J.A. Adande

  (3:00 PM)

Hi Everybody. Welcome to another NBA season and our weekly chats. I'll be on for about 50 minutes today...then I'm on ESPN 710 and (710espn.com) at 1 Pacific, and Around the Horn at 2 pm Pacific...You're gonna love the costumes on ATH today, by the way. Which reminds me...Happy Halloween...and we're off

jake (Seoul, South Korea)

wassup J.A. Now disregarding whether the bynum extension was worth it not, how does it affect the lakers' salary structure for the future? bynum is essentially taking odom's cap space, so are the lakers just going to let odom walk? Or is there anything out there that the lakers can get for odom that would improve this lakers team? It would be foolish to add an expensive long term contract for a small forward (ie.vince carter) when they have enough offensive weapons right? I think they should just concentrate on signing and developing ariza and farmar. your thoughts?

J.A. Adande

  (3:02 PM)

I think the Lakers are set with big contracts now with Kobe, Gasol and now Bynum. Which is why I don't think Odom fits in their long-term plans. However....don't forget Kobe can opt out after the season. And I wouldn't completely rule out this big-money overseas rumors. So maybe they Lakers keep Odom around until they see what Kobe does, then decide whether or not to re-sign Odom as a free agent

George (Portland, OR)

It might be premature, but what do the Blazers do if Oden doesn't pan out the way everyone envisioned? Is there still a way to turn that squad into a championship-caliber team?

J.A. Adande

  (3:04 PM)

Wow, expectations in Portland are crashing like a tree in an Oregon forest. Watch out, spotted owls. they still have a number of nice young players they could package for a run at another big-time player, plus they'll have a nice chunk of cap space this summer. So there's flexibility. but let's see if they can keep Oden on the court for..oh, at least a month, before they go to plan b

Bob (Oakland, CA)

After all the dust has settled with regard to the picks, cap maneuverability and players, is it clear now that Philly smoked Denver in the Iverson deal?

J.A. Adande

  (3:05 PM)

They have to win a playoff series first before you can say they're better off right now. Obviously you knew Philly would be helped long-term by getting Iverson off their cap. But at least Denver became relevant again in the short term

Rajon Rondo, Boston MA

I think everyone is overreacting about Oden. Granted, it's not necessarily the same thing, but everyone was worried about how I'd turn out. Not look at me.

J.A. Adande

  (3:07 PM)

the more relevant comparison I've heard is Zydrunas Ilgauskas. he had foot problems early on, and lately he's been able to stay on the court and be an effective big man. but that does take some scaled-down expectations....from Bill Russell to zydrunas

Will J (Portland, OR)

I thought Kenny Smith was nuts picking Houston to go to the Finals. After seeing them last night, I might agree. They are definitely better & deeper than last year.

J.A. Adande

  (3:09 PM)

I'm not mad at Kenny for picking Houston. The easy pick is the Lakers...and they've sure looked up to it in the first 2 games. I picked the Hornets just to be a little diferent. Houston has great potential, I just think it's too much to ask Ron to keep it together and Tracy and Yao to stay healthy. Just in last night's game, you saw T-Mac come up wincing and hobbling, then later grabbing his hand in pain, and finally he sat out the fourth quarter. And Ron-Ron got a T (unjustified, but that's what his rep gets him). And that was all in the first game. Yao looked good, though.

Zach(iowa)

J.A,where does Derrick Rose stack up in the Deron/Paul point guard hierarchy? Will he ever be as good as the 2 of them ?

J.A. Adande

  (3:11 PM)

You can't even put Rose in the same conversation as those two right now until he does something in the NBA. I've said that Rose's best-case scenario = Chris Paul...but we'll have to see if he gets there

Quinn (Park City, Ut)

Let me guess, J.A. Your going to be dressed as Kobe on ATH.

J.A. Adande

  (3:11 PM)

Right city, wrong sport

Jim - Indianapolis, Indiana

Where the heck with Jamaal Tinsley go? We are ready to be rid of him, but I hope it is for more than we received for Shawne Williams.

J.A. Adande

  (3:13 PM)

the Pacers have made it clear...we don't like this guy, we're getting rid of him because of his attitude. so are you surprised they aren't getting blown away with great offers?

James(Toronto)

J.A, If Bargnani can make strides this season, can you see the Raps winning a playoff round this year?

J.A. Adande

  (3:14 PM)

I can see Toronto going to teh second round, but it has more to do with Jermaine O'Neal than Bargnani. Right now I'd settle for getting last year's Jamario Moon back more than the potential of Bargnani

Craig (Miami)

That's just JA being Manny?

J.A. Adande

  (3:15 PM)

you'll just have to tune in. And you're going to love Woody's costume. I'll admit, he spent much more time on it than I did on mine

Jeremy (NYC)

Looks like Posey is going to fit right in with the hornets. With a crunch time lineup of CP3, Peja, Posey, DWest and Tyson, I'm with you on your prediction, JA.

