The language Clutch used here "still with the team by training camp in September" is very interesting to me. First of all, Clutch wouldn't make such a statement if he didn't have some solid information supporting that assertion. And secondly, the "by training camp in September" interests me as well. It almost implies a trade is more likely later in the summer than early in July. Hmmmmmmm.
Not if they find an adequate backup. It's not like Asik is the only 7-footer in the league who can block shots and rebound the ball. And who knows? Maybe the Rockets can actually bring in someone who doesn't mind playing off the bench and can catch the ball and dunk it instead of putting up a weak layup that bounces off the rim and gets blocked. Asik is a solid player, but the Rockets can easily replace him. The Rockets defense has a lot more to do with how they play as a team than having a bunch of individual defensive studs on the roster. Look at what Van Gundy did during his time here. Remember how Steve Francis was bashed as a dominant offensive player who didn't play defense(sounds familiar, right?)? Somehow the Rockets became one of the best defensive teams in the league in spite of that because Van Gundy got them to shut down opponents collectively, not individually. And it carried over into the T-Mac era even though we had the likes of Jon Barry, David Wesley, Jim Jackson, Luther Head, and Juwan Howard on the roster.
Nice article. With that said, I highly doubt getting Kevin Love would automatically get us the championship. We need to do something in our coaching staff and we need someone to tell Harden how to mature up. We got Howard and everyone's thinking we would at least get pass round 1. What we learnt instead is nothing is guarantee and everything could happen in the playoffs. I am sure this playoffs by design/position is the most favorable one for years to us and yet we blew it up. It gave us the best chance to the western conference or even the final, theortically speaking. I mean, think about it, clippers were the only team we really scared of during the regular season. We owned Spurs and they are exhausted with 7 games series with the Mavs, Rox is a younger team so we recover better. On paper, we own them. Conference final, Well may lose to the thunder, but again we stack the talents to match with them. Our biggest issue is the coaching staff...
We really need someone who can play some perimeter D. That was our problem last year and still our problem this year. 48 minutes of rim protection isnt good enough if teams are obliterating us from outside.
I agreed, we dont need solid individual defender (it would be nice), but we do need someone to teach them how to play team defense. One thing I saw during the playoffs which sticks to me is how tough the Blazers were on rotation and defending the painted area down the stretch. When we throw the ball to Howard, we got our primeter guys spread up for 3s, but all 3 to 4 blazers were quick to rotate onto howard in the painted area. It not only closed the passing lane, but also forcing howard to put up an ill advised shot. The sad part was, they are forcing Howard to put up a shot, everyone around howard was so afraid of shooting the 3s (specially in the 4th quarter).
The Rockets showed hints of playing better team defense against the Blazers starting in Game 3. They came out and doubled Lillard and Aldridge a lot more which led to the Blazers needing to use up time just to get into their offense. The biggest problem the Rockets seemed to have(other than waiting 2 whole games before making any adjustments!) was that they were awful at recovering and rotating to the open shooter. That can be worked on, but like I've said before, they had all year to do this and never addressed it. I think the biggest reason the Rockets sucked at defense was because they simply didn't prioritize it(either that or their coaches don't know how to instruct the players). We'll know very quickly in November whether the team philosophy has changed at all in that respect. I still suspect that Morey is adamant that his system can win and is more interested in adding another star than finding a better balance between scoring and shutting down the opposing team.
Probably so. But I happen to believe that it is more likely that a major trade moving Asik and Lin comes later in the summer than early. That is...if we don't get one done before June 30. And I do believe that Clutch has some insider info here that prompted him to make that statement.
Even though we might get more in return for Lin/Asik at the trade deadline, I hope we jettison them this offseason so the team will have a chance to start building chemistry.
What are the odds of acquiring Love? What are the odds of Mcfail failing again when it matters. The former is exponentially lower than the later. Shouldn't keep the coach just for the off-chance that you might get one of a number of third-stars that you are targeting. Dwight may have liked Mcfail, but I doubt he would want to waste another year of his prime following this guy's cluelessness, as evident in this playoff series. Winning is more important. A more disciplined coach would also help Haren to grow by improving his defense AND offence. The priority for the Rockets this summer is coaching change.
