NBA MLK Day: Top 5 Burning NBA Questions

5 Burning NBA Questions

Is Jimmy Butler the best shooting guard in the league?

 While it's hard to answer this question without some sort of team build or context around it, I have to say yes. Right now, I would gladly take Jimmy Butler over guys like Demar Deroazan, Bradley Beal and CJ McCollum. While he doesn't have the longevity of a D Wade or the profile of James Harden or Klay Thompson, Butler has quickly risen to an elite level of play that makes him stand out amongst the group. The most important thing to look at when ranking Butler is his defense. His tenacity and physicality make him a nuisance on that side of the ball and with his now overflowing confidence on offense, he's become an All NBA First Team player. The funny thing is, this question would not be a point of contention if Derrick Rose had moved on from Chicago. With Butler now vocally and financially commanding the attention of a first option on a playoff team, there is little doubt that he has arrived. 

Should the Houston Rockets stay the course or blow it up?

The Rockets have come around recently, kudos to them! With all the hoopla about their five game winning streak, it seems that people have forgotten they were on a 4 game slide just before that! To me, there is really only one answer: blow it up! They have the franchise guard in Harden, they tried to bring in a mother franchise player around him and it's not working. Dwight Howard, despite still being able to put 24 and 13 every once in a while, is NOT, NOOOOOOOT AT ALL an elite player! He's being paid like 25 year old D12, he's still acting like 25 year old D12, but he is an older player who can no longer rely on his physical gifts to dominate. The Rockets NEED to move Howard to find a wing player to compliment James Harden and Patrick Beverly. They had one in Chandler Parsons but were unable to retain him. Now they're stuck with a rotating pile of feces like Trevor Ariza or Corey Brewer. Those guys are ok, but they aren't going to kill it from the wing or demand attention in the playoffs like Parsons. The Rockets would have benefited greatly from Nic Batum and still have a chance to make a move for Danillo Gallinari. With Beverly and Harden in place, the Rockets need to clear the paint and some cap space by getting rid of Dwight Howard and their assortment of tweener wings. 

Is trading Dwight Howard the right choice?

What has become of Kevin Love?

BJones: Well this is just sad. Love went from being a top 10 elite NBA player to being James Jones. The funny thing is, you can look at his stats and make a case that he's just as good as he's always been! Sure he's only averaging 16 ppg, but that's what happens when you are surround by other talent. His RPG has slipped to 11 RPG, but that's still pretty damn good. The problem is, he's the third option on offense, has been relegated to the Chris Bosh role of standing on the perimeter and seemingly doesn't have the ability or will to drop a 40 and 20 night anymore. Yeah it's still cool to watch him play on a championship team, but damn do I wish he was the main star, or at least option 1-B on a contender. Otherwise, he's just a good player on a good team and that's boring as hell. 

Should the New York Knicks trade Carmelo Anthony?

Sure, if they can. Melo is not likely to waive his no trade clause just to help the Knicks out. Then you have to look at teams that can absorb his contract / are willing to absorb his contract. Melo will not be willing to go to a shit ass team like the Nets (trust me, I've talked to him) nor will he go to a non-marketable city like Utah. You're basically looking at two options: the Heat and the Bulls. Miami is the most intriguing situation, as they are ready to win a title now, especially with Pat Riley getting close to retirement. The Heat desperately need to figure something out with Goran Dragic and they have some desirable young talent that could spur on the Knicks future building plans. This could work and it makes sense for both teams. 

Where does Kyrie Irving rank amongst NBA point guards?

Kyrie Irving may be the strangest case in the NBA when it comes to ranking him. He went from rookie of the year, to ball hog, to three point contest winner, to sidekick all in the span of 5 years! In the next two years, the case will be made for Kyrie Irving to be the MVP of the league. Irving has averaged 18 ppg or more every year he has been in the league, his handle has improved to something God like and his efforts on defense are starting to become scary! Right now I happily rank Kyrie has the second best point guard in the NBA behind Steph Curry and I feel like he may be the only point guard in the league that Curry doesn't want to play in a seven game series. I love Russell Westbrook, but his reckless energy and overflowing confidence lead to him doing a lot of crazy shit you don't want your point guard doing. Where does he rank amongst the elite in the NBA? Well the case could be made that he is top 5. LeBron, Durant, Steph and Anthony Davis are locked in before him, but the next few spots are shaky. Kawhi Leonard is definitely in the discussion, as is Paul George and Jimmy Butler. For now let's stick Kyrie in the top 7 and watch as he rises, hopefully with out injury. 

