Real GM Houston Offseason Preview

I hope they're right, but I find it hard to believe someone would take on his $20 mil salary.

He's 28 and has 3 years left on the deal.

 

Maybe Sacramento, his hometown team that will have cap space and is not achieving anything for awhile (if ever), anyway?

 

Not sure Ryno will be easy to move after his playoffs horror show

 

Unless I heard it wrong they didn't say it is easy to dumb him without taking any salary back. But for other bad contracts like Solo Hill or Wesley Matthews.

 

RyNo had on and off performances. I think coming off the bench he could be a decent spark, and that deal isn't as bad as some people think. He will either learn to fit, or get shipped real easily once we nail down who is Harden's real number 2 around here.

 

Can anyone name the last time we weren't in position to sign a max FA? Why does anyone doubt that we can open up the space if needed.

 

Need a rebounder and a SF own create his own shot

 

I agree with this generally.

The bigger question is why would one of the max FAs mentioned go to Houston, and even if they did, so what? This squad minus Anderson plus Hayward isn't winning the western conference.

Hayward AND Griffin. Ok sure.

Make that happen DM... lol

 

I think our best realistic shot is to lock Dekker and Harrell in a room and hope they take a leap .

I don't think we have the cap or attractiveness to land top FA's . We don't have the assets to land top trade targets .

It's just hope our players get better . And pray to God that dantoni can make adjustments to his system . I'll make a post later , but this was not what he ran in phoenix

 

Ryno can easily be moved if we get a commitment from a Max player. And that's the only reason he'd be moved as well. I'm sure we will pitch the top free agents again.

Next up, you can move one of the $7M/yr guys if you want to sign someone for around $20M/yr that we think moves the needle. You have to move out either Lou Williams, Bev, Ariza, or Gordon. I'm not sure I see a potential fit around this level unless one of the near max guys strikes out and is willing to sign here for a slight discount. MAYBE Serge Ibaka? I don't know how the Rox value him? Maybe depends on Harden's relationship with him, he knows him best.

Otherwise your looking at signing someone for around $10M a year and/or trying to convince Nene to come back on the cheap. I suspect this is the most likely scenario and frankly I'm fine with it. Need to hit on a value signing here (hopefully a 4/5 type player) and then resign Nene. Hopefully one of Troy Williams or Sam Dekker makes that jump to dependable rotation piece on a championship team. Harden can get better in only his second year playing PG. D'Antoni can expand on his system in year 2. Everyone can get better next year.

I look at it this way. The 17 Rox can compete with the 17 Spurs. We were tied 2-2 and game 5 went to OT. Then it fell apart.
We are a young, inexperienced, ascending team. They are an older, experienced, descending team (until they reload again).
I am not discouraged by our progress. Goal for 17-18 should be #2 seed in the West. WCF. Be competitive with the Warriors.

 

Sounds like they've been reading my post lol.

All for trading Lou and Anderson. Also wouldn't mind Nene walking. Use Dekker/Harrell as trade bate for a cheap rotational player that fills a need on the roster (like Covington or O'Quinn), bring in a playmaker/defender at the point, a 3&D forward (or two), a backup C who can get defensive boards and block shots.

We could put together a really nice roster this offseason if we play our cards right, and get lucky with FA / draft picks.

 

Check his shooting in Houston and out of Houston. He is okay as long as he isn't playing for us.

 

Our supporting talent really isn't that good . James / the system made these guys look half decent .

Look back at those Phoenix teams that won 60 games in the stacked west. We don't have a single player on the roster that is comparable to Marion or Amare . Both of those guys put up 20-10 and were capable defenders.

Our second best player is Beverley ( counting whole season and playoffs ) with Clint and Trevor not far behind . EJ and Ryan are also close . Basically we have a whole lot of guys in that tier .

I would rank them in the Boris Diaw / Leandro barbosa / raja bell tier that Phoenix had . Bell scored 18 a game one year , similar to Gordon and Lou but did it more efficiently . Bell was on a similar defensive level to Beverley and Ariza . Diaw had elite passing and would be the second best playmaker on our team competing with Beverley .

But the gap between those guys ( all of the above ) and the Nash / harden and Amare/ Marion group is pretty vast .

Houston got where it did by having depth ( which the coach didn't use fully in the playoffs ) and by taking a more efficient distribution of shots ... ( which could be denied in the playoffs)

Our reg season success wasn't a mirage because over the course of a season those advantages play out . But it's not sustainable for the postseason. I'll make a full post later comparing Hou and phoenix's offense ... But theirs was far better tailored for the playoffs . And a lot of that was just due to having better players .