Which NBA coach is on the hottest seat? Plus, Jaren Jackson Jr., Coby White and Tyus Jones all show up in this week's mailbag.
Please send your questions for future mailbags to me on Twitter at @Docktora so we can keep this column fun and packed with questions!
Which NBA coach gets fired first? - Looselips67 (@Looselips671)
My coaching carousel crystal ball says it will be Billy Donovan of the Bulls. I don't think it's all his fault, but he was already in some trouble entering the season with just one playoff appearance in his three seasons. He's coming off a 40-42 season and is sitting on a 5-14 record currently. And the fact that Zach LaVine is disgruntled doesn't help his cause, either.
When is Jaren Jackson Jr. going to turn it around? Will he be better when Ja Morant returns? - MJ (@Jeno09)
Man, I don't know. He's averaging a career-high 19.4 points but his shooting is bad and the rebounds and blocks are both down. My biggest concern is that the Grizzlies are just 4-13 on the season and I wonder if they'll even be able to make a run when Morant is ready to play. Either way, I do expect Morant's return to have a positive effect on JJJ, although I'm not sure that will translate to him getting more rebounds and blocks. Unfortunately, we might be stuck with this version of JJJ all season long, which I didn't see coming.
Which NBA coach is on the hottest seat? Plus, Jaren Jackson Jr., Coby White and Tyus Jones all show up in this week's mailbag.
Please send your questions for future mailbags to me on Twitter at @Docktora so we can keep this column fun and packed with questions!
Which NBA coach gets fired first? - Looselips67 (@Looselips671)
My coaching carousel crystal ball says it will be Billy Donovan of the Bulls. I don't think it's all his fault, but he was already in some trouble entering the season with just one playoff appearance in his three seasons. He's coming off a 40-42 season and is sitting on a 5-14 record currently. And the fact that Zach LaVine is disgruntled doesn't help his cause, either.
When is Jaren Jackson Jr. going to turn it around? Will he be better when Ja Morant returns? - MJ (@Jeno09)
Man, I don't know. He's averaging a career-high 19.4 points but his shooting is bad and the rebounds and blocks are both down. My biggest concern is that the Grizzlies are just 4-13 on the season and I wonder if they'll even be able to make a run when Morant is ready to play. Either way, I do expect Morant's return to have a positive effect on JJJ, although I'm not sure that will translate to him getting more rebounds and blocks. Unfortunately, we might be stuck with this version of JJJ all season long, which I didn't see coming.
Cameron Johnson or Ausar Thompson ROS 9 cat? - EK (@Eddiek1914)
It's a coin toss but I think Thompson should continue to get better with time while we've kind of seen what Cam is going to do for the Nets. Cam has a little more value right now but I expect them to be right next to each other in the rankings by the end of the season. I'm leaning Thompson just because of the upside he has after just 17 NBA games.
I have a rash of trade offers without any message and never get replies to messages I send. Is this a growing thing and would platforms do more to require a message? - Matt Boyer (@MattBoyerCrime)
There could be several reasons why this is happening. It could be the league you're in and guys just don't reply to trade offers. It could be that you're blasting the league with so many offers people have stopped looking or communicating with you about them. Or it could be something else entirely. I don't normally respond to offers that I'm not interested in and I like to do my work on the waiver wire as opposed to trying to work out trades. The key is finding another manager who enjoys trading as much as you do and then trying to work with that person to get a deal done. Good luck!
Coby White or Buddy Hield rest of season? - Illgobbo (@Illgobbo)
If Buddy sticks in the starting unit he should easily finish with more fantasy value, as Coby's poor shooting and lack of steals will hurt him. I like some of the things Coby is doing and he's having enough good games to live with the bad ones, but in a vacuum, I think Hield does less damage and more good to his teams.
Would you trade Ausar Thompson for Anunoby straight up? I get Anunoby. - Blaklynx Training Room Arc (@blaklynx1)
That's a tough call. Thompson already has more fantasy value than OG but we at least know OG is likely to play all season for a team that should end up in the playoff hunt. And he should be better than he has been thus far. Then again, the two-win Pistons don't have any reason to stop playing Thompson big minutes, either. I like Thompson's upside and youth here, but Anunoby should overtake him by the end of the season. The fact remains that OG was a Top 30 player last season and is off to a slow start. I don't think Thompson can get there this season and Anunoby simply has to get better at some point. Anunoby makes more sense, but it's hard not to love Ausar.
