Community Shootaround

No team has been tied to more trade rumors than the Cavaliers, and that figures to intensify after today’s performance. The defensive woes that have plagued the team all season were on full display in a 148-124 loss to the Thunder.

Cleveland has fallen to 27-18, and only two wins over the lowly Magic have saved the team from an eight-game losing streak. The Cavs are coming up on a critical week, with a trip to San Antonio Tuesday, followed by four straight games against Eastern Conference playoff contenders. Cleveland is just four games ahead of ninth-place Detroit in the loss column, and the possibilitties of losing home-court advantage in the first round or missing the playoffs entirely don’t seem so far fetched.

The most glaring problems are on defense, where a rim protector like DeAndre Jordan could make an immediate difference. Jordan has fallen to 1.0 blocks per game this season, but he has been among the NBA’s best shot blockers and rebounders for several years and would fill an obvious need in Cleveland. The 29-year-old can opt out this summer, which is why the Clippers are tempted to deal him.

But according to reports, L.A. will only consider the trade if Cleveland includes the unprotected Nets’ first-rounder it received from Boston in the Kyrie Irving deal. The Cavs have free agent concerns of their own with LeBron James not guaranteed to return and would like to keep the pick to help with a potential rebuilding project.

Brooklyn entered the day tied with Phoenix for seventh place in our Reverse Standings. For perspective, the seventh and eight players taken in last year’s draft were Lauri Markkanen and Frank Ntilikina. The Nets have plenty of room to move up or down, lodged three and a half games behind the Magic and Kings for the top spot, but only four games ahead of the 12th-place Knicks.

That brings us to our question for the night. Taking into consideration the fact that Brooklyn’s pick doesn’t guarantee a high lottery spot, plus the Cavaliers’ defensive problems and LeBron’s uncertain future in Cleveland, should GM Koby Altman be willing to part with the pick to obtain help now? Jump into the comments section below and give us your feedback.

The NBA’s new All-Star format will re-shuffle the Eastern and Western Conference players once the 24 All-Stars are selected, but up until that point, the voting process remains essentially unchanged. That means that, as usual, fan voting will help determine the 10 players – five from each conference – dubbed starters for next month’s game. Voting concluded last night, and this year’s All-Star starters will be announced later in the week.

As of the last update on voting results, there were no huge surprises in either conference. In the East, Kyrie Irving and DeMar DeRozan were the top backcourt vote-getters, while LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid led the way in the frontcourt. Out West, teammates Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green were all among the top vote-getters, with James Harden and Anthony Davis joining them.

Those 10 players would be worthy starters, but they’re hardly the only candidates for the job. In an ESPN Insider piece published several days ago, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton makes the case for Al Horford and DeMarcus Cousins to join the starting ranks for the All-Star Game. Last week, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News argued on behalf of Kristaps Porzingis in the East, and left out some big names in the West in favor of Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

There are other players – including Jimmy Butler and Victor Oladipo – with legitimate cases for starting roles, but we’re limited to 10, five in each in conference. With that being said, which five Eastern and five Western players do you think should be selected as All-Star starters for 2017/18?

Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!

We’ve reached the midpoint of the NBA season and several players have stood out during the first half of the schedule.

Certainly, last season’s runner-up in the MVP chase has made his mark once again. Entering Monday’s action, Rockets superstar guard James Harden topped the scoring column by a significant margin. He was averaging 32.3 PPG before being sidelined by a hamstring issue. Led by Harden, who is expected to return this week, the Rockets got off to a 25-4 start.

The Greek Freak, Bucks point forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, leads the All-Star voting while taking another step in his development. He’s averaging 28.4 PPG, second only to Harden, while also ranking in the Top 20 in rebounding, steals and blocks for a playoff contender.

LeBron James is showing no signs of wear and tear despite all the minutes he’s logged during his storied career. The Cavaliers forward ranks third in scoring (27.1 PPG), 24th in rebounding (8.0) and fourth in assists (8.8) while being forced to carry a heavy load with Kyrie Irving in Boston and Isaiah Thomas recently returning from a hip injury.

