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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 11/22/2022
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Luke Adams
12:01
Thanks for the early questions, guys. Making my through them now, so we'll get underway in just a sec.
Tanking
12:02
Quite a few teams (Jazz, Pacers, kings) are off to surprisingly good starts. Do you see any of these teams regressing like the bulls did last year? Bulls was mainly due to injuries last year.
Luke Adams
12:03
The difference between the Jazz and Pacers this year and the Bulls last year is that the Bulls had just loaded up in the hopes of contending -- Utah and Indiana came into this year considered two of the primary players in the Wembanyama sweepstakes. As constructed, they're probably too good to be bottom-five teams, but I'm also skeptical they're as good as we've seen so far, and they'll be far more willing than last year's Bulls were to throw in the towel if they get hit hard by injuries.
12:04
I was relatively high on the Kings coming into the year and I think they're mostly for real (not as a title contender or anything, but as a slight above-.500 team whose offense is strong enough to make up for a subpar defense), so I'm not expecting major regression from them.
Josh
12:05
Should the sixers use the open roster spot with all of these injures?
Luke Adams
12:07
They're in the tax, so any signing will cost them more than it would if they weren't a taxpayer (and would make it a little trickier to duck below the tax at the trade deadline). But... I mean, it's not my money, so yeah, they should use it! If they were to sign someone to a non-guaranteed contract, it could essentially function like a 10-day deal -- you'd just waive the player if you start to get healthier and you figure you don't need him anymore, and you're only on the hook for his per-day salary while he was on your roster.
Benny the Bull
12:07
The Donovan and Lavine thing: big deal or no big deal?
Luke Adams
12:09
On a scale of 1-10, I'd probably put it around a 3 or 4. You would've liked LaVine to say "I was frustrated but I fully respect the decision when I'm playing that badly." But as a standalone incident, it's no big deal. If it happens again and LaVine continues not to take it well, that 3 or 4 could start to climb higher.
MagicMike
12:09
Do you think the Magic using four tall  forwards and a point guard is a viable to approach to building a winning club?
Luke Adams
12:12
It can work with the right personnel -- the Raptors have had some success with similar sets. But Toronto has struggled to handle star centers (like Embiid in last year's playoffs) and to generate half-court offense. The Magic might be a little better equipped for the former, but the latter could be a concern for them too.
Some Guy
12:13
The Kevin Heurter trade might be the best trade the Kings have made since Peja for Artest. The value he adds as a shooter alone to clear the lane for Sabonis/Fox to go to work makes them much better. Am I right to feel that way?
Luke Adams
12:14
Adding Monk and Murray didn't hurt either, but Huerter has certainly been the best of the three so far. It's too bad Huerter couldn't help the defense as much as he's helped the spacing on offense, though I imagine the cost would've been a lot higher if he were capable of that!
Victor
12:14
Bol Bol is having a tremendous year with the Magic so far.  Do you see him winning or being in the running to win Most Improved Player?  If not, who do you got for that award?
Luke Adams
12:16
I love what Bol Bol is doing and he'd certainly get MIP votes if the season ended today. But the award is typically won by a guy who makes the leap to stardom rather than a non-contributor who becomes a reliable rotation player. Off the top of the head, that might be someone like Desmond Bane or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season. We'll see though -- long way to go still.
Selling off
12:17
It’s still early but it’s looking quite competitive in both the east and west. Which teams are more likely to sell off. I could see the bulls selling off a couple pieces due to injuries and fit.
Luke Adams
12:19
The Bulls... maybe. The fact that the Magic control Chicago's first-round pick with top-four protection is a wild card though. Tanking wouldn't guarantee the Bulls keep that pick, since even the NBA's worst team has about a 50/50 chance to fall out of the top four. The Hornets look to me like the more obvious candidate in the East -- they're going nowhere this season, especially if Ball isn't healthy.
12:21
I think the Heat will be fine, but if their injury problems linger and they keep struggling, they could be a dark-horse candidate to do a quick one-season tank like the Raptors did a couple years ago (to get Scottie Barnes). The Heat control their own 2023 first-rounder.
Some Guy
12:21
Hot take, but SGA should not even be in the running for MiP. He was already an amazing player. It'd be like the Ja Morant pick from last year again, and nobody but Grizzlies fans liked that one.
Luke Adams
12:21
I don't necessarily disagree and Morant wasn't my pick last year, but historically, that's the kind of player voters favor.
12:23
(SGA also had a weirdly awful shooting year last season, so his single-year jump may look bigger than it really was.)
Valley of the Sun
12:23
Do you see the Suns making a deal before the December deadline and who could they realistically target in trade?
