Who are some free agents you want the Rockets to go after this off-season?

Butler and George etc.. Aren't free agents.

1. Durant, maybe they have infighting and lose badly to Cavs? Harden has a call.
Verdict: extremely long shot and just fantasy.

2. Hayward, parsons on steroids and some. He has that rookie parsons defense along with the last year he was here efficiency. Add to that facilitating, playmaking and driving and hes a fantastic fit.
Verdict: long shot, Boston should be the favorite followed by Utah and then Houston.

3. Ibaka, he fits a clear upgrade and has previous chemistry and connection with Harden. Rumors are a deal starting at 20m/yr and that's something we can easily get to.
Verdict: depends on Lowry. If he resigns and Toronto is willing to go all in to resign we couldn't match the price if they overpay Ibaka to keep him.

4. Danilo, he's got ties and past to mda. He was a great fit in his system. Probably best fit as Ryno replacement or supersub combo forward off bench like gordon. Great fit but injuries are a concern.
Verdict: very plausible addition. Fits multiple needs, forward depth/secondary facilitating/shooting.

5. We sell players for assets. I'm not sure we go this route with moreys recent direction. But past dictates he looks to move guys like Lou and ariza on the last year for assets. Bev and Gordon also hold good value as well as dekker Harrell capela etc..
Verdict: this is more last ditch to gain assets of players that don't fit and recognize/capitalize on value while high.

6. Keep squad together and swallow contract for asset. Tyson chandler, Kostas koufos are players that come to mind. Add a value veteran on a bad contract for the addition of an asset.
Verdict: probabaly the fall back option and very possible if nothing materializes.

 

Define big. If you could move Anderson's 3 more years at ~20M/per off the books would you be ok with Ibaka at 4 years at 20M/per? Slightly less shooting but some better defense for your money and just 1 more extra year. Plus more positional versatility.

 

**** yeah. All day. Every day. Might as well try to keep Harden happy as well if we're gonna keep him.

 

We need to sign Gallo, Dmo and re-sign Nene

 

Realistically we either need 2 good starter quality players at the forward spots OR a star at one forward

 

Hayward
Gallinari
Ibaka
Speights
Ingles
Mirotic

 

As an example....

If the Rockets could clear Anderson (~19M), Williams (~7M) off the books + 11M in cap room = ~ 37M in cap room.
Could in theory offer salaries starting at:
Ibaka (4/5) 20M
Lull (1/2) 8M
James Johnson (3/4) or Jonathan Simmons (2/3) 9M
Resign Nene to Vet minimum or Room Exception.

Some defense, facilitating, athleticism, experience and depth and position flexibility/versatility for MDA's roster.

 

People who want Gallinari... how do you get past:

1. He's always injured
2. He doesn't help defensively or rebounding on the interior

Rockets can't just go all offense forever. It will NOT work. It will only get you so far.

That's why the best outcome is probably Hayward+Ibaka... that's not feasible or reasonableness but that's the best outcome if one really wants to be competitive. Both are two way players who can hit threes and fill the weakest positions.

 

It's a hypothetical that won't happen. My understanding is Ujiri is going to pay him more than that, five years. And Ujiri is going to try to move Jonas for other help on the perimeter.

But let's say your deal is possible. Only after exhausting a lot of other scenarios would I come to the deal you suggested. And instead of 4-80, I'd try to do 3/(70-75) on a decreasing salary structure with perhaps a small guarantee attached to a much larger non-guaranteed amount in year 4. That is, if, and only if, other things did not materialize first. And the problem with all that is Ibaka will most likely be agreed to a deal on the first day of free agency.

 

Would like Ibaka + Hayward but both seem highly unlikely. News out of Toronto is that Ibaka has already agreed to a contract but things can change, especially depending on what Lowry does.

Would like Ibaka + Gallinari as a 2nd option...Gallinari seems like are most likely option, an injury prone player (just like Gordon and Anderson) and a player with connections to coach.

