Morris to Phoenix so he can play alongside his brother. It is a P.R. Marketing Dream. Patterson, Morris for Gortat
Defense wins championships. My bigger question is whether Smith has a winning attitude and will play team ball.
No to DeMarcus Cousin and Smith. Smith is old. DeMarcus has other issues. In my opinion, we should go for a young and promising prospect like Aldridge and Millsap so we can develop them and build the team for a championship contender. Say NO to mediocrity and build it a championship team.
even if the optimal scenario of LA comes into play, does that make us legit contenders? Asik Aldridge Parsons Harden Lin that's the question
It makes us the 3d best team in the west... From there a lot ofth Gs are possible, both good and bad. It comes down to team chemistry and luck...
Smith is younger then both Millsap and Aldridge, only by a couple of months but still. All three were born in '85; Smith was born in December.
We should stand pat till the trade deadline or offseason. We still own our pick (assuming no playoffs), and I don't think we're much better in the near-term with Harden vs Martin; which means we'll have a crack at some lotto balls. If we add an elite talent in the offseason, we'll really compete next year, but its hard to see that happening this season. Our rookies will only get better. I can be patient for one more year.
I think Murrey will take advantage of the Harden news momentum and push really hard right now to acquire Jeremy Lamb
Smith has expressed interest in coming to Houston. Perhaps he can pull some melodrama and force his GM into trading him here for pennies on the dollar .
There's no need to make any significant move until the deadline. We have to see if any of our kids can develop enough to make a run this year. If they start slowly, then tank the season. If the Rockets are still in contention after half a season, then you try to upgrade. Harden is kind of an exception because he's only 23. So he doesn't affect the rebuilding process. I don't get this either. I thought perhaps there are issues with him in Portland. But when I went to their boards, their fans want to build around him, not rebuild by trading him.
Other than possibly a minor move to free up some roster space, I just dont see there being another blockbuster move pre-February. However, going into February, expect the Rockets to be VERY, VERY active in aquiring their next big piece to solidify their core moving forward. I do not see a minor to semi-major trade. I expect the Rockets to remain patient until their second star is available. Oh, and EVERYONE will be on the table in a potential trade except Harden. Even Lin & Asik believe it or not even though it seems unlikely at this point. -The team to keep an eye out for is Definitely the Portland Trailblazers & Aldridge. If that team gets off to a bad start, I wouldn't be shocked if Aldridge & his representatives pushed for him to get moved. As of now, he seems content as the centerpiece moving forward, but if things go bad in a hurry, watch out for Aldridge. -Second player to watch is Andrew Bynum and Philly. Rumour is things are already kind of shaky with him in Philly. He came into camp out of shape, and is already going to be missing some games because of injuries. Not sure how great I would feel about this knowing that Asik would almost certainly be moved in this deal, but its one to keep an eye out for. -DeMarcus Cousins has already cost a halfway decent coach out of his job in Sacramento so its pretty well known that the Kings are fully invested in DeMarcus going forward, especially with at least 2 more years guaranteed with him on his rookie contract. HOWEVER, keep an eye out for a bad start for Sacramento, and whenever you have a situation where one of the top players in the league who is very, very competitive is on a team that is THIS BAD, its worth keeping an eye out for. -As much as Josh Smith seems like the likely candidate here, I just dont see it unless he comes at a cost that allows Morey to still wheel & deal with additional assets & flexibility. I just dont see max contract Josh Smith as an attractive piece for Morey going into the future.
In sum then, look for a bad team (thats wants to start over) with a great player (that fits our needs) that wants to be moved?