Luke Adams
12:25
No December deadline that I know of, but I'm sure the Suns would love to make a move well before February's deadline, considering they're getting nothing from Crowder right now. There are some win-now vets they could realistically get for him at this point, either in straight-up deals or three-team trades (Grayson Allen, Terrence Ross, Doug McDermott, and Josh Richardson are a few that come to mind), but there aren't as many guys out there who can realistically guard power forwards like Crowder did. If I were them, I'd be trying to figure out a way to get PJ Washington from Charlotte in a three-team scenario, though the Hornets probably aren't ready to sell quite yet.
Jae Crowder
12:26
Do I have a new home soon? I just want to hoop.
Luke Adams
12:28
It was a little disappointing that we got a couple reports last week about the Suns moving closer to a Crowder trade and then no real updates since then. Hopefully we get some action on that front soon. There will be more options available after December 15, when a bunch of new names become trade-eligible, so maybe we'll have to wait until then, but there's no reason that situation should drag into the new year.
Honest question
12:28
Isn't the Crowder situation odd? Just a good not great player being unhappy doesn't play
Luke Adams
12:30
It's certainly odd, and I wonder how many other teams would've handled it the same way. James Jones has shown he's willing to go his own way and deviate from standard GM-think (like when he drafted Cameron Johnson at No. 11 when he was widely viewed as a late first-rounder). I wonder if this is a case of him just playing this differently than other GMs might have, or if there's more we don't know about that situation.
Aaron
12:30
Will the Bucks be active in the trade market this season?
Luke Adams
12:32
I'd thought coming into the season that Brook Lopez's expiring contract could be a key trade chip if the Bucks did anything big, but he's back to full health and proving to be invaluable on that roster, so I doubt he's going anywhere. If Milwaukee does anything, it'll probably involve Grayson Allen -- it sounds like they'd like to get Crowder using Allen as a primary piece.
Victor
12:32
I've heard John Collins' name in trade rumors, but Atlanta's not actually going to trade him, will they?  He's too skilled, too young, too good for them to part ways with this soon, I think.  But maybe they also are looking to explore other options.
PreacherMan
12:32
What should the Hawks be realistically targeting in exchange for Collins? Down year so far for JC, doesn’t seem like a great time to move him. Team misses Heurter’s shooting…
Luke Adams
12:33
It's hard to know what to believe on the Collins front, since it feels like he's been considered likely to be traded about five separate times in the last two years. And as PreacherMan notes, the Hawks would be selling low if they were to make a move now. But there's also more urgency in Atlanta now after they pulled the trigger on the Murray trade in the summer.
12:35
It was interesting that the Suns were linked to Collins, since I do think that's a really interesting fit for both sides -- a return of Crowder/Shamet could help the Hawks restore the shooting they lost in Huerter and give them a more versatile, switchable power forward. But I'm not sure the Hawks and Suns would be able to agree on Collins' value, since Atlanta wants a strong return for him and Phoenix seems to be put off by all the money he's owed over the next few years.
Nothing like surprise Jazz
12:35
What type of return would it take Utah to get John Collins from Atlanta? They definitely have plenty to work with.
Luke Adams
12:38
Collins has a $23.5MM cap hit that would need to be matched and Atlanta won't be looking for a draft-heavy return, so it would have to be a couple Utah players. If you're the Hawks, are you targeting a package like Malik Beasley + Jarred Vanderbilt? Like the hypothetical Suns package I mentioned, you'd be getting a wing shooter (Beasley) along with a versatile power forward who can make threes too (Vanderbilt).
Curious
12:38
Since the Sixers are bitten by the injury bug and also don't own their pick this year, what options do they have for contention?
Luke Adams
12:40
Riding out the injury storm is pretty much all they can do for now, beyond signing a 15th man. It's not as if Maxey, Harden, or Embiid are out for the season -- as long as the Sixers finish in the top 10 and are healthy by the spring, they'll be a tough out against any team in the East.
12:41
Obviously, Daryl Morey will be talking to all 29 teams to try to make trades too, and I'd expect the Sixers to be somewhat active, but it'll be hard for them to do anything big, since Embiid, Maxey, and Harden aren't going anywhere, and I think Tobias Harris is more valuable on the court for the Sixers than he would be in a trade.
Black Ace57
12:42
Looking at the teams in the West and the Mavericks, is there a chance they either miss the playoffs or lose out in the play in? Could they be a surprise team that pivots to tanking for a year to pick in the lottery and bounce back retooled like the Blazers?
Luke Adams
12:43
It's not impossible, but it would probably require the same turn of events that felled the Blazers last season -- an injury to their star point guard. As long as Luka's healthy, it's hard to see the Mavericks not being in the mix and not pushing for as many wins as possible.
bob rob
12:43
Not many trades in NBA history are win/win, however, is the Sabonis/Haliburton swap a win for both teams?
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