 

ummm ik this is going to sound stupid but I would love for Josh smith to be the back up/third string center with nene

 

Keith mutha effen Jones is the answer to number 1.
2. I'm sure he can't be worse then Mr.Anderson defensively
3. That's why I mentioned another big to help defensively and rebounding.

 

I think Ibaka's decline in rebounding and shot blocking has been due to his switch of focusing on offense and 3pt shooting. He's still a good shot blocker (just not as focused as he used to be), and a solid defensive rebounding PF. His offensive rebounding is the one that has declined greatly which is obviously due to him being on the perimeter, which makes his total rebounds look like a decline, but I don't care about his offensive rebounding as long as his defensive rebounding is solid (which it is). I doubt he's around 35, but I'm sure if anybody knows it's Harden.

Think you're really underrating Holiday. I personally want to dump Lou, he's a horrible defender and isn't a passer. So that's where I see a space open for a guard like Holiday/Paul/Lowry/Hill.

But I really like Holiday specifically, he's a good defender, probably top 5 out of all point guards. Plus he's 6'4, 200 lbs with a 6'7 wingspan which means he has incredible size to guard PG's, and is fully capable of guarding SG's and even some SF's for extended periods of time. We can easily run him an Bev together for extended periods of time to make a dynamic defensive guard duo as well. This team REALLY needs better perimeter defense and Holiday would bring that.

Holiday is also a true point, has a career average of 6.2 assist with over a 2-1 assist to turnover ratio. He would really help the team when Harden sits or is having a off night, he'd also allow Harden to sit longer which is important. He'd bring diversity to our offense, everybody knows Harden is the one who has to create all the offense, if we bring in a secondary ball handler we have 2 major points of attack.

He's a quality scorer, who's fully capable of creating offense for him self and others, but what makes him even more versatile is his ability to play off ball. With his size, defense, 3pt shot, and slashing/finishing abilities he's fully capable of playing off ball next to Harden for extended periods of time.

To me Holiday is the perfect fit for us, he's 27, he's a good perimeter defender who can defend two positions well, he can shoot 3's (career .366%), he can be a playmaker, he can be a scorer, he can spot up and he can drive/cut. His biggest issue is injuries, and if it wasn't for that issue he'd probably be getting a max contact, with his injuries we might be able get him on discount like we did Gordon.

 

Rockets were great on injuries until the end. Hard to see them being so good if they continue to have otherwise injury prone players.

Gallo is more SF than PF. He can obviously play PF as part of a small ball lineup but unlike Anderson where that's actually his position Gallinari is playing out of position. Even though he's got the height it's a continuation of small ball. Basically what I'm saying is yes he can be worse than Anderson defensively as a PF. He typically averages 5 boards a game.

Another defensive big makes sense. Just easier said than done. Nene worked out great until the end... but we're still talking about a small mpg backup.

The issue is in the starting lineup your once again reaching for offense at the expense of defense.

It's basically a status quo type FA potential imo.

 

biggest need is a reliable 2nd option

 

This is what i expect too. Ujiri lost a good/young bench player and a pick for Ibaka, i think he will be fine even if forced to overpay a bit, no reason for him to let Ibaka walk at this point when his roster is set. I think the reason why he traded for Ibaka in the first place, aside to be able to offer him 5 years, is cause he thinks this roster is in a good enough position for them. What they need is to make a move to get a star, not sure they will be able to do it, but they have some interesting pieces to move...Valanciunas, Nogueira, Carroll, some decent picks, Poeltl, Powell, Joseph...

I do agree with Deuce though, even if i'm not a fan of paying Ibaka at this point, swapping Anderson for him at the same salary would still be an upgrade and a good move as a plan B, C or whatever.

 

Good post, i agree on Holiday, i just don't think we will be eventually able to get him for cheap...maybe/probably not getting a max, but i don't see NOLA letting him go without throwing a lot of money...they have some money to spend this summer and they need to build a solid team with Cousins expiring, if they somehow **** up next season and Boogie leaves they'll be in trouble with Davis very soon imo.

 

Thabo
Speights
BOSH

 

PJ Tucker could make a nice addition.

 

Millsap & Redick or bust..