Rockets trade D-Mo, Thornton to Pistons for first round pick

If we waive jones I know Morey has completely lost it

 

Unlike what most folks here think, I personally believe (and we have some evidence) that this situation was D-Mo agnostic.

-We know that guys like Zach Lowe have said multiple times for weeks now that Detroit is in love with D-Mo and was planning on going hard after him in free agency.
-We know that Detroit wasn't likely seeking Durant. They are looking at guys like D-Mo to complement their young core & solidify their frontcourt. They likely were going to pay ALOT to get him & he would be priority #1 on the first day of free agency.
-We also know that the Rockets want to put another core player or two next to Harden this offseason. If they can get back Dwight as their third core guy great, but they sure as hell aren't counting on it.

So what that tells us is the Rockets likely knew for a fact that Detroit was coming in hot from day 1, and the fact is on day 1 of free agency if someone put down a huge offer on D-Mo it would tie up their cap hold and knock them out of free agency. Getting a deal in place with Detroit which gets them in front of securing D-Mo long term, and gets the Rockets a good asset like the 1st rounder makes some sense. The only thing that stinks now is we will probably see Detroit get D-Mo back at a much lower cost than they would have paid then if they were getting him from Houston's grasp as a RFA. Teams know that Detroit wants him badly, and will match pretty much anything.

So what you have to ask yourself is this question.... As much as we love D-Mo, would he be worth it in THIS FUTURE POTENTIAL SITUATION to retain & let walk the possibility of signing a Durant, Horford, Conley, etc...?????

Because that's the situation that D-Mo represented to the Rockets. They would likely have to let him walk IF they had another key free agent on the hooks this Summer.

..................

The Jones thing is a whole other situation. Him, Brewer, Lawson, and likely Beverly would be gone if there was a market for them that gave the Rockets really anything of value. There wasn't obviously so they are here for the short term.

Maybe Jones has a great stretch run here, and the Rockets look to get him back on a value deal after the dust settles in free agency with their important fish, but let's be honest here. Jones isn't a high priority to resign in the offseason likely. If someone offers him a contract early, and the Rockets are still in the process of courting higher priority free agents, they are going to say "See Ya" and renounce his rights if they haven't done so prior.

 

With the Harris contract Detroit couldnt' offer DMO the max, and the first day a team can offer a RFA an offersheet is after the moratorium which means AFTER we have spoken to Durant. So it wouldn't have affected it at all..

 

Head scratcher. Smoove isn't good enough to be your starter, and TJ should never see the floor. Unless you KNOW you can sign a PF upgrade in the offseason, why make this trade? DMo is a perfect fit, and you've got 2 months to figure out how healthy he is/what his new contract should be worth.

Just don't get it. Also, who cares about cap space? Maybe you can sign a Barnes level player, but who else wants to play with Harden/Howard? I'd understand trade if we totally blew it up, but by itself it seems like a "I've got to make a move" move.

At the very least I hope we can use the pick to grab Grayson Allen. Great spot up shooter and good playmaker.

 

So far, Dekker is a huge bust. He's contributed nothing to the team. He looked awful in the preseason. And he just had back surgery. Not to mention he's a small forward on a team that already has Ariza, Brewer, and McDaniels. That pick made no sense, especially given how badly we needed a PG at the time.

 

He did look terrible in the preseason, no doubt. And this injury does suck.

But doesn't he get a chance to play some meaningful games before he gets labeled a bust?

 

He's a rookie, on an amazing contract and plays a position that in 6 months time might not have Trev, brew and KJ. That's the reality.

I'm a dek optimist because he has the tools to play next to harden, and people are way to short sighted about his preseason minutes, theirs 100's of cases of role players who sucked in their first preseason campaign and then made it in the league.

I expect dek to make it

 

Esp AGAIN on a contract that is amazing in a 90milliom+ dollar cap.

 

The Rox know more about his health than anyone and any of us included. Maybe they didn't need another 2 months.

 

Pistons could've offered DMo the max by moving out Bullock or Baynes. Baynes has good value. Wouldn't have been difficult to dump him. In fact, with Drummond's and DMo's cap holds, Pistons can now move out Baynes and Bullock at the end of the season in a package and still have around $20 million of cap space to pay somebody or take on a contract.

 

Of course he should play a few games before being written off completely. I'm just basing my prediction on how his career has started off coupled with Morey's track record.

 

Morey's track record with late lottery to late first round picks -

-Brooks
-Patterson
-Marcus Morris
-Motiejunas
-Jones
-Capela

..... Based on that track record I think its pretty safe to say he will be okay... not a superstar but a decent NBA player. Isn't that kind of what you are HOPING for with the EIGHTEENTH pick in the draft??

