Nice post. Very well said. -The parts about McHale being kept due to player relations/his ability to lure talent are exactly what I've been harping for a long time now. -Also completely agree with the need to find a new defensive minded assistant to replace Sampson. Another thing I have repeatedly said.
Great start but a better ending. “My heart is down on the floor right next to you. Please pick it up and massage it.” "Les Alexander can’t buy this change. Daryl Morey can’t acquire it. Kevin McHale can’t coach it. It’s up to James."
I think morey has to consider where parsons is still a key component of this team moving forward. I know we still have him for one more year but can houston really afford paying him for what he brings to the team? I don't know.
An assistant, no matter how capable cannot rectify the flaws of a head coach. It's mostly on Harden and the role players,but McHale isn't good enough.
If we can't get a serious upgrade (Melo/Love or the like) out of Asik I would just rather play out his contract.
Yeah, not certain on his future here either. He's going to ask for a 7-10 million multi year contract, if we don't get another allstar/superstar by the 2015 free agency i'm pretty sure he'l be as good as gone no matter what. If we were to bring in a third star player like Anthony, Love etc first, i see how he would be a excellent player to compliment them, we could then use his bird rights to extend him. At the same time though, it might be wiser still just to drop him and try to find a cheap 3 and D player.
I don't mind if moving Lin for "nothing" will cost the Rockets T. Jones. I think PF is a position they need to address anyway.
I think the uncertainty of James Harden as a leader and a All-Star is what scares me the most this off-season. He is the worst defender in the league. No that's not exaggeration that's on film. I hope he is a new player next season but it scares me how far he has to go. That's why its imperative to get a Carmelo so he is at least expendable after next year. If we do not get another star then we must sign Deng.
<br> If the head coach is an excellent recruiter, as McHale is, sacrificing some x's and o's might be worth it. Especially when those x's and o's can be compensated for to a large extent by a top tier assistant coach. Think Mo Cheeks level. That seems to be the stance the Rockets are taking.
Y blame hardeen everyday for not playing defense?? Who da hell else does on our team....sure howard, bev and garcia does, but not because mchale teaches em. Our coach has no clue about defense and he really got exposed after kelvin Sampson left. Remember corey brewer, babbit and da nuggets and de rozan.
If playoffs Harden played like even 75% of regular season Harden, then I think Houston would have been just fine. The overwhelmingly consistent issue in the series was Harden. Increase his performance to closer to his regular season performance and the Rockets would have won the series comfortably.
As a Lin fan, I hope he gets to stay with the Rockets for the remainder of his contract. It's incredibly unlikely, I know, but I like seeing him play on such a talented and young team, and I'd rather he be second (or third, or fourth) fiddle on an excellent team rather than the top dog on a bottom feeder.
So who can we bring in at the wing spot, player or coach, to mentor Harden? Show him the ropes defensively?
Re: Asik & Lin gone by end of summer-- If we get a star, Lin and Asik are obviously gone for the salary space. If we don't get a star, I assume Asik will be moved for an upgrade somewhere, but I don't know if trading Lin will be worthwhile given the assets that need to be attached. No star means he's probably here until around the trade deadline, or with the team until the end of his contract.
You didn't a single game this season, did you? Harden is capable of playing decent defense, but he almost never does. More often than not he is in the worst possible position and is completely disconnected from what everyone else is doing. He was a massive defensive liability during the POR series. I've seen him play flashes of great defense. He is capable of it. I don;t know why he doesn't do it more often, but he doesn't. He very much deserves the heat he's getting for that.