[ESPN/MacMahon] 'There's too much damn turmoil': An unsettling vibe surrounds these Rockets

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/play?id=27024883

Brian Windhorst, Jackie MacMullan & Tim MacMahon

BW: Let's talk about the Rockets. This is a great chance in the Western Conference. Warriors are down. While the Lakers made a power move, I don't think they'll be at their best in year one. I think it'll take until year two. I saw it with the Heat, Cavs. They'll need two cycles to build the team. I don't think they'll have the depth. Warriors are down. Lakers will not be fully operational. It's a time to move. The Jazz made it. They went for it. My point is this is the Rockets chance. What are they doing?

TM: That's why even people directly involved in the drama are saying "If we calm the **** down, we're probably the best team in the West." Things have gone sideways with D'Antoni, the front office & D'Antoni's agent.

BW: What happened there?

TM: Original offer was one year, $5M base, up to $4M incentives (playoffs advancement). If they fired him, $2.5M buyout. D'Antoni says it'd be fine if they got rid of the damn buyout. Fertitta does the press conference. Says all kinds of things. Realized that's a disaster. Fertitta realized I opened up my mouth & made bad worse. Flies up to West Virginia with Daryl Morey. They go out to dinner. Said I didn't realize the buyout was the problem, we'll take it out. We're sorry things got sideways, we'll pack $2M incentives this season just as an olive branch. We love you Mike, let's get this done. Mike says that sounds good, I'm cool, just give Warren a call. Off they go, flying home, alright we got a deal done! Days go by, I get wind of it, I put it out there. Warren is not thrilled. Here's the deal now: Warren is one of D'Antoni's best friend, responsible for getting him his first crack in the NBA, rep'd him for over 35 years, Mike is very loyal to him.

BW: When he won COY last year & stood up on the stage, he basically said when I was down & out & nobody thought I'd work in the league again, Warren got me back.

TM: Absolutely. Warren is saying it's not fair for a coach of your stature & not fair to set this precedent for other coaches around the league. Warren is holding firm at no, we want a 2 year extension & bump that base salary up. Fertitta is holding firm, no we shook hands with Mike, what the hell?

BW: They got a mess there. Then the whole Chris Paul thing. Should I say something that will get aggregated? No, I won't say it. What do you say MacMahon?

TM: I wrote what I wrote. There is definitely friction. There is tension. The prevailing opinion within the Rockets & from those who know both players very well & are still involved as Rockets employees or close to the players, etc etc..., hey, it's not that atypical, it's not ideal. Chris can be a tough guy to deal with on a regular basis. James probably needs to adjust some things as well but it's manageable. With some tweaks to the offense. D'Antoni has to tweak the offense to satisfy CP3 without alienating Harden. It's a delicate dance. As far as unsalvageable? I was told all those same things by people who do not have the Rockets best interest in mind and as I continued reporting, it did not check out so that's why I did not include that stuff in the story.

JM: I think they want D'Antoni out.

TM: They'll tell you they want D'Antoni there as long as Harden is the face of the franchise for a contender. That's where it gets delicate.

BW: It's time to get together & sing kumbaya. Let's get our act together & get on the same page.

TM: They'll be together for the awards show. They'll smile & pose and "Oh, I thought there was tension?" They'll do that whole dance.

BW: There was something that happened in that Warriors series with the way they were defending the Rockets. They were doubling...where James was operating enabled Chris' man to kinda come double & Chris got frustrated & they knew he wanted to make an adjustment. There was a moment in that series where they snapped at each other but more like we're getting beat & it's unfortunate.

TM: It was stuff lingering throughout the season. There was this unease throughout the season. When Harden really took off, that's when Chris Paul was hurt. He goes on this historic tear & Chris comes back & Harden wasn't adjusting off of that but Chris is no longer capable. Year one in Houston, Chris - outside of Harden - was one of best iso players in the league. He was #2 in the league. He lost a step & that offense no longer suits him. He wants plays, sets, screens, deception because he needs that where James is like, Give me the ball, space the floor & I'm the damn MVP of the league. Just shut up and watch.

BW: I've gotten into a back & forth about their LT or non-LT spending. Last year, in a vital year, they made deals not to improve their team but to get under the tax and didn't spend their MLE in a year where it was an opportunity to go for it. I've questioned whether Fertitta was willing to spend the tax & got push back hard on that. Fertitta has pushed back on the record about spending.

TM: We went back & forth on that. They wanted to avoid the repeater tax. The plan was year three. With the moves they made, they had an opportunity to do it. They felt Ennis fell out of the rotation. They didn't feel like it weakened the roster. My point was, OK, I hear all that but Chris Paul is getting older & more expensive as the contract goes.

BW: That's my point.

TM: Daryl pushed back "We did end up using most of the MLE." That was on like G-League call-ups to sign them to 3-year non-guaranteed deals. No.

BW: That's shenanigans.

TM: You didn't use it in the summer to get a quality rotation player when you had 2 key guys walk out the door. Now Luc was damaged goods but was a key role player the year before & didn't replace that. Trevor Ariza, a 35 MPG starter, you didn't replace that. If you're all in in year one of Chris Paul's max contract, you use the MLE to get a rotation player in the summer.

