Community Shootaround

The Kings have been derailed with injuries, but the team has had some bright spots with the play of Rajon Rondo topping that list. Entering Saturday, no one in the league had more assists per game than the Kentucky product. The point guard also has four triple-doubles in just 13 games, which also leads the NBA.

Rondo signed a one-year, $9.5MM deal with Sacramento after it appeared interest in him was dwindling. His contract is being lauded as one of the best bargains in the NBA in the wake of his hot start, as 17 point guards have a higher salary this season than the 29-year-old Rondo. That includes Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, who both play the point at times, but often share the backcourt as well.

Rondo needs to have a strong 2015/16 season in order to rehabilitate his value after a failing to live up to expectations upon arriving in Dallas via trade last season. He’s trending in the right direction and if he continues his level of production, he will likely see a hefty raise on his current salary.

That leads us to tonight’s topic: What kind of offers will Rondo receive when he hits the open market next summer and do you think he stays with Sacramento or signs a pact with another team?

Take to the comments section below to voice your thoughts and opinions, as well as to provide us with your best predictions. We look forward to what you have to say.

Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, doesn’t appear to be anxious to leave Memphis, but the veteran also isn’t making any promises that he will return to the team next season. “It’s easy to feel obligated; it’s easy to want to stay,” Conley told SI.com’s Chris Mannix recently. “This is where I’ve had my whole career. At the same time I understand this is a business. I have to weigh my options just like Marc Gasol did. Hopefully it will be an easy decision, whatever it is.”

Conley, who is currently slotted No. 3 in our 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings, has been a rock-solid performer for the Grizzlies since being selected with the No. 4 overall pick back in 2007. The 28-year-old is set to earn $9,588,426 this season, a pittance for a player as talented as Conley is, and its hard to imagine him settling for less than the maximum on his next deal, though that is merely my speculation. The Grizzlies possess Conley’s Bird rights, which means that the team can exceed the cap to re-sign him if necessary. With the salary cap set to increase markedly in 2016/17, and Memphis currently committed to $47.657MM in guaranteed salaries, there shouldn’t be much of an issue in bringing Conley back into the fold. Of course, Conley could decide that he’d like to play elsewhere, and if that is indeed the case, he will have no shortage of suitors lining up to bid on him.

So here’s the topic for today: Will Mike Conley re-sign with Memphis next season? If not, where do you see him landing?

Take to the comments section below to voice your thoughts and opinions, as well as to provide us with your best predictions. We look forward to what you have to say.

The Rockets fired coach Kevin McHale on Wednesday and installed J.B Bickerstaff as the interim coach for the remainder of the season. GM Daryl Morey said that he has not lost faith in the team’s ability to contend, and cited the lack of time to dally in the rugged Western Conference as reasoning for making the coaching move at this time. Team owner Leslie Alexander, who purchased the club in July of 1993, ripped the performance of the Rockets, saying the team has never played quite so poorly in his time as owner.

Houston was 4-7 this season under McHale, and though the team did not look particularly well-prepared or motivated this campaign under the former coach, it’s difficult to place the full blame on McHale’s shoulders for the franchise’s subpar start. The roster doesn’t appear to be well-balanced, and the team’s defense was woeful, a by-product of GM Daryl Morey stockpiling offensive-minded players.

This brings me to today’s topic: Who is to blame for the Rockets’ current woes?

Do you feel that Houston will be a better club now that it is out from under McHale’s tutelage? Or are you of the opinion that the players are at fault, and the team would have been better served by making some roster moves instead? How much fault do you place in the lap of Morey, who is the architect of the current roster? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.

Nuggets small forward Wilson Chandler underwent successful surgery on Tuesday to repair a labral tear in his right hip. Chandler initially suffered the injury during the preseason and he will be out of action for the remainder of the 2015/16 campaign. Despite the swingman missing approximately 133 games since 2011 due to hip injuries, Chandler, who signed a four-year, $46.5MM renegotiation and extension with Denver back in July, recently told Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post that he isn’t contemplating retirement.

The 28-year-old has been a versatile and productive player when his health has allowed, but Chandler is rapidly approaching the age of 30, and his health isn’t likely to improve as time passes. Which brings me to the question/topic of the day: Will Wilson Chandler return to form and reward Denver for extending his deal?

