NBA Rumors Chat With Steve Kyler 9/29/11

1. Nick

   Do the cavs find someone to take jamison, davis, gibson or sessions off are hands?

   • Steve Kyler

     Doubtful, at least not in an equitable trade. If the labor deal on the table gets done, then you may see one or more Amnesty cuts, so that’s a consideration for Jamison and maybe Davis. Gibson and Sessions are tradeable players, just doubt you’d get back what you send out in terms of NBA talent.

2. Lee

   Is it a real possibility that the suns would trade robin Lopez for a measley package of 3 mil and a 2nd rounder? What player in today’s league does iman shumpert remind u of?

   • Steve Kyler

     You gotta stop with the Robin Lopez pipe dream questions every week. No, the Suns won’t be cashing out on Robin Lopez. You have to find a new question or I will start skipping you.

     On Shump-Shump… he reminds me of a young Tracy McGrady or a young Larry Hughes. Crazy athletic. High energy.

3. Jhayee

   do u think Drummond will be the 1st draft pick in 2012??

   ang do you think the bobcats plan is 2 not win games 2 getDrummond??

   tnx

   • Steve Kyler

     No the Bobcats aren’t “planning” to lose games… MJ wants to win too badly.

     Is Drummond the top guy? Doubtful, but alot of people have him as their top name because he “looks the part”. But remember, Harrison Barnes had the same pre-season hype and he didn’t even come out after his first year. I want to see him play before I jump on board with the Top pick hype.

4. john

   what do you think of the wolves this year?

   • Steve Kyler

     Have not seen them yet… I like the coaching hire, but until we see how the pieces fit under Adelman, hard to say. They have a ton of solid talent, but most of it is very young.

5. tony

   chances a deal gets done by monday? if you are the players except it now or except it later but lose paychecks.

   • Steve Kyler

     Still too close to call it. I think they have to make a choice, but having talked to the players side, they still feel like the longer they have waited the better their deal has gotten to this point. The Players are ready to lose checks… the question is are the Owners ready to lose regular season games.

     On September 29th – I am saying we’ll get the frame work of a deal this weekend, but it won’t look like whats out there in terms of deal points.

6. Alex

   Hey steve, since the commissioner is threatening a full season canceled, whats going to happen here? More layoffs? I know you guys said you will be covering the ncaa but seriously, nothing really goes on with college ball. I’m hoping you guys dont go sour like nba.com.

   • Steve Kyler

     There are no plans in place for either scenario. That said there are always business considerations because our guys do get paid to write. The good news is many of you still frequent the site to see what we have to say and to interact with us so as long as that does not change making further changes won’t be necessary. If traffic doesn’t hit the floor, changes won’t be necessary.

     Our tone will shift, just simply because we’re all running out of things to talk about. The upside to all of this is that we have a lot more players available to us in this situation so we;’ll continue to be where they are and to interact with them as much as we can.

     But the short answer is we won’t be going the way of NBA.com, that I can promise you.

7. Eldad

   Hello Steve. Got a question about lockout. Are the owners really united on the hard cap issue? What’s stopping them to make a “behind the curtains” deal that no one can bypass, say, 65 millions in salary? And then, of course, tell the players that they accept the soft cap. Could this be done?

   • Steve Kyler

     Are the owners really united on the hard cap issue?

     – Derek Fisher says they are not, and were not in the meetings he was part of. None of them are talking about the topic so it’s more of a “he said, she said”

     What’s stopping them to make a “behind the curtains” deal that no one can bypass, say, 65 millions in salary? And then, of course, tell the players that they accept the soft cap. Could this be done?

     - The process does not work that way… the groups at the table formulate the deal. If an owner went outside the process they could face nasty blow back including multi-million fines. Now are you asking could they make an informal deal among themselves?… that’s called collusion and is illegal, if it every came out the NBA could face serious legal blowback in the court system including damages.