 

TM: You didn't use it in the summer to get a quality rotation player when you had 2 key guys walk out the door. Now Luc was damaged goods but was a key role player the year before & didn't replace that. Trevor Ariza, a 35 MPG starter, you didn't replace that. If you're all in in year one of Chris Paul's max contract, you use the MLE to get a rotation player in the summer.

BW: That's my point. Also midway through the year, they made an offer for Jimmy Butler & maybe they always knew it was going to be rejected so maybe it wasn't a real offer but how can you go for Butler, a guy you have to re-sign? They have an opportunity again. Use it wisely. I'm hearing the rumblings, is there any chance for Jimmy?

TM: They're real rumblings. Rockets think they have a chance.

BW: It would take cooperation. Either they take all those first round picks they offered initially & trade them to a team with salary cap space (Knicks, Hawks, Bulls), they'd have to trade them to a team and use those picks to do one of those big...you remember how the Warriors wiped the books for Iguodala? They'd have to do that & then sign Jimmy or work a sign-&-trade with the Sixers, which would be very difficult.

TM: I don't doubt Daryl to do the cap gymnastics. I doubt them getting Jimmy to agree to it. Philly will come with a 5-year max. That is happening.

BW: Are you sure about that?

TM: I'll put it at 99%.

BW: I think they're coming with a max, not sure it's a 5-year max.

TM: I'm pretty confident about that.

JM: Hearing the 5-year too for Philly. He's their priority over Tobias. They want both but Jimmy is their closer. Jimmy has a wandering eye. You're never sure. A little bit like Kyrie. Where will he be happy?

TM: Jimmy sees in Philly, they can claim they're as close as anyone. Also, Jimmy is self-aware enough to understand he's perhaps not the most calming influence. As the Rockets are trying to perhaps put some fires out, Harden & Butler are buddies, been talking blahblahblah but adding that alpha dog to a mix when you got two other alpha dogs barking at each other? Be careful what you wish for. Daryl hunts stars. He hunts faded stars. Carmelo blew up in his face. He thought it was a good idea. It wasn't. I'm confident the Rockets are trying to make it happen. I don't think it's a good idea. They don't have much depth anyways. If they become a thinner team with another personality like that, I don't know.

BW: They need some unified leadership. This is where the owner would lead or the GM would lead or where Chris would lead.

TM: PJ is that guy in that locker room.

BW: Knowing the characters, it's really hard to get Tilman, James & Chris together. They're complicated characters.

TM: Fertitta has buyer's remorse on Chris Paul. He's an inexperienced owner & talks a lot & when he talks, he doesn't make things better. I shouldn't say out loud because I like when he talks.

BW: My sympathy for their Chris Paul contract: put a zero and then a decimal point and then infinite level of zeros until you go off the page.

TM: Daryl doesn't have buyer's remorse. He said what the hell are you talking about? We got a chance to win a championship that we wouldn't have without Chris Paul. That makes him worth every freakin' penny.

BW: When they made that deal with the Clippers, everyone's eyes were explosively wide open & then Tilman bought the team, made the purchase knowing what he would have to do with Chris Paul. Even if Chris couldn't walk right now, I'd have sympathy for Chris but no sympathy that they got themselves into the position they had to give him that contract.

JM: One hamstring away. If Kawhi goes to the Clippers, think Toronto will say we never should have done this? No, they're holding the trophy. It's hard to win a championship. You overpay sometimes to make it happen. It's easy to play MMQB with the Rockets but if they won & they came close, the Chris Paul deal would have made sense.

TM: It's not hindsight yet. As messy as this Rockets offseason started, they still may be the best team in the West.

JM: Daryl said that to me yesterday. ... Why is Capela someone they'd move on from on a good contract?

BW: They can't trade anyone else.

TM: Eric Gordon maybe. Tucker they don't want to trade. I kinda feel like it's an overreaction to a bad series vs. the Warriors. He's their best asset because of the contract. You mentioned DeAndre to the Lakers. This is pure speculation. They can't trade Capela & not have a rim-running center, rebounder, defensive anchor. DeAndre Jordan, despite him butting heads with Chris with the Clippers, he's close with Chris, he's a Houston native. Do they think they can get him for the $5.7M. If they trade Capela, I gotta think they feel they got a shot at DeAndre, who should be fresh because he took a year off playing competitive basketball. He has not declined physically. Size, explosiveness, athleticism, he's still elite. Big, strong, athletic. He stopped rolling to the rim last year, stopped making any sort of effort defensively. Basically, he'd dunk when it was easy & pad his rebound stats. If he's locked in, he may be a short term upgrade over Capela. Capela is such a great fit with Harden & I'd be careful with that. Harden would not be thrilled giving up Capela & you bring in what's considered a CP3 guy....the chemistry equation is not Daryl's strength. I think it's something he needs to consider when making some of these moves.

BW: Sam Hinkie, he cared about asset maneuvering more than chemistry. ... Rockets have a golden opportunity. I hope they get it together. That team was close. They may not be fun to watch but have gone through so much. I'll be fascinated to see if Jimmy Butler thing could ever be real. I feel it's one of those things Daryl tries to do but can't actually pull off.

TM: And then signs him 5 years down the road on a minimum deal like Carmelo. He'll keep going after him.