NBA Rumors Chat With Steve Kyler 7/5/12

1. Art

   Steve, is there a path to Brooklyn for D12 after they sign Lopez, Johnson, Williams and Wallace? If the Magic don’t take back some of these bad contracts how would Brooklyn clear enough cap space for Howard?

   • Steve Kyler

     Welcome in everyone… hope the first week of free agency has been crazy enough for you. If you missed anything, check out the 2012 NBA Free Agency Diary. There are lots of questions in the hopper, so lets get after them.

     Yes there is a path to a deal, but it does not look like a deal the magic want one-to-one. The Magic would need to re-trade the stuff Brooklyn could send to make it work for them.
     They have no need or interest in Kris Humphries and while they are not turned off by Brook Lopez, they won’t do a monster contract for him which is what it would take to get something done with Brook.

     From what I have heard the Magic have started talks with teams about the guys they can get for Dwight, to see what they could return for those new guys.

     For instance… if they can get Humphries, who else wants him and what would they give Orlando? Is there another team interested in Brook Lopez, if so what would they give?

     That is where this becomes complex because there are lots of guys being tossed Orlando’s way and in the end they’d want to clean up as much as they can in whatever deal they do.

     As for cap space, the Nets won’t need space… they can trade for Dwight… it just gets nearly impossible to get a total salary up over $74 million… as it stands now, they have Deron committed at roughly $20 million, obtained Joe Johnson and $19.5 and have a commitment from Gerald Wallace at under $10 million for the first season… so those three combine for $49.5 million… there are cap holds and other things on the books, but just ball parking those guys… they have the ability to get to $74 million meaning they have roughly $24.5 million to play with in trade scenarios…. Dwight would be $19.5 million of that. Its not easy, but they could get there if all sides wanted to.

2. IMPULSE

   WHAT IS THE WEAKNESS OF OKC

   • Steve Kyler

     Experience and the five spot.

     Cole Aldrich will get a chance this summer to prove he can play… Kendrick Perkins will get healthy. Eric Maynor is almost there in terms of being ready to take the court after his ACL and Reggie Jackson will be better, so the Thunder are getting there.

3. Losang

   Hello from high in the Himalayas!
   Aren’t you one of the bosses of this business? Could you let us know when your chatters will not be able to make their chats? Susan Bible, Pincus, etc recently. Not any BBall where I am so I do like hoopsworld’s chats.
   Overall your site is excellent.

   • Steve Kyler

     We try and let you know when things change… but recently we moved HOOPSWORLD to a cloud based server solution and it has not gone nearly as well as expected… we continue to make changes to accommodate the spikes in traffic we expected, but we have simply outgrown a single server-type solution.

     Our tech team continues to work diligently as making the site faster, more stable and more functional… but we don;t ever want to risk the site being offline for long periods of time, so changes are being implemented slowly… Recently some tech issues have claimed a couple of chats, but if we could have notified you, we would have held the chat.

     We do not operate out of a central office, so our guys are in the field and like all things we are slaves to the news that needs to be covered and sometimes moving chats or cancelling chats is required to manage the unforeseen.

     Alex Kennedy is always a moving target but thats why he’s become one of our top guys because he works so hard.

     Chats are important to us, and keeping the schedule is an important part, but things do change quickly in our world so we have to adjust from time to time.

4. Jazzaholic

   Your thoughts on the trades bringing Mo and Marvin Williams to the Jazz?

   • Steve Kyler

     Love it… got guys that can play and improve the talent of the team. They are also Ty Corbin type guys and I think thats extremely important.

5. raps fan nova

   Great chat as always. Raps questions. What do you think of the raps draft choice; would they have been better off getting drummond and moving him for a proven 3? does this mean derozan is going to play the 3 or will ross? What do you think of L.Fields to the raps? where does he fit? or just a ploy to get the knicks not to match? lastly, who do you amnesty, calderon or a.johnson? who has more trade value?

   thanks,

   • Steve Kyler

     What do you think of the raps draft choice; would they have been better off getting drummond and moving him for a proven 3?
     — I LOVE Terrence Ross… he is a relentless and lethal scorer. You can never have too much of that. Drummond would never play with Jonas in the mix. Drummond was a huge risk pick, and landing in Detroit is perfect because there is no pressure or expectation. T Ross will improve the Raptors offensively for sure.

     does this mean derozan is going to play the 3 or will ross?
     — I don’t think it means anything in the short term, but the Raptors will have to do a long term deal with DeMar soon, so having Ross gives you options. Ross needs to add bulk and I think as a 6th man at first he’ll be offense and energy behind DeMar who could play some three if needed/.

