The above would become a defensive juggernaut on its way to 55 wins and the 4th seed. If we are lucky (Durant skips OKC, Curry/Green gets injured, Spurs find no replacement for their old big 3), we would have a puncher's chance to go all the way.
We could probably get Lou Williams for free (future second) if we also take Nick Young. Desperately need a shot creator off the bench.
I think you do that for sure. Clearly we have to lose 2 roster spots to make it happen though. Perhaps trade off KJ who isnt too valuable but is probably increasing with his little PT spurts and maybe Sam "Schrodinger's Cat" Dekker for whatever you could get. Again revisit a Dmo trade potentially. TJones isnt doing much for us either so he can bounce too. I would love to accumulate some picks right now to eventually throw at something like a Serge Ibaka at trade deadline next year if OKC fails to make it again this year. I just think Howard and Ibaka would be phenomenal together. If Howard bounced, Whiteside is very similar and he and Ibaka would be great together too. I like tall 4s. I'd take a Pau Gasol over a Morris twin even though he's a dinosaur. Pau would not come here to play with Howard or Whiteside though.
Why do you think that team wins 55 games? That's basically the Boston celtics and they only managed 48 wins in The east. No way that team wins 55 games seeing as that's what the 3rd seeded Thunder won. The top 4 in the west is not going anywhere the rockets have been 54 and 56 wins the past two seasons before this one. Your closer to 55 wins again by using the mass amounts of cap space on Role players to surround harden than trading him for picks and some Celtic players. Would that team be good ima few years if one of the draft picks pans out? Possibly. But that team would be lucky to win 45 games in the west. The east is still really bad I know all the teams were pretty even but if thos garbage rockets team was in the east I think they would easily make of the the ECF. Only teams with elite talent is miami and the Cavs and the heat still only won 48 games.
It's no guarntee that any of those free agents come to play with crowder and Bradley. Keep harden and try and sign whitseide and parsons keep Ariza and Bev and try and flip brewer harrell dekker for proven vet role players. Bev Harden Parsons Ariza Whitside That's a starting linup that could potentially be a mismatch with all decent to good shooters around a huge bigman who's inproving every day. That's the 1 in 4 out that MOREY wants to play and you get a secondary playmaker back with very good 3pt shooting in parsons. You would need a good defensive scheme maybe bring in thibs but that team could be great or just good but the potential is very high.
As others have noted, that lineup is a nice, hard-working, lineup... that gets you in the bottom half of the playoffs, where the Rockets currently are. That said, if Morey does decide to blow things up, and if the Celtics are willing to move players - definitely Crowder - and their mother load of picks from the Nets, then it wouldn't be a bad haul. Core of trade being: Harden for Crowder, 2016 Nets pick, 2017 Celtics pick which has the right to swap with Nets, 2018 Nets pick Especially if the 2016 Nets pick ends up being top 2... well, it'd be interesting. But its still a LONG LONG way back to where they were last year. You'd have to really believe Harden is flawed in some fundamental way that makes it impossible for him to be a leader on a championship team. The big swing and miss, and probably his second biggest behind passing on Kwahi for Morris, will be what happened with Dwight. Turning him into no assets at all. Waiting too long to trade him. Etc.
Whiteside/Barnes is a clear upside on Sullinger/Johnson both defensively and offensively. Teague is a better playmaker than Thomas. Those upgrades could give you an extra 5 wins. A fuller bench would account for the other two. Probably 55 wins is optimistic, but that line-up feels like a team that can be better than the sum of its parts. At the very least it would be an enjoyable team to watch.
You are probably right in that this team wouldn't get us too far from where we are, but it might become as good as last year's Hawks. I suppose I'm too frustrated watching this current team, that I'd rather watch less talented players work as a team and over-deliver. On Harden, yes, I think he is flawed as a no1 option on a contender. It will require a lot of luck (finding bargains in FA and draft) to build a championship team around him. His lack of passion/fighting spirit, his non-existent leadership, his tunnel vision, his lack of effort, sub-optimal fitness etc...I'm just tired of stupid play after stupid play. I can excuse the scrubs like Brewer and Smith, since that's all they are capable for. But your number 1 option should play smarter and harder.
