LeBron dominates the FA market (obviously) but that said, I'm curious what everyone thinks about the depth of the 2018 FA class. There are a ton of players available that have been previous trade targets as well as rising talents. I'm beginning to wonder if striking out with LeBron wouldn't be a blessing in disguise. Below are the interesting players (grouped by their ages, in parenthesis) that I'm intrigued to see where they land (and for how much in light of the salary cap). I left a few people out because I think they'll garner attention, be given ridiculous deals, etc. It looks to me that some of these players might slip through the cracks and actually be available. Restricted: Dante Exum (22), Noah Vonleh (22), Elfrid Payton (24), Nik Staukas (24), Montrezl Harrel (24), Doug McDermott (24), Rodney Hood (25) Unrestricted: Mario Hezonja (23), Alex Len (24), Nerlens Noel (24), Jeremi Grant (24), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (25), Shabazz Muhammad (25), Derrick Favors (26), Greg Monroe (27), Avery Bradley (27), Ed Davis (28), Tyreke Evans (28), Derrick Rose (29), Brook Lopez (30), Jeff Green (31), Ersan Ilyasova (32), Raymond Felton (33), Jarrett Jack (34), Vince Carter (41, played in 69 games, amazing!) I don't think the Rockets can risk simply trying to keep their group together. Our roster needs balance--be that an infusion of athleticism, better shooters/shot creators, more rebounding and shot blocking, etc.--if we're going to battle back through 82 games and get to the finals. Do any of these players catch your eye? If you could add one or two contributors to the Rockets mix, (outside of LeBron or a max deal) who would it be?
Avery Bradley is my first choice. coming off missing a significant amount of time bc of injuries makes you cautious. But if the rockets can get him at a good deal, he could be a huge steal who fits exactly what the rockets do defensively at an elite level. not only that he's become a very reliable shooter. but it all ties back to him being healthy
Tyreke evans would be a great fit in our system. A versatile guard who can facilitate and shoot (40% 3pt last year), I can see him breaking out with us. I dont know how minutes would work with him and EG and if he would welcome the gluttony of gaurds above him, but would instantly make us much better. Another facilitator would help us out for rest and against the warriors. Avery Bradley is another one.. although he cant facilitate and help take load off cp or Harden his defense and shooting would be welcomed. Both are MLE type players most probably
If we can't add any big name guys I'd like to see us add a couple more iso guys. It seemed like Harden and Cp3 got worn down a bit having to take turns isoing all playoffs. Rose played really well in the playoffs imo and could be a great relief for Cp3 coming off the bench for cheap
I think there are plenty of quality free agents that would thrive in Houston's system that they would take a flyer on a 1 or 2 year deal with us, get their value up, and move on. I'm fine with that. If we can bring in Bradley and another player under the MLE then running back the team from last year isn't all that bad. The more 3&D players, the better.
Yeah but still best non big FA facilitator we could get. Also im not sure he would come, but Tony Parker for a cheap deal would be awesome...that ship experience would help us as well as take pressure off CP during the season
Pending we keep everyone on the roster for the most part, we need another guard and a backup big. Nene showed major signs of agings. Dwane Dedmon is a pesky player I wouldnt mind seeing on this team. Can defend, and shoot 3's well and is a high energy guy
not really a fan of grabbing him mostly due to the fact that hes played in less than 50% of the total games in the last 3 years.
Would love to sign one or two of Turner Evans, Avery Bradley, Dewayne Dedmon, Kyle O’Quinn. If we manage to trade Ryno we definitely need some front court help this offseason
I'll take a minimum PG, another shooter(Beli?), some cheaper stretch bigs available that don't cost $20M, backup big (replacing Nene). Of course when you only have the MLE to spend, you need some discounts. If LeBron goes to LA, could be 3rd behind Golden State(who is looking to remake their bench) and LA. Spoiler GUARD Rajon Rondo (UFA) Devin Harris (UFA) Seth Curry (UFA) Tony Parker (UFA) Raymond Felton (UFA) Jose Calderon (UFA) Jarrett Jack (UFA) Derrick Rose (UFA) Jameer Nelson (UFA) Mario Chalmers (UFA) GUARD JJ Redick (UFA) Tyreke Evans (UFA) Will Barton (UFA) Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (UFA) Marco Belinelli (UFA) Wayne Ellington (UFA) Danny Green (PO) Avery Bradley (UFA) Jamal Crawford (PO) Jordan Crawford (UFA) Ian Clark (UFA) FORWARD Wilson Chandler (PO) Rudy Gay (PO) Jeff Green (UFA) STRETCH Anthony Tolliver (UFA) Ersan Ilyasova (UFA) Mike Scott (UFA) Mike Muscala (PO) Luke Babbitt (UFA) Channing Frye (UFA) Marreese Speights (UFA) BIG DeMarcus Cousins (UFA) DeAndre Jordan (PO) Brook Lopez (UFA) Dewayne Dedmon (PO) Kyle O'Quinn (PO) Aron Baynes (UFA) David West (UFA) Zaza Pachulia (UFA) JaVale McGee (UFA) Kevon Looney (UFA)