     What do you think of L.Fields to the raps? where does he fit? or just a ploy to get the knicks not to match?
     — Raptors say they targeted Landry from the jump, so I wouldn’t say a ploy… he’s who they wanted at Small Forward.

     lastly, who do you amnesty, calderon or a.johnson? who has more trade value?
     — Not sure I would amnesty either unless you need the money. Which today they do not. Why would you pay either guy to go play elsewhere if you are not using their money to upgrade. At the deadline Jose is externally attractive in trade, so unless an big fish lands on their doorstep, I wouldn’t waste amnesty until you need it.

6. Raph

   How legitimate is this Dwight to Brooklyn rumor? Where do you see him ending up November 2012?

   • Steve Kyler

     They are talking… not sure they are anywhere close to a decision yet so it would be hard to predict without it being 100% a guess. I really try not to do that in a chat because it gets repeated elsewhere as me saying “Dwight is going here…”

     I really don’t have a sense of where Orlando is going to go with Dwight. They are being really smart about this and not being emotional, so that generally ends up being a good deal.

     I don’t think you’ll hear anyone saying “we never got Orlando to call us back on him…” – they are being thorough.

7. Jay

   What’s good Steve!!Portland offered Roy Hibbert a max deal,,i like Big Roy but i don’t think hes a max player..so if i am INDIANA i would let him walk and i will go hard after Eric Gordon or Brandon Roy at SG and Javale Mcgee at Center,,Mcgee is cheaper and i think his going to be better IF he can get his head right..what do u think??

   • Steve Kyler

     I agree that Roy is not a max guy, but the Blazer knew they’d have to pay a $2 or $3 million premium to get him out of Indiana. I think the Pacers will match, but not sure that will be smart for Indiana, except that it will be a 4 year deal with smaller raises.

     Gordon already committed to Phoenix so he’s off the board. JaVale is closing in on a new deal with Denver and Brandon Roy is likely going to Golden State.

     JaVale is restricted too so even if Indiana offered say 4 years and $40 million, Denver would match that. Chris Kaman seems to be the Pacers’ fall back guy.

8. Wil

   Hi Steve, so if you were Orlando, which options would you take for Dwight? HOU (lots of midlevel talent and cap relief), ATL (Horford and change), or BN (Lopez and Brooks). For my money, I’d go HOU for the assets and cap relief (and to make Bill happy), as Horford on his own won’t get it done, and I don’t trust overpaying Lopez. Thoughts?

   • Steve Kyler

     I am sure Rob Hennigan is really concerned about Bill’s happiness :0)

     For my money… I am doing a deal with Atlanta… If you can get some of the pieces from the Joe Johnson trade. Land Horford and unload Duhon or JRich off on Atlanta as the price for Howard, I’d do it.

     Howard, JRich and Duhon equal $26.73 million in outgoing salary. The Magic have to take back $20.04 million… Give me Horford , DeShawn Stevenson, Petro and Jordan Williams and a draft pick or two… I’d do that deal.

9. Gabe

   I think the Mavs should go hard for Lin and Mayo. Pay more than Memphis and New York can handle. They’d both be really good fits and young. That’ll be the backcourt for the next 5 years. I’m sure Dallas finds would be happy with Lin after losing out on D-Will and OJ Mayo would be able to shine more in Dallas because Memphis had SO many weapons.

   • Steve Kyler

     Mayo is unrestricted so what Memphis will pay is irrelevant… he can go where he wants to be.

     Overpaying for Lin is foolish… remove the Lin-sanity hype… 14.6 points 6.2 assists 3.1 rebounds on 3.6 turnovers per game and coming off a significant knee injury. He shoots 44.6% from the field and 32.0% from three.

     Thats 15th best among point guards in scoring. 19th in FG%. 48th from three. 17th in assists.

     He is an average guard at best… could he improve? sure. Smart kid who wants to work hard. Knicks are matching almost anything offered, so its moot.

10. Alex in Burbank

    Whoa!! Steve Nash a Laker!! I still can’t believe it. Are we getting Howard or what? Because if we do, that would be a sick team! At least for a couple of years no?

    • Steve Kyler

      The Lakers would “take” Howard, but they are not doing anything crazy to get him unless he commits to a long-term concept… either extension now or a verbal commitment to re-sign in July.

      I think the Lakers would do a Howard-Jason Richardson trade for Bynum and Metta World Peace — not sure they’d agree to much more than that. They do not need to.

11. Deven

    How surprised are you that Nash chose LA over New York?

    • Steve Kyler

      Not really… when it got out that the Lakers were serious, I thought LA was a better fit for Nash as a player. The Knicks situation is tough because of Carmelo and how much he needs the ball. Once the money became equal, I think being on the West Coast mattered a lot.

      That is one of the reasons I said from the jump I thought he was staying in Phoenix.

      That is an awful lot of money tied into a guy thats 38-years old.

12. calvinzero

    What’s next for the Lakers after they got Nash?

    • Steve Kyler

      Trying to get Rashard Lewis and Grant Hill.

      I think they will do right by Ramon Sessions and help him do a sign and trade, so there is something there in return, either a Traded Player Exception and a draft pick or a veteran player.

