NBA Rumors Chat With Steve Kyler 12/29/11

HOOPSWORLD Publisher Steve Kyler will hold his weekly chat at 10:30am EST on Thursdays. Drop in your questions regarding NBA trades, the NBA Draft, roster moves or questions about your team.

  1. Raph

    Do the Magic really think they can keep Dwight? With Lopez out 6-8 weeks and likely to underperform after his return (considering trade deadline is Mar 15), is a trade for Bynum inevitable?

    • Steve Kyler

      Welcome in everyone… I hope you had a great Christmas. NBA action is underway, so there is lots to talk about, so lets get after it.

      The Magic believe they have as good a shot at keeping Dwight as any team has at pulling him away. Some of that is due to his own waffling on the subject… the rest is due to the amount of money they have to offer Dwight that a team with cap room won’t have.

      As for where the Magic go from here… I was told the Magic had a deal with New Jersey, they had agreed to all the parts and once that deal was presented to Magic ownership they killed the deal and took Dwight off the trade market.

      Does he go back on at the trade deadline? I think they would be foolish not to listen, but from what I have been told the Magic are not entertaining talks regarding Howard.

      I think that changes at some point, but its far more likely the Magic make their decision in July via sign and trade, rather than make a move mid-season.

      If it becomes clear the Magic are going nowhere, that might alter the thinking, but for now the Magic understand they will get pennies on the dollar for Dwight in trade, and for now they are keeping him.

  2. John

    Someone plz tell me why lakers keep WAlton?any transactions for lakers?what about arenas?

    • Steve Kyler

      The Lakers owe Walton two more years at $5.6 mil and $5.8 mil respectively.

      They have to keep him because he won;t agreed to a hefty buyout and he’ll count on the cap regardless of whether you cut him or not.

      The Lakers would be foolish to use their Amnesty provision on Walton, not when they owe $83.5 million to Kobe over the next three years and $56.9 million to Pau Gasol.

      If either of those guys go down to injury, the Amnesty bails out the Lakers in a major way, using it on Walton doesn’t help them at all… just clears a roster spot the Lakers would have to pay more money to fill.

  3. rodney

    unlikely senerio but got to ask

    suppose dwight states he wants to remain with the magic?

    the magic then decide to go back and trade nelson for andre miller with either cash considerations or a pick involved to make sure the deal gets done, like they tried to do on draft night and allow miller to expire

    use the stretch provisions on big baby and j rich that would give the magic 19 mil to lure a top notch free agent would it not?

    Dwight could then convince D will to come to Orlando in free agency

    D Will
    JJ
    Turk
    Anderson
    Howard

    Could this be a possiblity?

    • Steve Kyler

      I always find it amusing how many people think owners will just hand out money.

      If the Magic were to use the new stretch provision on JRich and Big Baby… they would be paying both of them for the next 9 years. They’d still be paying those guys longer than Howard and Dwill’s deals would be.

      If Deron Williams wants to be in Orlando, it happens via sign and trade… not walking away.

  4. Peter

    Hey Steve! Hope you had a great Christmas with the fam :) The East are dominated by Miami, Chicago and NY. Teams such as Orlando and Atlanta are on the down but they are still pretty decent. If you are Granger or Iguodala, would you consider moving to the West as it will present a better chance of going to the finals. With the HEAT, Knicks and Bulls ready to own the East for the next 8-9 seasons, there is absoltely no chance for Indiana or Philly to win a title :(

    • Steve Kyler

      There is always a chance…

      Who had Memphis and OKC going as deep as they went last year?… Everyone had the Spurs and Lakers being the power teams in the West.

      Who had Chicago winning 62 games? or the Hawks dropping Orlando in the first round?

      New York looked awfully average last night and showed how little depth they have… if Melo isn’t scoring a ton, the Knicks look bad.

      I don’t think the Pacers or the 76ers believe they are a title team this year, but can they be strong playoff contenders and challenge for home court? Thats the goal of a young team…

  5. Johnnie

    Why don’t the Lakers get Ramon Sessions? He’s Cheap, Young, and great in penetration which is highly needed for the Lakers. Trade the odom exception and a first round pick.

    • Steve Kyler

      Trades require two teams to make a deal.

      You are assuming the Cavs want that kind of deal or want to move Sessions… they might at some point, but right now, thats not where their thinking is.

      The Lakers can’t trade this years first round pick, so it would be a 2013 first round pick, so you are saying why won’t the Cavs give the Lakers Ramon Sessions for nothing that improves their team this year…. A TPE doesn;t help Cleveland, they’ll end up with another good pick this year all by themselves.

