Community Shootaround

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant turned 37 today. What better time than now to discuss his future? He is back on the court practicing shooting drills for the first time since tearing the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, as Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes.

Bryant is in the last year of his current deal, which will pay him $25MM. He isn’t making any definitive statements about whether he’ll retire after this coming season, even though that seems the most likely outcome.

Thus, the question of the day: Depending on how it plays out, what should Kobe Bryant do after this season?

Personally, I’d like to see Bryant hang it up after this season for a few reasons. He’s obviously been limited because of injuries, he has nothing more to prove in the league and another contract — unless it is a one-year deal — would only hurt the Lakers’ rebuilding process more.

Being mindful of our commenting policy, let us know in the comments section below what you think is the most underrated signing of the summer so far.

Rookie of the Year honors normally go to players at or near the top of the draft board. In fact, four of the last seven winners were drafted No. 1 overall — Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin (although he sat out his first season with an injury), Kyrie Irving and last year’s winner, Andrew Wiggins.

This year’s No. 1 pick, center Karl-Anthony Towns, figures to see a lot of minutes as part of the young core in Minnesota. However, several other rookies are also in position to get a large share of playing time. The Lakers liked point guard D’Angelo Russell enough to take him No. 2 ahead of Jahlil Okafor. Russell could put up impressive numbers and plenty of flashy highlights in Los Angeles. And Okafor, who landed in Philadelphia, could lead the Sixers in scoring with his polished post game.

Beyond the top three selections, there are plenty of intriguing possibilities for this year’s award. The Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis will face a bright spotlight in New York. Overseas products Mario Hezonja and Emmanuel Mudiay will get to show their skills to American audiences. Rookie big men Willie Cauley-Stein and Frank Kaminsky should both be part of their teams’ rotations, as will small forwards Stanley Johnson and Justise Winslow. And there’s always the possibility that someone outside of the top 10 will surprise, much like Michael Carter-Williams did in 2013/14.

Today’s topic is: Who do you expect to be the Rookie of the Year for 2015/16 and why? Remember, the question isn’t just who is the most talented player from this year’s draft or which team made out the best considering its draft position. Taking into account the opportunity for playing time and the adjustment to the NBA game, who do you believe will take home the trophy next spring?

Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, send a message to hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com or hit up Eddie Scarito on Twitter at @EddieScarito to submit topics or ideas for what we should present in future posts.

On Thursday, the Raptors officially announced that they and center Jonas Valanciunas reached an agreement on a contract extension worth $64MM over four years. The pact also includes a player option on the fourth year. “Jonas’ contributions continue to improve with each season and we view him as a significant part of what we are building in Toronto,” Toronto GM Masai Ujiri said in the team’s press release regarding the deal.

The extension didn’t come as a surprise after Ujiri had relayed this past spring that Valanciunas was “a huge part of our team” for the future. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun had reported in early July that the Raptors planned to work toward extensions with both Valanciunas and Terrence Ross, though the team’s front office has seemed to be especially enamored with Valanciunas, and they seemed to blame the team’s coaching staff for the slow development in the center’s game. The Raptors and head coach Dwane Casey overhauled the team’s group of assistant coaches this offseason, bringing in Rex Kalamian, Andy Greer and Jerry Stackhouse to hopefully hasten Valaciunas’ development along.

Valanciunas’ $60MM deal makes him one of the league’s most highly paid big men, eclipsing the $12MM a year that Nikola Vucevic snagged on the extension he signed with the Magic this past fall. Enes Kanter came away with a max deal of about $70MM this summer as the salary structure of the NBA continues to change in advance of the projected leaps in the salary cap. This brings me to today’s topic: What are your thoughts on Jonas Valanciunas’ extension with the Raptors?

Do you feel that a $15MM annual salary is in line with Valanciunas’ production and potential? With salaries expected to jump dramatically on deals signed beginning next Summer, will this pact be looked at as a bargain in a few short seasons, or a bust? Whatever your feelings are on the matter, we want to hear them. Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot me a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter at @EddieScarito to submit topics or ideas for what we should present in future posts.

