Weekly Countdown (cont.)

4 Questions rescued from the spam

Kevin Garnett mixed it up with Jose Calderon in a game last month in Boston. Elsa/Getty Images Ian Thomsen's Mailbag Ian Thomsen will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

4. It seems like Kevin Garnett isn't very popular among NBA players and fans these days. I know his taunting of Jose Calderon, getting on all fours to defend Jerryd Bayless and publicly berating teammate Glen Davis aren't helping matters. It seems like after years of frustration in Minnesota, followed by success in Boston, he'd be praised for his hard work and leadership, but the opposite seems to be happening. What do you think of KG?
-- Antoine G., New York

I wish more stars played like him. He plays hard every night, defends rabidly and antagonizes opponents rather than worrying about maintaining friendships with players on opposing teams. When sports fans complain about the stereotypical NBA star, they aren't talking about Garnett because he is the antithesis of that negative stereotype.

3. With all this talk about who's going where in 2010, what do you think about Toronto's chances of landing Nash? Although the Raptors have Calderon in place, wouldn't Nash potentially feel a desire to come home to Canada? Especially if Jay Triano remains in place as coach -- they have a longstanding relationship stemming from their Canadian national team days.
-- Nathan, Ottawa, Canada

Not that you were alluding otherwise, but the outcome of the Raptors' search for a full-time coach will have more to do with stabilizing the team as a playoff contender and keeping Chris Bosh happy in Toronto than with the far-off possibility of signing Nash. If Nash is a free agent in 2010, then Toronto should have a chance at him. But if an attractive contender were to trade for Nash by February 2010 on the stipulation that he agrees to an extension, then he would not be available.

2. Don't you think this is the first time in an NBA season that Pistons president Joe Dumars made bad decisions? Hiring an inexperienced Michael Curry to replace the experienced Flip Saunders? Signing players like Kwame Brown? Trading the "General" Billups for "Lone-Ranger" Iverson?
-- Torrence, Jakarta, Indonesia

Brown is on a reasonable two-year, $8.1 million contract. Curry was hired to provide the discipline and accountability that the Pistons felt was lacking from Saunders; it may nonetheless be asking too much of a rookie coach to sort out the complex on-court relationships between Iverson and his new teammates. But even if it doesn't work out this season, the trade can't be judged until we see how the Pistons manage the cap space realized from Iverson's expiring contract. Dumars believed their former lineup had exhausted its championship potential. Let's see how this plays out.

1. The Cavs have done a fantastic job with the rotation of their centers this year. They have a shooting center in Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a defensive center in Ben Wallace and a pick-and-roll-forever center in Anderson Varejao. I'd argue that the Cavs have the best rotation of centers in the league. That's great that you think Dwight Howard is the best center in the league, but which team do you think has the best rotation of centers?
-- Bryce McKenney, Canton, Ohio

Give the Cavs credit for making the most of what they have up front. They have an excellent trio of big men, but let's be real: Wallace starts at power forward alongside Ilgauskas, so by putting it your way you bring other teams into the discussion -- including the Spurs with Tim Duncan playing a lot of center with Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas, and the Suns with their rotation of Shaquille O'Neal, Stoudemire and Robin Lopez.

If we're talking about Nos. 1 and 2 center combinations (excluding starters at power forward), then the best include Cleveland with Ilgauskas and Varejao, Portland with Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla, Orlando with Howard and Tony Battie and (when healthy) the league's most talented center combo of Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman, though they've rarely been available together for the underperforming Clippers.

3 Thoughts from Kobe Bryant

3. On averaging just 34 minutes this season for the 18-3 Lakers, an 11-year low for Bryant:

"It means we're blowing them out,'' Kobe said. "I've had like five, six, seven games where I haven't played the entire fourth.''

It isn't a goal to reduce your minutes?

"Not really,'' he said. "I feel great, my body feels good. We've just been creaming people, so it feels a lot better to sit over there on the bench.''

2. On whether the season-ending 39-point loss in Game 6 of the NBA Finals inspired the Lakers:

"Yeah, because we were close, we were there,'' he said. "We made a trade midway through the season [for Pau Gasol], it worked out great for us. But we shuffled lineups so much -- we had guys coming out, guys getting injured, this that and the other -- that it was amazing that we made the run that we made [to the Finals] in hindsight. But we were there. So now it's time to fine-tune things and learn from the Celtics, and learn from that experience. And now the ball's in our court to see if we can't get back there and finish it up.''

1. On whether the Lakers are now bigger than the Celtics:

"Yeah,'' Bryant said, "but they're stronger. At least they were last year physically. So that's something we've made a conscious effort to improve on. Everybody here looks bigger, everybody got in the weight room this summer and got stronger. Because those boys were just stronger than we were, and they got a lot of rebounds because they were tougher in the paint. They're still the barometer which we judge ourselves by.''

2 Trades in one day

2. Antonio Daniels goes to New Orleans from Washington, which receives Mike James from the Hornets and Javaris Crittenton from the Grizzlies; Memphis sends a conditional second-round pick to the Hornets and receives a conditional first-rounder from the Wizards. The key player for this season is Daniels, who has been injured and showing his age at 33. But he will further unify the Hornets and provide stable backcourt minutes as Chris Paul's backup. A good move for a contender looking ahead to the playoffs.

1. Charlotte sends Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round pick to Phoenix for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary. The Bobcats have sacrificed talent for future flexibility; this looks like the initial step of a Larry Brown overhaul. For the Suns, this is less like a finishing move than the next of many changes that began with the trade for Shaquille O'Neal and the departure of coach Mike D'Antoni. The pieces in Phoenix no longer fit and Richardson, talented though he is, isn't likely to bring them together.

1 View of Kevin McHale as Timberwolves coach

1. McHale can be an excellent coach, according to rival executive Danny Ainge of the Celtics. "I never really thought about it at the time,'' Ainge said in reference to his years as McHale's teammate on the Celtics. "I don't think I could see Kevin being a coach for 25 years, that type of guy. But Kevin has a great temperament, a great perspective, and he's very bright. He has a lot of characteristics, though I don't think he's one of those grind-it-out types of people -- but there are a lot of different ways to coach.''

I recalled the old criticism of Larry Bird that McHale could have worked harder on his game and become an even more dominant player in the 1980s.

"I think those are unfair assessments of Kevin and his work,'' Ainge said. "He brings a joke and a smile to work. He's not a guy who's watching thousands of films, but he's bright and can pick things up pretty quick, and the game is a simpler process to him than it is to some of these people who put in thousands of hours. He was the same as a player: Kevin loved to play basketball, to play one-on-one. I always thought of Kevin as an extremely hard worker, but he played for the fun of it. He enjoys life, and he has a different approach to life than some people might. So that can be interpreted in a certain way, but I thought he did work at his game.

"Kevin is a great competitor. He is a guy who is encouraging and positive and upbeat. He likes the players, and he just likes people. It's a different approach than a lot of coaches today, but it can be successful. The big factor is, how committed are you to it? There's no question, if Kevin is committed, he could be a very successful coach.''