I think Clutch is just seeing the major targets they are looking to acquire shaking free in the Summer first. The only major player to possibly shake loose after the Summer would be Kevin Love, and that's a stretch. I think from the evidence we are seeing under this latest (can't really call it new anymore) CBA is that teams are showing to be way more active with the July 1st free agency than they are at the trade deadline. Teams are smarter and more prepared now. They go into the season with a plan, and have a plan to get out at the end of the season if they aren't satisfied. The trade deadline before was used by GM's like Morey to prey on those ill prepared GM's needing to make MAJOR changes before the end of the season. That doesn't look to be the case anymore. I think we are in for a pretty active draft night, and July free agency with so many players likely on the move, and so many teams trying to make power plays for that final piece, or their franchise piece. It looks way more likely that something will drop in Morey's lap this Summer that he wont be able to pass up.
I wish people would stop with the notion that McHale is being kept around to lure Love to the Rockets. That doesn't even make any sense. The only way Love joins this team in the 2014-15 season is via trade. In which case it doesn't matter who our coach is. Otherwise Love can only come here after next season via free agency(or sign-and-trade). And that ain't happening til after July 1, 2015 which would require the Rockets to give McHale an extension. To lock in that guy for at least 2 more years just because he might be able to help pitch the Rockets to Kevin Love is insane. I have a hard time believing Morey and Les are thinking that.
Thanks for this insightful article Clutch! I admit I'm a new fan of Rockets, I've been supporting Spurs for a long time now but I came to support Rockets last year first because of Lin, but when Dwight came into the team I thought they'd be a legitimate contender for playoffs, and more than player preference, I always support a team that is good, and Rockets was that and more for me :grin: Even if Lin gets traded somewhere else, even though I'm his fan too, I would still support Rockets because I've come to love and respect Dwight as a player. Even now I still don't get the LOF and LOH thing in this site, I don't know how it got so bad that some exchanges have become extremely mean, and I'm just as clueless why its proliferated this way, but for me, I'd rather see every player on the league play as best as they can, with lots of heart and effort. I hate seeing players not get into it when they're so talent, than less talented players but giving his all. I would want Lin be traded somewhere else where he is a major contributor so he can gather more skills there and play a vital role for that team, at the same time, I really wanna see Rockets get into the playoffs again and see Dwight play with just the same intensity that he gave us this year, but preferably he'd have a more awake Harden hahaha, and a third teammate who can help him carry the load of the team. I actually prefer Love over Melo, I hope they get Love! I don't know, I always see him as more of a team player that gets it done. He looks like a respected brother/Leader with his teammates too. I saw a couple of games and interviews with Love, and base on his demeanor, I thought he would impact Harden more than Carmelo. I think Harden also needs somebody who can positively influence his game since he is just 24 years old, so young, that guy :grin: I dont know, just an impression I guess. But I dont really know much of Melo's game, so he might meld with Rockets just fine, but regardless, I'd like Morey to go into "Mission Impossible" mode once again and see who he brings to the team. That guy is wicked good. I'd rather have a cunning GM than a transparent guy but incompetent in his job. Guess we have owner Les to thank how he's made Morey so good in hustling players. :grin: Reading your post about why Mchale gets a pass this year might be more logical why they kept him on board. But I hope only until they get Love to come. I worry less about this team not having good players but more on having a below average head coach. Just look at what happen with Wizards and Bulls, their coach was more than competent and they got through the 1st round, Nene absent. I ultimately want somebody like him who knows his job. I'm so very excited about what's gonna happen in 5 months. Parsons is also someone I'm very curious about. I think he's gonna be a collateral damage when they trade Lin. I've been reading somewhere that other GM's are asking for Parsons if they're gonna take Lin on board. But in order to get that important 3rd player, I think anyone and anything can be sacrifice in order to get a near perfect squad. What do you think Clutch?
So, you are saying that James Harden is the worst defender in the league? And your answer...is to get another terrible defender? I really do not see Morey trading James Harden. I might be wrong, but he has always seemed to pursue a star player, any star player, and then fill out the roster around that guy. In recent NBA history, any trade involving a star player has not returned equal value, instead it has been for parts. If we traded Harden, we most likely would not get another star, but instead would get a collection of young players and picks (similar to what we sent to OKC in the original Harden trade). Which is not what our team needs now. It wouldn't be what our team would need if we did acquire Carmelo.
Can someone help me because I don't remember: What would Lin's and Asik's outgoing salary be for a team that trades for them in this offseason or next season? Would it be the ~$15mill or would it be the ~$8 mill?
I don't know if he is, but he needs to be. Dwight is terrific, but the Rockets will only go as far as Harden takes them.
He needs to be at least on D12's level of play. If Dwight is giving you 30-10, Harden needs to give 30-7. You can't have Dwight getting double-teamed in the post and have a black-hole on the outside, that's a TO nightmare.