You don't trade Harden unless you get a top-10 player back, or a younger talent with likely superstar potential. It's so damn hard to get one, and Morey had to wait patiently and make a handful of smart moves to get a guy who'd grow in to one here (and many questioned whether he had that upside at the time). As flawed as he may be, he's still young and he still wants to be here, which is a far better starting point than blowing everything up and working with a patchwork star-less '11-'12 Rockets type roster (even if they were easy to root for). So you look at his weaknesses, and hope to build a roster that'll alleviate those holes in his game, and bring in a coach that'll best utilize his strengths (and hopefully hold him accountable to work on his weak points). We did that with Yao in '08-'09. He was a liability in terms of pace and wasn't the toughest of bigs, so we brought in a rough and tumble group around him that would muck it up on D and force teams to play our slow down game (where Yao could score inside as well as anyone). The future of the NBA is the spaced out uptempo ball that GS plays on O, but we forget about their supreme versatility on D. We need to follow suit, but actually build a roster that can do those things (shooters, versatile athletes/defenders, mature leaders and most of all: 2-way players), and Harden can definitely excel in that type of ball. We saw glimpses of it last year, where we had athletes who could defend, while Harden wrecked havoc (esp. in transition), and our average shooting group happened to knock down shots when it counted. The type of roster we need around Harden is: Bigs 1) Floor-spacing rim-protector: This is one thing GSW lacks. They don't have an Ibaka type who can bring this rare combination of skills. Granted, Dray is an elite defender, but he is only 6'7" at the end of the day. A young guy like Myles Turner (or if you want to look into stars, Towns) seems to fit this bill. 2) Versatile combo-forward who can defend 4s: A guy like Tobias Harris would do wonders for us. He's improved his D quite a bit and can do a little bit of everything on O. 3) Long, mobile athletes: Just guys who can run, finish and be active on D. Capela fits the bill. Wings 1. Second-ball handler (who can shoot/defend): A Batum type who can help alleviate some of the ball-handling duties from James while being able to catch and shoot and defend wings. 2. DTA guys who can defend multiple positions: You can never have too many of these, but the emphasis is that they have to be 2-way players. Guards 1. Off-ball defensive PG: I cannot say this enough: A top PG is not going to work with Harden. He needs to be the primary ball-handler. Beverley isn't amazing, but he fits very well with him, functionally-speaking. 2. Instant offense combo-guard: A Lou Williams type that can carry an offense for small stretches off the bench (and can hit shots off the ball with Harden). This is a completely random example, but something like this: S.Ibaka/C.Capela T.Harris/D.West N.Batum/W.Chandler J.Harden/C.Lee P.Beverley/L.Williams
Morey will not trade Harden next year...maybe in 2017/18 if this team is still ass, at that point i'd say Lakers will be the best trading partner, Celtics only if they'll miss out on top free agents and trade targets (like Butler).
Would we have been better in the long haul if we kept Parson and Lin instead of getting Ariza and Terry?
Why would he blow the current team up and replace it with another mediocre team and poor draft picks?
Could have had all 4 at the end of the day. That's where the error was in hindsight - Parsons knee issues notwithstanding. But hindsight is 20/20. DM has taken a lot of gambles since acquiring Dwight that just didn't pan out perfectly.
If you feel strongly that your current #1 guy won't get you there, its ALWAYS better to move on earlier than later. The longer you wait, the less value you get back. See Dwight multiple times, including this year. I'm not saying you trade Harden, because Harden with a great coach is amazing. But I wouldn't be crying if Harden is traded if an amazing package comes back. But there's really no amazing package out there. A crazy package from Boston with all their picks is the closest. DMC + their first round pick this year is "close"... but not that close, DMC is a stat filler headcase that doesn't impact winning in any way. The much much much much much better outcome is to pursue Durant, Horford, Batum, Bazemore, Conley. Of course, those are top FAs this offseason, so the chance of getting one, much less two, is not high. Durant, Horford and Luke Walton as coach would be my dream offseason, lol. Even with that, the Rockets are still at best 4th most likely to win a championship next year... and that's why someone might say, let's start over and get a bunch of assets and picks from Boston and gear up for the next 5 years.
