Agreed, we should be all over Noah IMO but the silence is deafening and annoying. Anyone know what the story is on Jabari Parker and if he has much value around the league? He has already bounced around a lot. What kind of salary will/should he get? Not sure he would be a fit on the Rockets but just curious. IMO, we should go after Noah and Jeff Green and fill in with some young minimum deal players with talent like Hollis-Jefferson, Ben McLemore, etc.
Who would have thought a historically great team would be a hindrance to getting to the Finals..... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don't want to list out the teams I subjectively think are better, but what I am willing to state outright is that we are clearly no closer to beating a healthy Warriors or Raptors team and there were a few teams in the 50-60-win range that will stay the same or get better. I just don't see the value in going back and forth with everyone about whether so and so player is actually an improvement. We all have our subjective valuations of players and cohesion. Let's just say half of the teams that upgraded their talent will translate that into better playoff performances. No one can reasonably argue they will all not improve while we will miraculously avoid injury and tough stretches. Equally important (I said this at the beginning of last season and got flamed for it): if you are the oldest or one of the oldest teams in the NBA, then on average if everyone stands pat you will get worse and they will get better. That's an additional problem that we have to address. The group of Gordon, Tucker and Paul are not going to get better and that's 3 of our top 6 players. The likelihood of injuries is certain, only the timing of the injuries is random. It is silly to complain about them after the fact. We would be insane to expect Harden to have his best season, and I understand he has shattered expectations several times, but we would be insane to expect it. Right now, if we add a good rotation player via MLE, I estimate we would end up with the 5th or 6th best regular season and no better than usual in the playoffs.
My guess is we are basically done other than vet min signings.... which if the rivers signing is an indication, might not mean nothing. I think they’ll hold onto the remainder of the MLE for an in season signing. Looks like Hartenstein and Clark are going to need to take big leaps forward this Summer In their game cause the team is really banking on them providing real minutes at the 3/4 and 5. I think we’ll add at least one more vet though, and it really needs to be a big. Iggy somehow would be a godsend but my guess is he’ll have the pick of the litter for where he wants to go unless Memphis can trade him somewhere to turn him into an asset.
I guess the Rockets are planning on one of House, Clark or Hartenstein making a big leap forward this next year to make up for what they couldn't acquire this off-season.
Looks like you and I had the same thought at the same time. I think Clark has shown some real promise and he is a no nonsense all work type of guy which is what this team needs.
I think it’s more likely than not that both guys will not be NBA rotation players but the Rockets aren’t taking that step forward to be in good shape with all the tools they need going into the playoffs without striking gold with one or both guys. I do like the physical attributes and base skills they both bring to the table. I loved what I saw last year but D’Antoni is a tough coach to start your career with where you have the legroom to grow into. If they don’t succeed what it means is a massive amount of minutes again for Harden, PJ, and Gordon with a ton of small ball with high volume three point shots nightly which I don’t think anyone is excited about. Mostly because I don’t think this vet team can take that kind of wear and tear again. Here’s crossing our fingers both guys take a massive leap this summer and MDA gives them some burn to try and grow. Guys built like Clark that can play the 3/4, switch everything, and hit threes are insanely expensive too. What did Ariza just get signed for again at 55 years old?
House and Rivers signings make me feel much better at our situation. Morey failed a lot in star pursuits but is somewhat decent at maneuvering small cap space and sign some decent rotation players (Melo signing was a gamble that failed but in hindsight it's worth a shot). I think we run it back with the same starting 5 with slightly more help from the bench this year. Rockets can still compete with the elites in the West.
But there was only one team in the West that could have knocked that "same roster" out of the playoffs last year. We easily handled the Jazz, and the Nuggets and Blazers wouldn't have been big obstacles. So yeah, the problem is that some of those teams got better. But many of them have new pieces to work in and will have to learn to do without others. The Warriors will struggle to be elite until Klay comes back, and maybe even after. The Lakers have a good start, but not enough yet. The Nugs, Jazz and Blazers are better, but incrementally so; none of them took a giant leap forward. If we use our remaining $$$ wisely (more like last year's trade deadline than last summer), we should be fine and as good a bet as any to make the WCF or the finals. And if Kawhi leaves Toronto, then there's no clear-cut favorite in the East, either (no, not even the Bucks). Unless Kawhi joins the Lakers, in which case we're probably f$#ked.
For those saying we need depth. I agree, 100%. But depth is only good if you know how to use it... specifically in the playoffs
Even then, you've got three superstars (and three superstar egos) who need to learn how to work together. That might take a few months. The Rockets focus during the regular season should be to get the #1 seed and stay healthy. If we can do those, anything is possible. But... it would have been MORE possible with Jimmy Butthead.
