NBA Rumors Chat With Steve Kyler 10/04/12

1. LA in LA

   Hey Mr.Kyler, can you tell me if Chris Douglas Roberts is:
   1) Athletic
   2) at least an average defender
   3) a good defender?

   • Steve Kyler

     Welcome in…preseason games in less than 48 hours, so its time to talk basketball. Lots to get to, so I’ll jump right in.

     Can I vote too small, too inconsistent with a poor work ethic to matter?… I Like CDR as a person, but as a NBA player he’s not as good as he could be – equally, I am not sure he makes the final roster with the Lakers so I am not sure he matters in the big scheme of things.

     The Lakers have 13 guaranteed contracts and three non-guaranteed guys they used draft picks on. Its going to be hard for him to make the roster, its simply stacked against him.

2. Dat one guy

   How come everyone keeps making excuses for Ray Allen? It’s not like the Celtics were terrible and he left, I think most people would understand that. They were one game away from beating the Heat and then they improve and he leaves? I know people say he was bitter about management trying to trade him but his loyalty should be to KG and PP, not to management. He let them both down and Celtic nation down and is a trader indeed. What’s your opinion?

   • Steve Kyler

     I am not sure anyone is making “excuses” as much as explaining why. Ray doesn’t owe anything to KG or Paul because those guys don’t control whether he is on the roster past the trade deadline.

     Play devil’s advocate with me… Ray says “I’ll stay”… and mid-season Danny Ainge trades him, what did Ray really do?

     Danny made it clear he no longer valued Ray like he does Paul or KG… thats life and thats the business of basketball. The HEAT guaranteed Ray would finish his career there – thats what Ray wanted; security and the chance to compete for a title.

     I don’t blame Ray for leaving Boston – they tried to trade him away TWICE… they replaced him in the starting lineup with Avery Bradley… they signed/acquired Jason Terry and Courtney Lee – they moved on.

3. Davide

   Does marco belinelli have a chance to start with the Bulls?

   • Steve Kyler

     I do think Marco has a shot at starting… not sure Rip Hamilton has a lot left and given how much they will need scoring I think Marco can get the starters job away from Rip.

     The x-Factor is Jimmy Butler… they have told him he’ll get some time at the two spot and if Jimmy excels it could be tough for Marco mainly because I think Jimmy is a better defender than Marco and thats going to matter to Coach Thibbs.

4. Brian

   why doesnt the nba just get rid of charges except in egregious cases. that would eliminate flopping 99.9% and instead of a defender just standing in 1 spot on the court playing ‘defense’ the defender would actually have to try & block the shot or something, which would make the game much more exciting. also why doesnt the nba widen the court by a few feet on each side, it would create more space & would eliminate most of the 3-4 times per game when some player steps on the sidelines. that seems like a small logical thing that would improve the game.

   • Steve Kyler

     The charge is a legitimate basketball rule… getting rid of it and putting an arbitrary “egregious case” rule isn’t the answer.

     The answer is technology. There are a couple of tech companies that have developed real-time wafer-sized sensors that can be placed inside the NBA jersey… these senors can measure all kinds of things including how much force was exerted against a player.

     We can, in real-time, measure what was real forceful contact and what was a solid acting job.

     I think inside the next five years we’ll see this kind of tech embedded in the NBA gear and a whole new world of statistical data will emerge as a result.

     I applaud the NBA for trying to do something now… not sure what is on the table is the best long-term solution, but we have seen in the past that the NBA has enacted change in behavior through these kinds of fines. Guys don’t bitch at officials nearly as much as they used to… guys are dressing better. This won’t get rid of all flopping, but it will change some of it and thats a good thing.

     If the NBA can get 50% of rampant flopping out of the game, the game is better because of it.

5. LA in LA

   In your opinion, if a Laker was to win the MVP, wouldn’t it be Dwight over Kobe?

   Also, is the 6th man award Harden’s to lose?

   • Steve Kyler

     I vote Steve Nash… if it works in LA and they become the team they are expected to be it will be because of Steve Nash.

     Harden is a good bet… I like Jason Terry in Boston and Jamal Crawford in LA with the Clippers.

6. 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?

   • Steve Kyler

     At 25… those guys would be too selfish to win much.

     What the Thunder have done is rare… normally teams that are 25 and under tend to be more concerned with contracts, touches and All-Star appearances… Its rare to see young teams sacrifice for the sake of winning.

7. Peter

   Hey Steve! How are you doing? I was talking to this guy at the gym the other night, and he said that the LAL can tied or even beat the 96′ Bulls 72-10 record! I think he is crazy! What do you think? Any chance of the Lakers coming close to that record?

