I didn't know that. I'm glad to hear that. I thought the Rockets couldn't use the vet minimum after re-signing Gerald Green.
Am I the only one who knows who Ennis is? He’s an ok rotation piece but fits our system pretty well. Had a down year from 3 but he’s league average. If we are losing Ariza we may as well buy 5 wings to fill his slot and see who stands out
But we have PJ Tucker. Do folks not think PJ Tucker can slide into Ariza's slot no problem? i do. I think PJ Tucker and Green at the 3.
Tuck is much better suited at the 4 & 5 now days. Hes not fast enough for 3s to be his primary defensive position. He can switch onto 3s but we are better suited using other options. Ennis can defend and he is a good switch guy
Morey may not have played ball but I guarantee he listens to the guys in the organization who play ball right now.
Yep... PJ has been getting blown by against sf for years. Love his switching ability but he’s sort of overrated defensively because of husband aggressiveness like bev was. Again, on switches he’s one of the best, just saying SLIGHTLY overrated on wings
But then who would slide into PJ Tucker's slot? He's our starting power forward. It sure as hell isn't going to be Ryan Anderson. I'm still hoping to see a Ryno + a 1st round pick and maybe a 2nd for Bazemore swap. That would really help offset the loss of Ariza while actually reducing salary for this season. Get an unplayable player off of our roster.
For vet min that would be great. I remember watching that Spurs/Grizz playoff series a couple years ago. Ennis was the main defender for Leonard, and he did a solid job being physical with him and making him work for his shots.
I don't know if Ennis can do that, but if he can, and if he comes for the vet minimum, I'm okay with it. 100 percent right on Tuck. I would rather see the Rockets give the entire 5.29 M to a more talented big like Scott, instead of splitting it between Luc and Ennis. I hope Luc will sign for the 2.8-2.9 M exception with Houston.
Scott is worse at defending than Ryan, that’s a hard pass for me. Luc with non-bird rights gives him 3m without using the mle. I’d hate to lose Luc after Ariza because we didn’t want to part with mle money. But the reality is we have to sign our draft picks and potential undrafted guys using the mle also. We could do 2way contracts but I’m not versed enough to discuss the dynamics of that possibility. My hope is we use non bird on Luc, retain capela at a cost friendly long term contract and only use the mle if a very good player takes a pay cut to sign here.
What do think about the rumors concerning Trevor Booker? He is a pretty decent defender. His jumper is unpredictable, but he may be able to stretch the floor. Honestly, it's most unlikely to acquire a very good player with the MLE. It should be used to get the best player available, irrespective of position. MCW and James Ennis are vet minimum players.
Can't the rookies( Melton and Edwards) be signed without touching the 5.29 M MLE? Non Bird on Luc would be great.
No, I believe 2nd round picks and undrafted guys can only be signed with cap space or using exceptions money. Booker isn’t very good either. He’s in this same tier of vet min guys imo. Personally I would prefer Ennis over booker because bookers only positive attribute is as a decent but small backup 5. Id prefer the wing position especially considering it is a glaring need right now.
Rockets can sign 2yr deals. But if they want to get the "3rd" year which sometimes is key, they have to dip into the MLE money some. Like around ~ 800K
Thanks, how much cap space do the Rockets have left? The wing position is bad, no doubt, but Anderson's failure to do anything, has put PJ Tucker under extreme stress. My position remains the same, go for the BPA irrespective of position with the 5.29 M MLE.