There was quite a bit of hype leading up to the 2014 NBA Draft, and that class was supposed to contain a number of players possessing star-level talent who were worth tanking for. Unfortunately, the reality didn’t quite live up to the hyperbole that preceded last year’s draftees, and in fact, quite a few of the top ranked players missed significant time last season due to various injuries. These players included No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker, No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid, and No. 7 pick Julius Randle, just to name a few. The rest of the rookie class struggled to adjust to the pro game, as was to be expected, and while a number of players showed flashes of promise, none enjoyed a particularly dominant first year.

Of course, one lone season is not a sufficient sample size to properly judge a player, and many of these NBA sophomores should demonstrate significant improvement in their second professional campaigns. This brings me to the topic of the day: Which second-year player do you expect to have a breakout season in 2015/16?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the player or players whom you expect to have breakout seasons. If you are taking the glass is half empty approach, and don’t think any of last year’s draftees will distinguish themselves, then feel free to weigh in on why you feel that way. We look forward to what you have to say.

Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot me a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter at @EddieScarito to submit topics or ideas for what we should present in future posts.

As we learned earlier today, James Harden is confident that his new teammate Ty Lawson can overcome his alcohol-related issues and fit in well with the Rockets. Lawson, who recently completed a 30-day rehab program in the wake of his second DUI of the year, was shipped from Denver to Houston last month in a five-player deal.

Whether Lawson will be available for the season opener is subject to debate, according to an ESPN.com report. The league normally does not administer punishment until after court cases have been settled, the report points out. Lawson is due back in court on Aug. 20th in Denver.

There are more reasons to think Lawson and the Rockets won’t quite work so well besides his troubled past. Lawson does not exactly complement Harden because the two have similar skills — and similar deficiencies. Lawson is a ball-dominant player and is not a great defender. Despite that, I believe Lawson improves the Rockets because he is such a threat offensively. He also provides the team some speed that was seemingly missing during the playoffs.

Thus, the question of the day: Keeping in mind Lawson’s struggle with alcohol, how does Lawson fit with the Rockets?

Take to the comments section below to sound off with your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot us a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com.

On Wednesday, the league released the official team schedules for the 2015/16 NBA season. Some of the more notable changes for this season are that the NBA was able to cut the average amount of back-to-backs per team from 19.3 last season to 17.8 for 2015/16, and reduced the amount of four games in five days teams will play from 2.3 in 2014/15 to .9 this coming season, as well as cut down the distance each team will be required to travel by 2%. These alterations were done with the hope that they would reduce wear-and-tear on the players, as well as to improve the overall product on the court by keeping the players fresher.

One debate that seems to rear its head every year regards the overall length of the regular season. NBA teams began playing 80 games each beginning way back in the day during the 1961/62 campaign. The league then bumped that number up to 81 for the 1966/67 season, courtesy of expansion, and finally settled on the current 82 game format the following year. While the team owners certainly benefit financially from playing more games courtesy of TV contracts, gate receipts, and of course, concession sales, one can argue that the longer season creates less meaningful games, as well as increases the injury risk for all of the players involved.

So here’s the topic of the day: Is the current 82 game regular season schedule too long? If so, what changes should be made to improve the quality of the game?

There have been suggestions made by members of the league and the media to decrease the overall game count to 76, which could help reduce the amount of late season contests where star players are resting up for the playoffs. After all, with how expensive it can be nowadays to attend an NBA event, shouldn’t fans be able to see the best players on the court for their hard-earned cash? A more radical suggestion, made by ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz a few years ago, called for paring down the amount of games to 44. Under that plan, teams would play just twice a week, one game midweek, and the other on the weekend. While that big of a reduction is highly unlikely given the amount of revenue it would cost the league, it would also likely create some seriously contentious CBA meetings, which would be needed to ratify such a change, since there would be salary cap and pay scale adjustments needed to accompany such a significant alteration.

What are your thoughts on the current season length? If you believe a change needs to be made, then how many games should teams play each campaign? Are there any other changes, such as length of the preseason, playoff series, All-Star break duration, that you think would help improve the NBA? Take to the comments section below to chime in. We look forward to what you have to say.

Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot me a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter at @EddieScarito to submit topics or ideas for what we should present in future posts.