   • Steve Kyler

     I am not sold the Lakers are the top team in the West let alone set or tie a NBA record.

     Here is the thing about 72 wins… the NBA is too deep, there are too many really good teams to win at that stretch. Can the Lakers when 60 games… if healthy I think they can, but so can Miami, Boston and the Thunder…. that is why 72 will be hard to achieve, because the league as a whole is better and the West as a conference is brutally tough.

8. Jim in Cyber Space

   Free Throw shooting…Lot’s of games are won or lost at the FT line.

   Why do so many Big Men Suck at the FT line…big hands?

   Rick Barry tossed it under handed, “Sissy style”, at a 90% clip.

   I think the Big Guys should try it…it’s finger tips only…Big Hands aren’t as much a problem. Nothing else has worked?

   • Steve Kyler

     Pride is the biggest factor in why guys won’t try underhand.

     The cause is three fold… Big guys are rarely taught to shoot the ball. There is an awful lot of bad coaching with big guys and the trajectory of the ball is different when you are up near 7 feet.

     Think about the arch the ball takes when you are say 6’2… then think about the arch it takes at 7 foot… most guys tend to shotput their Free throws and thats the issue.

     Its not hand size so much because there are guards with monster hands that shot free throws well.

9. Nasteedunx

   Claver, De Colo, Freeland, Fournier, Kravtsov, Motiejunas, Prigioni, Shengelia, Shved, Teletovic, Valanciunas. If there was an end-of-season trophy for best First-Season Foreigner (NCAA rookies excluded), who would you have in the running to win it?

   • Steve Kyler

     Teletovic and Valanciunas get my vote.

     Motiejunas is a big maybe.

     The rest won’t play big enough roles to matter.

10. Wil

    Hi Steve, I am still a bit unclear as to what the ‘plan’ is in Orlando? They kept just enough veteran talent to make things interesting and are saying they want a winning culture, but at the same time they didn’t upgrade enough (or get enough value) to actually compete. So what is the plan? To be the new Houston Rockets and just miss the playoffs and have a collection of ok but not great players! Doomed to mediocrity for the next generation unless I am missing something.

    • Steve Kyler

      Here is what I gathered after talking to them… install a winning culture.

      You can’t do that if you are set up to lose every night. They kept enough veterans to help the young guys get acclimated and I think a lot of those vets will be traded off at the deadline or moved around the draft in July.

      This is not a good year to tank… this draft isn’t going to yield a franchise player, so why tank and poison the locker room and lose.

      Does it mean the magic are a borderline 8th seed… maybe, but thats how they look today. I think they will look differently after the deadline in February.

11. Locatelli

    Good morning.
    How do you think the Spurs will fare against this nem look Lakers team ?
    Also, do you think they (Spurs) would have given the Heat a tougher series in the Finals ?
    Thanks.

    • Steve Kyler

      Maybe on both.

      The Spurs talked a lot about letting the Thunder series get away from them and really are energized to get back… Not sure how 82 games works out for the age of this roster, but they have a system that works and if Manu and Tony Parker can stay healthy for the bulk of the season the Spurs are as good as anyone.

12. Chris

    What do you think the ceiling is for this Nets team?

    • Steve Kyler

      4th seed in the East.

      I think they have a lot of questions… if Brook Lopez can get and stay healthy, they could be better than most are projecting.

13. Chris

    I know it’s insanely early, but who do you think sneaks into the playoffs in the East and West this season?

    • Steve Kyler

      I am not there yet.

      I need to see these new teams play. Any predictions now would be guesses and I don’t like to do that in chats as its twisted when I do.

14. Steve

    Hey Steve, What is your outlook for the Bucks this season? Do you think Scott Skiles will be coaching this team into the playoffs, or will someone else turn this thing around?

    • Steve Kyler

      I think the Bucks are good enough to be in the playoffs, but so are a lot of other teams.

      As for Skiles, he’s a lame duck so if it doesn’t come together, they could make a change, but I doubt thats what happens unless it implodes.

15. dub

    say it aint so, tmac isnt really going to go out like iverson will he? If i were him, i’d retire rather than play in China. I’m sorry but there are guys out there alot worse tham tmac with an NBA contract

    • Steve Kyler

      The lack of interest in Tracy has to do with his rep as a bad work ethic player. Keep in mind Tracy was a key member in the revolt in Detroit and he was pissy in Atlanta when Larry Drew didn’t play him.

