[Hear me out] Am I the only one that likes this team as it is? (in terms of adding another all-star)

TBH I don't really care if we get another star or not because either way this team isn't going anywhere with the current coaching staff, if we another star we might be able to reach the semis but that's about it, what we need is strong minded coach who can force toughness into his players and get them to play defense.

 

I think TJ should play at the 3 off-the bench because he obviously can't survive at the 4

 

htownbandit tagged as the "am i the only one [insert thought]" threadmaker

 

HARDEN IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE PERIOD. NO WHERE. NOT A CHANCE unless it's for someone like Lebron or KD. Harden is more important piece than Kevin Love btw

 

Drink some alcohol and smoke some weed and then you see that we need a change in the roster

 

but will harden get traded? lol

 

Instead of getting another star player, I prefer to change our coach first.

 

If kevin mchale is your coach, you're gonna need as many stars as possible.

 

You want to keep Harden, Howard, Parsons, Lin, Asik, and Beverley?

Why? I mean, Howard and Harden are the only untouchables. Lin and Asik are both $8 million against the cap. You can get a much better player than Lin for $8 million and you can get a good starter for the $8 million that Asik is costing the team to only play 10 - 15 min a game. Getting rid of those two should be a priority.

Think about how much the team could improve with $16 million off the books.

And as for Parsons - he's great... for the money. But he's not untouchable. If he has to be moved to get a player like Kevin Love, then he should be moved. Parsons is a solid player, but he's not an all-star.

And as for Beverley.. he's a back-up PG in the NBA. I like Beverley a lot, but that's the truth.

Look, the team that is currently constructed isn't close to winning a championship. And that is the entire goal. Sure, Morey can make some safe moves and be a 1st or 2nd round playoff team every year... but is that what you want? It's win the West or bust.

 

Some iteration of this thread pops up every 6 months or so, and it's never been a good idea. So to this thread I say No, and I will go ahead and give an advanced No to the next thread imploring the Rockets to keep the team as-is.

 

I don't advocate no roster moves AT ALL, but I don't think we need another near-max player UNLESS that guy is a legit defensive juggernaut. Seems to me our biggest problems are defense & bench strength. Also seems to me that adding Love makes us worse in both areas. I don't know, maybe I just don't see it.

 

-Not to take anything away from Troy Daniels, but any time your relying on a rookie who has been in the D-League all year long in a crucial playoff stretch to be the difference maker, that tells you a little bit about the depth of quality role players on your team.

-That and the misallocation of funds the Rockets have with duplication at the Center position & the duplication of Harden/Lin hurt the Rockets in their balanced attack.

-Add to that the lack of a quality system, defensive mindset of the organization (coaching & players), & coaching to support the players, and you have yourself some major gaps.

Morey can fix the misallocation of funds here this year or next Summer, the coaching can be improved upon, and the role players can get better, but what that doesn't give you that a 3rd star gives you is insurance that your team will be competitive for a much longer window. Even if one of your stars goes down, you still have the top talent with other top level players to compete in a loaded Western conference.

...............

To answer the question of the OP, I dont necessarily like this team now to be a perennial contender as is. I think you need to do either or. You have some serious problems to fix. However I dont think those problems are so severe that you have to gut your assets for a 3rd star, and actually you might compete at a higher level SOONER by fixing those issues in the short term than if you just acquired a 3rd star. If you add that 3rd star, you still have all those problems you still need to fix, and you might have to completely change up your style of play & system to accommodate.

But we all know that if you can get a 3rd star... its probably in your organizations best interests to just bite the bullet and get it done. The upside and the window to compete long term increases too substantially.

 

This team was only 1 rebound (Game 1), 1 time out (Game 4), 1 inbounds play (Game 6) & a few calls (2 apologies) away from being in the second round vs the Spurs, who I believe we would've matched up pretty well with...

Do we lack the talent? No.

Do we lack chemistry & experience? Yes.

Would I trade Lin, Asik & Jones for Melo or Love? In a heartbeat.

 

The Rockets are certainly lacking in talent in my opinion.

Jones is not a great starting PF and Beverley is not a starting PG.

Jones is not reliable or experienced enough yet and is too inconsistent, and Beverley is too limited. Both would make good back-ups.

And the bench is certainly lacking and the team did not have any veteran players.

 

Here's how I view it... if Howard and Harden continue to grow together, you get a better coach in here, add some solid pieces using the MLE and future exceptions... yes, we have a real shot to contend. We'd have to maximize our resources and play at a much higher level. Players would need to get better. All of them.

You'd have to resign Lin and Asik (Lin must go though if you were continuing this this core), Beverley & Parsons... that's about it. No more room do anything spectacular. You could move Lin for comparable contributor and/or Asik for the same. Or picks.

If all things go well, you're looking at a ceiling where Houston is pretty damn good and might be able to win a title.

But if we add a 3rd star this year, we get to have our cake and eat it too. We'd be able to extend Parsons (if he remains), Beverley and use exceptions to add veterans and contributors, while having a 3rd major piece. This makes winning easier and raises the ceiling on how good this team can be. We no longer have to bank on players improving and elite coaching.

Basically, we can try really hard with this core and cross our fingers... or add an impact player and raise the bar on what we can accomplish.

To me, there's only 3 elite players in the league right. Lebron, Durant and Paul (who hasn't even won at a high enough level yet, really). Howard and Harden are right there nipping at their heels but we don't know what the future holds. The easiest way to compete... add a 3rd near-elite level guy to the mix.

 

Precisely. Why the front office continues to ignore this baffles me.

 

If you concluded with "the roster is contender material but the coach makes it a one-and-done loser", I'd agree with you.

 

But, we won't be able to re-sign Lin and Asik because they won't want to return. They are 100% gone after this season.

I agree that unless you are getting someone like LeBron in 2015, it makes the most sense to make the moves now and start to use the exceptions you can to add valuable rotation players this year and next. Otherwise we are just in neutral another year and clinging to the hope a star next year in FA, but if you swing and miss there, but resign Chandler, that is your team for the foreseeable future because you will be capped out.

And let's be honest, if we get a guy like Melo or Love this season and it isn't a great fit, but LeBron opts out and wants to come to Houston in 2015, then you just swap them (if there is no under cap team that could just send picks or unguaranteed) for LeBron. Will Miami want to lose LeBron and facilitate that loss in the process? Of course not. Will they pass up on the chance to send him out West and get an All Star in return rather than lose him straight up? Absolutely not.

 

And there it is right there.

 

Not a chance in hell LeBron goes to the Rockets.