[ClutchFans] Podcast: On the Game 4 classic and the LeBron-centric offseason

YASSsssss

 

[2nd half of the podcast]

Buyout market prove to be a bust?

BT: Tough to criticize. Didn't turn out the way they wanted to. For those who thought Joe would be a huge piece, maybe Joe from 2 years ago. Joe is getting long in the tooth. Great locker room guy, great teammate, knowledgeable, could throw him out for a few short minutes but he won't light it up. Brandan Wright not surprisingly got injured. They ended up waiving Wright & the person they waived to sign Wright was Troy Williams, who finished the season really well with the Knicks. They'll have a dead cap hit for Troy Williams the next 5 years. Very small amount but when they're paying LT, it'll be an annoying number on the ledger.

Can they keep this team together? LeBron will be the talk if they lose this series. If they beat the Warriors, I think it's out the window. If they lose, it'll be something they probably go all in on. What else can they do, as far as offseason building, if it's not LeBron?

BT: So much of the focus has been on if you're gonna bring an outside player in, that player being LeBron, I don't know how many people thought the Rockets would add PJ Tucker a year ago or even Chris Paul. It's a cop out but I think Daryl & his crew have plan A through quadruple Z. After last night's game, the Rockets have shown this is a championship caliber roster. Losing in 6 or 7 to Golden State doesn't mean you're a failure. This Rockets team could probably win a championship 7 out of 10 years in NBA history. It's very likely they just run it back & tweak around the edges. If you just bring this rotation back, the Rockets are looking at a massive increase in payroll & LT bill off the charts. Les Alexander was very smart & picked the right time to sell. Tilman will be paying through the nose for this team if he brings it back. Chris Paul took $11M less than the max last summer by opting in. Assuming Chris Paul gets a massive contract this summer, maybe more than fans would like to pay a 33 year old PG, ...the single biggest jump will be for Capela. Capela is only making $2.3M. He can make 10x that next year. Ariza, you're hoping to bring him back around the MLE. Mbah Moute is making league minimum & don't have full bird rights. Do they have to use the taxpayer MLE? You add all this up, the payroll will be through the nose. Harden is making $30M. Anderson makes over $20M next year. Gordon makes $13.5M. Tucker is making $8M. It'll be a very big payroll.

What if the Rockets do win a title? I remember Daryl teasing Mark Cuban that he broke up a title team. Rockets would have to re-sign those guys, right?

BT: Do they have an arrangement with Chris Paul where it's an understanding he's coming back no matter what? Capela's free agency will be fascinating. He's a RFA, most teams will know the Rockets are highly likely to match but it only takes one team to offer the max. There's rumblings about Phoenix. If Phoenix or Dallas signs him to the max, do the Rockets match? We faced this 4 years ago with Chandler Parsons. You can't do this anymore but the Rockets were telling any/every media outlet out there they're matching any offer. Dallas was creative. Rockets passed. A little different because the Rockets knew Chandler's injury situation & dodged a bullet by not matching. Capela, as far as we know, has a clean bill of health. We'll see. I find it hard they'll let Ariza walk. But again, if someone throws $12M-$13M at him, maybe the Rockets say sorry, that's too rich for our blood.

C: I would love to see them win this series & for LeBron to win games 6 & 7 and Rockets vs. Cleveland. Don't want to get ahead of myself but that to me would be an all-time season.

 

Must win tonight. Great podcast as always @Clutch

 

Thanks J.R., appreciate the transcription

 

We need more Jordan Bells if we are to compete with the warriors...

 

Awesome podcast! Look forward to the offseason podcast down the line. Great stuff.

 

How would you guys feel about Rockets vs. Celtics, almost funnily enough the exact opposite: in 86 it was the Rockets who were young and upcoming while the Celtics were a great veteran team with All-Stars and MVP type players. Now it's the Rockets with the great players and one of the best teams of the era against a young and upcoming Celtics team. I would love it, though going at Lebron would be epic too. MVPs against each other, Harden can prove he's the MVP and it would be more thrilling.

 

Great as always fellas!

All about game 5 for me. Everything else in the pod takes a backseat.

 

Ha, @BimaThug with that shoutout to Rick Flair towards the end!

 

True

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