      Teams used to look past Tracy’s luggage because he was so dynamic offensively. He’s not nearly that guy any more and teams are reluctant to bring on a problem in the locker room.

      The Chinese teams would love to have him, but he’s holding out for a NBA gig.

16. Tim in VA

    Hi Steve, I’ve got a fantasy draft coming up and I’ve got a couple of questions. Our league is a keeper league and we can keep two guys after the 5th round. I’m thinking if John Wall lasts to the 5th round that I’m taking him immediately. The bigger question revolves around Derek Rose. He most certainly will not go before the 5th round. When would you take him in a 12 round league?

    My other question for fantasy purposes is, how good will Andrew Bynum be this year?

    • Steve Kyler

      Point all Fantasy questions to: tbeer@hoopsworld.com

      As for Bynum… as I covered in the AM… its not good that Drew is out already, but I am more concerned with the last 40 games more than the first 40 games.

17. Ricky

    Hey Steve! Love the job you’re doing! Never miss you chats! In you opinion, do the magic tank to assure a top pick? What do u think harkless ceiling is, does he resemble a player? Can the magic trade the 17 mil trade exemption for a bad contract and a lottery pick? Thanks for your time

    • Steve Kyler

      do the magic tank to assure a top pick?
      — This is not the draft to do it. There are great #2 guys in this class, but no future franchise changers. This is the Andrew Bogut draft, not the LeBron draft.

      What do u think harkless ceiling is, does he resemble a player?
      — His trainers compare him to Rudy Gay with a little Kevin Durant sprinkled in. I think thats a little too much to put on the young guy, but he could be very good in a couple of years. He loves the gym. He loves to work. He loves to be coached and learn the game. I am a fan.

      Can the magic trade the 17 mil trade exemption for a bad contract and a lottery pick?
      — They can absorb a contract with the TPE and they can take back a draft pick too. Not sure thats how its going to play out. They want to offload money, not take on money. Could they take on an ending deal or a deal with favorable buyout terms – maybe. But the Magic are not trying to screw the future for the sake of the present.

18. Bryan

    How do you see the Mavs doing this year? I think people are really underating them and if Mayo and Collison can live up to their potential and the deep bench and good frontcourt they have they can compete with anyone

    • Steve Kyler

      I like the Mavs’ B squad… lots of guys with things to play for.

      The biggest issue in my view is adapting to Rick Carlisle… he’s demanding and aggressive and that takes getting used to. Young guys tend to struggle with aggressive coaches and Rick has proven he’ll play who he wants, when he wants to – so I need to see how it comes together.

      They could be good, but not top 4 good… they are the 5th seed in the West at best unless OK mayo or Darren Collision become All-Star caliber guys.

19. Marcus

    Tired of hearing about the Lakers every other question. Tell me something new about a team we don’t talk about every other question question.

    • Steve Kyler

      Had you used your question to actually ask about a team, you’d have gotten an answer… #MissedOpportunity

20. Nick DC

    Hey Steve.

    Do you see the Orlando Magic moving a player (or players) like JJ Reddick or Al Harrington or even Afflalo at the trade deadline? What type of haul do you think they could get in such a move?

    • Steve Kyler

      I do not think Aaron is going anywhere… he is the prototype player for Orlando going forward. Hard worker. Team guy. Loves defense.

      I do think Al Harrington is moved if they can find a buyer… JJ I am not sold on… depends on what they get back for him.

      The guy I heard mentioned over and over this week was Glenn Davis – I think they’d pack JJ in to move Big Baby.

21. Tim in VA

    I can’t direct my fantasy questions to Tommy. He’s in my fantasy league!

    • Steve Kyler

      The try: sbible@hoopsworld.com

      She backs Tommy up on fantasy stuff.

      I don’t spend enough time on the Fantasy side of things to be a credible source, especially when you talk about nine category leagues.

22. Chris

    Hey Steve, what is going to happen with Orlando’s roster in order to get to 15? Should we expect a trade? They way I see it, we may have to cut two guys with guaranteed contracts. What are you thoughts on what will happen with the likes of Harper, McRoberts, Eyenga and the like?

    • Steve Kyler

      Not sure there is a plan… as much as let the best 15 win.

      They do have a lot of guys under contract, but they continue to say getting to 15 isn’t going to be an issue. So either they are buying out contracts or trading them before things settle in and I think they have some guys they could trade if they wanted to.

      Not sure Harper, McBob and Eyenga matter in the big picture, but in the short term they have as much a shot at making the roster as anyone.

      Guys… I am out of time. Thanks for all the questions. Make sure you are following me on Twitter (@stevekylerNBA). See you all next week.