One problem with Luc is he didn't get surgery to fix his shoulder -- once it starts popping out like his it's going to be an ongoing issue. I guarantee that shoulder will pop out again and it's in the back of his mind changing the way he plays.
Ariza was still playing at a high level, but he had clearly lost a step last year -- not over paying him was as easy as not going nuts with Parsons.
You just saw two shoulder injuries make Luc a completely ineffective player. I mean, it's not like Morey went crazy. Luc has not got surgery on this, either.
Trust me I agree but my point is he's getting older just like Melo. Dude still put up 16 point per game last season.
I'm with you. You have to question the Rockets. I bet Capela is looking at the following: Ryan Anderson $80m+...say what?? You keep saying we'll match anything and you will take care of me You let Mbah go You sign CP3 to $40m a year Don't get me wrong, I was one of those saying let him go. However, when Mbah walked for peanuts in comparison to Ryan Anderson and now you want to play with Capela! There better be something big looming. NeNe is nothing and D'Andre Jordan is gone. The only other like players are locked into contracts. You can't let Capela walk. Give him what he wants and trade him down the road if you think it's a mistake. I'm sure he can go somewhere else and make money and not be half of what he is in Houston. However, the flip-side is that he's only 23, he works well in the system, he barely plays Starter minutes, the upside is limitless, you have Dream and Lucas mentoring him, if you regret it at the end of the year, trade him (he still has a heck of a lot of value as compared to NeNe) and Carmelo?? Come on!! I'd rather have Bruce Bowen or Shane Battier come out of retirement.
We lost Ariza and Luc and you understand the Ariza part. Well the Luc part is even easier. We got to the Western Conference Finals and was up 3-2 on the Warriors before our 2nd best player got hurt, all without Luc contributing a single useful minute in the playoffs. Was he a good player over the course of the season? Yes. Was he needed in the playoffs when it counted? A proven No. He was a luxury. One that could be replaced by cheaper alternatives like Ennis or Taylor. Remember the big hoopla when we signed Luc last offseason for the minimum? No? That's because he was the Ennis/Taylor last year before we put him to good use and increased his value.
Luc was more than a luxury. Who knows how the series would have turned out had Luc been at full health. He just might have been able to hit a 3 pt shot. I think he shot like 37% from 3 last year. He was crucial to our success last season. We didn't end up winning a championship. We would have had a better chance with him playing healthy. And i doubt Ennis will defend 4's and 3's better than Luc did.
Oh yeah. In the regular season, Luc was the man. Ariza is probably the better team defender but Luc is as good of a 1-on-1 defender as there is in the league.
Rockets should have more depth where CP3 won’t play 40 minutes for 5 straight WCF games. Melton looks like a fantastic back-up, MCW is a proven defender on key possessions (when TO’s are in play), rotating in Gordon, etc Overall I think this is one of Morey’s best summers as GM. Lebron was a long shot and if he ruled out coming here after the Rockets maxed out CP3 the chances were even more slim than before. Rockets still retained a top 25 player will soon find a deal for a top 30 player in Capela, found some rotational rookies in Melton and Hartenstein, found a cheaper upgrade of Luc with the Ennis signing, Gerald Green, will likely be adding a cheaper more efficient version of Ryno soon with Melo, are still in active talks with some of the top remaining FA’s on minimum deals and are still in a position to use Ryno’s money, picks and sweetner on a deal
This is good and all to have players that can out played their contracts. However, it also meant that we can't keep them once the contract is over. So there is no continuation there are always changes with rosters.
I agree. Not quite so sure that Morey requires the *second* contract to be below their value, though -- recall the post-WCF 2015 contracts he gave out. Morey does have history of paying market for the second contract ... like Brewer (overpay), Ariza and Bev. The latter two became value contracts due to 2016 cap jump. I think he wanted to keep Luc for sure. Without Anderson, and the full MLE, we likely do. So, I think his strategy is simply to go for free agents looking for deals. Then, later keep them if they overplay that cheap deal.
Yeah that is unavoidable. But unless he has a championship he doesn’t want to throw out the money. As much as we believe we would have beaten the Warriors, we didn’t. So we bring back the main pieces (CP3, Harden and Clint) and try to figure out the rest.
Yes, "figuring out the rest" is the Spurs model. Everyone but Duncan and Aldridge have been no-names that they developed, most amazingly Kawhi and Tony Parker. It's hard to develop a process like this, but it's achievable and it's what champions do.
