A handful of e-mails are flagged each week for group discussion. Be sure to include your first and last names and city of residence if you want your question to be answered. Seriously, friends. Announce yourself to the masses.
Q: Interesting anecdote recently about LeBron James and Michael Jordan playing pickup ball together. But you seem to think the most important question raised by that story is whether or not LeBron can play with the big boys. I think a much more significant question is: Why were Jordan and the Wizards not punished? Earlier this year, the Cavaliers were hit with a stiff fine -- and their coach suspended -- for daring to have James present at an offseason workout. Yet here is Jordan, representing the Wizards' front office, doing the exact same thing, and there's not even a hint of displeasure from the NBA. Perhaps I don't have my facts straight and these are two totally different situations. Is there actually some legitimate reason Jordan is allowed to work out a high school student while the Cavs are not? Or is the moral of the story the same garbage we've been fed for almost 20 years -- that Michael Jordan can do no wrong in the NBA's eyes, whether he's committing blatant fouls, feeding his colossal gambling addiction, forging close off-court relationships with referees or circumventing the league's rules about draft-ineligible players?
Nathan Machel
Toldeo, Ohio
A: Fair question, Nathan, but the circumstances are different. Even though we all know that MJ unofficially still rules the front office in D.C., he isn't a member of the Wizards' management team officially. He surrendered that status when he came back as a player (again), and players aren't forbidden from fraternizing with players during the offseason. So, technically, there is no violation. The Cavs were dinged because LeBron was brought to their practice facility to work out with Cavs players and in the presence of team officials. That's the violation. The pickup games in question are closed to the Chicago public and closed to NBA executives. With all the hype LeBron has been getting for years now, he was inevitably going to get lots of invites to glamorous pick-up games over the summer. Can't blame him for wanting to prove himself on MJ's court.
Q: I have been very impressed with how well-rounded Chris Webber's play has been this year, so I decided to see how he matches up against the rest of the league. I looked at the top 25 in points per game, assists per game, rebounds per game, blocks per game and steals per game. To my surprise, Webber is the only player to reside in the top 25 of all five categories. Even more surprising, there are no players in the top 25 in four of the five categories. You have to drop down to three of five to find Jason Kidd, Jermaine O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Steve Francis, Tim Duncan and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Knowing this, is Chris deserving of a Most Well-Rounded Player label? Or does his poor free-throw shooting hold him back?
Todd Robello
Sacramento
A: Good numbers, Todd. We'll take your word for it that the research is accurate and up-to-date. No one has ever disputed Webber's many gifts, and by all accounts he's playing as well as ever this season. Personally I'd include defense as part of being well-rounded, and no one has ever called Webber a stopper, but he's certainly up high in the argument for Most Versatile. It's all personal preference. Lots of folks would take CWebb over Garnett. I give Garnett the edge in the versatility department and would still take Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki over both of them for their franchise-player potential. As for Webber's free-throw shooting, it's certainly a concern -- but the Kings have to be worried more about the nagging pain in CWebb's knee/groin we keep hearing about. The Kings are ridiculously deep, but they'll need their spiritual leader in the playoffs. That's one area where Webber definitely is underrated. He's at the heart of a super tight team.
Q: Whenever I bring this up, people tell me I'm crazy. But could the Mavericks challenge the Bulls' single-season record of 72 wins? With a deep bench that could take over a few games in the middle of the season, why would this be out of the question barring an injury?
Lenny Mistre
Newton, Mass.
A: You're crazy, Lenny. The Mavs are on a 71-win pace at present, which is amazing since they've already had several injuries, but a lasting run at 72-10 is unlikely for a couple reasons: A) The Mavs aren't as deep as they envisioned in part because of their injury woes; they're actually looking for bench help to bring in before the playoffs. And B) Dallas was a spent team by the time it got to the second round of the playoffs last spring because guys (Steve Nash, most notably) played too many minutes during the regular season. They're better off putting an emphasis on being as fresh as possible come playoff time. Seventy wins would be a wonderful feat, obviously, but these guys aren't the Bulls, who were overwhelming favorites to win it all when they were a 72-10 team. Dallas' whole season will be graded on what happens in the postseason, and the Mavs know it.
Q: If Karl Malone ever leaves the Jazz for a shot at a title on another team, it won't be the cap to a great career. It will be a footnote. The Jazz is Karl's team, and he would be only a role player with any other contender. If money truly isn't an issue with him, a good idea might be to take that big paycut you mentioned in Utah, allowing the Jazz to pursue a couple of other big free agents to build around him. Utah fans would be a lot less critical if he's making only a couple million a year.
Brandon Ball
South Jordan, Utah
A: It's a good theory, Brandon, except that the Jazz really need to wait until after Mail and Stock are totally off the books to have the maximum cap flexibility needed to rebuild. Even Stockton went down to only the $7-8 million range the past two seasons, so you're asking a lot to expect those guys to play for a million or two given all they've done for the franchise. I like the current strategy: Let Karl and John play as long as they want, because they've earned it, and hoard all that cap space for when they're gone -- hoping quietly, if you're Jazz management, that they leave the same summer. Even if the Jazz can't attract a stud free agent (and Utah never has, let's not forget) just having two huge salaries off the books will open up all kinds of trade possibilities. Teams that have gobs of cap space are always hit up to be the third-team conduit in big trades. Remember, too, that Greg Ostertag has only one year left on his deal after this season. So, if Karl and John and Tag all play one more year together, the Jazz will have zillions to play with in the summer of 2004. Elton Brand, whom the Jazz like, should be an unrestricted free agent that summer assuming the Clippers don't lock him up. Nash, the modern-day Stockton, will also be on the open market in the summer of '04. But I think it's just as possible that Stock will retire, Karl will sign elsewhere next season and Utah will have its cap space in the summer of '03.
Q: I was wondering who actually gets credit for the steal. The player who strips the ball, or the player who picks it up?
Alex Weiss
Philadelphia
A: The player who's responsible for initiating the change of possession. Official scorer makes the ruling if there's any uncertainty.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.