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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 4/20/2021
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Luke Adams
10:01
Hey everyone. Submit your questions early and I'll get through as many as I can starting at noon CT. Talk to you in a couple hours!
12:01
Thanks to all those who have submitted questions so far. Sorting through them now and will get underway in a minute here. Keep 'em coming!
Black Ace57
12:03
What has been going on with all these fines the NBA has been giving to teams resting players? I’m surprised teams haven’t made a bigger fuss about it considering the shortened offseason and condensed schedule.
Luke Adams
12:04
I think the NBA has been pretty forgiving this season, and as long as you're abiding by the guidelines for resting and injury reporting, you should be able to safely rest guys without a fine.
The Raptors gave contradicting info on whether players were resting or injured, and the Spurs rested a bunch of players during the road half of a back-to-back, which is discouraged: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2020/12/nba-updating-protocols-on-resting-...
Phoenix fanatic
12:04
How come nobody is talking about the Suns as a legit Title Contender?
Luke Adams
12:06
It's extremely rare for a team to go from the lottery to a championship. Most teams need at least a year or two to learn to win in the postseason before making really deep runs. The Suns are a legitimately very good team, but they don't have a ton of playoff experience on their roster beyond Chris Paul and Jae Crowder.
Russell
12:07
If Warriors are 9th seed on the standing but defeat the 8th seed on play in game. Will Warriors get the lottery pick this year?
Luke Adams
12:08
They might get the Wolves' lottery pick still, but their own pick wouldn't be in the lottery, no. The 14 non-playoff teams will be in the lottery, even if that means a pair of No. 7 seeds who got knocked out in the play-in tournament are in the lottery and a pair of No. 10 seeds who won a couple play-in games aren't.
Mikedickinson
12:08
Jabari Parker is an outstanding pickup for the Celtics. He’s the offense they’ve needed off the bench all season long. What’s the deal? Why does he keep bouncing around the league?
Luke Adams
12:11
Parker is one of those guys who can really score, but doesn't do a whole lot else -- he's not much of a play-maker or defender. I haven't seen many of his minutes with the Celtics so far to see if that's changed at all (though I see he has 0 assists in 32 minutes). If he can hold his own on defense, it should make it easier for him to earn another contract next season.
Greek and Australian leagues
12:11
Are NBA teams allowed to start Signing players from the European leagues now for the stretch run, or they have to wait until after those Leagues finish their Seasons?
Luke Adams
12:12
Generally, players' overseas contracts have to expire first, which means the regular season, at least, would have to end. But some of those deals have NBA outs, and in some cases, teams are willing to work with players to let them out early.
George G
12:13
Is there anyway Lakers  to sign their new center for next year being hard capped like they are? Even if they let someone else walk?
Luke Adams
12:15
I assume you mean Drummond? If so, the problem with re-signing him is that they only have his Non-Bird rights, which will only allow for a raise slightly above the minimum. Since the Lakers don't project to have any cap room, they'd need to have him agree to sign for the mid-level (likely the taxpayer mid-level, which will be in the $6MM range) to avoid losing him. He'll get bigger offers than that -- so if he re-signs with the Lakers, it'll be because he's willing to take less to stay.
Somewhat Happy 76ers Fan
12:16
Are there any free agents currently out there that the Sixers can sign and help the team  Or will they roll with what they have/
Luke Adams
12:18
Maybe you see something you like on the list of current veteran free agents: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2018/08/2020-nba-free-agents.html -- I, personally, don't really love any of the options out there. Any you sign would just be depth options who would only see minutes in an emergency.
Given Joel Embiid's injury history, I'd probably prefer a frontcourt player, whether that means keeping Anthony Tolliver on a rest-of-season deal or replacing him with someone new. (Though if Embiid is hurt, the Sixers' odds of a Finals run don't seem great no matter who's replacing him in the rotation.)
NBA Mock Draft?
12:19
Will the Writers on this site going to attempt a June Mock Draft for us or will you leave that for other sites?
Luke Adams
12:21
Haven't decided that yet. We've done mock drafts in the past, but they require a lot of legwork and I'm not sure they're 100% worth the effort -- assessing prospects isn't our bread-and-butter, and there are definitely plenty of experts out there who are better at the mock draft game than we are.
12:22
Ours are also typically about who we think teams SHOULD take, rather than providing inside info about how the draft will actually play out, so they're more about starting a discussion rather than projecting draft night.