The Harden situation is going to get very very interesting here very soon this Summer... (assuming the Rockets strike out with Durant/Horford) If you are losing Dwight (which we all can assume he's likely gone), you are forced to do one of four things- -Trading leftover players only to Tread water with other expensive slightly better role players that cap you out (hope here is different role players = different results & locker room chemistry) -Blow it up and go young around Harden or lastly -you keep the band in tact minus Dwight & maybe Terry and hope that guys like Ariza, Brewer, etc. have bounce back years. Sign a couple Beasley types. With Harden on the roster during these transitions, you are forcing him either way to wait on something to happen to get back to contender status. You have a very short window before Harden asks out or makes his plans for free agency in two years to join a contender. So does Morey risk the timeline to acquire a second star or risk the timeline to have a "rebuilding" year to acquire a high draft pick, and shelve Harden for most of next season? My guess is Morey strikes out in free agency, and makes more cheap Beasley-type signings, and doesn't move out players he should like Brewer to try and stay competitive enough until next Summer. Its a risky move, but its the one that has the best likihood of keeping Harden IMO. Its not going to be fun to watch Ariza, Brewer, and Beverley play heavy minutes again next year but the Rockets only hope likely of keeping Harden and keeping him happy is to continue to put together a "save face" type roster mashed up of random cheap players or player on the roster now, and put all your hopes and prayers in two free agencies. I sort of hope I am wrong and Morey blows up the roster and shelves Harden next season halfway through the year but I don't think that's going to happen. I think we are in for pretty much the same team next year minus Dwight & plus a couple cheap Beasley types & putting our hopes and dreams in this free agency and next years. And I don't think Harden gets traded even though it would be the most ballsy move Morey has made and could cost him his career & ruin his resume if they don't score big on a superstar in the draft. Sorry to poo poo on your parade Harden trade happy folks.
Yep, as you note, what other choice is there?? You are either building with lotto picks, or with free agents. And usually in the NBA you need both. The Rockets don't have that lotto pick, but let's call Harden that, since they got him by trading a lotto pick effectively. He wasn't a free agent pickup. So now, the only choice is to swing big in free agency.. .or trade Harden. To be fair, with a really good coach, with nothing changing except losing Howard, this team is probably good for a 5th seed and competitive first round. Yeah, that's not great... we get that. But as you note it keeps Harden around and interested enough to try free agency again in 2017. And, while LOTS of teams have cap space or will, the Rockets can still sell some things. Texas as no state tax. Harden as a legit superstar. A team that can be playoff competitive and with a nice signing back in that WCF type mix, depending on coaching. I'm showing the Rockets with $47.97 million of contracts next year, assuming Clint and Beasley are picked up, and Dmo and TJones are released. KJ, Dekker, Montrezl and Goudelock make up $7.1 million of that. Of those 4 I'd like to keep Montrezl, but assuming you are going for max cap space, that gives you up to $55 million to work with. Try for Durant and Horford. I think Durant isn't really likely... but you never know. I can definitely see Horford working. He apparently wants a "Spanish" type market, so Houston fits the bill. Horford's game doesn't blow me away, and he's not a spring chicken anymore either... but good heavens to have a supremely solid guy, offensively and defensively, to count on at PF... well, that will be a first since frankly Otis Thorpe (unless you felt you could count on the Chuckster) that they'd have that position on lockdown. So maybe your strongest push in FA is for Horford. So Horford plus... Durant, or Batum, or a couple of lesser guys but good talent for dep. Maybe finally get Llull to come over. And get a respectable coach... that actually coaches. Then cap expands again in 2017 and try to land another big fish. That's clearly the path. It's just EVERYTHING has to click exactly right, specifically from a teammate/chemistry perspective, for it to work and for the team to have a chance going forward against GSW, SAS, CLE, LAC and whomever else improves.
Fire Morey. Hire JVG as head coach and president. This is the model in Piston and TWolves and I believe this is a success model.
Would love to let Dwight/DMo/TJ walk away in FA. Then sign Horford/Gasol/Llull. We should have enough to offer Horford max (around 20M), pay Gasol around 14M, and pay Llull around 7-8M. Insert Horford/Gasol into starting lineup and make Llull the backup guard/sixth man: Beverley/Llull Harden/Llull/McDaniels Ariza/Brewer/Dekker Horford/Beasley/Harrell Gasol/Capela Looks good on paper, but so did last year's Rockets so who knows..