Speaking of Irving, he’s doing quite well in his new home. The Celtics point guard is averaging 24.0 PPG as Boston cruised into the second half of the season atop the East despite the season-opening loss of Gordon Hayward.

Kevin Durant (26.3 PPG) is enjoying another banner season and carried the Warriors for a stretch when Stephen Curry suffered an ankle injury. Jimmy Butler (21.5 PPG) might not boast the gaudy numbers of the aforementioned group but he’s sparked the resurgent Timberwolves with his defensive intensity and offensive versatility.

That leads us to today’s question: Which player do you feel was the league’s first-half MVP and what is your reasoning behind your selection?

Please weigh in below in our comments section. We look forward to your opinion on this topic.

A total collapse in Cleveland is almost unthinkable, especially with LeBron James putting up MVP numbers, but the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions are coming off a nightmarish week.

It began with a 28-point loss in Minnesota, followed by a 34-point loss in Toronto. Last night, an early 26-6 lead turned into a 97-95 loss at Indiana. Those games wrapped up a 1-4 road trip for a Cavs team that is now a distant third to the Celtics and Raptors in the race for the best record in the East.

The problems in Cleveland start with defense. The Cavaliers are the second-worst team in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions (109.5), and the roster doesn’t contain many outstanding individual defenders. There’s no rim protection with Kevin Love starting at center,  and opponents are taking advantage.

With less than four weeks to go before the trade deadline, Cleveland has to be considering deals to bolster its defense. Rumors have linked the Cavs to Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, but he may not be available now that L.A. is back in the playoff race. The Clippers reportedly want the Nets’ unprotected first-rounder in return, and the Cavaliers are reluctant to part with it.

The core of this Cleveland team has been through mid-season swoons before and has always rebounded in time for the postseason. It’s possible that things will get better on their own, but the Cavs have another tough stretch ahead with the Warriors, Thunder and Spurs coming up in the next 10 days. Cleveland’s lead over the ninth-place Sixers has shrunk to four games in the loss column, and a sense of urgency seems to be developing in the organization.

“We all got to be accountable for our actions, accountable for how well we play, how we play, how hard we play, and what we do for one another,” James said after the blowout in Toronto. “And there were just some plays that you should come up with, that you should make, and when you’re losing, you tend to not wanna make those plays, or tend to let some plays get away from you. And we can’t afford that right now the way we’re playing ball. So just trying to hold everybody accountable and move on, which we did.”

We want to get your input. What moves do the Cavaliers need to make before the deadline to keep their spot as the East’s best team? Jump into the comments section below and give us your feedback.

Adjusting to the NBA is a challenging process for any rookie. It has to be a lot more difficult when your father is in the habit of creating outrageous headlines.

That’s the experience for Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, whose dad LaVar is a master at getting the family noticed in the media. The latest example was a tirade against L.A. coach Luke Walton, who has lost control of the team and no longer has the support of his players, at least according to LaVar Ball.

“You can see they’re not playing for Luke no more,” Ball said from Lithuania, where his other two sons are playing in a professional league. “Luke doesn’t have control of the team no more. They don’t want to play for him. … Nobody wants to play for him. I can see it. No high-fives when they come out of the game. People don’t know why they’re in the game. He’s too young. He’s too young. … He ain’t connecting with them anymore. You can look at every player, he’s not connecting with not one player.”

It was a distraction the Lakers didn’t need with the team mired in a long losing streak. It became the dominant topic of conversation in Los Angeles this weekend, with Walton, some of his players and opposing coaches all commenting on the situation. The Lakers’ lack of an immediate response also became a story when nobody in the front office came forward to defend Walton.

This isn’t the first time Ball has gone after Walton, and the Lakers thought it was enough of an issue that team president Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka met with Ball in late November to tell him to ease up on the public comments. If that meeting had any effects on Ball, they clearly have worn off.

