I'm all for dealing Gordon and Tucker for Butler, but if that deal gets done, I expect Tilman to be willing to cough up the dough for a max deal for Butler a year from now. I certainly hope he and Morey have had that conversation. Because if you get rid of two of your five best players for the guy, and he bolts next year to leave you with no third star and no cap room, that would really suck.
set this year - and screwed thereafter if Jimmy decides to walk to go play with Kyrie somewhere else... I think we have a good enough team that we don't need to gamble further... If GSW were a clearly superior team then sure, we take the 1 year gamble... but i dont think thats the case... I think we are on fairly level footing with GSW and injuries to one side or the other will be the determining factor... imo...
Before the Rockets got Chris Paul, the Rockets mindset to beat the Warriors was to launch a bunch of 3’s, and get hot. “We want to win the title, and obviously that’s probably going through the Warriors at some point,” Morey said in an interview on SiriusXM NBA radio. “And we absolutely figured the only way we’re gonna beat ‘em is with a barrage of 3-pointers and it’s probably going to be a 124-120 affair if we’re going to get past them.” The Rockets got Chris Paul, PJ Tucker, and we saw that it ended up being a grind it out series, especially with Tucker at the 5. Went up 3-2 because Paul is such a great isiolation player. Butler along with Capela and Tucker puts the Rockets over the top defensively. Butler minus Tucker & Gordon, how much better are the Rockets come playoff time, taking into account how vital Tucker was last year
It would be dumb and we would look f stupid! The wolves have zero leverage, this is their worst scenario. Nobody’s going to give them two great players.
or we gamble, get an injury or two, Jimmy walks - and we're screwed... and we've blown our Harden/CP3 window It's always a crapshoot... I just have more confidence in our team as presently constructed I guess... I think everybody is still in that "we have to gamble to have a shot at beating GSW" mindset - and i dont think thats the case any longer - as last year showed...
yes, heaven forbid we replace gordon and tucker's defense with a 4 time all-defensive team player. is this really what y'all are b****ing about??? edit: BTW it's not like i don't appreciate what eg and pj bring to the table, they're two of my favorite rockets but come the f*** on. y'all are the same people who just couldn't bear giving up pbev bc he was our all world defensive engine. these are ROLE players.... they can be replaced. all stars, however, do not grow on trees.
We were in Warrior's territory last season. We would be adding two all-star caliber talents to that squad.
Ira Winderman (Miami Heat beat reporter) said on radio that teams have been offering very little for Butler and the Wolves are stunned that they can’t get more for a player of Butler’s caliber...”Really? That’s all this team is offering?”...Butler boxed the Wolves in, and they’re getting pennies on the dollar 5th year on Jimmy Butler’s new deal will he just as much as Josh Richardson’s entire current contract Jimmy has very little tolerance for young players and developmental programs...not gonna mentor young players had Jimmy Butler to Heat at 80% yesterday...now down to 50%
I would love to know if Minnesota consider PJ a better piece than another 1st rounder, seems like it from what cyberx said...if that's the case the Rockets could still use that 1st rounder to get a PJ kind of player, like James Johnson (even though he's not exactly similar to PJ, in fact they're different players but eh), Knight plus 1st and fillers for him may be enough at some point. Problem is with a contract like JJ the tax would be really too heavy going forward...that's also why keeping PJ makes sense, perfect player but also perfect contract for a team with three max contracts on the roster.
people need to stop with the cp3 trade comparison. And no I'm not one of those. cp3 replaced the same exact player position and again was a upgrade in ever single facet of the game. giving up tucker in addition to everything else is not the same just for Butler. If you were talking about EG to JB alone then of course its relatable How many times have i asked who is a compatible replacement for tucker w/ the championship level contribution and qualities needed to compete especially with the champs. Im still waiting
The warriors added cousins. We are not ready to take them on in the playoffs as currently constructed and expect to have a real shot at winning. We could keep pace with them for Ws in the regular season with what we have, not the playoffs.
Cousins is coming off a devastating injury...we have to see what he looks like 1st...pretty much everyone who has suffered an Achilles tear has had a noticeable/significant decline from what they used to be (I think Dominque Wilkins was the exception) I expect his defense to be downright atrocious
I Honestly feel that if we stay healthy we do have a shot at winning it all as currently constructed. Boogie Cousins will be a non factor in my opinion, James & Cp3 will get him switched on to him & he is not agile enough to guard them & will be taken out. Gsw will still play the same line up as last year w Green at center. IF Boogie manages to stay on the court offensively I think Capela can hold his own guarding him.
And that’s the thing. He COULD be a big fat zero for them and only then do we start to have a chance. I think right now we need some things to break our way to be as good as we were last year. Warriors don’t need much to go right to be just as good and they added a damn good lottery ticket on top of it.
JIMMY F***ING BUTLER we're getting jimmy butler - 4 time all star, 4 time all-defensive team, 2 time all NBA. he replaces both of them. then morey goes out and finds another replaceable player or two to make up for the loss in depth. this is silly. PJ Tucker has never been part of a championship team. not once. he was, however, part of a championship-competing rockets team last year yet somehow his irreplaceable combination of "championship level contribution and qualities" weren't enough to beat the champs. why is this so hard to understand??? you can lament the loss of PJ if it comes to pass but this notion that he simply can't be replaced on a championship-winning team is D-U-M-B. literally every team that has won the title since he came into the league has done so without him.
Who else in the league does what Tucker does? Draymond, sure, and he does it better... but who else? On offense, with similar minutes, does Gordon (in the Rockets system) not give you what Butler does? They have similar usage rates, per 36 scoring averages, and eFG% (Gordon is higher). Gordon and Tucker have excelled in exactly the positions that the Rockets have needed them to play in, in a historically good offense at that. How will Butler do as a third option? Don't get me wrong. I know Jimmy Butler is really good. If I were starting a team, and had to choose from Gordon and Butler to be the focal point of my team, I'd choose Butler every time. He's even a great fit on the team at the 3. He's a better defender and ball handler than Gordon. But does his marginal defensive improvement over Gordon make up for the loss of defense (switching) at the 4 when you lose Tucker? I'm not outright saying I'm a "no", but I understand where those who are are coming from.
