We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com.
Who do you think got the steal of the draft at the center position? The Celtics with Robert Williams or the Knicks with Mitchell Robinson, who averaged five blocks per game in the summer league? — Greg Dizon
Robinson was the clear winner in summer league and looks like the primary backup to Enes Kanter after his outstanding performance in Las Vegas. Williams, meanwhile, was sidelined by a sore left knee and didn’t see any action. Summer league can be deceiving, of course, and none of this means Robinson will be a better player than Williams, either this season or throughout his NBA career. He still needs to develop an offensive game, and he is behind schedule overall after not playing in college. However, Knicks fans need something to be excited about and the summer performance of Robinson and Kevin Knox certainly provides that.
Who should the Mavericks look at in free agency to account for the loss on the wing with the departures of Seth Curry, Doug McDermott and Yogi Ferrell, or would a trade make more sense at this point? — M.D. Jordan Sports, via Twitter
Dallas is using the last of its cap space to re-sign Dirk Nowitzki and will have just the $4.45MM room exception available, so the options are limited. Rodney Hood is probably the top wing player left on the market, but he’s a restricted free agent and the Cavaliers would happily match an offer that started at $4.45MM. David Nwaba, who is now unrestricted after the Bulls pulled their qualifying offer, could be an interesting option if he doesn’t get a better offer somewhere else. Beyond that, the free agent pool is filled with veterans such as Jamal Crawford, Corey Brewer, Nick Young, Devin Harris and Arron Afflalo, none of whom would have a long-term future with the Mavericks.
I know Chandler Parsons‘ contract is bigger, but with the right adjustments, would a Luol Deng for Parsons trade work? The Grizzlies seem like a team that could at least try using Luol on the court, and an on-point Chandler alongside LeBron James would be awesome. Then again, I’m on the fence with Parsons, I understand why Houston, Dallas and Memphis were willing to pay him, but I also understand why they regret it. — Nicolas Galipeau
The Lakers are still in the business of trying to preserve as much cap space as possible for next year’s free agent frenzy. It’s unlikely they would gamble on Parsons even without the scary injury history. Deng and Parsons benefited from the irrational contracts that were handed out in 2016 and both have become salary cap albatrosses. Deng will make $36.8MM over the next two seasons, while Parsons is due more than $49.2MM. Their salaries make them virtually untradable, even for each other. It’s much more likely that the Lakers will use the stretch provision to make Deng’s deal less of an impediment to their free agent plans.