Brandon Knight is not an NBA player. The only reason he has not been cut is because he has a huge contract and the hope is that the Rockets can dump his contract for a better player on a LONGER contract that a team wants to move. Carmelo Anthony is who he is. He has been this same way for over 20 years. He is not going to suddenly change. He can get some tough buckets, can score in bunches and has value for that very reason. However, he isn't going to suddenly going to change. Nene Hilario is 36 years old. They are hoping he can come back and contribute, but the reality is that he is as likely to be included in a trade as salary, as he is to contribute. The Rockets lack depth and for the most part that isn't going to be addressed internally. The Rockets have been fortunate that Gary Clark has emerged as a rotational player as a rookie. The Rockets need a solid back up point guard because Chris Paul doesn't need to be playing in back to backs and doesn't need to be playing 35 minutes a game. The Rockets need a swing that can cover the 3 and hit 3's so that they can move Ennis to the bench where he will be more effective. The Rockets need a back up 4 that can cover some minutes at the 3 or 5. PJ Tucker is 33 years old and ideally doesn't start and certainly doesn't need to be playing 35-40 minutes a night. The Rockets roster has an absolute waste of multiple slots. Chriss and Knight are only taking spots because they are likely to be dealt. Zhou Qi is not an NBA player. He doesn't play and isn't going to suddenly become useful. He is a wasted spot. MCW is at best a back of the roster player that only plays in very specific match ups or for injury. He really shouldn't be wasting a roster space. If Anthony and the Rockets are not on the same page, then he is worthless as well. Hartenstein really should be a Viper of their one experimental guy on the team. So that is at least 3 roster spots wasted and possibly 6. Luckily, a lot of these holes can be addressed through trades as teams that are not competing will move productive but not integral pieces, especially those that are going to be free agents. However right now the Rockets have not given up big game hunting and are not willing to waste their resources on bench pieces. Let's see how long until they change their mind.
And then we will ship them off for a fresh set of scrubs who are 2 years away from being 2 years away. Meanwhile those scrubs we kinda train, go and kill it against us - Morris, Harrell and so on...
No that is what Morey says. What he really means is...... We hope we can trade our scrubs for better players under longer contracts from teams rebuilding. I cannot prove it but I suspect that Morey still shops TJ MAX and Goodwill for Christmas presents for his family even though he makes seven figures.
This is very likely the worst offseason of Morey's career in terms of net gain/loss in talent. I don't think I'll ever get over the fact that WANTED MCW. I hated MCW signing I tried to stop myself from hating Melo signing I hated the Ryno trade (not because of love for Ryno but because we got back scrubs) Ennis was last on my list of guys to gamble on for wing depth (he may still end up being good) Luxury tax implications are at work here though and will prevent them from moving quickly to upgrade. If there were no tax concerns they'd probably waive MCW right this second and sign Nick Young. MCW is likely around until he can be traded and we'll either tack him on in a deal or pay someone to take him. At a bare minimum, 3 of the 5 guys Morey went out and got this offseason are effectively done as Rockets because they can't play and 1 may never play for the Rockets to begin with.
He absolutely 100% believed MCW and Melo would outperform their contracts. Those are both guys he's been after for years, and in a year where he infamously said "We'll have our pick of the free agents" he targeted Michael Carter Williams as a priority. Morey is a great GM, but this appears to be a case where he was blinded and convinced he would be proven right about MCW.
I wasn’t implying that was actually the solution. Just pointing out the irony that we have those three players on the bench yet their positions are holes for us.
Melo perhaps. But where did he say he was after MCW for years? MCW was a problem kid after his ROY year. I never really heard from MCW after his years as a Buck. Even the greatest of GMs has his weaknesses and blind spots. Would tell us a tremendous amount why a 3 pt shooting team is chasing after non or bad shooters.
For all the anger at losing out at Butler the leak of the potential offers must have had teams interested. As @cyberx posted about the Hayward feeler earlier. But I do think there are possibilities out there to get role players from teams looking to shed a little salary and get draft picks in return. A guy like Demarre Carrol for example would be great to get from the Nets but I don't think the Rockets have enough in terms of expiring contracts to send to BK (I am pretty sure the Nets want as much open cap as possible this summer to land big free agents) even if they were willing to move draft picks.
the mcw posts were just cringe worthy. cf's really wanted to convince themselves/others that this was a great fit. how many years have the rockets been doing what they have been doing. yet the biggest flaws in a player that contradict everything the rockets do is somehow going to contribute.
A team that relies exclusively on Harden-Paul penetration and rest spot up beyond 3 point line bring in MCW, Carmelo, Knight, Chris etc as off season signings Defies basketball logic
Then Morey is more delusional than I expected. Smart but still flawed. MCW was a talent but the worst fit for a team like this.