Nice new thread op. Not sure any of those players would make a great difference for us, but some would definitely be interesting. My two cents: - Exum is staying in Utah, they'll pay/match. - Vonleh, not sure it's still to early to say he's a bust but...i'd say more yes than no. - Payton not worth it, can't shoot, iq is kinda meh for a pg...i think the Suns will let him go unless he takes a super team friendly deal. - Stauskas is probably someone i would give a chance if he comes for the minimum, looks like a good fit here, even though, like Vonleh, he didn't exactly impress in his first years, and for that kind of money the Nets would probably match, not worth the MLE imo. - Harrell, would like to have him back (Morey actually said he was sad he had to trade Trez last summer) to play some backup minutes but i think the Clippers will try to sign him to a team friendly contract, maybe they'll also give him good minutes, i think he stays there. - McDermott, same as Stauskas pretty much, not sure the Mavs will match a MLE kind of offer, but is he worth that? I don't think so. - Hood i think will get paid by someone, he didn't play well in Cleveland but so did Crowder...i think he has still some sort of hype around him and i can see a team throw a 30Mx3 kind of offer to him, not sure the Cavs will match, probably not. Anyway, of all these restricted guys, no one would really make a difference for us imo, the only restricted free agent that i would like to see here is Aaron Gordon, problem is, even if the Magic are probably not commited to him going forward and want to build around Isaac, they'll still match any offer unless it's a max or something close to it...and that would be too much. As for the unrestricted guys, i think Bradley, Grant, Evans, Noel and maybe Hezonja are the best possible gets for us (and i actually picked one name per spot now that i think about it lol, SG, PF, PG, C, SF), even though i think only Hezonja might be available for the MLE or the tax MLE, i can see the other guys sign for more money, even though, you never know, we're in a good position so, we might be able to get a guy like Bradley to sign for the MLE, and would be a steal like Yolo said. Not really interested in the other guys there, i mean, some of them are going to get paid too much or they don't fit here like Favors, Monroe, Lopez, Pope. Some of them like Davis, Ilyasova might still help us if they come for cheap but otherwise, not sure... There are also other interesting guys for us (imo at least) who are going to be free agents though, restricted and unrestricted. - Smart (restricted), would love to get him but he's going to cost too much i think. - Van Vleet (restricted) is another guy i'd like to have here but Toronto will probably match anything, he's good but you also know Masai is going to overpay ok players lol. - Barton (unrestricted) is another interesting guy, a better Gerald Green i'd say, but i can see him getting paid in Denver. - Dedmon (unrestricted) started to shoot 3s this season. - O'Qunn (PO), i wonder if he'll opt out or will be fine with staying in NY for 5M another year. - Bjelica (restricted) is a player i really like, basically a Ryan Anderson with better passing and rebounding. - Amir Johnson (unrestricted), same tier as Dedmon i'd say, would be ok as a back up i guess. - Beli (unrestricted), but he'll probably resign in Phila Personally, if we strike out on big names and we can: - resign Chris, Clint and Trevor - resign Luc with the non bird - resign Gerald at the minimum - sign Braldey with the MLE - sign for cheap someone who has potential like Hezonja ...i'd be fine, also cause keep in mind that DeAndre might get bought out during the season, and we'll probably end up getting him if that's the case, same for...well...you know... Spoiler Oh, and i want Vince Carter to play here at least one season, come on Morey, make it happen plz
Rockets have the Tax payer MLE. Which is around 5M. Not as large as the regular MLE at 8M. Just worth noting for players chasing money. Best bang for their buck for talent is probably Tyreke Evans because he is a playmaker. Rockets need to add playmakers. He has size and can work in the Rockets switching defense. Wayne Ellington as a 3pt shooter could be a nice addition. KCP would add some youth to the team. With the Taxpayer MLE, Rockets really need to look to find 1 player that they KNOW can crack their "limited playoff bench rotation." Also, if you get a good value addition with the MLE, then that becomes a positive trade chip later on. Rockets need to bolster their crop of assets which is super thin on the back end.
I know that Morey has had his eye on Hezonja and Evans for some time. While some would question Hezonja (particularly his shot and his D) I'm a believer that he can be really good contributor and that a change of scenery and opportunity is all he needs. He was far more upside than Luc. But it's a chemistry thing with player personalities. Would our core actually accept him? Evans is a no-brainer. He'd be well accepted and would give us another playmaker with size. That's something we could use. [SIDE NOTE: Though I would like to keep Gordon, I see many scenarios in which he may end up as a casualty. EGO could be replaced by Evans or other free agents if he ends up being dealt (for a pick, a salary match, or as an incentive). This is especially the case as we encourage someone else to take on Anderson... Before the draft is over, I'd offer up Gordon to a team in the Eastern conference that's battling for position. And I have to think that EGO will look a lot better than a current #1 that will take a few years to develop... Then, I'd take that new player and give them directly to Chicago for Anderson straight up.] If we open a roster spot by dealing Anderson, a below the radar signing would be Ed Davis. He's hard to block out, and CP3 would make him look great at the rim. Jeremi Grant and Alex Len would look great as well (especially on a cheap contracts).
I don't think there would be problems with Hezonja, he might not be exactly smart, but like Gerald he's not a cancer either, we have a lot of great veteran personalities here and a solid enviroment, that's where young players have the best chance to grow and develop, the Magic have been trash in every possible way, i can't think of a single player that worked out well for the Magic in the last seasons, maybe Gordon, but that actually happend after they made him waste years playing the 3.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He is getting slept on. His defense is very good. He is an average shooter, but that’s good enough. He has good athleticism and would inject some youth. I don’t think the tax mle is enough to acquire him, but he’s my favorite target in our exemption range.