I love Gerald’s courageous shooting. We do need that, especially if Ben goes into a slump, but he can’t give us defense. I don’t think he will be ready either. I like Simmons, and Quincy to an extent too. Quincy has injury issues, but I don’t know why Simmons has completely fallen off the map. Perhaps, you can shed some light on this. PS: I pray for everyone, including of course for you. Stay safe from Covid-19. Addendum: The Rockets can’t re-acquire Gerald Green this season, because he was traded.
Spoiler Group 1: The Names These are the guys you’ve actually heard of. Most of them are on well into the back nine of their careers, if not already doddering toward the clubhouse, but contending teams, in particular, will be doing their due diligence on all of them: DeMarcus Cousins — Cousins was waived by the Lakers after tearing his ACL in August, but he’s by far the biggest name available for a team to sign ahead of the playoffs. The question of where he fits is the thornier issue. Boogie’s mobility is going to be an issue at the defensive end, as we saw a year ago in Golden State with him coming off a torn Achilles. Offensively, his playing style can be brutally effective on a team that needs scoring and is capable of playing through him, but he’s neither a rim-runner nor an elite pick-and-pop guy. Also, there’s the larger issue of whether it’s worth it for him to sign for relative chump change at the end of this season rather than just continuing to rehab and getting ready for next season. Assuming he’s willing, I could see a fit in San Antonio (who won’t have LaMarcus Aldridge), Dallas (who won’t have Dwight Powell) or Boston. Joakim Noah – Noah was on a 10-day contract with the Clippers when the league shut down, and our Shams Charania reports they will bring him back to give them an extra big for the playoff run. Noah brings an infectious energy to the practice court, but a low-minute role is probably the best thing for his current physical capabilities – he can still play, but the knees and ankles are nearing their sell-by date. Gerald Green – Presumed out for the season after breaking his foot in the offseason, Green has had long enough to mend and could provide a much sought-after wing shooter for contending teams. His former team, the Rockets, is not allowed to reacquire him after trading him in February, which leaves the door open for wing-needy teams such as Oklahoma City, Indiana (which lost Jeremy Lamb) or Utah (minus Bojan Bogdanovic) to swoop in. Trey Burke — Burke isn’t for everybody, but he’s the best point guard available and teams are always looking for an extra floor general. Waived by the Sixers despite serviceable production, Burke is an undersized pick-and-roll specialist who is going to shoot a lot of pull-up 2s; his best fit is quarterbacking a second unit that is light on shot-creation but can give him defensive help. Most teams would be signing him as a third guard to keep in the bullpen in case of a backcourt injury; one could imagine fits for him in places such as Denver, New Orleans, Portland and Sacramento. Tyler Johnson – Johnson’s reliably steady production rather suddenly fizzled into nothing in Phoenix this season, but he’s only 28 and we’re talking about a 515-minute sample. Make no mistake, he was baaaaad, but I’m having a hard time believing that his true ability level turned south quite this abruptly. Teams in need of a fourth or fifth guard with some scoring pop will likely scour film on him carefully, with Denver and his one-time offer-sheet suitors in Brooklyn seeming to offer the cleanest fit. Iman Shumpert – Shumpert suited up for Brooklyn earlier this season and could be called back to duty by the Nets. The teams in line for Green and Johnson will also likely be kicking the tires on Shumpert too, although I’d put him a rung lower on the priority list given his extremely limited production (he hasn’t had a double-digit PER since 2015) and limited body of work over the past year. C.J. Miles – Miles is probably a long shot to get back in at this point, but with teams scouring their databases for wings who can shoot, his name will definitely come up. Washington waived Miles after he suffered a season-ending wrist injury 10 games into the season, but the 33-year-old was getting some run and hadn’t been terrible prior to the injury. Group 2: The No-Names You haven’t heard of most of these guys, but NBA scouting departments have. Those teams looking for immediate