Do you think Chandler is done in the NBA as a productive starter? Or are you more optimistic about his ability to make a full recovery and return to action as a valuable team asset? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

In a recent column, Matt Moore of CBSSports.com opined that the Thunder would be better off as a team if Enes Kanter was utilized as a starter, rather than coming off the bench as he has been. Moore acknowledged that Steven Adams has earned the right to start, but the defensive shortcomings of Kanter would be better masked playing alongside the team’s starters. The CBS scribe also opined that playing Kanter alongside Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant early in games could overwhelm opponents on the offensive end, while still allowing coach Billy Donovan to use Adams, who is an excellent defender, during crunch time.

Now it’s time for the question/topic of the day: Who should the Thunder start at center?

Do you agree with Moore’s assertion that beginning the game with Kanter on the court would improve the Thunder, provided Adams was utilized in the proper spots? Or do you think the team is fine as is, and Adams should remain the one who is jumping for the opening tip? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.

An NBA executive who spoke with Chris Mannix of SI.com raised a hypothetical scenario in which the Timberwolves would trade Ricky Rubio during the offseason and then sign Rajon Rondo, who’s on a one-year contract with the Kings, and who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Kevin Garnett reportedly has a strong relationship with Rondo, his former Celtics teammate, and Garnett has a ton of pull with the Wolves organization, Mannix pointed out in his article.

Here’s today’s topic: Would trading Ricky Rubio and signing Rajon Rondo improve the Timberwolves?

While this chain of events was merely posited by a league source, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility, seeing as Rubio has been a disappointment thus far during his time in Minnesota, and it would likely take a significant turn of events for Rondo to remain in Sacramento given the team’s unstable locker room and coaching situation. But I don’t think Rondo joining a young team like Minnesota would be a wise move, seeing how the veteran has a reputation of being difficult to coach, as well as not having the patience to deal with on-court mistakes very well. Teams need to be extremely careful when developing younger players, and adding Rondo would be a major risk for Minnesota in my opinion.

But what do you think? Would this be a wise move for Minnesota, or do you agree with me that the risks far outweigh the potential rewards? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.

The Nuggets announced yesterday that small forward Wilson Chandler was diagnosed with a labral tear and will undergo hip surgery early next week. This means that Chandler will miss the remainder of the season as a result of the procedure, but he is expected to make a complete recovery after a six-month rehab period. The player initially suffered the injury during the preseason and he has missed the team’s first seven regular season games.

Denver signed Chandler to a four-year, $46.5MM renegotiation and extension during the offseason, despite the 28-year-old averaging just 48 appearances per season over the last four campaigns. When he was on the court, Chandler was certainly a productive player, but his injury history makes him a someone who cannot be relied upon to be a full-season contributor at this point. Which brings me to the topic for today: Did the Nuggets make an error in renegotiating and extending Wilson Chandler’s deal?

The Nuggets are a rebuilding team that isn’t viewed as an attractive destination for free agents. So it can be argued that the franchise needs to retain its talent no matter the cost, and an average annual salary of roughly $11.61MM isn’t an outrageous sum for a player of Chandler’s abilities. But given that he is rapidly approaching age 30, and isn’t likely to become more durable along the way, it can also be debated that Denver took a risk that isn’t likely to pay off with his extension.

But what are your thoughts? Take to the comments section below to voice your opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.

The Pacers entered this past offseason with the goal of retooling their roster to be smaller and faster. In order to help realize this goal, Indiana inked shooting guard Monta Ellis to a four-year, $44MM deal that includes a player option for the final season. The addition of Ellis, who at the age of 30 became the oldest player on Indiana’s newly revamped roster, was supposed to provide the Pacers with a second scorer who would help take some of the pressure off Paul George. It hasn’t quite worked out the way team president Larry Bird had hoped thus far, with Ellis only averaging 11.1 points on 35.3% shooting. Both of these numbers, if they were to continue for the duration of the 2015/16 campaign, would mark the lowest of the veteran’s career outside of his rookie campaign back in 2005/06.

While eight games is a small sample size to go on, the team and its fans certainly have some cause for alarm despite the 4-4 start to the season. Ellis has been a talented scorer in the league for years, but he’s also with his third team in four seasons, which is hardly a ringing endorsement of his perceived value around the league. This brings me to the topic for today: Was signing Monta Ellis to a four-year, $44MM deal a mistake by the Pacers?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.