13. Deven

    Please tell me Jeremy Lin will be back with the Knicks.

    • Steve Kyler

      More than likely… the Poison Pill year of the offers are the last year for Melo, Stoudemire and Chandler… so it only hits the Knicks hard for one year and its a year when those three are ending contracts and likely more attractive in trade if the Knicks wanted to try and dump one at the deadline for tax reasons.

14. Devonte

    if your the knicks and the raptors want landry fields why not try to work out a sign and trade and maybe get terrence ross in return?

    • Steve Kyler

      Raptors don’t need to. They can do the deal without New York and Ross is a top 10 pick, so no chance they are giving that up to “help” the Knicks.

      Now if they want Gary Forbes or something like that… maybe.

15. Devonte

    anyway the knicks can trade for brandon jennings?

    • Steve Kyler

      Not a reasonable one. Milwaukee not dumping him for Knicks scraps.

16. Laura Vandervoort

    Why does Batum hate p-town? All we’ve shown this dude is mad love! Or is it a lie and a rumor? Thanks babe.

    • Steve Kyler

      I wouldn’t say hate… but look guys don’t get to choose where they are drafted… they have to make the best of it and the Blazers have been wildly dysfunctional for a while.

      Last year was not fun for those guys, and I think when the Blazers did not do an extension for Nic last year he soured on the team and their commitment to him.

      I say this a lot… the last thing you want guys thinking about at contract time is how much of a business this is… you want them believing in loyalty, family and team… its all bullshit, but thats why its hard to play tough at contract time because that can turn guys off.

      I have always found that the truth lies somewhere in the middle of whats being reported and whats being said.

      I think Nic would like to play somewhere else. Not sure he hates Portland, but he’s surely not trying to make it work there either.

17. Donald

    Can a team such as the Pacers or Hornets match and sign there RFA and then imediately trade them?

    • Steve Kyler

      No… if they both sign Offer Sheets which they can not do until July 11th… those teams either match and assume the terms of the Offer or they let them go with no compensation.

      Now, all parties can face reality that their guys want to be elsewhere and work out sign and trade deals… but that has to happen before those guys ink Offer Sheets. It can happen after if both parties agree, but by the time a guy puts pen to paper that road has been traveled.

      As soon as a guy gets an offer they would sign, their agent generally lets the home team know so they can start talking sign and trade if thats where things are.

      In Gordon and Hibert’s case, both home teams knew what their guys wanted contractually and had the chance to sign them before they talked to other teams.

18. james durendale

    any chance that jeremy lin agrees to the offer that the rockets offered him?

    • Steve Kyler

      He is seriously considering it. He’s looking for the biggest number possible so unless someone offers more he’ll sign it. Its somewhat moot because the Knicks will match it.

19. james durendale

    are the orlando magic and the houston rockets still talking?

    • Steve Kyler

      Orlando is still talking with everyone… they are nowhere close to a deal.

20. james durendale

    do you think that the bulls will match the rockets offer to omer asik?

    • Steve Kyler

      Yes. The deal doesn’t get ugly until year 3 and a lot can happen between now and then.

      $5 million for Omer next year is not silly money. $5.2 for the following year isn’t either. You deal with Year 3 when you get to Year 3.

21. james durendale

    do houston rockets questions offend you? please just answer one of them, that’s the only reason i’m sending so many

    • Steve Kyler

      Not at all.

      I try to answer them as they come in… I bounce around a little but I do not look for questions. The next one presented is the one I answer unless I answered it already.

22. cowboy jay z

    No creative thinking for orl? Should have signed sessions… Your take?

    • Steve Kyler

      Jameer nelson is an asset. You can’t let assets walk away without compensation and he is a known commodity in Orlando. I don’t think Jameer signing has anything to do with what they do next. It just means they have a starting point guard.

23. Losang

    Didn’t Batum tweet that the quote of his hating Portland was not his?

    • Steve Kyler

      What else is he going to say when someone says to a reporter “he hates the Blazers and never wants to come back”… I don’t think the situation is as extreme as all thats been said, but his camps actions from the start of this has shown he’s not on-board.

      I think the Blazers knew it too. I was told of a discussion in their draft room regarding losing Batum, I think thats why they looked so hard at Moe Harkless and Terrence Ross.

      Nic does not control the situation and he may have to go back to Portland, so why would he give any legs to such a story.

24. Danny

    Is their a possibility the Bulls can do a sign and trade to get oj mayo? Maybe trade rip and cj watson or ronnie brewer and get mayo for about 8-9 mill a year?

    • Steve Kyler

      Possible? Yes. Probable? No. Bulls are right there in terms of Luxury Tax, they won’t take on a another monster deal unless they move real money out with it. Watson and Brewer can go away… so you;d have to include say Rip Hamilton to do something like that.

      Its not something the Bulls are actively exploring.

      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.