Jeff Withey is sneaky good. Not really rated, because he has no flair at all. But legitimately big and long, and able to protect the rim very well. I'm sure it wouldn't take much to get him, could probably swap straight up for Daniels.
As long as they are not part of Isis - I think we will be okay. Nirkic fills a stat sheet in a hurry. Teletovic is Howard's perfect fit. Even more so with s small forward that rebounds too in Ariza. His addion alone would take us out of the 2nd round, IMO. - think Delfino on steiroids. Nirkic is the real deal on a great contact to boot.
Agreed about Gallo, what does Jeff Green's contract look like? If Harrington is signed then I don't expect a trade for a stretch 4. I could see Morey bringing in Bargs or a guy like Withey for cheap and trading for either Dragic or Teague, who I consider to be a poor mans Rubio.
You guys think Morey would roll the dice on Lance if Charlotte aren't feeling him? I know he is totally not the contract morey would take, and not the position we need to address right now, but he could be our playmaker off the bench. Again, not saying this is something that would ever be considered, but if we traded the TPE for a contract now, we can flip it for Lance by the deadline. It would be like the Bonzi Wells move, only hoping it would work a little better than that disaster.
Dorsey + Daniels + 2 2015 2nd round picks for Kanter Rockets get a nice backup center, we can resign him for a decent contract utah gets 2 2nds for taken Dorsey contract (Utah will loose Kanter anyway)
This would be a good move to add some playmaking and extra rebounding. The problem I have with Lance is he is not a good outside shooter, and maybe, just maybe he may not be good in the locker room. I could be wrong about that one.
In February: HOU In: Horford Out: Terry, Capela, Motiejunas/Jones, Canaan/Johnson, Picks MIN: In: Terry, Motiejunas/Jones, Capela, Canaan/Johnson, Picks Out: Pekovic, Brewer ATL: In: Pekovic, Brewer, maybe Picks Out: Horford Why they do it: HOU: Obviously to get Horford, maybe even without having to give away the NOP Pick. MIN: Their future Center is Dieng, so they can get rid of Pek's big one and add some of Houston's talent - whoever they want. They also get some of Houston's second rounders. They can unload Terry's contract right away or in summer to save money. Houston might need to use the Lin Exception in a simultaneous trade on Budinger to convince the Wolves. ATL: They're sold on Millsap and Horford is no Center. They desperately need Defense and Rebounding, that's what Pekovic brings. By sending Horford to Houston, they keep them out of the race for Millsap in summer. They also get a useful wing in Brewer and don't have to start DeMarre Carroll.
I will be very surprised if Rajon Rondo is not traded this season. He is going to get a max salary as an unrestricted free agent this summer and Danny Ainge surely is worried that Rondo walks. These two trades work, I believe: 1) Rajon Rondo and filler to Houston; Clint Capela, the Pelicans first round pick, Jason Terry, and Kostas Papanikolaou to Boston 2) Rajon Rondo and filler to Houston; the Pelicans first round pick, Isaiah Thomas, and Jason Terry to Boston; Clint Capela and Kostas Papanikolaou to Phoenix You can also replace Isaiah Thomas with Goran Dragic in trade #2. OR you can replace Rondo with Dragic (and leave out Papanikolaou or Terry) in trade #1. I do expect to see one of the above scenarios to take place this season. Also, note that if you give up both Terry and Papanikolaou then you do not have a big expiring contract to use to get Paul Millsap or Mirza Teletovic. Which is why I expect Morey to use the Jeremy Lin TPE to acquire an additional big expiring contract over the next couple of weeks or so (probably by 12/15). Another option would be to trade a couple of second round picks along with the draft rights to a guy like Sergio Llull to Brooklyn, and Brooklyn sends back Mirza Teletovic. That would probably be the best option. Revised rotation Starting lineup PG Rajon Rondo OR Goran Dragic (36 mintes/game) SG James Harden (24 min/g) SF Trevor Ariza (32 min/g) PF Mirza Teletovic (32 min/g) C Dwight Howard (32 min/g) Key reserves Patrick Beverley (24 min/g) Francisco Garcia (16 min/g) Terrence Jones OR Donatas Motiejunas (16 min/g) Tarik Black OR Joey Dorsey (16 min/g) OR you use the TPE to absorb a fairly large expiring contract (e.g., Tayshaun Prince, Wilson Chandler) and send this player out instead of Papanikolaou, which means Papanikolaou is your backup SF, not Garcia. OR you trade Prince or Chandler with Terrence Jones or Donatas Motiejunas to Atlanta for Paul Millsap, which means your starting PF is Millsap, not Teletovic. Lots of options for Morey!
