I know it sounds crazy, but I don't think giving up Gordon and Tucker for Butler actually improves this team. We desperately need Tucker's defensive abilities on this team and losing both him and a guy who is great as a 3rd option behind Harden and CP3 for a guy who's had health issues, proven to be a malcontent on multiple franchises and is an unknown quantity as a #3 option doesn't sound too appealing to me. If we can get him for just Gordon and picks/prospects, I'd be more inclined.
If you can get it done with EG, Nene and picks, it's probably worth it, but I have to wonder what the plan is for 2020 and beyond. There's just no way they can afford to give him the 5 year max he wants at 35m+ starting salary. I think trading for him is a one year rental on this team due to our cap situation, and I kind of lean towards 2 years of EG at 13m per year over that. If 1 year of JB gets us a ring, then it is definitely worth it, but man that is a tough choice. I can't imagine that package is enough for Minnesota though.
Winning cures everything. Butler is likely a better perimeter defender than Tucker is. He can also handle the offensive load (albeit being a worse shooter than Gordon) just as much as Gordon has been able to. He's basically both players into one. When you get ridden to the ground by a coach like Tom Thibodeau, you're going to have health issues. Eric Gordon had major health issues before he came to Houston and had his role cemented as a 6th man. Stars win playoff games in this league. Jimmy Butler is a guy we need in order to beat Golden State. You can have all the intangibles you want with Tucker, but that isn't going to win you a playoff game against the Warriors. The NBA is pretty simple -- the teams with the most stars that perform usually win the title. It's predictable.
the rockets going up 3-2 says differently and every single championship team has a player specifically in that intangible role. btw JB might be comparable on the perimeter as far as defensively but he isn't as versatile to play bigs and be hou's small ball 5 which is a consistent part of hou's rotation
Going up 3-2 says differently? No, it really doesn't. The Warriors stars didn't play well and thus were on the verge of losing that series. The Rockets on the other side then lost one of their stars and still lost the series anyway. It's a star league no matter how you want to look at it. I'm sure championship teams have players with that role, but that's something that can be had much easier than a star can. You're looking at a pretty short window with Paul's injury history. You have to take your chances with a guy that was proven to lead a team as a top 3 seed when he was healthy to beat a historically great team like Golden State. Most other years the Rockets would have a ring by now. Butler's quickness factors in on playing perimeter defense which I believe he is superior when you compare him to Tucker. Your main opponent here is Golden State. They go small with guards and Durant/Green. Butler is perfect for a small ball lineup in that regard. When Butler was on the floor last year for the Wolves, he made them better defensively as a whole. Their best player, KAT, is a poor defender. He was still able to elevate their team defensively which should tell you all that you need to know about what kind of impact he brings.
Fingers crossed on Butler. I am hoping TF has his wallet open on this and will do whatever is necessary to get this done.
it actually does. you specifically said it doesn't win you games against GS. The rockets won 3 times. I'd say that says it clearly different. Especially for anyone that watched that series in its entirety and saw the importance of PJ against GS You know why the warriors didnt play well? It might have something to do with the rockets defense and PJ being a huge part of it. JB is a good small ball player but definitely not at the 5 where PJ is on this team. He is replacing EG in the small ball lineup which is fine but he isn't replacing both him and PJ altogether.
No I believe I said "The NBA is pretty simple -- the teams with the most stars that perform usually win the title." The Warriors stars did not perform, just being on the court doesn't mean you're automatically winning games, series'. The Rockets lost their star after being up 3-2. Their defense really didn't matter in the last two though now did it? You have to have balance on both fronts. Having a guy like Butler gives you a swiss army knife that can perform on both sides of the ball and do so at a high level. Regardless of what happened last season, THIS season the Warriors are now even better on paper. The Rockets? Who knows, but we can say that we still likely have the same number of stars that we're bringing back from last season. Losing Gordon and Tucker for Butler may seem like it's a lateral move given what we're losing and gaining, but in the playoffs it's the stars who determine the outcome of games. I'm sure the Rockets defense played a part, and I'm sure the Warriors players not performing well also played a part. The two don't have to correlate with each other. It wasn't as if every shot they took was contested.
False. And butler has never led a team to a top 3 seed. you keep posting as if JB is this great player in the elite tier. He's a good player yeah but he isn't good enough to replace what both EG/PJ do for this team in its entirety
This thread has been trash for the last couple of days and then BOOM, in comes @ch44 with premium content. Everything here makes a ton of sense to me. Clearly Minny isn't getting great offers. Thibs doesn't want to trade him. Nothing happens until the OWNER gets tired of the negative press. And that might not really ramp up until the season starts. That said, the closer we get to October 31st when Chriss/Knight can be packaged, the better it is for the Rockets for flexibility.
You should start wanting too real soon because everyone hates you and this is a pretty poor return attempt after you already got banned once clown..
I don't know if the Wolves are demanding Tucker or not. But my opinion is the Rockets are not offering him. I agree with @ch44 that the Rockets offer is good enough in this climate, but we'll see. Clearly Miami is the key here. It is ALL about Josh Richardson. Not so sure Riles will cave. My opinion, but I think most teams would bet on the Wolves OWNER caving to a lesser package. Bringing in a 3rd team brings in all sorts of wildcards. Who can predict what the Kings will do, or will accept.
Am I missing something on Josh Richardson? He's not a better player than Gordon and it's not like he's that young just turning 25.. Why do the Wolves want him and why does Miami seem so intent on keeping him?
You live your life to ruin other people's fun and make lame troll accounts on a message board FTWRocketsFTW. Just get out of here. Clutch should have IP banned you..
Seems like this is going nowhere. You have your opinion and I have mine. I don't agree with any what you just said, but at this point I don't want to repeat myself again and again so I'll leave it at that. Hopefully the Rockets go in the direction of getting Butler even if it means giving up Gordon and Tucker.