J.A. Adande

  (3:16 PM)

the question I had before the season and even more now is whether they can stay healthy. One game in and they didn't have Peja or Tyson in crunch time. they got a lot of minutes last year from guys who can't always be counted on to stay in the lineup. But I love the Posey addition even more than i thought I would

Bob H (Atlanta, GA)

Jordan Farmar has really blossomed into a good young talent. He seems to be an upgrade in rebounds and assists from Fisher he just has problems with his consistency and turnovers. While Derek Fisher is a very capable point guard, do you see Farmar moving into the starting five at any point this season?

J.A. Adande

  (3:18 PM)

I think Phil likes to defer to a calming vet like Fisher and he also likes the energy Farmar brings off the bench. The second unit is the up-tempo group, and Farmar is perfect for that. He's playing with a lot of confidence right now, although 2 or 3 times a game he'll do something that screams for the modifier "ill-advised"

Mike (San Antonion)

What would you think about the spurs trading for Reddick, gives them youth, shooting, and their coaches could do wonders for him?

J.A. Adande

  (3:19 PM)

You left out one thing that they put a huge emphasis on in San Antonio: defense. Reddick wouldn't play defense well enough to stay on the court and out of Pop's doghouse

Rob (Provo, UT)

Do you think think there will be any serious talk of a "Kobe Clause' in the next CBA. Maybe where every team can exceed the salary cap to pay one player, without having to pay the luxury tax on that contract. Obviously players like Kobe and Lebron are worth more to the league than other 'Max' players like say Chris Bosh or Deron Williams.

J.A. Adande

  (3:21 PM)

I think you're on to something, but it couldn't be luxury tax exception, because that benefits the team. If there are realy going to be international bidding wars, than NBA teams need to be freed from salary cap restrictions that limit the amount they can offer. Otherwise some team is going to offer a star too much money to turn down.

William Graves (Chapell Hill,NC)

Do you think the Celtics would be interested in going after Marbury if he's released? Only to make him a back-up to Rondo because it seems like teams would be going after Rondo this year by banging him up. Also he would give the bench a spark.

J.A. Adande

  (3:25 PM)

I'm getting a few of these Steph-to-Boston questions, but there's a few issues. 1) Would KG forgive Steph for leaving him hanging in Minny years ago? I think yes, that people in the NBA can forgive and forget anything (see the Nellie-Webber reunion last season). 2) could Steph fit in the unselfish, sacrificing attitude that pervaded the Celtics last season? That I seriously doubt. I don't think he's willing to come in somewhere and be a secondary player. He's never done it in his career, and I doubt he'd be willing to start that now

J.A. Adande

  (3:25 PM)

I'm getting a few of these Steph-to-Boston questions, but there's a few issues. 1) Would KG forgive Steph for leaving him hanging in Minny years ago? I think yes, that people in the NBA can forgive and forget anything (see the Nellie-Webber reunion last season). 2) could Steph fit in the unselfish, sacrificing attitude that pervaded the Celtics last season? That I seriously doubt. I don't think he's willing to come in somewhere and be a secondary player. He's never done it in his career, and I doubt he'd be willing to start that now

The other J.A. (Vancouver)

J.A, Do you agree that if Houston got a competent PG they could SERIOUSLY contend. Why haven't they moved on Ray Felton, Tinsley or dare I say Steph.

J.A. Adande

  (3:26 PM)

I agree that Houston needs a competent PG. I disagree that 2 of those 3 qualify. tinsley, perhaps.

Cancer

Even I Wouldn't got after Starbury

J.A. Adande

  (3:27 PM)

That's the first post I've ever had from incurable disease

Cory (Ft Collins, CO)

Why do analysts approach the nuggets in a similar, but more pessimistic way than the suns this season? Both teams are trying to alter their styles to be better defensively, but it seems like Phoenix is getting a lot more credit saying "it's a work in process" where they talk about denver as if "they have no shot at playing defense whatsoever, they may as well blow this team up right now" Am I the only one picking Denver as the dark horse this year? They absolutely have shown improvements in D over previous years.

J.A. Adande

  (3:28 PM)

It's hard to talk about the Nuggets improving defensively after they traded their best defensive player (Camby).

Chris

I think Kobe and Lebron have publicly entertained the idea of playing in Europe simply to raise the Max salary in the NBA. I don't think either has any intention of going.

J.A. Adande

  (3:30 PM)

Even if that's all they're doing, it's smart. The players haven't had any leverage, which is why they continously go backward in the CBA negotations...from the initial salary cap, to the max salary. Their best stand was the last round of negotiations, when they effectively negotiated a tie. the irony of this is that Stern's the one who pushed to globalize the game, and it could end up costing his league either in money or talent

Rowell V. Mullin (Oaktown, CA)

Who's running the asylum in Oakland. Why did the Warriors trade a future first round pick for M. Williams only to decide not to pick up his option before he ever played in a game for him???

J.A. Adande

  (3:32 PM)

It's clearly Rowell and Nellie. chris Mullin wanted to keep Baron around. Didn't happen. Harrington basically said: me or Nellie. It's Nellie, with a new 2-year extension and now Harringtno's on the trading blocks. Now Nellie doesn't like M. Williams, so his qcquisition was wasted.

John(CA)

Do you think the Lakers are gambling on AB? Your former co-hort Plashcke thinks so.

