You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 12/20/2022
powered byJotCast
Luke Adams
12:01
Thanks for all the early questions, guys! Just sorting through them and will get underway in a sec...
Trog
12:03
Is there a point to having conferences and divisions any more? In the playoffs, wouldn't it be more apropos to seed the teams 1-12 with 13-20 the play-in games? It seems with expanded playoffs, we are left with teams (ex: 13-18 Toronto) that really don't have any business making it in when there are teams with the same or better record in the other conference.
Luke Adams
12:05
Your proposal makes sense in theory. The biggest practical roadblocks are probably travel- and schedule-related. If you're just ranking teams 1 through 20, it doesn't make sense to have them play unbalanced schedules (ie. playing 3-4 times against teams from their own conference and twice against inter-conference opponents).
12:06
But balancing the schedule would result in teams having to travel a lot more, at a time when the NBA is working to reduce travel (with visiting teams playing back-to-back games in the same city, etc.). If the league were ever willing to reduce the number of games from 82, it'd be an ideal time to consider revamping playoff seeding too.
Some Guy
12:06
What is the Lakers best course of action? Obviously, they can't trade LeBron because he just signed that extension, but what else can they really do? They have basically no assets which makes rebuilding unviable, but they can't compete as injury-riddled and shallow as their roster is.
Luke Adams
12:08
I mean, if they weren't the Lakers and LeBron weren't LeBron, I think it'd be quite obvious that their best play is to either stand pat or maybe even sell (not that they have a whole lot to sell). Because we think LeBron only has so many years left at this level, there's a sense of urgency there to improve right away, but I don't see any deals that would make them a legitimate title threat, especially if they can't count on AD to be healthy.
If they can sell LeBron on going all-in for 2023/24, they should wait until the summer to do anything big.
Kj
12:09
With All-Star voting starting today please give me one player from each conference that should be first time all stars this year and give me one player from each conference that made it last year but will not be there this year
Luke Adams
12:11
I'll take Tyrese Haliburton as my first-time All-Star in the East and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the West.
12:13
There are some guys who were All-Stars last year who I don't expect to see this year due to injuries. LaMelo Ball, Khris Middleton, Karl-Anthony Towns, etc.
Also seems safe to assume that guys like Fred VanVleet and Chris Paul won't be back
Right Field Rob
12:13
Foes the Warriors FO get a pass on some iffy draft results, based on previous success and one home run pick of Poole?
Luke Adams
12:15
It's fair to second-guess the Wiseman pick, since they were questioned at the time for taking him over LaMelo Ball. I think it's too early to conclude that Kuminga and Moody won't turn out to be good NBA players. In my opinion, their up-and-down contributions so far just reflect the challenges of trying to incorporate raw prospects into a contending, veteran-heavy team.
Lon
12:16
Now that the Suns have been sold (Woj just broke the story) do you think they will look to make upgrades and go all in for a title.
Luke Adams
12:17
A little too soon to know how the new ownership group will approach things, but Robert Sarver was never super-enthusiastic to spend and new owners are, in general, happy to throw money around during their first year or two. So yeah, they look like a better bet to go all-in (or something close to it) than they were yesterday.
exp team
12:17
Which cities do you think should get an nba team?  Seattle and Las Vegas seem to be a natural location, but what about Nashville or Kansas City?
Luke Adams
12:19
As fun as it is to speculate about new NBA cities, we might be overthinking the next round of expansion -- going from 30 to 32 teams is the most logical play (you can create very balanced conferences/playoffs with 32 teams) and Seattle and Vegas look like the clear favorites to get teams. I'd be surprised if the next round of expansion doesn't simply involve giving teams to those two cities.
Herro Ball
12:20
You see the Heat as the best "hovering around .500" team to make a push after the break for a much higher tiered seed in the east? They have been decimated by injuries
Luke Adams
12:21
Yeah, I wasn't all that high on the Heat's title chances heading into the season, but I think they're better than what they've shown so far and I consider them more likely than Atlanta to make a big push up the standings. Don't think any other "hovering around .500" teams in the East are real threats (though I wouldn't write off the Raptors quite yet).
Arcman
12:22
The trade price for players who are free agents at the end of the year is very high.  Will GMs come down on their trade demands closer to the trade deadline?
Luke Adams
12:22
They almost always do. No need for them to settle when we still have a month and a half until the deadline.