My ideal sequence of events: 1) Francisco Garcia waived (early December) so as to make room on roster for... 2) Tayshaun Prince's $7.7 mil expiring contract absorbed into the Lin traded player exception (early December) 3) Rajon Rondo and filler to Houston; Clint Capela, Pelicans first round pick, Jason Terry, and Kostas Papanikolaou to Boston (early February) 4) Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll to Houston; Donatas Motiejunas, Isaiah Canaan, 1-2 second round picks, and Tayshaun Prince to Atlanta (early February) 5) Nick Johnson and the rights to Sergio Llull to Philly; Henry Sims to Houston (early February) Starting lineup PG Rajon Rondo (36 minutes/game) SG James Harden (36 min/g) SF Trevor Ariza (32 min/g) PF Paul Millsap (32 min/g) C Dwight Howard (32 min/g) Key reserves Patrick Beverley (24 min/g) DeMarre Carroll (16 min/g) Terrence Jones (16 min/g) Henry Sims (16 min/g) Deep reserves Tarik Black Joey Dorsey Troy Daniels
WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED A TRADE..... to go for a championship this year. All we need is to GET HEALTHY and to pick up TWO KEY players: Jermaine O'Neal and Ray Allen. Bev/Canaan/Terry Harden/Allen/Daniels Ariza/Papa TJones/DMo Howard/O'Neal/Black will compete with any team this year. Of course we would need to get rid of Dorsey and Garcia to add those two, and hopefully we could trade them for something, even low second rounders would be acceptable. There are not many second units in the league other than the Spurs that could match up to Canaan, Allen, Papa, DMo and O'Neal as a second unit, even though they may not have the best player against other second units. But as a group, we would have penetration, 3pt shooting, passing, the ability to post up, rebounding, experience and DEFENSE on that second unit that hardly any other team could match in my opinion. Of course most times that entire second unit is not going to play together, but more likely mixed in with starters, but still the backups we have at each position would be amazing if Allen and O'Neal could each give us about 12 good minutes a game. I'm not marginalizing Terry, but I think Canaan should get more minutes than him at PG because he has better handles and to me a better three point shot, with or without stats; and Allen is bigger and a better 3pt shooter than Terry. Canaan should ALWAYS be running the offense when Harden is not in, instead of JET or Bev. Some of Bevs minutes should actually be reduced to try to help him to hold up through the season and playoffs healthy, maybe to like 25 minutes a game. I think we should still find some minutes for JET because he brings some swagger to the team that is needed. I'm sure some big names would be nice to trade for this year, but all trades to me to get those players seem to need to send out too many rotation players this year for rentals that could walk in the offseason. I like our defensive chemistry and think that is more important this year than a rental that could potentially walk. We could still go after some major upgrades this offseason for those free agents and just sign them outright WITHOUT giving up some of our key rotation players today. Our major issue this year is HEALTH, then getting a couple of key backups. I would love to hear some other's opinions on this route and would have made it a thread if I had privileges to do so, but if you can tell me what you think here or start a similar thread, that would be great.
I mentioned Jermaine O'Neal in the offseason as a potential target , he can still play solid defense. Played Howard real tough last season. Considering he isn't on a roster this deep into the season , I have to wonder if he is enjoying life after the game .... Ray Allen might be worth the gamble but seems redundant (even if better) with Terry on the roster. All the Rockets have to offer either is the vet min. Are there other contenders who can offer either more $$ , a bigger role or a better shot at a deep playoff run ??
I think both are waiting to join a contender for a late run without the rigors of a full season. I don't think there is a team that would offer a better role and chance at a championship run than the Rockets. But maybe that's me being a homer.
I really like this idea. Tremendous opportunity to buy low. Plus, the contract he signed is very team-friendly, and looks even better now that we are beginning to process how much salaries will skyrocket in the next two years. He is so deeply in the doghouse right now that Charlotte would have to think about giving him away. This works: Kostas Papanikolaou, Jason Terry, and a second round pick to Charlotte; Lance Stephenson and Bismack Biyombo to Houston. Stephenson was an absolute stud last season and can play and defend multiple positions. Biyombo is very well liked by advanced stats and would be a significant upgrade at backup C. Houston can still get in the mix for Paul Millsap or Goran Dragic or Rajon Rondo by using the Lin TPE to absorb a mid-sized ($6-$8 mil) expiring contract (e.g., Tayshaun Prince, Wilson Chandler) ASAP, and packaging this expiring contract with the Pelicans pick and/or Clint Capela in February for such a player.
