Catch & Shoot: 5 Questions with Michael Rosenberg

By Gagan
for HOOPSADDICT.com

Published: February 11, 2008

I recently had a chance to ask Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press and FoxSports.com a few questions about the NBA.

What’s your take on the fan voting aspect of the all-star roster and do you have any issues as to who the coaches chose as the reserves?
I like the fan voting. It’s an All-Star game and it’s for the fans. As for the reserves, I don’t have any major problems. You can make the case for a few more guys, like Deron Williams or Stephen Jackson, but I don’t know that they are any more deserving than the guys who made it.

As many have suggested, is the recent Los Angeles/Memphis trade the most lopsided deal you’ve seen in the history of the NBA?
No, I don’t think you can say that. I mean, better players than Gasol have been traded for what turned out to be just about nothing. Look at the Charles Barkley, Moses Malone and Brad Daugherty trades — all by one franchise! The Hornets traded Kobe Bryant for Vlade Divac; obviously most people didn’t know Kobe would be what he became, but that was still a bad deal. Red Auerbach once got Robert Parish and Kevin McHale for Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown. Red should have spent the rest of his life in jail after that.

The problem with the Memphis deal is that if you trade an All-Star quality player (which Gasol can be) you need to get somebody with that potential. By all appearances, they didn’t, though they seem to think his brother has a chance. Also, Crittenton is talented but who needs three very young, unproven point guards?

In the Western conference there are ten teams with a record above .500, and yet only five in the East. Should the NBA begin putting the top sixteen overall teams in the playoffs rather than an even eight from each conference?
No, I don’t think so. The first goal of any playoff format should be to give the best regular-season teams a distinct (but not outrageous) advantage. The second goal should be to spark interest in the regular season. It’s more interesting when New Jersey and Washington, division rivals, are fighting for a playoff spot than if, say, Golden State and Chicago were doing the same. If you’re the 16th-best team in the NBA, you don’t have much of a complaint in my book.

Detroit and Boston have shown in the first half that they are the beasts of the East. Who is your playoff dark horse in the Eastern conference?
Can I pick the defending conference champs as a dark horse? Cleveland is the only other team I see with a chance of coming out of the East. I think if the Bulls make the playoffs they will have the best shot of upsetting one of the top teams.

Who is the one player in the NBA you can watch night after night that doesn’t get as much media attention as he should?
At times in the past two years I would have said Deron Williams or Brandon Roy but they have both gotten a lot of attention lately. Here is a strange choice: Amare Stoudemire. Sometimes I think people forget how good he is. I also still think Luol Deng is going to be great once the Bulls solve a few chemistry issues.

Michael Rosenberg’s articles can be found by visiting FoxSports.com and Detroit Free Press.

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Catch & Shoot: 5 Questions with Michael Rosenberg

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