help and/or a player who can be part of the roster going forward are going to take a long look at the players in this group in hopes of finding the next Kendrick Nunn or JaMychal Green. Six players stand out as possibilities: Jaylen Adams, Wisconsin Herd – Adams played 34 games for the Hawks in 2018-19 in his rookie year out of St. Bonaventure but wasn’t ready, shooting a miserable 34.5 percent from the floor. However, the 24-year-old took a major step forward in his second season while playing for the Bucks’ G League squad, shooting 40.4 percent on 3s while capably manning both guard spots. He’s a bit undersized for the two and more of a scorer at the one, but on the right team, his offensive package has a chance to help. Cameron Payne, Texas Legends – It’s hard to get back into the league when you’ve already failed in two places, but Payne has a case to get a third chance. He’s been one of the top guards in the G League all season, with a still-iffy shot but notable progress as a finisher and distributor, and he’s still only 25. Dragan Bender — A monumental bust as the fourth overall pick in 2016, Bender still has a chance to make it. Believe it or not, he’s only 22. The Bucks reluctantly waived him when Marvin Williams became available, and he had played serviceably on a 10-day contract with Golden State when the league shut down. I’d expect the Warriors to sign him to a multi-year deal similar to the ones Mychal Mulder and Juan Toscano-Anderson inked. Donta Hall, Grand Rapids Drive – Hall’s physical profile turns off teams – a skinny, 6-9 center with a bent-over posture – but he has some real athletic pop as a rim-runner and shot-blocker, and was one of the best bigs in the G League in his first season out of Alabama. Hall was on a 10-day contract with Detroit when the league stopped, and one would expect the Pistons to try to lock him up for next season. Jarrod Uthoff, Memphis Hustle – Uthoff is 27, so he’s not really a developmental play. But he’s a 6-9 combo forward who can shoot and jump, and this is a size/skill category where teams are constantly scraping the barrel for talent. Certainly, he was the best unaffiliated player of this type in the G League this season and would be an interesting late-season roster add after a strong season in Memphis. Jordan Bell – Remember when people made fun of the Bulls for selling this pick? Um, yeahhhh. … I’m never a fan of teams selling picks, but Bell has struggled to maintain the strong start to his rookie season in Golden State. A combination of nonexistent shooting range and too-frequent defensive lapses left him in the discard bin after the trade deadline, but now I think the perception of Bell might have shifted too far the other way. He’s a good passer and can really jump, and it says here he can still help the right team as an energy fifth big. (Note that Bell would not be playoff eligible because he was waived by Memphis on March 2). Group 3: The Two-way Conversions This is the most interesting field for me because several of these players were likely to be signed to multi-year deals by their teams in March and April before the shutdown forestalled that process. Teams will want to sign these players now to avoid having to compete for their services as restricted free agents after the season. Seven players, in particular, stand out: Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City Chris Chiozza, Brooklyn John Konchar, Memphis Jordan McLaughlin and Kelan Martin, Minnesota PJ Dozier, Denver Garrison Mathews, Washington
I'm wishing I hadn't bumped off all those replicants back in the day. We've been in "isolation" since March and I could use a "fun chemistry replicant." Preferably a female who looks like my partner did 25 years ago. Heck, maybe I just need some chemistry. (boy, would I get in trouble if she saw this post - just kidding, sweetie!) How about a fun chemistry guy who's healthy, can play some defense, and hits the 3 at a good clip. One who's quick, with decent lateral movement. Nothing special. Don't they grown on trees? ;-)
