I feel like unless another super team comes together, no team is going to have a shot against these guys for the next 3-5 years. Obviously teams are going to go hard after Iguodala and Livingston this summer and hopefully teams are able to sign them away. Curry and Durant are definitely coming back next year for them. Klay Thompson's deal runs through 2019 so he isn't going anywhere either and Green's contract runs through 2020. Who do the Rockets have to add to this roster now to beat them? I mean Demarcus Cousins, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Gordon Hayward, CP3, Deandre Jordan, Dion Waiters, Russ, etc. All these guys are free agents within the next two years. What kind of super team can the Rockets put together to knock them off their pedestal? I know it probably isn't realistic but I want to see Blake Griffin/Gordon Hayward here this summer and then next summer add Cousins/George or a combination of the two. What super team are you wanting to see next to Harden?
Pray for injuries. Pray Draymond destroys them. Pray one leaves in free agency? There is nothing the Rockets can do. The Cavs, whose only competition is the Warriors, are asking what they can do. Stephen Curry - 29 Kevin Durant - 28 Klay Thompson - 27 Draymond Green - 27 Good luck acquiring two top five players & another two top 20-30 players in their prime (and I didn't even mention their bench).
The only small "chance" the rockets would have is to put nothing but long athletic defenders around harden, and size and grit down low, and try to create an elite defensive team to try to "slow down" the warriors or at least keep it within striking distance. Oops, I forgot we have a coach that doesn't prioritize defense and thinks he can out-shoot everybody. You can't out shoot them because they have 3 top 20 shooters in NBA history. Only chance you have is to turn it into an ugly half court game. Plus you need another legit scorer alongside harden like a Paul George.
Injuries and/or if they can't find a way to pay Curry, Durant, Green, and Thompson. The Warriors have ruined basketball for me. Doesn't matter how good the Rockets are. Just not as interested.
The Rockets have one top 25 player. The Warriors have 4, and Iguodala who is as good as any of our role players. There is no realistic path, but to start Iguodala would need to be signed elsewhere, Dekker and Capela need to make leaps, and Anderson would need to be replaced with a top 20 player. So maybe a 6 or 7 game series with luck.
First step is the Spurs signing Chris Paul and the Cavs trading Kevin Love for another playmaker. Sure, it won't be enough to defeat the Warriors, but at least give them a legit 6-7 game WFC before having to face the Cavs again with a legit 3rd superstar. As for the Rockets, it's a lost cause. We don't have the talent or picks to trade for players needed to take on these Warriors. That said, Morey should pickup the phone and start wheeling and dealing looking to find another Harden type deal.
Free agents and players on the trade block need to recognize the obvious: superteams are "in". It's no coincidence that the last three NBA Finals matchups featured teams with three (or more) max level players. That and it's clearly going to take another superteam to have any prayer of knocking off GS. KD chose the Warriors as a legacy move. He's been around for a while and had tremendous individual success outside of GS. He picked them so he could win and cement his legacy. Maybe, just maybe, a Griffin or Millsap type will consider us for the same reason. We won 55 games and have the league MVP. Our system is stat-friendly. I know that it's a long shot....but they could do a lot worse. Getting a player like that would at least be a start. That said, I'm sure it'll end how free agency always ends for us (save D12): Ipads, false hope, interviews denied and settling for lesser players.
They won't pay all four of the guys. 1.3 Billion in luxury tax fees over 4 years says they won't. That's with Green and Thompson taking less too. They will deal Thompson for 3 guys in return and let Iggy walk. Two year window.
Rockets just got to get rid of guys taking up roster spots 9-12. Seriously. Shed everything but the core (whatever it may be). Get rid of Ariza and get pieces back that fit MDA's offense (guys who will make a difference). Trade for PG (Ariza or whoever it takes to make it happen). Keep: Harden Bev Gordon Lou WIll Capella or Ryan Anderson Nene Everyone else needs to go. This is a start.
I agree, I feel that the only two talents in the NBA that could bring this GS team down are James Harden and Russell Westbrooks maybe just maybe Beard can start recruit him.......
If you put all the best FAs that aren't already on the Warriors on the same team, you'd still wouldn't be the favorites to beat them. That's how stacked that team is. Basically, all the smart teams are rebuilding right now. Also, Harden would have to take paycuts like the guys on the Warriors to even sign 3 more All-Nba level players to add to this team. You'd have to convince him to take a paycut, which he probably won't. We'd need legit all-nba guys like Westbrook, Cousins, PG. Westbrook, you'd need Harden to convince him to come to Houston while taking a huge paycut. Cousins will be a FA next year and you can be sure every scrub team will offer him the max but if he wants to win here, he needs to take a paycut (which he won't). PG is probably best acquired through trade this summer. Unlikely. And ofcourse, this is not including the first year of meshing well together because unlike the Warriors who already had a 73 win team, they just added an MVP to their core. We'd have strangers trying to work together. Basically, it's impossible to beat the Warriors in their prime (they're all under 30) and unless 2 career ending injuries happen to 2 of their 4 All-Nba players, we're **** out of luck.
