Who would be on your all time leadership council?
- Oh boy. I actually thought about this on my bike ride this morning and came up with Shane Battier (intelligent, compassionate, BBIQ), Jared Dudley (BBIQ and funny) and Klay Thompson (Klay Thompson)
With the new rule changes, much as been made about how that impacts the Trae Young's, James Harden's, etc. Defensively, do you think it benefits a type of defensive scheme more than another?
- That is a great question. My instinct is that it will help defenders responsible for navigating around screens (since they often end up behind the ballhandler and can get hit with these), so that would mean a hedge-and-recover would benefit more. Seems like switching benefits less since the whole point is to avoid those seams/recoveries.
Also: how do you quantify what a bad owner is?
- I'll start with this one and think about the other owner question. There are many ways an owner can be destructive but the biggest are a refusal to spend sufficiently on the roster when the team is ready to compete and lack of organizational competence (hiring the wrong people, retaining the wrong people, firing/losing good people, etc)
Danny, with Ja Morant looking much improved in last year's playoff and to start this year, if he is able to develop a quality or even decent 3 point shot with volume, where do you think his upside is as a PG? As a bonus, where do you think Ja compares to Zion at this time and because of Zion's limitations defensively as a big, do you think Ja possibly has the higher upside as it stands now?
- Last question first: you do not even need the "possibly" there as there is a totally reasonable argument Ja will have the better career. As a point guard, the question is where Ja falls on the "him alone" test and his combination of athleticism and handle with even a decent jump shot would be dangerous, as it has been this year (SSS) and he is only 22 so plenty of time to keep improving. Not saying it is an easy call one way or the other because Zion is incredible but availability and fitting each into a team concept makes it a discussion that does not need as much couching.
What do you make of Memphis' early struggles on defense, and how much of that can be remedied by a healthy Dillon Brooks?
- This may actually be the topic of their 15 in 60 section but a quick preview of sorts: The #'s are definitely bad (30th in DefRtg for those who have not looked) but for me both the stats and eye test make me less concerned. Not having Brooks is a factor and the Grizz are giving up the second-highest 3PT% (40.6), which will regress to the mean. Bigger concern is not forcing turnovers- Brooks will help but something I want to keep an eye on.
Is there a reason you have mostly ignored the 75th anniversary team so far? Are you planning to look at it in more detail at some point?
- Two reasons. 1. I personally am not sufficiently knowledgeable about NBA history to feel like an authority on subject matter this broad so I have not pushed to discuss it. 2. The league put out the list in staggered fashion during the first week of the season, a time when Nate and I are watching as much action as possible to get a sense of the players and teams, so it really got lost in the shuffle. As such, I would recommend listening to Ben Taylor's work on the subject (I'm partway through his initial podcast on it and enjoying that quite a bit)
Let’s say Kyrie just isn’t playing this year. The Nets could potentially get out of the tax and get a huge trade exception by trading him to OKC. What would they have to include to get it done?
- They would have to give up a TON, especially if Kyrie is unwilling to play for the Thunder. After all, Presti is already paying one PG over $26 million to not take the court for them and matching salary gets even tougher without Horford to include. The more likely scenario is either a two-way trade for someone who is capable but really overpaid on a less competitive team (lowering the asset price) or a three-way deal but those are hard to suss out in this case because it's so damn confounding.
Why do you think Boston doesn't use Brown/Tatum in PNR action together more often?
- While some teams mess up the communication, like-sized players screening for each other just begs for the opponent to switch the action, so presumably Tatum and Brown are not creating the same level of mismatch as if a differently-sized player screens for either, no matter what coverage scheme they are using.
if Jokic were to have gone down, how bad would Denver have been? it feels like something that would have sparked a tank.
- They did much better in the early segment of the second half than I expected but yeah, it would have gotten rough when Will Barton, Monte Morris and Facundo Campazzo (or Bones!!) are your best creators for teammates.
