To add to these great responses to giddyup's question, my understanding was that even with their new center depth, the Lakers struggled with the decision of whether or not to guarantee Black's $6.6M salary for this season. They probably felt that he might actually be worth it and that they could either keep him around or possibly trade him later. But given their depth at center and the uncertainty of the center market league-wide, they ultimately (and reluctantly) elected to waive Black.
The more video I've watched the more comfortable I've become with the signing. I think I just got stuck on the idea that quality vets would flock to Houston begging Morey for a seat at the table. I still kind of wish it was Willie Reed because I like his size compared to Black. 6'11" for Reed compared to 6'9" for Black. Black just seems more like a 4 than a center. He does play bigger than he is.
I'm thinking Willie Reed doesn't want to be a 3rd center. I wouldn't doubt that Morey made an offer, but I'm thinking Willie wants guaranteed playing time, possibly even a guaranteed chance to compete for a starting spot, therefore he wasn't available for the Rox. We have to realize that we have a solid 8 man rotation and adding a 9th or 10th man will not necessarily attract young talent that showed a ton of promise last year. A player like Willie Reed is looking at a chance to showcase himself for a big pay day next year (or other future years) and can't risk coming to a team like the Rockets where he isn't guaranteed playing time.
Something to note: Black is on a one year deal. He no doubt has showcasing in mind also. Don't know Reed's market, but he likes has more desirable offers already.
i'm high on taylor too. i wouldn't be surprised if you're right about our PG depth chart being CP-harden-taylor. i think taylor can definitely give us 12 minutes behind harden at Pg if cp3 misses time. i'm not sure if he's a good enough shooter to play next to harden which could limit his role. i guess i see the guards minutes being distributed as cp3 (34), harden (34), ego (28). without cp3 i think MDA will go with a 4 guard rotation like this: harden (36), ego (30), taylor (12), troy (18). truth be told we're probably fine at PG, but i still think it couldn't hurt to add a vet like rodriguez or barbosa... if for no other reason than to push taylor and troy to compete for those minutes / make them better, and a vet guard might be more steady in the playoffs if needed. i do believe in positionless basketball, but steady ball handling, passing, and shot IQ are skills that we'll need in the playoffs. i'm not sure taylor and troy are ready to produce in the WCF's. still, black is a great signing. he'll be spending a lot of time as a second center while nene rests / heals from injury.
Seems like Willie has starter potential versus Tarik will always be a solid back up (maybe start for a few bad teams).
yeah, i see the names of the player folks who don't like this signing are throwing out there, and none of those guys has any intention of accepting a 1-yr $3.2 mil deal. We got good value relative to any realistic alternatives.
16 pages in less than 24 hours on a third-string player! Don't get me wrong. I love Black. I'm serious.
i think thats a great point. nene started some games over capela last season... black will be in the mix for the starting spot. i like healthy competition for minutes. i think capela will lock up the starting role, but he'll only play about 24-28 minutes. nene might only play about 60 games while he rests for the playoffs. so there was a need for a solid center to play 20-24 minutes for about 20 games. he's great quality for the price. great locker room guy. and i've been posting about needing insurance for nene and paul (i even mentioned black as a target). i see this as a great signing to fill a need. i guess my post that you quoted was a reaction of surprise to the fact that they addressed this before the PF or PG spot... and the fact that they used the BAE. either way i'm comfortable with the center position going into the season now. nene going down in the playoffs won't spell disaster as it did last year.
Off topic question: do you know what the "league average salary" is this year that they use for Early Bird raise calculations...that is, 105% times Ave Salary or 175% previous (whichever is higher) I'm wondering what Simmons'maximum Early Bird raise was.
I am hopeful that D'Antoni learned a lesson in the playoffs and expands his rotation beyond 7 players. Especially now that the team is OLDER and more injury prone. Even adding just one more rotation player in playoffs, but need at least 10 man regular rotation in regular season. 1: CP3 - Beard - Taylor 2: Beard - Gordon - Brown 3: Ariza - Tucker 4: Melo - Oliver - Qi 5: Capela - Nene - Black Troy Williams may be the last add to the team before season, or perhaps an upgrade to starting center as well.
I'm your man if you're dreaming of electric sheep or looking for rogue androids, but looking to get drilled? Talk to Black. Big, tough, entirely human, Black will work his buns off for you. He's also a pretty good basketball player! Not a star, but someone who'll help you win games. Someone the Rockets needed on the bench and very likely in the rotation. I'll be surprised if he isn't. It isn't Black and Deck, it's Black and the Rockets!
