Grind City Media’s Lang Whitaker and Michael Wallace have been covering the NBA
since shorts were short and socks were long, but their opinions about the League
don’t always mesh. #IMHO is their weekly chance to 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: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 9:27 AM To: Michael
Wallace Subject: #IMHO
Hey Mike,
So, everyone in Philadelphia should be happy, right? They trusted the process,
even when it wasn’t easy to trust, and were patient through injury recovery and
burner Twitter accounts. And now everything seems to be coming together – the
Sixers are in third place in the East and they’ve still got five first round
picks coming up in the next three years. Things are looking great!
But what in the world is going on with Markelle Fultz? We hear that his shoulder
is a problem, or maybe it’s a mental thing where he has the yips, or… well,
frankly, I don’t know if anyone knows exactly what is the real deal. So let’s
say you’re Sixers GM Elton Brand: What do you do? Keep Fultz, who you traded up
to get with the number one overall pick just a year ago? Trade him for whatever
you can get and keep building?
From: Michael Wallace Sent: November 27, 2018 10:29 AM To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: RE: #IMHO
I’m still skeptical of so-called ‘Process’ in Philly. That ‘Process’ also
produced Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor and Michael Carter-Williams. Remember them?
I don’t blame you if you don’t. The Sixers are in the solid position they are
today just as much because of some prudent and shrewd moves made by the
post-Process regime as they are due to the administration that spent years
gutting the franchise. Fast-forward to now, Fultz clearly was a mistake. Not
only was it a bad pick, but the Sixers also gave up assets to land him. Even in
a best-case scenario, his potential skillset doesn’t fit alongside Ben Simmons
and Jimmy Butler. He’s not worth all the fuss he’s causing right now. If our guy
Elton Brand can move him for a late first – San Antonio and New Orleans come to
mind as potential great spots – then, I’d do it immediately.
Speaking of the Spurs, Lang, we know Gregg Popovich gets plenty of passes from
the media, largely for two reasons. He’s respected for all the winning. He’s
also feared by many because of his at times publicly abrasive nature. That said,
was it cool for Pop to take that not-so-subtle jab at ex-Spur Kawhi Leonard’s
leadership – or lack thereof – the other day with reporters?
From: Lang Whitaker Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 2:39 PM To: Michael
Wallace Subject: #IMHO
Pop doesn’t seem to be able to do any wrong, Mike, even when he’s being salty
along the sidelines. (Fun story: The first time I met him years ago, I was
introduced as being from SLAM magazine, and Pop responded, with a grin, “Oh
SLAM…that’s kind of like US News and World Reports, right?”) The thing is, I
think we’re mostly ok with him acting like his heart is two sizes too small
because we know it’s an act. (Well, for the most part.) We know he can be
thoughtful and caring, and he and Steve Kerr are arguably the most woke coaches
in the NBA. So if he wants to be Mr. Grinch from time to time, I’m cool with it.
And if he wants to speak on things most coaches wouldn’t touch with a
thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole, I’m all for letting him speak out.
And speaking of speaking out, last week in Washington a simmering situation
seemed to boil over. The Wizards have always walked a fine line as they tried to
construct a dynasty around John Wall and Bradley Beal, but even with a win over
Houston earlier this week, I’m not sure that this time there’s any way to
salvage the mess in DC. Should they stick with the plan? Or is it time to drain
the swamp in Washington?
From: Michael Wallace Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 8:42 PM To: Lang
Whitaker Subject: #IMHO
The Wizards probably have no choice other than to let this play out a bit
longer. Have you seen their salary sheet? They’ve basically got three max guys,
including Wall’s supermax kicking in. I know we can sometimes be prisoners of
the moment and blow things out of proportion these days. Remember when the
Rockets were supposed to be imploding last month? How about the other week, when
that beef between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green supposedly had the Warriors’
dynasty at the point of no return? In hindsight, only the Jimmy Butler saga in
Minnesota HAD to be dealt with in relative short order. I’m not saying the
Wizards are Eastern Conference finals fixable. But last I checked, they were one
spot out of playoff position. A trade or two may be ultimately inevitable in
Washington. Just not necessarily imminent. I’d give it another 10-15 games
before pushing the panic button.
We’ll wrap on this, Lang. All three games on the NBA Thursday slate are
absolutely intriguing (Warriors-Raptors, Pacers-Lakers, Clippers-Kings). All
things considered, good and bad, which of the six teams is having the most
surprising season? I’m tempted to take the Warriors (relative struggles) or
Clippers (stunningly stable). But I’ve gotta go with the Kings. They landed the
least productive of the top-five picks so far. They’ve benched nearly all their
vets in favor of a youth movement. There was reportedly an internal coup attempt
to run out coach Dave Joerger. Yet, they’re still off to one of their best
starts in years at 10-10 through 20 games and in playoff position. Who are these
Kings, yo!
From: Lang Whitaker Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2018 11:02 AM To: Michael
Wallace Subject: #IMHO
The Kings have been surprisingly good to start this season. We’ve seen them play
our Grizz twice already this season, and I have to say that watching the Kings
play just makes me feel nervous. They fly up the court as soon as they get the
ball and take contested shots with 15 seconds left on the shot clock and
basically do a whole lot of stuff that winning teams generally don’t do, but
they do it with such consistency and pace that it seems to be working.
My vote for most surprising season thus far would go to the Toronto Raptors, who
fired a popular coach and replaced him with a guy with no NBA head coaching
experience, then traded away the most beloved player on their team in exchange
for a dude who seemed to be staging a boycott of his previous team, yet the
Raptors have still managed to come flying out of the gates with an 18-4 record.
I know they’ve had an easy early-season schedule, but they are a really good
defensive team (anchored by Kawhi Leonard) and have a lot of flexibility on the
offensive end. I also appreciate how they seem to be able to adapt on the fly,
figuring out what works during games and then relying on those things. It also
speaks to their organizational strength that they’ve been able to fill so many
of their needs from within by developing their own young talents. The Raptors
are for real.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis
Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Lang Whitaker and Michael Wallace are
solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its
Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors.
Their sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and they have no special
access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being
an NBA accredited member of the media.
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