It seems like the pels are on their way to another trip to the lottery with the Zion news and how they have looked in their early season performance. Is their a way to improve the Pelicans for next season, such as trading assets along with picks for SGA if the thunder miss out on lottery luck, that could convince Zion that the Pels are a long term fit?
- Is Myles Turner available? 🙂 I do not think the Pelicans have the juice for a Shai trade unless Presti is really interested in Ingram because an underrated part of the Pelicans' story is that their draft picks from other teams are not very high-upside. Extra firsts from the Lakers (LeBron will age but still have AD) and Bucks (old then but still have Giannis probably) may end up being good but do not have a ton of sizzle right now. Bigger picture, I think the Pels need to see how things work with Zion before making any moves because the roster will make a lot more sense once he is in there.
If you were coaching the Lakers in the playoffs, with an unchanged and fully fit roster - what line up would you start / close with, and what role would Westbrook have?
- The centerpieces are obviously LeBron and AD. It would change by situation (opponent, margin/time, etc) but LBJ, AD, Russ, Ariza or Bazemore (depending on the other team's best offensive player), and Elllington, Monk or Melo (depending on who is shooting better and positional need). I do NOT feel great about those choices though, part of why I have been so critical of Pelinka's offseason.
What skills do you think have become more/less important since you started covering the league in detail?
- Like many people, I used to care a lot more about isolation defense because it is easy to grasp at first and feels super important. Two that I appreciate more now are defensive scheme versatility and jump shot versatility, the latter something that existed a decade ago but I did not really get and the former was less of a thing since the league has changed so much.
have you seen any of the Sengun minutes early on? What have you thought.
- I have- mostly in their opening night ass-kicking which Nate and I did for the #NBACast. Definitely intrigued by Sengun's instincts, passing and movement but wondering how he fits in defensively in 2-5 years when the mental part of big man defense is closer to fully formed.
What do you think is the main reason for the struggles of James Harden, and do you can think they will continue to persist? How does that impact the Nets chances?
- He is coming back from a series of hamstring injuries, the last of which occurred just four months ago. Not super worried yet.
Ok Danny, here is one right up your alley. Who is the best player in the league who currently fails the Nene test?
- First off, let's throw out unavailable players and focus solely on 2021-22 salary since that is the most fun way to do this. What's funny is this made me look at actual contract values because some of my early thoughts (Conley, Draymond) make less than I remembered. Every All-NBA player is worth their $ so it has to be a next-tier player. CJ, Siakam and Westbrook feel like reasonable candidates but I would love to see who you all think fits the bill.
Who is the best player 21 and under and why is it ANT?
- Biggest non-rookie contenders are probably Ant, Zion and LaMelo. As much as he has improved, I'd have Edwards third of that group and we'll have to see how the 2021 draftees fit with a larger sample. Totally plausible guys like Cade, Jalen Green and Mobley pass him too even with a strong season for Edwards
early returns on the Jarrett Allen signing? And the Cavs in general?
- Cavs are my biggest surprise so far. Legitimately enjoying watching them on both ends of the floor. I would say early returns on Allen are good but not insane- still a similar role within the offense, albeit with insane early efficiency. Very interesting that they have been TERRIBLE on the defensive glass with him on the floor- I want a larger sample of both stats and eye test before grappling with that.
Okay Danny, time to come clean: Is your oft repeated "concept of undeniability" an attempt to sound very smart while also saying "this dude can get a bucket" and if so, can we drop the charade
- Similar but not the same. Lots of times the benefit of undeniable players is actually for teammates- think about the quality of looks Curry's teammates get because of the attention he generates. Fair to argue they are close but I see it as more of a scheme/planning thing than just "this guy gets buckets"
Assuming Ben Simmons gets his way & forces his way out to one of his preferred teams with 3+ years on his deal...
Is that as big of a game-changer as the owners claim?
Does the answer to that question depend on whether or not Morey is able to get 'value' for Simmons?
- I do not think Simmons "getting his way" would be that big of a game-changer. The Anthony Davis situation in New Orleans and its resolution were even wilder when you consider the difference in player quality and the point within the season.