Our question for tonight is what should the Lakers do next? Is there a way they can keep LaVar Ball from attacking their coach or is this a risk they knew they were taking when they drafted Lonzo? Jump into our comments section and give us your response.

The Andrew Bogut experiment in Los Angeles is over, as the Lakers waived him today to avoid having to fully guarantee his $2,328,652 contract. Bogut and his agent offered his services throughout the NBA last summer, attempting to show that he was fully recovered from a fractured left tibia. However, the response was lukewarm and he wound up signing a one-year, partially guaranteed deal with L.A. shortly before the start of training camp.

The 33-year-old proved to be an awkward fit for the Lakers and averaged just 1.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 9.0 minutes of playing time in 21 games. He is expected to clear waivers Monday and hit the open market again, hoping to catch on with a contender for a playoff run.

The Cavaliers, who signed Bogut last March but lost him to the injury in his first game, reportedly aren’t interested in bringing him back. That raises the question of which contending teams might line up for his services.

The Celtics contacted Bogut in August and could be on the radar again, writes Nick Metallinos in an ESPN article, although fellow Australian center Aron Baynes already fills a similar role in Boston. Another possibility, Metallinos suggests, are the Bucks, who made Bogut the first player taken in the 2005 draft and who are expected to open a roster spot by waiving DeAndre Liggins. Milwaukee has been in need of help in the middle since moving Greg Monroe to Phoenix in the Eric Bledsoe trade, and Bogut would be an inexpensive addition. They also reportedly had contact with Bogut before he joined the Lakers.

Even though Bogut would have liked more playing time in Los Angeles, he was realistic about his situation and believes he benefited by showing the league he is fully recovered.

“The whole goal for me was just to come in relatively healthy from the broken leg, and just be ready to play,” Bogut said last month. “I knew there wasn’t going to be a whole lot of minutes [with the Lakers] because I was the 15th guy signed to the roster.”

We want your opinion on Bogut. Which team is the best fit for him, and do you believe he can still help a conteder? Jump into our comments section and leave your response.

When Markelle Fultz made his debut earlier this season, he became just the third No. 1 overall pick in history to come off the bench.  Sarah Todd of The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that the other two top selections who did not start right away ended up having underwhelming careers.

Anthony Bennett, who was a surprise No. 1 overall pick, began with the Cavs’ bench unit and he never made his way into the starting lineup for Cleveland. He was sent to Wolves in the Kevin Love deal and he ended up only starting three games during his lone season in Minnesota. After a stop in Toronto where he played in just 19 games (no starts), he landed in Brooklyn for just 23 games (one start). Bennett now plays in the G League.

Andrea Bargnani spent the majority of his rookie season on the bench, though he accumulated 314 starts in Toronto over the ensuing six seasons. He peaked during the lockout-shortened 2011/12 season, sporting a player efficiency rating of 17.9, though he never made an All-Star team nor became a top contributor to a winning team.

Bennett was arguably the worst No. 1 pick in history, though Fultz’s early troubles do not mean that he will compete with Bennett for that distinction. It’s more likely that the point guard ends up rivaling Bargnani’s career—someone who plays around 10 seasons in the league, but never really lives up to the hype—than ending up in the G League like Bennett.

It’s too early to definitely say whether Fultz is a bust or whether this is simply a minor roadblock on the way to a Hall of Fame career. There’s a wide range of possibilities between a Bennett-type fall and a James Harden-type rise and there are benchmarks in between those two extremes.

Fultz could make an All-Star team. He could make an All-NBA team or he could struggle and never meet any of the expectations that come with being a No. 1 overall pick. Even if he doesn’t meet those expectations, he could remain in the league and make a nice living as a secondary player. He could be Bargnani.

How do you see Fultz’s career shaking out? Will he meet or exceed any of the expectations of being the top overall selection of the 2017 draft? Will he be better or worse than Bargnani?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!