Who is Michael Scotto?

Michael Scotto asking a question at Brooklyn Nets introductory press conference to Deron Williams and Joe Johnson LIVE on the YES Network.

I got a chance to catch up with Michael Scotto, writer and reporter for RealGM.com and TheHoopsReport.com.  He is a Brooklyn native and has been involved with the NBA’s two New York based franchises, the New York Knicks and Brooklyn (New Jersey) Nets.  He’s gotten the opportunity to interview many of the players on both franchises, as well as the next big stars coming out of college.

Michael was kind enough to grant me an interview to discuss his journey from a sports fan to living out his dream in the sports journalism business.

The Sports Hound: What made you interested in sports journalism?

Michael Scotto: I’ve played sports all my life including baseball at Xaverian high school (Brooklyn) and basketball at Hofstra University in recreational leagues. I took my first sports journalism class as a senior in high school and I felt my writing skills, personality, and knowledge of sports fit well for a career as a sports journalist. Then I received a dual major degree from Hofstra in Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communications, which gave me the tools to enter the industry.

The Sports Hound: Being able to cover both the Knicks and Nets, who was your best interview?

Michael Scotto: Carmelo Anthony and I discuss Brooklyn when we have free time since we’re both from the borough. Steve Novak was the best interview in terms of breaking down a game or plays within the offense. Novak is also a genuinely nice guy. As for the Nets, the best interview was hands down Gerald Green when we discussed his rebirth in the NBA and how he’s grown from a teenager to a grown man in this YouTube interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9HCvFVObUQ.

The Sports Hound: How were your feelings during “Linsanity”?

Michael Scotto: “Linsanity” was electric. I haven’t seen or felt a buzz that strong inside Madison Square Garden since the Knicks were on their way to the 1999 NBA Finals. The story of Jeremy Lin was inspiring to watch. As a reporter it was hectic. The locker room was competitive amongst reporters trying to get in position for quotes from Lin, but as you can see in this interview, I was usually able to get up front and ask questions often: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLuMtHHs6uw.

The Sports Hound: What are your thoughts on the Knicks not retaining Jeremy Lin?

Michael Scotto: The third year “poison pill” offered by the Rockets was a factor in the decision to let Lin walk. I also believe the Knicks weren’t sold on Lin continuing his run of “Linsanity” for a sustainable time. Raymond Felton was brought in to revitalize the pick-and-roll game with Amar’e Stoudemire and get him going again.

The Sports Hound: How do you feel about the additions of Jason Kidd and Marcus Camby?

Michael Scotto: Jason Kidd’s leadership, passing, three-point shooting, and defense will be a valuable asset for the Knicks off the bench for 20-25 minutes per game. Marcus Camby is a great addition for the Knicks giving them their first legitimate backup center in years. Camby is similar to Tyson Chandler so both are interchangeable.

The Sports Hound: Do you think the Knicks “Big 3” of Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler have a legitimate shot at a title?

Michael Scotto: On paper, the Knicks have one of the most talented frontcourts in the NBA, but chemistry and sharing the ball between Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire has been a problem thus far. Anthony and Stoudemire must both improve on defense for the team to make the next step and develop better chemistry to go deep in the playoffs.

The Sports Hound: Do you think the experience Anthony and Chandler are currently gaining for the Olympic team will benefit them during the regular season?

Michael Scotto: Anthony and Chandler will come in with confidence as they play alongside the best players in the world, but the concern is fatigue from the training and there’s always a chance of an injury.

The Sports Hound: Will Stoudemire have a more consistent season?

Michael Scotto: Stoudemire endured a tragedy when he lost his brother, but his actions in Miami with the fire extinguisher and arguing with a fan on Twitter were unacceptable. Stoudemire must be focused solely on basketball and returning to the dominant player he was in his first season with the Knicks to become more consistent.

The Sports Hound: Where do you expect the Knicks to finish in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference?

Michael Scotto: This is the best opportunity for the Knicks to gain ground in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. Boston is older and will have new pieces to acclimate, Chicago won’t have Derrick Rose for much of the season due to injury, and Brooklyn must develop chemistry quickly. In the East, the Magic are rebuilding, Atlanta will regress with the loss of Joe Johnson, and the Heat are the only clear favorites.

The Sports Hound: How did it feel being present for the Brooklyn Nets first press conference?

Michael Scotto: As a Brooklyn resident it has been surreal to finally have a professional team in my hometown borough. When the Barclays Center opens and the first game is played against the New York Knicks it will truly be a historic event for Brooklyn and the Nets.

The Sports Hound: Have you been to the Barclays Center? If so, what do you like and/or dislike about it?

Michael Scotto: I have passed by the Barclays Center frequently. I think the location near the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and local subway is great for fans commuting to the arena, but traffic by Atlantic Avenue has always been a nightmare and will be more so now.