we've got 5 guards : harden , russ, gordon , rivers , and ben and 6 forwards : green, house, thabo , PJ , Roco , carroll, and 2 centers tyson and hartenstein developmental players : frazier , bruno , clemons, howard . I dont really see in the need to bring in tyler johnson . What dose he make ? is he vet min ? if so then sure ... more depth is OK ... but unless you think one of your 5 guards is gonna be hurt early then you have more than enough minutes considering you can use clemons / frazier in blowout situations. Overall we've got depth . We've got a legit 10 / 11 guys MDA will play if they are healthy and playing OK ... namely the guards and forwards. Thats fine. If we are gonna win this Year ( if it happens) we are gonna win with speed, shooting , and disruption. We have a couple of bullets at C for a change up if we need to try something during a series. However , if you go by top 8 players ( AKA MDA's real rotation) its probably something like Harden, russ, PJ , roco , Gordon , rivers, house, ben ... all 5 guards and only 3 of the " forwards" From this perspective it does make sense to bring in another guard for depth ... considering the traditional guards and forwards lineup used to look like 2G3F ... , But theres a chance gordon gets the majority of the minutes over house and we play alot more " 3G2F" lineups . MDA is always willing to opt for shooting over size of rebounding ... and a healthy gordon IS likely a better player than House. Granted, our forwards have a chance to step up and render a new acquisition at guard moot. Green and house for sure have shown that size CAN count and don't count out wily veterans like thabo and carroll , I'm not sure how the layoff is effecting things and how the short run back into the playoffs will effect things .... but time off can be beneficial for older players and theres a good chance that they have gotten their bodies feeling pretty good. I can also see the time off and short runway negatively impacting older vets .... is a giant unknown, thats why im just saying , dont count them out. long story short , it depends on what Ty Ty costs
Yes, I see Morey set the record on Gerald Green on B/R shortly after my post. Yes, originally I was gonna push for Anthony Tolliver until I saw his age (35)....Quincy Pondexter is a younger version (32 y/o), (but 7 knee surgeries). This is ok with me since he would be Plan D off the bench (with great experience) and still has the ability guarding 2-5 positions in short spurts. 6’7” but can guard PF’s/C’s like PJ Tucker clone.....hit some 3’s. I’m not needing him for a full season worth of games. Just for Orlando. Yes, Jonathan Simmons from what I have read became a black hole since leaving the Spurs. But with a wide open Rockets offense, I like what Simmons brings to the table. Ability to hit 3’s, dive to the rim, once near the rim has an ability to absorb contact and still get the ball in the hole. As seen in the video. At 6’6” can guard positions 1-5 hopefully. Teammates on the Rockets would keep him in check......enough possessions to make him happy if he moves up the ladder due to unfortunate circumstances (injuries). No need to be a black hole !! Like it was in S.A. P.S. I’m aware Tolliver signing with Grizz since that previous post. likewise saleem, take care and may all those in this world be safe and healthy.
Tyler Johnson meets your 3 needs criteria. The following do NOT have at least 1 of the 3: Chris Clemons Isaiah Hartenstein Tyson Chandler Thabo Sefolosha Plus MDA and Morey have both stated they will be using 9 man rotation, same as they did in 2018.
What about Michael Beasley? The guy is a walking bucket and I could see him pulling off a Josh Smith/Corey Brewer game on the playoffs. He’s exceptional at attacking the midrange and could give the Rockets a different look for a few possessions.
Ivan Rabb, G-Leaguer, 6' 10" 220 lbs. 7' 2" wingspan Can't switch on everybody, but can knock down the 3 at a decent clip (most of the time)
I have given up on him, because of his iso game. If he would pass and play defense, his value would be high.
I hope we get donta hall . Sounds like a fit as a developmental big and has a perfect name . All Texas donta’s have to have off spellings . Donte green was traded because his spelling is too traditional . Dunta Robinson was let go cause of “pay me” I predict Donta Hall will have a fine 5 years or so for the rockets but will be let go when he pulls a public stunt asking Tilman to pay him .
DM doesn’t put faith in young potential athletic bigs anymore. Hall or Rabb would be fine with me. Hall gets an edge, with his shot blocking.
Tyler Johnson is a Net. Or soon will be. With 6'6 Theo Pinson (6'11 wingspan) released, he would be nice 3-D option for Rockets, can switch 1-4.
Too bad about TJ. https://houseofhouston.com/2020/06/20/houston-rockets-rumors-tyler-johnson-suns-free-agent/