      Also at some point the Lakers have to start reloading through the draft.

  6. Mutang

    Two part question, completely unrelated: What the heck are the Pistons doing??? They stupidly resigned the over his peak Prince, and now arent’ even starting their young guys, Daye and even Knight. They need to start Knight with Stuckey and Day, Jerebko and Monroe. Gordon 6th man, right? Can Pistons Amnesty Prince??

    Also, Utah Jazz. And word on changes? Just going to be a young, bumpy year?

    • Steve Kyler

      No… the Amnesty provision can not be used on any deals signed under the new CBA… only legacy contracts from the old labor deal. It also can not be used on a legacy deal traded to another team.

      The Pistons are like a lot of young teams, trying to figure out what they have. The young guys will have to earn their minutes from Coach Frank and thats will come from playing defense.

      Jazz are not talking changes, I think they are in the same boat as Detroit… trying to figure out what they have… The Jazz put Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward into the starting lineup so I think you can see they are trying to go young, but also trying to win games too.

  7. Paul

    HI Steve,

    Wanna get in this question early . Just saw NYK-GSW . Cant take it . Amare , Chandler , Fields ( or Douglas) for D-12 and Turk? Then KNicks sign Arenas. Thoughts?

    • Steve Kyler

      No one outside of New York takes on that Amar’e Stoudemire contract… its uninsurable and its a massive risk only a few very deep pocketed teams can take. Chandler can not be traded until March 1st and Fields is a toss in with limited appeal or value.

      Keep in mind you are wanting to dump two terrible contracts ion the Magic, not sure they would go that way.

      Also if you think Gilbert Arenas is part of a solution, your problem is far bigger than you think.

  8. lewis1201

    what type of packages are out there for dwight? when can teams trade players they signed in the summer

    • Steve Kyler

      90 days from when they sign or March 1st — whichever comes first.

      The Magic have taken Dwight Howard off the trade market… so they are not fielding offers for him.

      His agent has been given permission to talk with the Lakers, Mavericks and Nets… so you can assume there is a channel for offers, but the Magic say they are not trading Howard.

      At some point thats going to change.

  9. Will

    Why don’t the Magic trade Dwight already,Orlando is not a contender with that roster.

    • Steve Kyler

      A player like Dwight is a once in a generation Big Man… the Magic will never get anything close to what Howard is right now in return.

      Its not the most ideal situation, but answer me this… if you knew your supermodel girlfriend was dumping you in July, would you be eager to end the relationship now… or milk it for all its worth until July, hoping something happens along the way that changes her mind?

      The Magic are milking Dwight for all its worth, hoping things swing their way.

  10. Will

    Where do you think Dwight ends up after the trade deadline?

    • Steve Kyler

      My gut tells me he’s in Orlando at the trade deadline.

      Keep in mind Dwight has one more year left on his deal… he has the “option” to be a free agent in July… the Magic still can cash him out at the draft, if he opts into his deal… there are lots of options left on this for both sides.

      There is tremendous risk for Orlando, but if Dwight opts out and walks away, he;s leaving almost $30 million on the table and the Magic do not believe he’ll do that.

      This situation is a little different than the LeBron/Cleveland situation because LeBron lost about $500K walking away from Cleveland… Dwight stands to lose a lot more than that if he walks from Orlando, its not enough to insure he stays, but its enough to insure he deals with Orlando is he decides to leave.

  11. James

    What’s your take on Norris Cole could he win Rookie of the Year? I see no rookies that stand out so far.

    • Steve Kyler

      After three games…. get out of here with that…. Brandon Knight had a nice game last night… he’s my dark horse.

      I like Norris Cole and he’ll get the hype to be a candidate, but whens the last time the 28th pick was even close to the Rookie of the Year, not sure its ever happened.

      I do think Mario Chalmers is about finished as Miami’s starter… but Norris is catching teams that don’t know or respect his game… thats going to change very soon.

  12. Jiggy

    Too bad for Westbrook, i think he is taking his way out of OKC. Could he be packaged for a significant peice back to OKC?

    • Steve Kyler

      Russ doesn’t make a lot of money yet ($5.08 million), so getting a better player in trade in return would be hard.

      This situation reminds me a lot of when Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury played in Minnesota together — they were a dynamic duo that struggled with sharing the spotlight.

      I do think too much is being made out of it, but there is a real issue at play… is Russ the #1 guy or is it KD… not sure Russell is comfortable with it being KD #1… but this happens with young teams, this is also what makes Russell such a good player.