Randy
12:23
Will the Utah jazz make a trade at the deadline
Luke Adams
12:24
I'd be surprised if they don't, but I still don't have a good sense of which direction they'll go. The Jazz are a team that can afford to (and should) wait a few more weeks to see where they are in the standings before pulling the trigger on anything. If they fall out of the top 10 in the West, it'd be a lot easier to justify selling off a couple more veterans.
Guest
12:25
After this season, if the Lakers have 30M in cap space they can either use it in FA (not many options) or in a trade correct?  I think they should keep Russ, trade Nunn for Reddish (now) and Bev for Crowder (now).  They have to maximize LeBron and gamble that AD gets healthy.
Luke Adams
12:27
Correct, re: their cap room. As for your trade suggestions, I imagine the Suns would ask for a first-round pick for Crowder and the Knicks would want a couple second-rounders for Reddish. I'm a little skeptical we'll see the Lakers give up those sort of assets for somewhat marginal upgrades (I don't dislike Crowder and Reddish, but I don't think they're winning you a playoff series either).
Cam
12:27
You think if the Rockets deal EG, is that going to be closer to the deadline? Don’t see any real reason to hold onto him and he deserves to go to a winning situation. They are saying they want a young player or future first. Likelihood that happens? Thanks!
Gomer
12:27
Will the Pistons trade Bogdanovic?
Luke Adams
12:28
Grouping these two questions together because my answer to one is sort of instructive of how I view the other...
12:30
Re: Gordon, I think the Rockets made a mistake by holding onto him as long as they have. He's about to turn 34 and isn't hitting 41% of his threes like he did last season or averaging 18 points per game like he did the year before. The fact that his contract is essentially expiring is a plus, but I suspect they'll be hard-pressed to get a quality first-round pick for him unless they're willing to take on some unwanted multiyear money. Maybe a heavily protected first.
12:31
Re: Bogdanovic, I suspect the Pistons may take a similar path to the one the Rockets did with Gordon, setting a high asking price because they know he's under contract for multiple years and they'll have more chances to move him down the road. That could be a mistake -- when a guy is playing this well at age 33, the best play could be to cash in while he's healthy and thriving.
Kj
12:32
With the Bulls getting trounced by Minnesota the other day at this point I think we only have three options what would you do? A. Hope that Ball gets back by February and make a last push to the playoffs B. Not a full blow up but unfortunately take some serious calls on Derozen(zach contract too high) or C. Full rebuild
Luke Adams
12:36
I'd rank them in that order in terms of likelihood: A, B, C. They'll wait on Ball as long as they can, since the assets they'd get for DeRozan and other vets shouldn't be much different at the deadline than it would be now.
As for what they SHOULD do...They remind me a little of the Wizards, in that they put themselves in a position where they had to give their star free agent a huge contract this past summer, but don't have enough talent around that star to be a real contender. I'd be tempted to choose a full rebuild if I thought they could get huge packages for their best players, but I'm not sure how much they'd realistically get for LaVine or Vucevic at this point.
bulls fan
12:36
What is going on in Chicago.  They have a good roster, i would say health plays a factor into their disappointing season, but how much can you put on injuries?  Do you think they will start trading away players or do you think they will add players to help improve their season?
Luke Adams
12:39
Meant to attach this question to the last one, but I will say that the Bulls' talent level is somewhat deceiving since their best players aren't really two-way/all-around stars -- LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic aren't great defenders, and only LaVine is a reliable three-point threat. Lonzo Ball is the one starter who gave them a lot on both sides of the ball, which is one big reason his absence has hurt so much.
Right Field Rob
12:39
Can you name some possible veterans the Warriors might target in a Wiseman swap?  Is it likely it’ll take a three team trade to get the player they want?
Luke Adams
12:40
I like the idea of them targeting someone like Jakob Poeltl but they haven't really shown the inclination to spend trade assets or big money on centers in recent years. Crowder or another three-and-D guy makes some sense.
Kj831
12:40
There was some hype that the Warriors wanted Caruso from the Bulls. If the Bulls blow it up any chance a swap for Wiseman for Caruso.
Luke Adams
12:41
Caruso is more D and less 3, but he'd be another intriguing target to fill the role Gary Payton II played last season.
CBA
12:41
Do you think there might be changes to the way veteran contract extensions work in the next CBA? For guys with below market value contracts, it hurts the incumbent teams -- and players -- to be limited to offering 120% of the avg salary or 120% of whatever they're currently making if it's above the avg (like Kuzma). I suppose it makes things more interesting as far as FA and the trade deadline, but if a player wants to re-sign during the season and the team wants to keep him, but the numbers don't work, why have it limited to that amount? Seems kind of arbitrary.
Load More Messages
Connecting…