Grind City Media’s Lang Whitaker and Kelcey Wright Johnson weigh in on the most pertinent news from around the NBA. What’s lit? What’s lame? Find out each week right here.
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Monday, February 1, 2021 9:50:27 AM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: IMHO
Kelcey! Well, we’ve made it to February, and Bradley Beal is still a member of the Washington Wizards. I can’t say that I blame the Wizards—we all know that they already moved John Wall and got a former MVP in return, in Russell Westbrook. But Beal is still just 27 years old, and he’s arguably the best shooting guard in the NBA right now. If you’re going to rebuild, why not hang onto the guy who would make an incredible building block?
At the same time, rebuilding by definition requires tearing everything down and starting over. Let me put it this way: My wife and I are currently in the process of remodeling our kitchen. I was talking with the contractor about ways to watch costs, and I mentioned possibly just trying to keep the same appliances, since they’re mostly fine, if a little worn. And he said if we wanted to that, fine, but the point of remodeling is remodeling.
Beal continues to put up huge numbers, but there have also been times when he clearly looks checked out…
So Kelcey, if you were the Washington Wizards, what would you do about Bradley Beal?
From: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Sent: Monday, February 1, 2021 3:31:23 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO
That’s such a tough question.
Bradley Beal deserves some credit—second in the league in scoring last season and encores it this season leading the league with almost 35 points per game… but the Wizards are at the bottom of the East having only won four games.
Does trading Beal and really rebuilding help that right now? He’s in the fifth and final year of his contract, becoming an unrestricted free agent this next offseason. I guess if you go the rebuilding route you want to trade the All-Star Beal for a bunch of young players and really just start from the ground up; maybe look at Denver a mix of Porter, Barton, Harris and a couple others? Or go straight to the Pelicans and their 10,000 picks next year? But do either of those teams make Beal happy? I don’t know.
If I’m Washington, I hold on to him. At least for this season. The duo of Westbrook and Beal should not be last in the East. Give them some time. We’re seeing all the memes of Beal pouting on the bench in the first half, but like his wife pointed out on Twitter — they have to show Bradley absolutely SNAP in the second half of that game too. I’m holding out hope for the Wizards.
One person that I do think should be traded… Derrick Rose. Free that old man from that young team! The Pistons are in a similar situation — they’re young and I thought they’d be looking to rebuild with a young core, but they’ve got 32-year-old Derrick Rose playing 20-30 minutes per game. What do you think Detroit is doing up there in the great north?
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Tuesday, February 2, 2021 7:32:55 PM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: Re: IMHO
Man, I just had a flash where I felt ancient when you mentioned Derrick Rose being 32 years old. At first I thought, Ah Kelcey is just being funny. Then I googled him and…yeah, I’m ancient!
Anyway, yeah, I don’t know what Detroit is doing. I’ve expressed this sentiment here before, but I’ve always felt the worst place you can be in the NBA is in the middle. Either be really good (or on a clear path to good) or be at the bottom, but living in the middle is a strange, lonely place. If you’re going to be bad, be really bad. The Pistons might be trending downward, but it doesn’t feel as though it’s intentional, which is… a weird choice? Building around Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose is… bold?
Anyway, you invoking the Pistons reminded me of something else I wanted to ask you about. Every season, some team comes along that I didn’t expect to come along and becomes something of a League Pass surprise. Already this season, I’ve found myself seeking out the Pacers a few times, because though they don’t really have a superstar at the moment, they play so hard every night and execute so well that they’re a delight to watch.
But the flip side holds as well: There are a bunch of teams that we do not want to watch, too. For me, for some reason, I seem to keep getting tricked into watching the L-Wolves like once a week, even though they don’t really play an inviting style of basketball. What team has been your least-favorite League Pass team this season?
From: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, February 2, 2021 10:02 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO
Ha! The L-Wolves is both the best and worst nickname for any team across the league.
My least favorite team to watch this year, you ask? This may sound really bad because my old college coach is an assistant coach for this team now … but I’ve tried to watch the Kings play a few times and I haven’t made it through an entire game. I always end up switching out at the quarter break to find some more exciting basketball.
Now, don’t get me wrong; De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield (and Tyrese Haliburton) are talented players and individually, I would watch their highlights all day. But together, they just don’t do it for me.
I was going to have to watch them last week when they were going to play the Grizzlies but alas, the games were postponed and now they will just be my Valentine’s Day dates on February 14th at 8pm.
I honestly don’t know what it is about them; they’re top ten in the league in scoring, so it’s not that they’re not playing with pace. I think they do play a bit sloppy — from the limited minutes I’ve watched, they seem to turn the ball over a lot. I honestly don’t know why they’re just not my team. But I also don’t want them to feel bad because the Cavs, Knicks and Bulls are all right up there with them and I’m not going on a romantic date with any of those three teams on Valentine’s Day, so the Kings should count themselves lucky.
While I’m on the topic of V-Day dates, Lang … You’ve gotta go on a double-date with any NBA and their spouse, who are you going with? (I know you didn’t ask me, but mine is Jrue and Lauren Holiday).
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2021 11:21:52 AM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: Re: IMHO
Well, to be honest, I’ve gone on a double-date with an NBA player and his wife. When I lived in New York City, my wife and I lived a few blocks from my main man Emeka Okafor and his terrific wife, Ilana. Our kids were also about the same age, so not only did we have double-dates, we had a few play dates, spent some time hanging out. I vividly recall one of my son’s first birthday parties, and Mek and I being the last two people left behind in the park, quietly cleaning up the rented room.
As far as on Valentine’s Day? Well, I’ve learned through the years that of all the nights when I need to work (read: watch or go to games), I can earn some serious points if I’m able to clear the night on V-Day. Actually, one year when I was at SLAM, I was supposed to interview Tim Duncan for an article, and the Spurs happened to be in NYC at the time. Tim asked me to come to shootaround one morning to talk, and I did, but practice ended up running over. So Tim asked if I could instead come to the game that night to catch up. Normally, I told him, it was no problem. BUT! This was on Valentine’s Day, and I had a dinner reservation for a night out with my wife all ready to go. If there was no other way, I told him, I’d be there.
And as soon as I said the word’s “Valentine’s Day,” Tim closed his eyes and nodded, Timmy gave me the night off, and he graciously hopped on the phone with me a day later, instead.
And that’s why Tim Duncan is the GOAT.