How do you feel about Josh Giddey? Is he droppable in a points league once Anfernee Simons is back? - FantasyFootballWiz (@darnellbright4)
I don't have any points leagues this year so I'm not sure I'm an authority on the subject. At a glance, I'd say he's not someone who should be dropped but I also know his scoring is down, he might have some legal woes coming and he's kind of been lost in the shuffle in OKC. I guess the bottom line is that if he's the worst player on your points team and he's not producing like you need him to, then you have to at least consider dropping him. But I can't publicly (and blindly) recommend someone dropping Giddey right now.
In season-long 10-team roto would you bid on or claim Malcolm Brogdon and who would you drop from Draymond Green, Coby White, Herb Jones and Chris Paul? - Luke (@Acu_Luke)
Yes, Brogdon should be rostered everywhere, until he gets hurt again (we know this will happen). I'm not a Draymond guy so that would be my choice. I wouldn't cut Jones unless he tanks with CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy back.
When is LaMelo Ball coming back? - Tim Ezell (@Tim_Ezell)
As a real doctor I play golf with pointed out to me the other day, I'm not a real doctor. I don't think he loves people calling us both 'Doc' when he actually earned his title and I kind of just stole mine. But in any case, I don't like the fact Melo is on crutches, etc. and he's never been a fast healer. The whole thing feels like a classic "monther" and I'm going to guess we won't see him before Christmas and I'm just hopeful he'll be back in January at this point. Dude just can't stay healthy.
How do you see Jaime Jaquez faring once Jimmy and Herro are back on the floor? His decision making and defense seem like they'll afford him some PT maybe at Richardson's expense. - Mediocrites117 (@mediocrites117)
While I agree with you that Jaquez has earned time, I'm just not sure he'll get enough run to sustain the necessary fantasy value he'll need to remain on a lot of rosters. Jimmy and Herro are going to get a ton of minutes and Jaquez is a guy I'd just plan on riding until the wheels fall off and then be prepared to let him go.
Gotta drop two of Santi Aldama, Jaime Jaquez, P.J. Washington, Coby White, Tyus Jones when Jamal Murray and Trey Murphy come back. Advice? - Stephen (@curry_monstah)
I'm leaning Jaime and PJW here, but Coby and Aldama are also candidates. While I don't love what Tyus Jones is doing it still feels like he has to get better at some point. Speaking of Tyus…
Has Tyus Jones plateaued or will his numbers rise? - Vincent Joseph (@Vincent91065027)
Despite a bigger role and more minutes per game, the numbers are almost exactly the same as last year for Jones. I don't think he's plateaued and I wonder if the lackluster and weird Jordan Poole situation is working some negative mojo on Jones, as well. He can't be this bad all year can he? I don't know the answer but if we're still here at Christmas time talking about how disappointing he is, he may end up being droppable in hoops leagues. He's like an 11th-round value right now, which is brutal.
What kind of return do you want for Scottie Barnes? Top 30+ top 70 in a multiplayer deal? Top 25-30 alone? - Anthony K. (@akfantasybb)
I want a really good player back and if you need depth, then you move him for two solid players. But right now he's a Top 15 player, the steals and blocks are money and he's taking over in Toronto. I'd have a hard time trading him away, personally.
What do you think about Tari Eason going forward? - #WellZ (@Wellz0005)
I love Eason as much as the next guy but given that he hasn't played more than 21 minutes in any game this season and that the Rockets are 8-8, I just don't see him ever getting to 25-30 mpg, which is what he'll need to be a consistent performer. Houston is just too deep.
Should I start Spiral Stairs or Bob Pollard at small forward? - Mark (@KingHeccubus)
A music question! I don't know much about Spiral's hooping ability but I do know that Bobby threw a no-hitter in college and averaged 20 points per game in hoops as a senior in high school. Pavement and Guided By Voices are two of my favorite bands and I'll take any of the Pollard boys (his brother, Jim, holds the Dayton-area record of scoring 57 points in a high school game) in almost any sport. Although if we're talking tennis, I think I'd go with Stephen Malkmus over the Pollards.