I'm sorry but you guys are losing your damn minds. Dekker will probably be an OKAY role player. He's just been injured his entire rookie season. He's got versatility to play the 3/4, rebounds well for his position, can pass, he's been in big games & elevated his game. and decent character guy.

I really have no freaking idea what you guys expect anymore. Its beyond insane.

 

You are stuck with another rookie player that needs 2 years to develop instead of moving forward with guys that are already developed.

And we did not keep a single one beyond their rookie deals because our cheapskate owner and GM didn't want to pay them....

TJo is next then Capella....as the Carousel continues.

I expect the GM to do his job and make our team better, not to tread water or take steps backwards because they don't want to pay someone...

Morey and Les are Star ****ers - those guys NEVER win - you have to build from a strong foundation within...ours is rotten.

DD

 

With those picks, I'd rather have one good franchise type guy in the 1st round or even 2nd round who is an all star caliber player that you can keep than a bunch of mediocre role players who will spend 1-2 years in the D League to begin with and then shipped off to some other team after they contribute a bit. Say like

Warriors - Draymond Green - 35th Pick
Clippers - DeAndre Jordan - 35th Pick
Spurs - Kawhi - 15th pick, Parker - 28th pick
OKC - Ibaka - 24th pick
Grizzlies - Gasol - 48th pick

Rockets are yet to draft and keep an all star caliber player despite other contenders doing so with much lower picks. You can run down the list and will see pretty much many teams able to get an all star caliber player with those late non lottery picks. While Rockets kee drafting the Royce WHite or TJ's or Dekker's or PPat of the world who will spend 1-2 years in the D League and then get shipped off since they have not much upside.

This is one thing holding us back. Our drafting is just not good enough so we have to hope to asset collect and hit via trade or free agency. You need to be able to hit on those late picks at least once unless you're a Cleveland and get a succession of #1 overall picks.

 

Funny how all those people, except for Jones, would fill in much needed roles on this team. But only the worst (Jones) and youngest/most unproven (Capela) remain.

Morey does a decent job of picking the groceries, but he can't cook worth a damn.

 

Shiny object in the stream syndrome.

DD

 

Morey uses the draft to get players that can be role players on their rookie contracts, but doesn't believe in locking them up into contracts that will essentially slot them into a role to be your 2nd or 3rd best player based on value & contract level. I would think that is extremely obvious. Criticize that all you want, but provide to me why you should lock up that many role players to high dollar contracts please.

Also the flexibility in not paying a multitude high dollar role players other than a couple at a time (Ariza, Brewer, Scola, Battier, etc come to mind) is IN HIS OPINION going to help him in grabbing the key cornerstone players. That flexibility landed him Howard as one reference.


Look... I get it. This method has flaws, and there is something to be said about fans that really would be happier with the blue collar team like the days when Adelman coached a team whose best player was Aaron Brooks & Luis Scola. That team WAS FUN to watch, and great to root for.

But that's just not what is going to win a championship in Les' tenure and he knows that. Its his team, and he wants to go for it now, and is willing to accept criticism in taking chances to get star players. It hasn't worked out yet as far as winning a championship, but by all accounts the last 4 years have been pretty damn good from a winning perspective.

We have yet to have a losing season. So while I can appreciate the frustration with this team -

A. Not being liked by the media
B. Having a star player who isn't well liked & flawed
C. Moving the fun to root for blue color guys
D. Keeping the frustrating players rather than dumping them as a short term fix (and paying the price later)


I think we need to maintain our heads a bit here and be objective. NOTHING HAS HAPPENED yet to signify that what happened in the past week has hurt the Rockets. The only thing that sucks is the realization that we might have to watch this team for a few more months IF THEY DON'T IMPROVE and get back to playing Rockets basketball.

Morey's Rockets are like the weather in Texas. It will change and things will warm up sooner rather than later.

And if you have such a huge problem with him, offer up logical objective suggestions for what they could do instead of juvenile b****ing and moaning and knee jerk griping after every damn move.

 

With Thornton shipped out, the burden is on Lawson to step up. Maybe this will light a fire under his butt.

 

Before Morey had stars (post Yao/TMac) he had a great mix of role players that just needed a star. Now he's got two (one declining but still a star) and he's got the wrong mix of role players.

I get the frustration guys. I'm not defending him even though it looks like it. But the facts are the facts. You can't get mad at me for saying he actually drafts well, but then shift the argument to another Morey argument.

If you want to point out his draft record, point that out. If you want to criticize his concoction mix in actually creating chemistry around his stars... that's a different argument.

Yeah... he didn't do a great job this year of creating chemistry and coaching around his stars. That's a fact that i'm sure he's well aware of. I'm sure he was well aware before that he had great role players but no star too. You guys act like he doesn't know these things and isn't trying to correct them.

 

Jones is not that bad, he just does not fit on a team with Harden.

He is probably good for another middle of a pack team or slightly bottom team.