A few days ago, NBA.com co-ordinated a question and answer session between NBA Analyst David Aldridge and various NBA Bloggers. The Hoop Doctors of course were invited to participate, but instead of asking questions of our own, we decided to reach out to followers of our Twitter account and ask our readers what questions they would like answers to from David Aldridge. Of the questions we received back we selected the following two to be put forward as questions from The Hoop Doctors to NBA.com and David Aldridge:
From Matt Gavenda: Who should the Bulls go after to make them a viable playoff team? And who should they be move to make it happen?
David Aldridge: This season, before the trade deadline I think they’re obviously going to move Tyrus Thomas. The question is do they go after a Stoudemire as a rental player for three months? Well I don’t even know if they’re going to resign him or not because I don’t think he’s the guy they want. Keep in mind what Chicago’s goal is ultimately. It’s not this season. They’re goal is to get to free agency in the summer and get a superstar. They are going to get Dwyane Wade or Bosh, or Joe Johnson, that’s they’re goal. Maybe even LeBron. You don’t hear much about Chicago and LeBron, but they are going to have enough money to go after a superstar, and that’s what they want. They want to pair a superstar with Rose and with Noah and they feel like they can really take a big jump. This year, it’s not that they’re irrelevant but it’s not their ultimate goal. So whatever moves they make are not going to be for a playoff run this year. It’s going to be to make sure they have enough cap room this summer to go after a superstar.
From Guy Lake: DA, do you have any word on Chris Cohan selling the Warriors to Larry Ellison (or any other competent millionaire)? The rumor was hot a month ago.
DA: Larry Ellison has been trying to buy the Warriors for five to six years now. And he’s still trying to do it, it’s just a matter of finding a price that Chris Cohan is comfortable with. I know that the league would very much like Larry Ellison to buy that team obviously as a guy with a lot of not only money but interest. You want people who are interested in running the basketball side of things and I think that’s just a matter of when, not if that gets done.
We want to congratulate our readers Matt Gavenda and Guy Lake for having their questions be selected for the Q&A piece that will be featured on NBA.com. Here are a few randomly selected questions that some other NBA blogs asked of David Aldridge and his respective responses. The full Q&A will be featured on NBA.com within the next couple of weeks. We will update you shortly to let you know when and where on their site to expect it…
1. Hoops Addict: You’ve seamlessly made the shift from writing for a prominent newspaper to writing for NBA.com. What are some of the aspects of writing
online that you enjoy? What are some of the challenges you face?
DA: Well I think the thing that anybody who writes wants more space and certainly when you write online you have more space than you do writing for a newspaper. It
allows you to get more in depth with a topics, it allows you to address more topics. That’s always a positive when you’re writing online. I don’t know if there are any special challenges to writing online. I think all of us who are in journalism face the idea that there is more pressure because there are so many more doing it out there than there were 20 years ago. And there’s such a ….. to break stories and be first that you have to really be careful about being right. I’d always rather be second than write it first and wrong. There’s no reason in being first if you’re wrong. So the challenge is in this very competitive medium to try to break stories, but I believe the ultimate responsibility of any journalist is to be bright and to be accurate, so that’s what I strive for.
2. Hoops Addict: A lot of athletes have started using Twitter over the past few seasons to mixed results. What are your thoughts on athletes using Twitter
to interact with fans?
DA: I think it’s great. You know social media is a reality, and I think these guys understand that. And anything that allows players to communicate more directly with fans I think is a positive thing.
3. Hornets247: Several articles have appeared online this season arguing that the Hornets would be better off trading Chris Paul and starting from scratch, since they can’t seem to surround him with a good enough supporting cast to win a championship. What would be your thoughts on such a move?
DA: I completely disagree with it. The hardest position I feel to fill correctly on a basketball team is point guard. I don’t think…It’s just really hard to find these quality level point guards that can help you towards a championship. And Chris Paul is one of the two or three best point guards in the league. You are never going to get equal value for him, no matter who you trade for him, unless you trade him for Deron Williams. So you’re going to be a lesser team without him no matter what you get. To me, that wouldn’t make any sense at all. A team like New Orleans, which is going to have limits on what you can spend, when you have a great player it’s one less great player you have to go and try to get. That is something that is their job and Jeff Bower’s job as GM is to surround him with with good enough players just like R.C. Buford did with Tim Duncan in San Antonio. They have Tim Duncan and they surround him over the years with very good to excellent players who are good enough to help them win championships. That’s what Jeff Bower’s job is in New Orleans.
4. Fear the Sword – This year’s Cavaliers team is nearly on the same pace as last season’s team through 50 games. What are your thoughts on this squad. Is it better than last year?
DA: I think they are, but that may not matter in the playoffs. I mean that’s what this is all about, the playoffs. And so when it comes down to it, make Howard work enough on the defensive end so he isn’t dominant on the offensive end. And I think that’s what this comes down to, playing Orlando in the Conference Final again. And we don’t know the answer to that. We’re not going to know that until seven games get played. And then we’ll find out how that works out. But I do think they are better and have more balance now than they’ve had in years past. They can go inside and they have gone inside to shoot I think more, obviously with Shaq, than they had the previous year. And so they have a little more depth. They’ve played guys like Jawad Williams who has given them some good minutes and Hickson if he wants to is good enough. So up front they have a lot more depth than they did last year. We don’t know what Leon’s physical health is going to be, and if he can give them anything that’s another body that they can throw out. Whether it’s Boston or Orlando or Atlanta, to have another body that they can throw out there is going to help. I do think they are better but again that means nothing until we see them do it in the playoffs.
Again, if you want to read the entire transcript from the Q&A with NBA Analyst David Aldridge it will be available soon on NBA.com.
**Update** The full transcript of the chat with David Aldridge is now available on NBA.com. Access it by clicking here.