      I think they will be fine, but if extension talks go sideways it wouldn’t surprise me to see Russell traded.

  13. Fred

    Hornets do not look like a lottery team to me. They play great team defense, and have been attacking the basket. If they play well what will they do with Kaman? And who will be pulling the strings on that decision????

    • Steve Kyler

      I agree… I am scheduled to be in New Orleans on the 11th and look forward to seeing how that locker room is coming together.

      Monty Williams is a very good coach, so they have solid leadership.

      As for pulling the strings on decision… the Hornets will be sold at some point in early 2012, until then Jac Sperling runs the day to day on behalf of David Stern and the NBA, Dell Demps is the GM and they make the decisions along with Hugh Weber the team president.

      Way too much was made about David Stern holding up the Chris Paul trade. Remember he was acting as owner of the Hornets. When it comes time to make major franchise altering trades, owners are very much involved.

      The Magic owners nixed a Dwight Howard trade… Stern as owner of the Hornets nixed a Paul deal.

      If the Hornets decide to move Chris Kaman, it will be a basketball decision that needs blessing from ownership… I doubt Stern is going to care much about what happens with Kaman, but with Paul he was the franchises most prized asset, so getting that right was important to being able to re-sell the team soon… Kaman doesn’t have that much impact.

      But never lose sight of this… until someone actually owns the Hornets, most of the decisions being made are about increasing or preserving the value of the team… thats gonna trump a lot of other things which is why getting it re-sold is the biggest issue facing the team.

  14. Thesonoftan

    Steve, any news on the magic taking trade with anyone other than Howard?

    • Steve Kyler

      Nope… I keep hearing chatter about a backup center, but those do not grow on trees… If the Magic trigger a deal it will be for a backup big man, until then Glen “big baby” Davis has to come off the bench and I am not sure thats where they;d really like him.

  15. TO Raptor

    Raptors need a point guard really bad. Any PGs available? How about Jose Calderon to Utah for Devin Harris? Devin can help match the more run and gun style of the Raps, while Jose matches Utah’s half-court sets.

    • Steve Kyler

      Jose’s contract is extremely undesirable and as you pointed out… he’s not that good of a player.

      He might be tradable next year as an ending deal, but with $10 million owed next year and just over $9.78 this year, he’s not worth the money, unless Toronto takes back a worse deal.

  16. Shad

    Milsap and Bell to the kings for Thorton and Thompson, who says no?

    • Steve Kyler

      The League.

      Marcus Thornton cannot be traded until March.

  17. Shad

    If you were the GM of the Utah Jazz and you had the number pick in the 2012 draft, would you draft another power forward?

    • Steve Kyler

      No… I’d look to trade down and grab Harrison Barnes and future draft considerations.

  18. ehmy

    do you think miami can get paul millsap for joel anthony and mike miller?

  19. Renny

    After seeing Wes Johnson show poorly again and really not having a designated shooter/drive to the lane type guy, do you see the Wolves ramping up trading for a SG?

    • Steve Kyler

      maybe… they have a lot of guys that look and play the same.

      Rick Adeleman is still finding his way with these guys and remember Wes really struggled with the Triangle last year, so he’s in a new system this year… and sharing minutes.

  20. Robert

    If you were in charge of the Magic would you have resigned J Rich or let JJ get his shot starting? It feels like JJ has a lot more going for him, at least for the moment.

    • Steve Kyler

      Yes, I’d have re-signed J Rich – he is an asset that was either sign him or lose him… starting or not starting is not about J-Rich, its about Stan Van Gundy.

      This is about Stan wanting J-Rich on the floor first and JJ second….

  21. SHAY

    Steve please tell why the lakers haven’t picked up a quicker pg? like a Nate Robinson or Gilbert A.

    • Steve Kyler

      You are assuming one is available thats better than the guards they have.

      Nate Robinson is not on a roster right now for a reason… same with Gilbert Arenas.

      The Lakers are contenders… albeit a little lower on the scale than they’d like – they are playing for a championship… are you telling me Nate Robinson and Gilbert Arenas are leading a team to a NBA championship?

      The Lakers drafted a good young guard in Darius Morris and are getting reasonable play out of Steve Blake… the Lakers biggest issues are missing Andrew Bynum and having a second year guy in Devin Ebanks starting, once Bynum is back and Ebanks is comfortable, the Lakers will be fine.

      They are thin, but who isn’t thin?

      Guys, I am out of time. Thanks for all the questions. Make sure you are following me on Twitter (@stevekylerNBA). Until next week have a great and safe New Year.