J.A. Adande

  (3:34 PM)

I liked the way they did this. Bynum is happy because he gets his money, but the Lakers are only committed to three years. That's enough time to figure out if he will develop into a star or not. If he does, they can pick up the foruth year at what will be the going rate. If he isn't, the can say bye-bye and let another team have a crack at him. He wasn't going to be cheap, so they might as well overpay a little now

Daniel, Tel Aviv, Israel

everybody's guessing lebron's next team.. is there chance he'll stay? mj "made" chicago. would lebron shy away from the challenge of "making" cleveland?

J.A. Adande

  (3:35 PM)

he's already had that challenge. He's taken them as far as he can on his own, but they cuoldn't even win a game in the Finals. He knows he has to have talent. But this could come down to the economy. If Ratner can't build his new arena in Brooklyn, I don't think you'll see LeBron heading to the Jersey swamp

Bill (Dayton, Oh)

The removal of a salary cap in the NBA would be a terrible decision. I think the effects that it would have on a league driven by younger players and great college prospects would would be aweful. Every year you would have New York or the Lakers making un-counterable offers to the top players.

J.A. Adande

  (3:39 PM)

How did the Yankees' payroll work out for them this year? How much did Tampa Bay spend on its players? The draft and the rookie scale could help maintain competitive balance and cost management. But even with the salary cap you're always going to have some teams that spend much more on their roster than others, so might as well let teh players maximize their earning potential here in the US

Bryan (Bellingham, Wa)

When do you think Seattle gets a team again? I jumped on the Rockets bandwagon this year since my team is gone but its just not the same (especially since the rockets actually win games).

J.A. Adande

  (3:42 PM)

This is another area where I think the real world intrudes on sports. How do you think anyone is going to get funding to build a new arena? Sorry, Bryan, but I think you're going to have to live on following teams from afar via League Pass for a while

Joe (NY)

Do you see the Spurs really struggling without Ginobili? Duncan and Parker each had 30+ and they still lost to a team they own. What if one of the two has a bad game?

J.A. Adande

  (3:44 PM)

the Spurs will be in trouble. Ginobili was their most important player last year, even more than Duncan. As the Phoenix game showed, they don't have enough besides Duncan and Parker right now. (but in the interim you'll love having Parker on your fantasy squad. A Spurs guy i talked to expects Tony to get 25-30 a night while Manu's out)

Keyan (Rockville)

JA, big fan here. I am also a big of OJ Mayo, I watched his first game he missed a lot of good looks but got his shot of easily and still had a solid rebound and assist stat line. But his competitiveness stuck out to me. He reminds me of Kobe in a lot of ways, I don't see how D-Rose or Beasley can be better than this guy long term, why does he not get the same accolades as those guys? Seems like he gets hated on a lot, what am I missing?

J.A. Adande

  (3:47 PM)

He still has to show he understands the game better than the other guys on the court. He's usually the most talented guy on the floor, but is he the savviest?

Kevin (Orange County)

J.A., is there any reason for me to continue supporting the Clippers?

J.A. Adande

  (3:48 PM)

You're a masochist? Nah, I think they'll be more entertaining and put up a better fight than they did v.s the Lakers. but Dunleavy's going to have to let them run.

Frank

Mayo = Arenas

Sargis (Granada Hills, CA)

Do you think that Rudy Fernandez, if given enough playing time, has the ability to win ROY. He has an extremely high basketball IQ and a better feel for the game that anyone else in this rookie class.

J.A. Adande

  (3:49 PM)

Fernandez is a lot of fun to watch, but guys like Beasley and Rose will mean more to their teams than Fernandez will, because he has to get in line behind Roy, Aldridge and Oden (if he ever plays).

Sam Denver

Do Seattle fans not understand when they see a sold out OKC arena and they hada an awful arena that was never sold out, it is obvious why they lost there team.

J.A. Adande

  (3:51 PM)

When the team was good, the arena was sold out, one of the best places to watch a game in the league. And it wasn't a bad arena when they rebuilt it only 15 years ago. Can cities really be expected to redo arenas every 15 years?. don't get me started on this. I'm still mad

Jack (Chicago)

What do the Bulls need more--a low-post scorer or a low-post defender, someone like Antonio Davis or the good version of Ben Wallace?

J.A. Adande

  (3:53 PM)

They need a low-post scorer. they had the low-post defender in Wallace (well, maybe not the Big Ben of a couple years earlier, but not atrocious). Thomas can be a good weak-side defender in the paint. They need someone they can dump the ball inside to and get easy baskets

Aldin (NY)

What you think of Eddy Curry and Al Harrington rumers, do you think Golden State would buy that, I mean that would be perfect for Knicks, they get a guy that can fit great in D'Antiono system and plus his contract runs 09/10 season when Knicks get ready to sign Lebron, or of the other big names, Wade, Bosh, Stoudemire....

J.A. Adande

  (3:54 PM)

Don't see why GS would take on that Curry contract just to get a guy who doesn't fit Nellie's system...so he can find a new player not to like.

J.A. Adande

  (3:55 PM)

Okay folks. Gotta run off to do radio. Thanks for dropping by. See you next week.