Community Shootaround News & Rumors

Thanks to some comments made by Lakers coach Byron Scott regarding Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, a mini debate has arisen regarding the merits of Mudiay versus Lakers rookie playmaker D’Angelo Russell. Scott said that as the draft approached he didn’t think that Mudiay was a true point guard, and the coach also questioned Mudiay’s decision-making. As for his own rookie guard, Russell, Scott said, “His workouts were extremely good. You saw the leadership qualities that he had. You saw the ability to pass the ball and make other guys better, the ability to get to the basket and the ability to knock down 3s, open jump shots and off-the-dribble shots. He had the total package offensively. Defensively, the one thing I thought he did was he competed.”

Mudiay and Russell will always be linked and compared to each other because they were both first-rounders in the same draft class, such is the nature of sports. It’s an especially interesting debate considering neither player is a pure point guard, and both are learning the position and the league on the fly. Which brings me to today’s topic for discussion: Based on the early season returns, who do you believe is the better point guard — Emmanuel Mudiay or D’Angelo Russell?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. But don’t just settle for providing us with a name, we want to hear why you feel the way you do. We look forward to what you have to say.

NBA teams cut as much as 25% of their rosters at the end of the preseason, but franchises that have D-League affiliates have a way to maintain ties to many of the players they release from the NBA roster. An NBA team can claim the D-League rights to up to four of the players it waives, as long as the players clear waivers, consent to join the D-League, and don’t already have their D-League rights owned by another team. These are known as affiliate players, as our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry details. NBA teams allocated a total of 46 affiliate players to the D-League at the beginning of the season last year, and this year, that number has risen to 56, according to the list the D-League announced on Tuesday. These players are going directly to the D-League affiliate of the NBA team that cut them and weren’t eligible for the D-League draft that took place Saturday.

This brings me to the topic/question for today: Which D-League affiliate player has the best shot at making an impact in the NBA this season? Click here to see the full list.

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

Monday was the leaguewide cutoff for teams to exercise their 2016/17 rookie scale options on any eligible players. If a team passed on exercising its option on a player, that player will now become an unrestricted free agent next summer, instead of a restricted free agent, as would have been the case if the team had exercised the option and allowed the player’s contract to run its full course. Any team that declines a rookie scale team option will only be permitted to re-sign that player for no more than the option amount next offseason, a rule in place to prevent teams from circumventing the salary cap to funnel higher paydays to star young players after two or three seasons. You can see the full list of players who were eligible this fall, as well as the status of their options here:

This brings me to the question/topic for today: Which rookie scale team option that was exercised prior to this year’s deadline was the biggest surprise, and why?

These rookie scale options are bargains for the teams in most instances, and as a result franchises will usually exercise them, even if the player hasn’t quite lived up to his potential during his time in the league thus far. But there are cases where it may be evident that a player isn’t cut out for the NBA, and the team may be better served to decline the option and move on. Browsing the list of eligible players linked above, were there any who fell into the latter category whose team may have been better served to have cut its losses and declined that player’s option? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

The Pistons are set to retire the numbers of former players Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace this season, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Both were major contributors on Detroit’s 2003/04 NBA championship squad, the franchise’s last. Billups, who was also affectionately known as “Mr. Big Shot,” retired after the 2013/14 season. The point guard rejoined the Pistons for that final season after he had been traded to the Nuggets in November of 2008 for Allen Iverson. Wallace, a rebounding whiz and defensive monster, left Detroit after the 2005/06 season when he inked a four-year, $60MM deal with the rival Bulls. Big Ben would return to the Motor City in 2009/10, and he remained a member of the Pistons until his retirement after the 2011/12 season.

This brings me to the topic/question if the day: Where do Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace rank among the all-time Pistons greats?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on these two Detroit sports greats. Do any of you out there disagree with the team’s plan to retire their numbers? If so, why? We look forward to what you have to say on the subject.

The chatter about a potential scenario in which Knicks team president Phil Jackson would return to work for the Lakers and fiancee Jeanie Buss has resurfaced in NBA circles over recent weeks, according to a report by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. It should be noted that Jackson can reportedly opt out of his five-year deal with the Knicks after this season, though that doesn’t necessarily imply that the executive will depart New York at that time. Speculation emerged earlier this year that Jackson wouldn’t finish out his contract, though he did go on record back in June saying that he wanted to stay around long enough to help the Knicks turn around their fortunes.

This brings me to the topic/question for today: Will Phil Jackson depart the Knicks to return to the Lakers organization?

Is a reunion in the cards for Jackson and the Lakers, or will the Zen Master call it a career once he walks away from the Knicks? How much longer do you believe Jackson will remain with New York? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts, predictions, and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

Winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award is one of the most prestigious individual achievements in all of sports. Snagging the award takes not only great individual numbers, it also requires the player to elevate his franchise, as well as his teammates, with his play and production throughout the grueling 82-game schedule. Stephen Curry earned the award for the 2014/15 campaign, securing 100 out of 130 possible first-place votes, with James Harden coming in second followed by LeBron James in the third slot.

While Curry, Harden, and James are all likely to be in the discussion for this year’s MVP award, there are a number of players who possess the skills and ability to thrust themselves into consideration for this season’s honor. This brings me to the question/topic for today: Who will win the 2015/16 NBA MVP Award?

Let’s get those predictions on record now. That way you’ll have documented proof to show your friends in the spring when the award is handed out. Take to the comments section below to share who you believe will win the award, as well as the stat line you think that player will put up to deserve such an honor. We look forward to what you have to say.

The league deadline for teams to pare down their rosters to the regular season maximum of 15 players has passed, and a flurry of activity transpired over the weekend with upwards of 140 players being waived by their teams. While most of these departing players weren’t expected to make it into the NBA this year, there were still a number of talented athletes who were let go who arguably belong in the league this season.

This brings me to the topic/question of the day: Which player not making his team’s regular season roster came as the biggest surprise?

Who do you feel absolutely should have made the cut and started the regular season with a spot in the limelight? It could be a young player who you believe has more upside or talent than one the team retained, or a cagey veteran whose locker room intangibles you feel outweigh the player kept in his place. But don’t just stop at providing a name … tell us all why you feel this way. Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

An unwillingness to adjust his freewheeling college game to the NBA style of play led to Jimmer Fredette‘s lack of success in the league, a former NBA assistant told Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. The Spurs waived Fredette on Wednesday, though four other NBA teams still reportedly have some level of interest in him. Fredette is a former lottery pick, having gone 10th overall to the Kings back in 2011. Still, he didn’t make too much of an impact during his rookie season, and his numbers have declined ever since. He shot only 18.8% from three-point range last season with the Pelicans and didn’t make a three-pointer in the preseason this month for the Spurs.

This brings me to the topic/question of the day: Does Jimmer Fredette have a future as an NBA player? If so, what adjustments to his game need to be made?

Fredette thus far has shown himself to be a one-dimensional player, and his one marketable skill, outside shooting, hasn’t been consistent enough to allow him to stick on an NBA roster thus far in his professional career. Do you believe Fredette can alter his game enough to become a reliable contributor in the league, or is his dream of being an NBA player at an end? Is there a team or system that would be ideal for the shooting guard? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.