I would be all over this. IMO Ibaka is a much better fit in our system (i.e. a 3 and D guy) than Griffin and will come cheaper hopefully. Ibaka at 18-20 million to me is a no brainer (huge upgrade over Anderson). Additionally, Ibaka, unlike Anderson, could actually backup the 5 spot effectively. I would hate to see Ariza and Lou go, but for Hayward it wouldn't be a question. Only serious issue remaining is Harden's careless passing, which unless we get another playmaker I think we need to live with... Harden/Beverly EGo/Harden Hayward Ibaka/Nene Capela/Nene With that team I think we could match up with anyone pretty well.
Yeah, I doubt we could do much better than that roster. We would be a top 2 offense at worst, and with a starting lineup of Harden, Bev, Hayward, Ibaka, and Capela, we could potentially be a top 10 defense as well. The only defensive liability in the starting lineup would be Harden. Everyone else is above average. Don't u think that Hayward could be that other playmaker or nah?
Blake is going to command absolutely max dollars, he is injury prone and his 3P% is decent but not good, maybe good for a big man but not good enough that I'd want him taking them consistently. I think he may also to take some shots away from Capela/Nene (unless we use him for his mid-range game, but thats not the gameplan). He is a very good passer though which I think could be very valuable. From what I could see in game 5 and 6 was that Ryan Anderson was a huge liability at the defensive end and having only Capela to anchor us was definitely hurting us especially when Capela rested. Given this I think a much better choice would be Serge Ibaka. He is the same age, hits 3's at good rate and takes more of them, and he plays good defense. The way I think about this one is that he would be an improvement from Ryan Anderson in every aspect of the game. A move for Griffin is a move to go all in on a purely offensive game. I think however, that we could combine Capela's defense with another elite defender we can get additional stops that will transition into easier transition opportunities. To be honest I would be very excited if we brought in either Griffin or Ibaka.
Cousins is a free agent. Sign him and convinced him to do 75% of his scoring inside the paint. The first few years in the league, dude was killing posting up defenders. I think we must have an inside presence that teams respect. Otherwise, defenses will just guard our perimeters players, boggling down our scheme. The risk is that Cousins will continue to be a malcontent, but I say take the chance. Good defenses have us figured out.
Sign Blake Griffin. He's injury prone but when players who are injury prone come to Houston, they usually get injured less.
We can start rebuilding now, no need to add aging injured stars. We need the next generation of NBA players.
Don't set yourself up for a disappointment guys, Hayward is not coming here...i've always been positive about top players coming here these past years, but at this point i started to think the opposite...Bosh, LMA, Durant, Horford...seems a pattern a this point, maybe they just don't see a winning enviroment here, and especially after this season ending well...i don't expect this to change, i think Hayward has good chances to leave Utah, but he'll go to the Celtics, maybe the Spurs if they will want him more than Paul...if we're lucky we find a way to get Millsap, again, if we're lucky, personally, i expect us ending up with Gallo or a second tier player anyway.
I have heard that Blake Griffin may not even be able to play until the start of preseason...he'll be spending his entire summer rehabbing instead of working on his game
Some people are so concerned with looking at raw percentages and claiming that a three or contested layup are still better than a wide open mid-range shot, but they're missing the point. You take the wide open mid-range shots, if for no other reason, to keep the defense guessing. It's fine to prefer 3's and layups and skew heavily toward those shots, but if the other team knows they don't have to guard the majority of the court, they're going to figure you out over the course of a series. You don't throw a 90mph fastball down the middle of the plate every single pitch just because you can.
If Derrick Favors was not so injury prone I would have loved to get him. Superb interior post defender and borderline elite shot blocker who is lost in the rotation in Utah. Plus is an underrated post scorer with a solid jump shot.
Ugh...i'd gladly stay away from Blake anyway at this point, i know we are not in a power spot with free agents right now, but still...