8. Wile E Coyote

   The players say that a hard cap is a “blood issue” because it would result in non-guaranteed contracts. I can understand that stance. But then they reject a more punitive luxury tax system because it would act like a hard cap in terms of limiting spending, even though it would probably save guaranteed contracts. How can they be opposed to this? They are going to get their BRI share whether it be from a tax paying team, a rebuilding team, or a return of escrow money.

   • Steve Kyler

     I am sure that’s the debate over the weekend.

     Here is a concept that I neglected to consider that I heard from player after player while in Vegas… They don’t feel they need to change the system. No matter what we think or the owners’ think, if the Players don’t buy in, that’s where the impasse is.

     The Players concede the world is a different place economically, which is why they are giving up BRI share, but changing the system is not something they believe needs to change, hence why they are pushing back. They like this system and how this system works.

9. Wile E Coyote

   Do you think there is any chance of a deal this weekend? I don’t understand why they are bringing in the bigger groups? Unless there is an agreement ready for final discussion, it seems like it will hurt negotiations. Too many voices, so of which are hardline on both sides.

   • Steve Kyler

     I am optimistic, but there is still a HUGE divide in what is workable and whats on the table.

     Why are they bringing in bigger groups?… mainly because its go-time, they have to fast track the process and the more folks in the room the faster approval can happen.

     Yes it could hurt negotiations, but the general vibe is if there is going to be a deal, its gonna happen or its not.

10. Wile E Coyote

    Do you think Stern & Hunter have the ability to make a deal, given the hard-line owners & agents who are pushing them? Or is the gulf too big, with the mid-point being unacceptable to either side right now?

    • Steve Kyler

      No… actually neither has authority to make a deal, they sit with a committee that has control over this process. Both wield tremendous influence on their side, but neither can say “screw it, we’re making a deal”… just doesn’t work that way.

      About two weeks ago we got to the point where the Players thought they had a framework with Stern only to have it shot down by the Owners committee.

      Stern tends to get it to a workable point and say “OK, lets see what the committee’s think…”. neither could force a deal without the consent of their team.

11. Ap

    What do you think of Vince Carter for Richard Hamilton swap (works on trade machine)

    • Steve Kyler

      Vince Carter has a $4 million guarantee, so you are asking would Phoenix, a notoriously cash strapped team like Phoenix trade $4 million for $25 million?… doubtful. Vince will get cut unless Phoenix can trade him, and the only way they’d trade him is if they get a real asset back, otherwise they’ll cut him and save the cash.

12. Ap

    is it ok if i email you with suggestions for the site @ s.kyler@hoopsworld.com ?

    • Steve Kyler

      That’s not my e-mail… skyler@hoopsworld.com.

      We are always interested in feedback, but to be honest we’re not seeking “suggestions” on the site.

13. diehardNFFLbarnone

    Where do you see Dwight Howard ending up?

    • Steve Kyler

      Need a labor deal first. The one thing with Dwight is he “wants” to be in Orlando, but they need to build a winner around him. If they can pull that off with an Amnesty clause and gain some leverage with a Franchise player provision… he stays in Orlando.

      If the new labor doesn’t have those things, then he could be elsewhere, but keep in mind the Magic have their President and CEO Bob Vander Weide on the Labor Relations committee, so their interests are being voiced in the room .

14. AJ

    Are there superstars (like Williams, Paul, or Dwight) who would sign or extend in smaller markets (like Portland, Memphis, or OKC)if they got paid the same and had a great supporting cast?

    • Steve Kyler

      There are several parts to being a pro athlete… what you are paid to play… what you can earn in in endorsements and quality of life.

      Most guys look at the first two first, but when those things become even, playing for a great coach, in a great city or with a good team really start to matter. Once the money becomes the same other things factor in.

15. AJ

    There is talk about how an amnesty hurts the teams that have been managed well and have avoided bad contracts. Isn’t not having to pay someone who is not playing tens of millions, and getting to sign “amnestied” players a pretty good reward?

    • Steve Kyler

      None of this is about individual teams… this is one of those situations were its about helping the global health of the NBA… Revenue sharing sucks for the Lakers, Bulls and Knicks… but its necessary for the health of the NBA.