Joel Embiid
12:22
He did not look healthy last night.  His knee is obviously bothering him.  No lift or his usual explosion.  How about just resting him?  Dwight Howard can handle things for 10 games or so.
Luke Adams
12:24
In theory, the Sixers shouldn't be worrying about their seed as much as they should be focused on getting fully healthy for the playoffs. In reality, avoiding that No. 2 seed might end up being pretty huge -- avoiding the Bucks in round two creates a much clearer path to the Conference Finals. It'll be a tricky balance making sure Embiid gets as much rest as he needs down the stretch and still trying to secure that top seed. But Embiid's health should be the priority.
Dill
12:25
Surprising team that should go into a rebuild? Portland and Indiana come to mind. They are always in the playoffs but rarely past the first round. Can anything be added to their core to greatly improve their odds?
Luke Adams
12:26
I'm not sure either of those teams needs a full-fledged rebuild, but I think both could benefit from some sort of shake-up. Like, Portland shouldn't be looking at trading Dame Lillard for a massive package of draft picks, but I don't think anyone else on that roster should be untouchable.
12:27
The Pacers are in a similar boat -- they don't need to hold a fire sale and sell off all their vets, but I think they'd be better off if they picked a center to roll with (Turner or Sabonis) and got the best trade offer they could for the other.
Crystal ball ...
12:27
Predict the Play-in Tournament teams for the Western Conference, seeds 7-10.
Luke Adams
12:29
I've been disappointed by the Pelicans lately. Thought they were in position to make a push for that 10 spot, but they keep falling further back. At this point, the four teams currently in the 7-10 spots look like good bets to keep those spots, but I'll say the Warriors pass the Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed.
12:30
That would give us a Warriors at Mavs 7-8 game, which would be a terrific matchup, with Spurs at Grizzlies in the 9-10 slot.
Philly Phil
12:30
Hawks- no chance they get home court advantage in playoffs right? This team is still one star away from serious contention
Luke Adams
12:32
Given how bad the East is, I think it's fair to say they have a chance at a home-court series in round one AND they're still one impact player away from serious contention. I do think the Celtics will pass them for that No. 4 seed though.
Tom Emanski
12:32
Does timing of deals matter with Bird rights?  Example:  a team is 5 mil under the cap. They have a RFA with Bird rights they'd like to resign for 15 mil and an FA they'd like to sign for 5. Do they have to sign the FA before the RFA, or can they sign they RFA first and still sign the FA for 5 mil despite already being capped out?
Luke Adams
12:33
Each of a team's own free agents has a "cap hold" that counts toward that team's cap room. In order to keep the player's Bird rights, the team has to keep that hold on its books (and fit it under the cap, if they're using cap room) until the player officially signs. More on cap holds here: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2020/04/hoops-rumors-glossary-cap-holds-4....
12:36
To address your example specifically -- the RFA's cap hold will count toward team salary until he signs, at which point his new salary is what counts. So if his cap hold is $5MM and his new salary is $15MM, it would eliminate $10MM in cap room when he officially signs. So yeah, teams will generally wait until they've used up all their room before re-signing their own guys and going over the cap.
Luke Adams Fan
12:37
Looking back on the Vucevic trade and the Bulls recent bad performance, do you think they would be better with having wendell carter and otto porter and the picks (for the futur) or do you still think Vucevic is beter for Chicago that the other people? (sorry for the long question)
Luke Adams
12:40
If you liked the trade at the time, it's too early to start having second thoughts about it -- don't forget that the Bulls' pick this year is top-four protected, so if they finish poorly and get lucky in the lottery, they'll actually be in great shape. I was somewhat lukewarm on the trade at the time. It wasn't a massive price to pay, but incorporating Vucevic 2/3rds of the way through the season was always going to be a challenge.
Luke Richards
12:40
Can you name all of your contenders for the Championship? East and West?
Luke Adams
12:42
Nets, Sixers, Bucks in the East. Lakers, Clippers, Jazz in the West. The Suns would be the 7th -- their lack of playoff experience just scares me. Beyond those seven, it's hard to make a strong case for anyone unless we have a really wonky postseason.
Alex from Stroh's
12:42
If Wolves retain their top 3 pick , whom do they target in the draft???  Best available or position of need?
Luke Adams
12:44
I'm always a proponent of best available. You don't pass on Luka Doncic even if you already have De'Aaron Fox. So if the Wolves get the top pick again and they think Cade Cunningham is the best player available, they should take him.
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