years from now. So it makes some amount of sense for him to become a free agent in 2016 and cash out then rather than 2018 while making less money than he’s eligible to in ’17 and ’18.

  22. justin

    why are there rumors about lakers wanting CJ Miles for their mini MLE? I thought the lakers were against spending that. Plus, there’s Jodie Meeks who’s a better shooter and younger than CJ Miles. And had wolves given up on Derrick Williams? If a trade between LAL and Magic were to happen, do you think it’d be possible for the lakers to trade J-rich for D Williams? (people saying J-Rich has some beef with Nash)

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I think that was more about the Lakers being used for leverage. Using the mini-mid level would cost them $6 million, which is kinda high per year for CJ. Brian T. Smith is reporting that Miles is Cleveland bound. I think that’s a good fit for him. I expect the Lakers to hold onto him. I also don’t see Williams for Richardson being a possibility. The Lakers’ frontcourt is pretty set, anyway.

  23. john

    how far do you think the knicks can go this season with the presently constructed team

    • Yannis Koutroupis

      I think they can make a run in the playoffs. Don’t think they can win the conference, but they can be a very tough out.

      That’s going to do it for me this week folks. I’ll be back next week at the same time.