Charles also played in the Conference Finals 2 or 3 times before coming to the Rockets and getting there with us. CP3 has never made it out of the 2nd round even when he was a heavy favorite. Not that any of that matters to me personally. CP3 is a lot like John Stockton to me, I hate him but I respect him. His teams usually take on a very whiny and flopping cultural change(everyone already hates Harden and our style of getting to the line and call us floppers anyway) with his leadership and his personality is not as likable as some other top players in the league, but you have to respect the man as a player. Statistically one of the best all around pure point guards ever. He's #6 ALL TIME in career PER regular season AND #5 ALL TIME in playoff PER. He's certainly not a loser. I remember Daryl Morey said that CP3 is the GOAT PG, not sure if it was in a podcast or another interview but I'm pretty sure he said that once IIRC. My main issue with getting CP3 would be the idea that Harden would just be another soft guy who disappears when it counts like Blake Griffin. Also, would Harden be okay giving the keys to this team and let CP3 run the point for MDA when Harden just had one of the most amazing seasons ever doing It? Would he be okay switching back to SG and focusing more on scoring? Is he really a guy you can count on to run hard through screens? His scoring is mostly off of ISO plays...how would that work with CP3? CP3 is another high usage guy who has the ball in his hands all the time much like Harden or LeBron. I'm not so sure it can work, but it's worth a try. Could it be like Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler backcourt except if Terry was even better?
Whiteside also said in an interview when the season was about to finish that he was laughing at the teams who didn't trust him in the past, i remember when i read that thinking there were zero chances he would've sign with us.
So what if the worst case answer to a lot of those questions is "no"? Call me crazy, but I think if James Harden is unwilling or unable to do off the ball stuff we would still be a threat for the conference finals. Even if they do a Lebron-Wade circa 2010 "your turn, my turn" when they're on the court together, it'll be deadly. Not ideal, no, but if you stagger their minutes they could be a suped-up version of what Ty Lawson and Harden were supposed to be, with a premier play maker running the offense at all times.
I think for a guy with Whiteside's background moving from team to team early in his career, there was going to be a loyalty to Miami since they were the first team that believed in him. Also, they offered the most money (and the most high quality model ass living in Miami).
This whole train of thought seems foolish to me... We have Bev at like 6M for the next 2 years... is upgrading from Bev to CP3 worth an extra 20+M a year in cap space? Imo that cap space could be far better spent elsewhere... we could move on from Ariza to Gallo... make a run at Blake... get some depth at center wo depending on a declining Nene... We're gonna chuck one of the best contracts with a player that is the heart and soul of the team.... to overpay a 32 yr old backcourt player? Imo were loaded in the backcourt... our frontcourt otoh needs some real help I could understand if you strike out on other options deciding to gamble with CP3 and juggling the whole system to try and accomodate he and Harden... but this is the plan out of the gate? This reeks of just playing for a big name instead of making the moves that would most improve the team. smh....
I wouldnt tank, but Id like the team to respect the draft more. Wasnt a huge fan of limping into the playoffs and losing the pick last year and didnt likr giving up a pick for Lou. Id like for them to trade up and actually get them some NBA PT. Warriors, Spurs, and Celtics were able to get rooks PT while still bein competitive. I dont want the offseason to be completely free agent dependent.
In the Morey era the only FA who has come here was Dwight. I guess its lucky we didn't get bosh or melo.
Absolutely. And it isn't out of the question that we have Harden, CP3 and Bev together on the same team.
if we could some how coup Hayward and Gallo, I think that makes us contenders. Have to ship out Anderson and Lou or Ariza.
So we all know Ryan Anderson sucked... our lack of bigs resulted in Harden having to cover Pau and LMA... everybody was talking about what historic numbers James put up as a PG... we got Bev on a steal of a deal at 6M for the next 2 years... but let's focus on getting another PG who's 32 and injury prone... just idiocy... smh... a drowning man grasps at straws I guess... We're not getting Hayward... dont be screwing around with him - just lock up Gallo... shouldnt be hard with MDA... Sign Speights or someone else to split time with CC... Then you can make a run at Blake or you got Ryno, Ariza and Lou to deal to try to get a PF...
How are the Rockets going to just sign Gallo without moving Ryno, Ariza and/or Lou? The Rockets can make like $12 million in cap space if they don't move anyone.
Dude, we signed Michael Beasley. How quickly you forget. (Also Gordon, Anderson, etc, but I'm guessing you're only talking about superstars.)
yer def moving someone... if you get an agreement to sign Gallo you're not gonna keep Ariza... from there its a hop skip n a jump to covering Gallo's salary...
Another team to keep an eye on: Houston. The Rockets don’t have a pick in this year’s draft, but they have young talent on hand (Clint Capela, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell), and have their first-rounders going forward. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey would be willing to take the chance that being part of a contender in Houston, and playing in Mike D’Antoni’s system, would appeal to George. – via Sporting News
Fair enough, but from your post i quoted it was a sign Gallo, then use Ryno/Anderson/Lou to find a PF. When in reality it is really lose two of Ryno/Anderson/Lou for Gallinari and some PF... which is basically a neutral move, unless that PF is Millsap/Blake/Ibaka...
actually said 'lock up Gallo'... figuring with his MDA ties I'd hope he'd be cool agreeing to a contract and then letting us jockey to accommodate it... I'd rather not gut the team on the prospect of 'maybe someone will sign...'
ok.... but in either case, the net trade will still be the same. 2 of Anderson/Ariza/Williams gone for Gallinari + another player in return in a trade... lateral moves, imo.
I'd consider Gallo an upgrade to Ariza... love Trev but skills are diminishing... turning Ariza and Williams into Gallo would be a winner imo... Then you got Ryno's and Lou's salaries to turn into a PF (would love Blake... but idk if thats realistic...) - but considering what Ryno brought to the table last year... I think we could pull an upgrade with that amount of $$... Room exception for Speights... Harden/Bev Bev/EG Gallo/Dekker Blake?/Trez CC/Speights