The Sports Hound: What are your thoughts on Dwight Howard and the drama surrounding the Nets?

Michael Scotto: Dwight Howard made the decision to opt-in to the final year of his deal. Ultimately, had he not opted-in to his contract this “Dwightmare” might have been resolved by now.

Instead, Orlando has an unhappy superstar and is losing leverage in trade talks. The Nets can’t move Brook Lopez until January and he has a 15 percent trade kicker if he’s dealt within the first three years of his new deal.

Update: Dwight Howard has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Sports Hound: How has it been around the team with all the drama over the past season with Howard and Williams possibly moving to another team?

Michael Scotto: Some people were sad to see the Nets leave New Jersey on a poor note with so much uncertainty surrounding the summer and the team’s losing record while others were happy to welcome a new chapter in Brooklyn. With Williams in the fold, the Brooklyn era is off to a good start.

The Sports Hound: Do you feel the off-season moves the Nets have made in acquiring Joe Johnson and retaining Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez make them a contender?

Michael Scotto: The playmaking ability of Williams, the shooting of Johnson, the versatility of Wallace, the rebounding of Humphries, and the inside scoring of Lopez makes the starting lineup competitive among the best NBA teams. The question is if they can stay healthy and how long will it take to build chemistry?

The Sports Hound: Do you think Lopez can stay healthy this season? If so, do you think he can become an all-star?

Michael Scotto: Lopez was healthy and played every game during his first three seasons. Lopez is excited to return to the court and hopes to make a big impact this season. If Lopez improves his rebounding totals I believe he can be an All-Star center for the Eastern Conference.

The Sports Hound: How much do you think Mirza Teletovic can contribute this season?

Michael Scotto: Teletovic is a power forward that can stretch the floor from beyond the NBA arc coming off screens and can put the ball on the floor to attack the rim against slower defenders.

The Sports Hound: Where do you expect the Nets to finish in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference?

Michael Scotto: The Nets have a chance to make a huge leap in the standings thanks to the additions of Joe Johnson and possibly a full season from Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace if both stay healthy.

You can follow Michael on twitter @MikeAScotto

Are the New York Knicks better with age?

The New York Knicks have made some good moves this off-season during the 2012 NBA free agency period.  They managed to steal Jason Kidd away from the Mavericks and have worked out a deal with Marcus Camby, who wanted to return to the Houston Rockets, but preferred not to re-sign after their recent moves.  He felt that the team was in “rebuilding” mode and chose to play for a contender.  The Rockets also agreed to an offer sheet with Knicks restricted free agent PG Jeremy Lin, which is expected to be matched.

As it stands at the present moment, the Knicks roster consists of Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Steve Novak, Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, Dan Gadzuric and Iman Shumpert.  Novak has agreed to a deal to return and Toney Douglas, Josh Harrelson and Jerome Jordan are expected to be added to the Knicks acquiring Camby in a sign-and-trade with the Rockets.  I think with the additions of Kidd (to mentor Lin and be a floor leader) and Camby (to hold down the middle when Chandler is out of the game) will be a great plus for the team and will put them on another level of competitiveness.

Now the problem is the fact the team has no shooting guards or any other shooters for that matter.  Shumpert will probably start at SG when he’s healthy, but that isn’t expected until early next year.  The team is expected to re-sign J.R. Smith and are also rumored to be looking at Randy Foye, Rashard Lewis and Matt Barnes.  I think the hold up with that is waiting until they can actually re-sign Lin and the effect it will have on their salary cap.

Possible roster:

• PG – Lin/Kidd
• SG – Shumpert/Smith/free agent
• SF – Anthony/free agent
• PF – Stoudemire/Novak
• C – Chandler/Camby

With a healthy Shumpert and good 3-point shooters, I think the team can actually compete against the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics next season (purposely leaving out the Chicago Bulls, sorry) in the Eastern Conference.  Maybe with the recent additions, the Brooklyn Nets may have something to say about that as well, but we’ll see when the season gets underway.

What moves will the Houston Rockets make in the off-season?

The Houston Rockets go into the off-season on a pretty sour note, having lost 7 of their final 9 games and missing out on the playoffs to the Utah Jazz.  During that stretch, starting PG Kyle Lowry was coming back from a bacterial infection in which he missed time, but was given a bench role due to the outstanding play of Goran Dragic.  Coming down the stretch, there appeared to be a rift between Lowry and head coach Kevin McHale when the two were seen arguing during a timeout against the Denver Nuggets.

Lowry told the Houston Chronicle via ESPN that he thinks it is unlikely that both he and Dragic return to the Rockets next season, as well as going as far to say that if McHale is the head coach next season that he doubts he will return.  It seems that Lowry has a me or McHale mentality to this situation and doesn’t think it can be resolved, but McHale’s point of view differs.

“That’s very surprising,” McHale told the newspaper. “I didn’t think we had too much of a problem coexisting this year. Everybody has a little beef every once in a while. I didn’t feel like (there were problems). He apparently did.

