Ever since Ariza and Moute left, the Rockets have struggled to find a quality replacement at the wing position. Gordon is definitely not a permanent solution and I have absolutely no faith in House, Green, etc. Last season, Tucker -- our best defender -- was stretched thin having to constantly guard the opponent's best wing player in the playoffs. We can't have a repeat of that problem. We are going up against an onslaught of LeBron, Kawhi, George, etc in the West and our current wings are massive liabilities. This is our single greatest weakness. Morey needs to add a quality 3-and-D wing next to Tucker in the lineup. So, here are some possible solutions: Robert Covington The one that even Morey admits got away. Convington checks all the boxes and fits perfectly in our system: great defense, efficient 3PT shooting, affordable contract. Bring him back! Justise Winslow My sleeper favorite to breakout next season. Winslow has always been a great defender since college, but finally found his shooting stroke with back-to-back seasons of efficient 38% and 37.5% 3PT shooting. Meanwhile, he's only 23 years old -- still young, very athletic, and has an excellent 3-year $39 million contract, which is exactly the kind of deal that gets Morey out of bed in the morning. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised to hear if Winslow is already on top of Morey's wishlist. Andre Iguodala Currently in limbo with the Grizzlies, not sure if Memphis will buy him out or trade him. Either way, Iggy still has a lot left in the tank as a defensive specialist and could become what Ariza was for the Rockets. Jae Crowder Another player stuck on the Grizzlies after the Conley trade. Crowder could easily be acquired for relatively few assets in return since he's in the final year of his contract with only a $7 million salary. He gave the Rockets plenty of trouble these past two postseasons while playing for the Jazz. Overall, I like his size, frame, and muscular build. Like Tucker, he can grind in the post and take on bigger power forwards if needed. Andre Roberson Now that the Thunder are on the verge of trading Westbrook and rebuilding, Roberson will certainly be dealt as well. He's a tremendous defender when healthy and has excellent defensive metrics. However, his terrible 25% career 3PT shooting is why I'm not fully sold on him and have him ranked the lowest. Still, he could be a great fit if used right like the polar opposite of Gerald Green who is all offense and no defense. Regardless of what Clutchfans haters, whiners, and crybabies have to say, I would be very happy with Morey if he could pull this off. Landing one these quality small forwards would be a huge roster upgrade and the Rockets lineup would be set to make another run at the championship.
we've got a great defensive sf - but we've got him playing pf... get a true pf (over 6'6) and have PJ split time between smallball pf and sf... that way old man PJ only has to run with the wings for half the time - and get beat on by the bigger pfs half the time... ...imo...
yes to any of them besides roberson. he's flat out terrible for this team if you're going to be a starting caliber wing on this team, you absolutely have to be able to space the floor. otherwise its a disaster
Yup, or play Tucker SF and get an athletic rebounding PF. In any case, I rather we have that than another year of EGO at the 3.
I would add Kelly Oubre to the list. I'm all in on adding a defensive wing using Shumpert and a pick and I'd prefer someone under 27 to extend our window a little bit. I think Andre deserves a buyout and if he wants to come after that, I'd love it. 1. Winslow 2. Oubre 3. Covington 4. Crowder I'll pass on Roberson due to his shooting.
rebounding? thats crazy talk... next thing yer gonna be expecting guys to box out or something... lol
Although I agree with you, Morey philosophically is allergic to the idea of a real power forward with length and size. He wants his undersized stretch-4 in the small-ball lineups and there's no going around it. That's why Faried has got no love in the lineup even though he worked really well next to Capela whenever they were on the floor together. I still dream of Faried-to-Capela lobs!
I know Thabo Sefolasha is older now but is worth grabbing at the Vet min? He will have a tough time against the stronger wings in the league but I would probably rather have him than Shumpert. Obviously would like some defenders like the one you mention above but the more long/versatile wings we have on this team the better. Definitely could just upgrade the 4 position too and let PJ be that defensive SF.
Good list. My questions are: Who would we trade and how many picks would it take to get Covington or Winslow(higher end 3’s)? Are the Rockets even interested in any of these guys if they become available?
How about "the Rockets need to do something"? Justin Holiday is a free agent who fits the defensive small forward archetype, but at this point i don't even know if the Rockets are/will try to sign him...it's really like they're waiting for some deadline to pull off a move already agreed on but, i don't know, maybe they just struck out on every single player they had interest in...i mean, last summer they signed meh/bad players, but at least they signed someone, this summer they took care (and well imo) about their own free agents, but they literally didn't add a single player while every other team did... Back on topic though, obviously those guys you mentioned would be better than Holiday so, i'm ok with everyone of them, aside for Roberson maybe, i absolutely loved his defense and i liked the idea of getting him a couple of years ago, but as today i'm not sure how he'll be back after that problem he had...i still expect Covington to end up with the Warriors in a D.Lo trade btw, or maybe we can trade Gordon for him just to see Gordon traded to the Warriors later
Rockets need a white boy small forward Chris Jent Chase Budinger Chandler Portions Samuel Dekker and several others
1 guy could give us a totally different look to change it up and not be so damn predictable... 20 mpg... like a change of pace rb... prevent the d from sagging out on our shooters all game... There is no fear with guys driving the lane on us... CC doesnt have the muscle... somebody who can put a driver on his butt every so often... at least get some hesitation from the other team while they stop to verify what personnel we have on the floor before running out on shooters or driving the lane... boxing out... rebounding... somebody who can take it to the rim through contact in the crunch...
Wow I was literally going to post a thread similar to this -- especially with the trio of Kawhi/PG/LeBron all on LA teams now. Here's who I have as targets (with varying ability and availability): High-end Robert Covington Aaron Gordon Otto Porter Jr. Jaylen Brown Kelly Oubre Jr. Andre Iguodala Mid-tier Markieff Morris Nic Batum Al-Farouq Aminu Thad Young Andre Roberson Kyle Anderson Jae Crowder Trevor Ariza James Johnson MKG Low-end Sam Dekker Jake Layman Luol Deng Solomon Hill Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Stanley Johnson Wes Johnson Semi Ojeleye Thabo Sefolosha Marvin Williams Luc Mbah A Moute
Oh thanks I forgot to address that in my post. Tier 1: Covington, Winslow, Oubre Sorry to disappoint Clutchfans armchair GMs, but Gordon will definitely have to be dealt in these deals. Nobody is just going to hand the Rockets a quality starting small forward for peanuts regardless of what Clutchfans believes they deserve. Remember Gordon is only valuable this season. Once he's contract expires next summer, nobody wants to pay $20-$25 million for an aging 6th man. It's time for Morey to trade him and get value when his stock is at highest. Personally, I would be happy to deal Gordon + a pick for Winslow. I'm really high on him to breakout soon. Tier 2: Crowder, Iguodala, Roberson This falls in the the Shumpert + pick category that Clutchfans has been feverishly debating the past few days. Personally, I would target Crowder in this group because he's an expiring and can be had for very little, but would fit very well in the Rockets system as an absolute steal if Morey can work his magic.
Just Curious where all this talk of Winslow is coming from? Even if the heat were to give him up in a trade for WB, wouldn’t OKC actually want him since he’s young and locked up on a solid contract? Why would they include us in said trade?
