[ESPN] Underrated NBA moves with the biggest impact

Gonna pull some excerpts from Bobby Marks' ESPN+ article on last summer offseason moves. And look at those moves compared to the Rockets.

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/25392176/underrated-nba-moves-biggest-impact

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Denis Schoder
The Oklahoma City Thunder did something in August with the Carmelo Anthony that the New York Knicks elected not to do with Joakim Noah. Instead of stretching the $27.3 million owed to Anthony over three seasons and creating significant financial savings, GM Sam Presti took the soon-to-be-dead cap space and turned it into Dennis Schroder.

The $9.3 million that would have been a sunk cost with Anthony counting against the cap is now a $15.5 million guard who can play with Russell Westbrook or start if needed. Because the Thunder are capped out, they would not been able to sign a player like Schroder if he were a free agent in 2019.

Schroder has played a critical role in the success of the Thunder, especially with Westbrook missing six games with a sprained ankle. The guard has averaged 30.1 MPG, 17.3 PPG, 5.2 APG and OKC is 8.7 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.
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Morey made the Anderson+Melton for Knight+Chriss trade. Rockets didn't have to give up a 1st to dump Anderson which is a plus. We don't know yet the opportunity "gain" from keeping that first is. So TBD on that.

BUT, you can see from OKC, they dumped Melo and got a REAL PLAYER that provides real value in Schroder. How nice would it be if Brandon Knight could provide 17ppg for the Rockets? Yeah, not holding my breath on that. But really OKC got themselves their own Eric Gordon in that Melo dump. It has allowed them to win games with Roberson and Westbrook out and injured.

Conversely with the Rockets, they lose Harden or CP3 and they automatically lose. Tough to continue to watch this juxtaposition.
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Veteran Minimums
"We want to players to out perform their contract" - Morey

Could the Rockets have signed any of these guys instead of MCW?

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An Eastern Conference scout summed it up best when talking about minimum contracts: Finding cost-efficient players is comparable to an NFL team snagging value in the late rounds of the draft. However, the group of minimum NBA players signed in late July or early August are ones who are looking for a second -- or third, or fourth -- chance.

In total, there are five players starting -- Nik Stauskas, Nerlens Noel, JaVale McGee, Shelvin Mack and Noah Vonleh -- who were signed to the veteran minimum contracts and have played key roles in the first 20 games.
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First, PG Shelvin Mack. This is a guy the Rockets have had interest in the past if I remember correctly from @Codman. He was on Orlando last year. And a trade deadline target. Having a competent 3rd PG.

48%FG, 41% 3pt FG. -- 9ppg 3.6apt, 1.2 TO

How about a backup 4/5 that can give PJ a rest? How about Noah Vonleh?

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Vonleh has a comparable path as Stauskas. Drafted one spot behind the guard in 2014, Vonleh is on his fourth team in five years. However, while Stauskas signed a guaranteed contract, Vonleh's $1.6 million salary will not be guaranteed until Jan. 7.

Originally signed as an insurance policy because of the uncertain depth at power forward, the 23-year-old is now the Knicks' permanent starter at the position and also their most efficient player. The big difference in the play of Vonleh has been his ability to stretch the floor. Per Cleaning the Glass data, Vonleh ranks in the 86th percentile for his position in 3-point shooting (42.1 percent). Last season, he ranked in the 10th percentile.
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Role Players
Finding the right role players. Memphis did a great job in trading for underrated Garrett Temple. The kind of wingman that can provide depth.

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Back in the late morning on July 17, the Memphis Grizzlies acquired Garrett Temple from the Sacramento Kings. The deal sent Temple to his fifth team since entering the league in 2009, plus former lottery pick Ben McLemore back to Sacramento along with cash and a future second-round pick. Outside of Sacramento and Memphis the transaction received little attention.

Now four months later, Temple has started all 20 games, averaged a career high in PPG (11.0), MPG (32.5) and effective field-goal percentage (54.2 percent). Temple has also brought stability to a position that saw 13 different players log minutes at shooting guard in 2017-18.
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Just looking at a few things that other teams did. And the kind of stuff the Rockets need to do moving forward to flesh out the roster and the depth. The moves "at the margins" matter.

I am all for Morey making big moves for a 3rd star. But "in the time being" moves at the margins, even at smaller costs can offer big dividends.