I agree, but OKC was banking on IBAKA, and had just gone to the finals, and the year before looked like a team of the future. Presti made a bad decision by not paying him, but it was a sign and trade, and a totally different scenario. Are we worse off maybe a little, but we have to wait and see. I'd rather have 3 Chandler Parsons type players. He was made a product of the system ran here since day 1, and he hit a ceiling. He played a lot better against OKC the year before this in the playoffs I thought. He also looked like he was improving more that year. This year his defense IMO looked again not like his first season, and he looked like a great player playing behind players that made him better. We have to wait and see, we messed up in certain ways, but it wasn't the not matching the 15 mil a season we botched on. We need multiple players with a role skill set similar to what Parsons brought to the table. I.e. Courtney Lee's of the world. Players who adapt to the system. Parsons adapted well to the system. He had some ball handling skills and they got better each year, but to strap us down for 3 seasons, or maybe more to me just didn't make sense if Les is forcing Morey to have a dominant team. Bosh to me wasn't that answer, but Bosh and Parsons would have maybe been that answer. I still don't think it will be a bad move over the long haul. Greed or no greed. It was greedy for him to sign the papers in a night club with Cuban, and then talk as if he brought Dwight here himself, among other things said, and shown. We were the ones trying to tell him look we want you, and will keep you on the up and up just wait it out and we will match. Except something happend with him and Cuban and who knows what else bc of his MODELING, and basketball, and his women to where ya he took that first offer of 15 mil. Who knows now what other teams were going to offer, it would be nice to know. To show his true market value going into FA. Cuban did this for lots and lots of non-basketball reasons plain and simple. This guy has got confident, great, but the work that would have had to be done bc of overpaying a player would have disgruntled some maybe even Dwight. Dwight might not have liked it, Harden either who knows what and who is thinking in a couple years.
To stop the whole OKC comparison thing too they had 4 players 4!! We had Harden fall in our laps, Dragic fell out our laps bc of a trade option, and then landed Howard. We have our hopes on level 999, and they need to be brought back to .9 seconds, and the switch that YES HARDEN CALLED FOR HE TRUSTED PARSONS. Either way the shot went in, and he was not the best player in the series. Who said Durant was third option here, and I said earlier that Durant could be one of the only guys to understand and play with them. He'd be first option because he's KD, and Howard would be fine with that bc he would get his touches, and Harden would be open all the time. It'd be like showtime out there I honestly would picture, and in the playoffs the 3 headed monster in the half court would own with some passing, and structure.
People forget Asik only played half the year....and that we lacked shooters. Who do you want taking threes? Lin and Parsons or Ariza and Daniels??
Parsons hit 130 3-pointers last season. Ariza hit 180. Ariza (2013-2014) 14th in threes made (15 was Harden, 16 was Melo) 19th in 3-point% (above Melo, Dirk, KD . . .). 12th in adjusted FG% (above KD, Bosh, Wade, Harden . . .). I'm feeling better and better about Ariza. I know you're saying you want Parsons not Daniels, but it's not happening. To continue. . . . Parsons' on-off was 4th on the Rox, behind Harden, Beverley, and Howard. He made a net +2.6 difference. But Ariza made a net +7.3 difference, similar to John Wall. Parsons was an asset on offense (+5.2) but a liability on defense (+2.5). Ariza was an asset on offense (+3.9) and an asset on defense (-3.4). Just some numbers I felt like looking up.
Lin and Asik see no as big a part of this team as the whiners believe. This team will be better as long as we find a combo guard that can average around 10to 12 points per game and find a decent backup center. One that isn't a liability defensively.
Ariza - is the key - if he is the same player he was the last time he was here, we are screwed and much worse. If he has grown and plays within himself now and plays D and shoots 3s, we are probably about the same. DD
I agree with this statement except I would add at the end with flexibility to add more key pieces to the bench.
That's who he was in Washington, so all the people complaining about his dribbling and offensive moves haven't watched him recently.
One could argue that without Asik's defense in the first round Portland would have swept us. I think some of under-value the importance of Asik
To that end . . . . .Asik was gonna be gone anyway We needed a massive upgrade at the PF Spot So . . .. this means we understand why things played out how they did I think also . .. we could have done with a little bit more coaching We REALLY needed some different tactics on LaMarcus IMO he got the ball too easily and in the positions he wanted we have to body him and make him uncomfortable and really need to attack him on the other end Rocket River
I'm probably not saying anything new here (I skimmed the thread, so I apologize if someone had already made similar comments) but I think people have more of an emotional connection to guys like Lin and Parsons, which is skewing their opinions about these moves. I think letting Asik go is going to hurt them (if they don't find a competent replacement) more than Parsons and Lin. I think the Rockets did well last year, but was I the only one that thought that they never looked like a 'team'? To me, they always looked like an amalgamation of individuals. They overcame their lack of chemistry and poor fit because of their individual skills as players. Lin never looked comfortable coming off the bench and Asik hated it. I don't think the roster (as currently constructed) is better than what we had last year on paper, but I think the spare parts they acquired will fit better because every player on our team will have a clearly defined role and knows where they stand within the organization. Also, they don't have ego guys like Lin, Parsons and Asik throwing bad ju-ju into the Rockets' mix. Asik's frustrations are well documented. Lin may have not publicly made comment, but as a guy who was the center of attention during his 'Linsanity' era, I know he has to think that he is a superior player to Bev. He was just more classy about the situation and wasn't going to hurt his rep to make that fact known. And if you don't think that Parsons had an ego, don't take it from me: "They publicly said that they were going out looking for a third star when I thought they had one right in front of them. I guess that's just how they viewed me as a player. I don't think I've scratched the surface of where I can be as a player and I think I'm ready for that role. -Chandler Parsons IMO Parsons was offended and had one foot out the door prior to this offseason. I personally don't think that CP is worth 15m under any circumstances and he's probably about as good as he's ever going to be. Now Ariza isn't the splashiest pick (and BOY IS THAT AN UNDERSTATEMENT!) but I think for the role he's playing and the amount of money he's making, it was a shrewd move. Ariza is back in a role that he is familiar with AND historically a role he excels in (not having to create his own shot, taking 3's, and playing D). He did excellent when he had similar opportunities with LAL and WAS. I know they lost a large amount of offense, but I don't think that will be an issue if they continue to add role players especially if they are good shooters and play defense. Would I like a stretch 4? Absolutely. Do I think we need to upgrade our starting PG? No question they need too. But sometimes what you want can't be had for what you are offering and your team will be left with some deficiencies...like the other 29 NBA teams. Here is what the players that left would have made this year: Asik 14,898,938 Parsons 14,746,000 Lin 14,898,938 IMO that looks like $44,543,876 worth of B+/B players which will DEFINITELY NOT win you a championship. Save the money and spend it on the other 9 roster spots. PS - Yes, I too wondered if they were going to spurge on the likes of Ish Smith, Joey Dorsey, and Jeff Adrien...why they didn't at least bring in Tim Breaux?
Guess Horry completely forgot Asik. Opposing teams were doing layup drills whenever Dwight/Asik wasn't on the court.