“There were times that we didn’t agree on things. There were times that I got on him. I don’t think it was unduly harsh on anybody.”

I personally love Lowry and think he is a great fit for the Rockets, especially with his Philadelphia attitude and work ethic.  Seeing as though I’m a born and raised Philadelphia sports journalist and watched Lowry’s growth from Cardinal Dougherty High School in Philadelphia to Villanova University and then to the NBA where he started his professional career with the Memphis Grizzlies.  He has developed into one of the league’s top PG’s and if he didn’t get hurt, he may have made a surprise trip to the all-star game.

Due to this current situation in Houston and the situation with the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks, as well as the fact that the Rockets have already attempted to trade for Pau Gasol, I used ESPN’s trade machine to come up with a solution.  I did a 3-team trade revolving around Lowry, Gasol, and Stoudemire and here is the outcome of the trade which was accepted with the salary requirements.

 

Houston Rockets Receive: Pau Gasol PF, Josh McRoberts PF and Iman Shumpert G

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Amar’e Stoudemire PF, Kevin Martin SG and Patrick Patterson PF

New York Knicks Receive: Kyle Lowry PG, Luis Scola PF and Metta World Peace SF

 

The Rockets finally get their guy in Gasol as well as a solid backup in McRoberts and a defensive specialist in Shumpert.  Gasol would take over the PF spot from Scola and adds Shumpert who would possibly start.  I think this deal would be dependent on re-signing Dragic and/or Courtney Lee who are both free agents.

The Lakers move Gasol, but get Stoudemire, Martin and Patterson in return.  Stoudemire’s game is different from Gasol’s and would open up the inside a little bit more for Andrew Bynum to work, plus the get a 20 ppg scorer in Martin who would possibly be the NBA’s best 6th man playing behind Kobe Bryant.  Patterson also a PF who can stretch the floor with his shooting ability.

The Knicks get a better compliment for Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler with Scola and he adds toughness and can be a very good defender next to Chandler.  Actually all three of the players are good to great defenders, but they also have the ability to score on a consistent basis and aren’t ball dominant players.  Mike Woodson would have a greatly improved overall team on both sides of the floor who I think would compliment Carmelo and his abilities better.  Also, with Jeremy Lin being a free agent and his skill set geared towards Mike D’Antoni’s style of play, he may not return next season.

Jeremy Lin: Well I had to…..

I don’t want to get into politics with this post, I just want to touch on the Jeremy Lin sensation as well as Floyd Mayweather’s recent comments regarding Lin.  It’s not about RACE at all Mr. Mayweather, it’s about what Lin has done on the court.  The statistics mean absolutely nothing compared to the wins that he’s helped the Knicks gain….and oh by the way,  without the team’s top players (Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire) in most of the games.

Look at his numbers in the last 6 games (5 of them starts):

 

New Jersey Nets (didn’t start) – 25 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover in 36 minutes

Utah Jazz – 28 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 8 turnovers in 45 minutes

Washington Wizards – 23 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers in 36 minutes

Los Angeles Lakers – 38 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 6 turnovers in 39 minutes

Minnesota Timberwolves – 20 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 6 turnovers in 39 minutes

Toronto Raptors – 27 points, 11 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 8 turnovers in 43 minutes

 

The level of competition has been high even though most of those teams aren’t playing well this season.  The PG’s he played against names speak for themselves.  Deron Williams (Nets), Devin Harris (Jazz), John Wall (Wizards), Derek Fisher/Kobe Bryant (Lakers), Ricky Rubio (Timberwolves), and Jose Calderon (Raptors).  These players aren’t slouches and I had to put Kobe in there, because he got tired of Fisher getting burned and tried to step up to the challenge, yet he failed as well.

Lin has broken an NBA record for 20 points and 7 assists games in first 5 career starts.  Look at the other top NBA PG’s that are still playing and in league history.  That stat alone is monumental.  Chris Paul, Steve Nash, John Stockton, Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Mark Price, Gary Payton, and Jason Kidd just to name a lot didn’t even manage to do what Lin has done.

The accomplishments speak for themselves, but the fact that the Knicks are winning when it looked like they were destined for the NBA Draft Lottery is more of a reason to praise Lin’s play.  He’s obviously young and raw, but he has the talent to be a legit player in this league and he got the “opportunity.”  That right there is why he’s even mentioned right now…..opportunity.

This is for you Floyd Mayweather.  Say for example Tony Parker and T.J. Ford get hurt in San Antonio and their 3rd string PG comes off the bench.  Do you know who their 3rd string PG even is? No, I doubt you do.  His name is Cory Joseph.  Just say he comes in and plays the way Lin has been playing, trust and believe he would get the same hype that Lin is getting.  Would you be mad then?  Lin is an “AMERICAN” last I checked!