      There has not been a lot of talk inside these meetings about how a deal impacts one team or the other.

16. Josh

    Considering the Suns are looking to rebuild. What trades involving Lopez, Childress, and Pietrus could be beneficial. And how does Phoenix solve their issues at PG and SG with Nash getting close to retirement and Carter entering FA.

    • Steve Kyler

      Its way too early to try and speculate on trades mainly because we don’t know what the trade rules will be. There has been some talk that the current “dollar for dollar” plus 25% rule may go away to make trades easier to consummate. Once a labor deal is defined, it would be easier to say who would be buyers and who would be sellers. Where the cap gets set influences that too.

      From a top level, Childless is not work much in trade because of his contract. Lopez is someone they plan to keep and Pietrus is a marginal trade chip and likely the most moveable of the bunch.

17. Jacky

    Could raptors trade jose calderon and second round pick for Villaneuva and brandon knight? Raptors would use amnesty clause on villaneuva’s contract and get another young pg to add to their core of young players and detroit gets rid of CV’s contract and get a good passer in calderon, which could potentially help provide some team chemistry.

    • Steve Kyler

      Could raptors trade jose calderon and second round pick for Villaneuva and brandon knight? — they could. Doubt seriously that Detroit makes that deal, a terrible deal for them.

      You are putting too much value on Calderon.

18. Jesse

    Thank you for asking for the stop of the Robin Lopez question, it’s been on every chat!

    What happens with the players that signed in China, Wilson Chandler, JR Smith, etc? Are they locked in till their season ends, or is their a wink, wink deal?

    • Steve Kyler

      I try to be respectful of people wanting a variety of opinions, but when I can recall answering it, especially something as pointless as Robin Lopez for junk… that has gotta stop.

      All of the guys in China have guaranteed year-long deals. All of the agents I have spoken to about it remind that Chinese teams cut players like crazy especially if their seasons go sideways. That said the CBA, Chinese Basketball Association, will come down hard on teams trying to cheat their ruling so I wouldn’t expect a lot of monkey business.

      The CBA season runs until Late March with their Finals game typically being in late April, so those guys are likely gone until late March early April unless they get cut for injury, attitude or poor performance.

19. Jesse

    When is Susan’s movers and shakers going to do the centers? I enjoyed reading those, I’ve been waiting to read it.

    • Steve Kyler

      We’ll get that on the content plan… I think she has a Flex Fantasy piece on the schedule, so maybe she’ll hit that, its her call on “Flex” pieces. I try and let writers write about things they are interested in from time to time, so this week its her call. If she doesn’t hit that I’ll assign it next week.

20. Dong of Dayton

    Hey Steve,

    What do you think of the Kevin McHale hire in Houston? He didn’t seem to do that great in Minni

    • Steve Kyler

      The Minnesota players loved him. They played hard for him and they all speak glowingly of him. He just never had a lot of talent to work with.

      The Rockets are taking a chance with McHale, but they have surrounded him with good assistant coaches. He preached what the Rockets brass wanted to hear, so we’ll see how it goes.

21. Jesse

    One more question on the China, contracts…since Wilson Chandler is a restricted free agent, if he comes back in March/April is he capable of just signing till the end of the year and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer? How does that work?

    • Steve Kyler

      No,.. according to Larry Coon’s CBA Faq (www.cbafaq.com):
      

      A qualifying offer cannot be accepted after March 1. Teams may place a shorter time limit on their qualifying offer, specifying any date between October 1 and March 1 by which it must be accepted. If the deadline passes and the qualifying offer is neither withdrawn nor accepted, then the player continues to be a restricted free agent. The team and player are also still free to negotiate a new contract after the qualifying offer ends — the deadline only affects the player’s ability to accept the qualifying offer.
      

      So In short, he can not pick up his Qualifying Offer, but he can be signed for the balance of the season on Denver’s terms, or he can solicit offers from other teams or wait until July 1st 2012.

      Guys, thanks for all of the questions. I am out of time, but will get back at it next week. Until then make sure you are following me on Twitter (@stevekylerNBA)