Kyrie is making this a nightly thing

The Kevin Konundrum

The Kevin Love Summer Experience 

by Bobby Catz

As you may have heard recently,  Kevin Love, the star forward of the Minnesota Timberwolves has decided that he no longer wants to play in Minnesota (shocker) and will not resign when his contract expires next summer. This is the classic tale that all franchises inevitably go through, and that is, what to do when you have a star player who does not want to play for you?? Do you trade him? Try and recoup his value with some young players and draft picks? Does that ever work out though? I dare someone to name one trade where a team trading away a superstar actually won the deal. It has not really happened. More likely is they are going to get fleeced and be the laughingstock of the fans for years to come. Look at what happened to the Thunder with James Harden. They had a franchise that could potentially compete for championships for the next 10 years!! Instead they panic trade Harden for Jeremy Lamb and Steven Adams, and even though Adams looks like a legitimate backup NBA center, he is not James Harden. Or they could try the Lakers route of last off season when they decided to let D12 walk without anything in return. Now how bleak does the outlook for the Lakers look?? I even had one stupid NBA fan tell me that they will never be competitive again! Again!! Granted I completely disagree, but you can see how much losing a superstar hurts. Most famously look at the Cavs after Lebron left. Sure they have gotten 3 out of the last 4 top picks in the draft. But if you think that for one second that any Cleveland fan would not straight up trade every pick they have had in the top ten over the last twenty years for Lebron to come back, then you are a crazy person. So what do the Wolves do? It is an interesting question, Love has been unhappy for a few seasons, and the fact that he wants out officially now comes as no surprise. The following three scenarios are the best/worst/and most logical situations for the Wolves to handle the K-Love mess while still saving face, unless they go with the worst option of course. 

WORST

Trade him to HOU for Omer Asik, Parsons, and future picks.

This would be the absolute best case scenario for Houston, and a nightmare for every other team in the league including Minnesota. Sure Asik, and Parsons are young contributors who would probably go on to have solid careers. But neither of those guys is getting you a title. This would be an absolute nightmare of a trade for Kevin Love, and the only possibly way the Wolves could save face on this one is if one of the picks ended up being Lebron James some how. Plus, Asik is making like 15 million next year and will probably command at least 12-14 million when his new contract comes around, a number that any team should be hesitant to pay let alone the Wolves. Though selfishly, the thought of Kevin Love playing with the combo of D12 and Harden is mouth-watering, and even though they would not be able to stop anyone defensively, the firepower on this team would be unbelievable.

BEST

Trade him to the Cavs for the number one pick and maybe Waiters.

This would be the absolute best move the Wolves could make. Not only would they get back a young Waiters who has shown he can be a competent NBA guard when he does not have to share the court with Kyrie, but they also get one of the three top prospects in this draft!! Depending on which way they go, they could legitimately end up with a player who has the potential to not only match the production of Love, but possibly exceed it! Even if the person they choose ends up being one of the all-time biggest busts, it would still be a smart move to go out and give a franchise that has little chance of being competitive right now something for their fan base to be excited about! When was the last time they could say that? When KG won the MVP and they made it all the way to the second round?? Times are tough in Sota, but at least this deal brings hope.

LOGICAL

TRADE HIM TO THE SUNS FOR MULTIPLE PICKS!!!

This is not what is going to happen, or what would be the best choice for the league, but rather what should happen in order to minimize their risk and get enough return to quiet the doubters out there. The Suns have 6 first round picks in the next two drafts! 3 this year starting at 14 and two others in the twenties, followed by their own pick next year and two protected picks from the Lakers and Timberwolves! Not only would this give them plenty of ammunition to restock their roster over the next couple of years, but if they were able to do it without Love agreeing to an extension with the Suns first, they could absolutely fleece the Suns! Think about all you could do with three picks in this loaded draft, and then two or three more next season! But why would the Suns make this trade especially if they could not get him to agree to an extension first? Because the Suns are trying to make a push, and the only way you can win titles in the NBA is by taking big swings like this. Unless you have a legitimate NBA superstar you are not winning a title anytime soon, and don't even try to tell me about the teams that did not have one and still won, the only team that has ever done that is maybe the Pistons of the early 2000's, but they had four or five all-stars every year and a deep bench. This is absolutely a great way for PHX to step out and finally contend for a title, while also benefiting the Wolves and helping them get back on track going forward. Will it happen? No way, while I am typing this I am sure the Wolves are signing the paperwork on Love going to the Lakers for Jordan Hill and two second rounders because NBA GM's are stupid like that. But either way it will definitely be fun to watch.

BONUS PICK!!!

AFL

SA at PORTLAND (-4) 

Do yourself a favor and do not watch this game. These are two of the worst teams in the AFL, and its probably going to play out like an absolute suck fest. However, I have watched this Portland team play against better teams and at time actually look like they belong on the same field. That does not mean I think they are good, but definitely better than SA!