10 NBA Lobs With Brian Robb: How Much For Rondo's Next Contract?
BOSTON (CBS) -- This summer has given us a fascinating NBA offseason, so Brian Robb of CBSBoston.com and CelticsHub.com joined Rich Keefe on The Adam Jones Show for a full hour on Wednesday night.
So what better way to chat NBA than toss up some lobs to B-Robb? Keefe hit Robb with 10 NBA questions, ranging everywhere from Rajon Rondo's next contract to where Kevin Love will be playing next season.
Here are the "10 Lobs for B-Robb":
-How much should Rajon Rondo's next contract be worth?
"Five-years, 100 million total, and I'm factoring this in with the new CBA," said Robb, saying he thinks it's likely Rondo will be back with the Celtics. "I don't think this ownership has the stomach to really tear it fully apart. If you let him go, unless you're dealing him and getting another impact guy in a trade, you're waiting another two or three years to get good again."
-How do you see James Young contributing this year?
"I think he's going to be on the bench for most of the first half. You have Jeff Green, Gerald Wallace, AB and Smart at the wings. The C's will try to trade Green to clear the way for opportunities (for Young), but he's a young guy, 18-years-old, and offensively he'll be ready to contribute right away from a shooting standpoint. But it will take him a little while to adjust to the NBA level.
-Who is the better team: Miami Heat or Cleveland Cavaliers?
"I have to go with the Cavs. The Heat are brining everyone back, but LeBron carried that team in a big way throughout the entire postseason," said Robb. "Wade can't afford to take 20-30 games off a year anymore and have that team remain competitive.
"It's going to be close – I don't think LeBron will run away with the East or anything, but overall (the Cavaliers) will be better than the Heat."
-Commissioner Adam Silver hinted at a mid-season tournament in the NBA. Would you rather have a mid-season tournament in the NBA, or a four-point shot?
"Give me the four-point shot, just because the idea of a mid-season tournament is absurd to me," said Robb.
"Brian Robb hates the mid-season tournament so much, he'd rather see a four-point shot. I kind of respect that," added Keefe.
-How significant of a loss is Lance Stephenson to the Pacers?
"It's a loss, but given how much of a train wreck that team was for the second half of the season, they couldn't bring everyone back. They needed a shakeup in some form, and sometimes you lose a good player in that process," said Robb. "It will hurt them a little bit, but I don't think it takes them out of the running in the East."
-Who is more overpaid? Chandlers Parsons at 3-years/$46 million or Gordon Hayward at 4-years/$63 million?
"They are both definitely overpaid, but I'm going to go with Hayward just for the length of the deal," said Robb. "This is a guy who shot 41% from the field and 31% downtown on a really bad Jazz team. If those are the numbers that are going to get you max money, then again, this is where you worry about what a guy like Rondo will command on the open market?"
-What team does Kevin Love end the season with?
"I'm going to go with the Warriors, and I think that's only a 35% chance of happening. But if you're going to pick a favorite, that's the team right now," said Robb. "Maybe they start the season with the team intact, and maybe something happens in the middle where they roll the dice [with a Love deal]. But I think the Wolves are No. 2."
Bonus lob: Should the Cavs include Andrew Wiggins in a Kevin Love trade?
"I think you have to roll the dice in a situation like this. Kyrie, Love and LeBron with a good supporting cast, that's a team who could be a perennial contender."
-Is Paul Pierce an upgrade over Trevor Ariza for the Wizards this season?
"I think it's a slight upgrade. Regular season Pierce, no, because Ariza is a young guy in his late 20's. But if you're going into the heat of the Eastern Conference playoffs against guys like LeBron and teams like the Bulls, I want Pierce in the mix," said Robb. "He showed he could still bring it for the Nets last year; he wasn't an issue for the Nets against the Heat last year, it was other parts of that roster."
-Best team in the Eastern Conference right now?
Robb says the Chicago Bulls.
- Grantland's Zach Lowe had an article about the NBA lottery system possibly changing – what are the chances we see change next year?
"I think it would be tough to get it in place next year, but I definitely think in 2015-16, something will be in place," he said. "You can't have teams tanking; it hurts the product. This kind of a tweak, if it does get in place next year, it helps [the Celtics] a ton. You have all these incoming picks from Brooklyn, who is going to be on the fringe of the postseason a few years down the road."
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