My expectations at this point: 1) Donatas Motiejunas and Isaiah Canaan will continue to be shopped between now and Mon 10/27. Houston is looking for a draft pick in return for each player. If both get traded for picks, we have our fifteen man roster. 2) If Houston trades only one of the two above players, then Francisco Garcia gets cut. He was likely given his guaranteed money in exchange for agreeing to opt out last summer (a wink-wink, under the table agreement). Garcia will not be missed and may even be claimed off of waivers, which means Houston owes him $0. 3) If neither Motiejunas nor Canaan are traded, then the two cuts are Garcia and Ishmael Smith. This means Canaan is the backup PG, and besides, James Harden is a ball dominant SG, which means you aren't too worried about "backup PG," anyway. Joey Dorsey has two guaranteed years, so you cannot waive him. Tarik Black and Jeff Adrien are both worthy rotation players. Look for the glut of frontcourt players to be resolved later in the season via a trade.
Flashback to Friday Oct 26th 2012. The Rockets played against Orlando, which was the last preseason game. The very next night, the team executed a blockbuster trade that helped bring James Harden to Houston(Saturday). Tomorrow night(October 24th, 2014), the Rockets are expected to play their last game of the season against the Spurs. If there is a major trade/piece that will be brought to Houston, October 25th 2014 will be the day we find out what Morey has been trying to execute since failing on Bosh. I suspect, that if no trades occurs by Saturday...nothing big for this organization will happen until the trade deadline, and by that time...so many things will be different. If the Rockets remain healthy and stay in contention, Paul Milsap and Rondo are going to be highly inquired about. My thoughts on the final 15: Spoiler Starters: Dwight TJones Ariza Harden Beverley Bench: Dorsey DMo Papa Daniels Canaan Black Adrien Garcia NJohnson Terry Small Trade: They may look to trade Clint Capela for like a high 2nd rounder in the next few days.
Very reasonable. I would add that an additional first round pick in 2015 would be ideal in combination with an expiring contract. Capella plus the non-guaranteed contracts of Powell and Covington plus Jones plus Canaan would be enough salary and possibly talent to trade for a non-lottery first round draft pick plus an expiring contract like Chuck Hayes, etc.
With his showing in the preseason, I'm pretty sure someone. Hell, Chicago nabbed up Greg Smith after we cut him.
Forget NBA teams, the Greem Bay Packers will go after Black if Morey foolishly cuts the next Tony Gonzalez/Chuck Hayes combo. Keep Black, cut the Swiss Fraud! Swiss players are limited. The best Swiss player ever is Thabo Sefolosha and he isn't that good.
There's always an Ish Smith out there to be had. So you cut him. Too early to give up on Canaan and the Rockets have enough ball-handlers to only go with two 'traditional' PGs. You don't cut Black, because he'll get picked off waivers immediately. Besides, he just may be the best backup center option right now. Adrien is a kepper. Good 4th/5th big and better than Dorsey. Waiving Dorsey is a no-no because of future cap space implications. So you either attach some minor asset to get rid of him via trade or waive Garcia.
Greg Smith had played in actual NBA games. It reminds me of the NFL. Every year there are guys that people are sure will get claimed if they get cut, but 99% of them end up on the practice squad of the team that cut them.
