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Snapshot of the Current Roster. Where we are now & what's next...

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by cdrive, Jul 5, 2016.

  1. cdrive

    cdrive Contributing Member

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    [​IMG]

    Here is a look at where we are now post-Free Agency Frenzy. With Gordon & Anderson on board, we've got positions 2 thru 4 covered up and pretty much done. We need a back up C and some help at PG.
    I'm assuming D-Mo is signed. And I got Gentile in there, even though that's way too premature.

    Just at first glance, we are now a very young team. Including Zhou & Gentile, our average age is 24.5, similar to last year's Boston team. It looks like we have more size and length this year too. No more midget Lawson. D-Mo Clint Anderson and Chinanu are all some big guys. Beasley is super lengthy. Dekker back gives us some size at the SF.

    Looking at our SL roster, I wonder if we're seriously exploring the idea of getting our Back Up C through an old fashioned Summer League internal competition. Aside from Chinanu there's like 4 Center-style bigs. Chris Walker getting invited is interesting. Are we giving him a shot to come up? Also who is this guy?!?!?!
    [​IMG]
    Wu Guanxi of the Shanghai Sharks. Anyone know anything about him?

    Back to Gentile, I really don't see him coming over now. Barring some Morey wheeling & dealing with trades in the next few weeks, I just don't see it now. I got all excited when he publicly stated he really wanted to come play for D'Antoni this year, but apparently we were close to trading his rights to the Knicks on draft night.

    I only see 1 guy staying out of Payton II, Taylor, & Goudelock. Zhou we'll stash a year. Chinanu will be in the valley for a year. I doubt Wiltjer makes the team. Just another training body. No word yet on how partial these partially guaranteed contracts are for some of these guys.

    Also I'm curious to see how far past the cap Les will let Morey push to round out this team. Still a lot to be done. Lots of guys we don't need and a huge hole still at the 1.
     
    #1 cdrive, Jul 5, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2016
    2 people like this.
  2. davidio840

    davidio840 Contributing Member

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    Rep for putting Brewer outside the far side of the bench!
     
  3. Texanasiafan

    Texanasiafan Member

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    The Rockets will play 2 preseason games with the Pel in China this summer.

    So it make sense to get a foreign scrub on the team to gain more popularity.

    Don't waste your time to dream on him.
     
  4. tested911

    tested911 Member

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    Man, I actually laughed at that roster.
     
  5. mfastx

    mfastx Member
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    Not looking good, Morey's got his work cut out for him.
     
  6. Caesar

    Caesar Member

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    I don't see us making the playoffs at all.
     
  7. J Sizzle

    J Sizzle Member

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    Deep, talented roster with virtually no holes. Too bad Harden's lack of leadership skills makes it all worthless :(
     
  8. finsraider

    finsraider Member

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    with the new direction, I don't think it's a guarantee Ariza and Beverley will be on this team opening day. Gotta wonder what would've happened if we got Bazemore...
     
  9. Aruba77

    Aruba77 Contributing Member

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    I do feel decent about the 4 spot with Beasley, D-Mo (assuming we lock him up) and Anderson, but only if we have a center that can defend and rebound. Will Clint take the next step? We just don't know. But regardless, i see a hole at backup center; i don't think you can pencil in our 2nd round pick for rotational minutes until we know what we have. So back up 5 is a big need.

    Also, i'm not sure what we are doing at the 3. I'd like to see Harden play more 3 this year so we can get him and Gordon on the court together at the same time. But we have a log-jam there. I don't know what to make of KJ, Dekker or Gentile, and i'm done with Corey Brewer. Ariza is a good stopgap, but he probably has more value to us as a trade chip; considering we almost signed Bazemoore, we are looking to upgrade there. We can probably fill the 3 with a combo of Ariza and Harden, but i'm hoping we make a deal to clear the log-jam and provide us a player we know will give us good minutes at the 3.

    As far as the 2; Harden and Gordon is an excellent rotation, and it's probably now our strongest position. I wouldn't mind adding a combo guard who can shoot for depth reasons, but we are okay at the 2.

    The point guard position is the one i have the most concern with. I do not see Beverley as a fit. I want a point guard who can take care of the ball, facilitate, and hit the open shot. Bev is not that kind of guard. He'd be great as a backup combo guard, but he probably has more value to us as a trade piece. I want James off the ball more and less with having to play the point guard position (that is where the turnovers come from; having to do too much). I sincerely believe that getting a pure point will take a ton of pressure off Harden, will allow him to be a more rested and efficient player, and will greatly reduce our turnovers (which are simply unacceptable).

    this can be a competitive roster if we fill the point and center needs properly. It's never going to be a contending roster, but should be a playoff roster if those holes are filled.
     
  10. StrawberryJamm

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    Dekker better ball in summer league, looking like a strong chance he doesn't make the team and is out of the league.
     
  11. Liberon

    Liberon Rookie

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    Remember how as couple seasons ago, Lakers were lucky to win 20 games. I'm saying it right now, this team here won't win 20 games.
     
  12. JayZ750

    JayZ750 Contributing Member

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    It's not looking great this year...

    But no fear Rockets fans!!

    Zhou Qi will be the saviour, when he turns into a 7'2 version of KD and Steph Curry combined!!
     
  13. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    It's quite jarring.

    I advise a spoiler tag on that thing.
     
  14. justtxyank

    justtxyank Contributing Member

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    You should save yourself the arthritis and stop typing this. The Rockets have been pretty clear that Harden is not going to have the ball taken out of his hands. They think he is an elite creator and envision him as the director of Dantoni's offense.
     
  15. Aruba77

    Aruba77 Contributing Member

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    he is an elite creator, but he turns the ball over way too much to continue playing the point guard role. Perhaps Pringles' system will take some pressure off him because the ball will be on the move more. But i still think that we'd be a much better team with a real point guard.
     
  16. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    He turned it over that much because he was out of shape. It was the first year it has been a problem for him.

    Taking the ball out of Harden's hands doesn't make sense. His elite skill is creating and scoring. If we're gonna move him off the ball you might as well trade him.
     
  17. Rockets FTW

    Rockets FTW Member

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    :confused:

    Gets rid of Howard (clearly didn't work), adds shooters (3 pt snipers and playmakers but are a worse team?...

    Did Harden magically disappear?

    I'd be willing to bet we are a better team than last years.
     
  18. Aruba77

    Aruba77 Contributing Member

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    he played off the ball extremely well in OKC, and in the Olympics. I agree that he is elite at creating and scoring, but a point guard has to get other people involved while also taking care of the ball. His turnovers have increased every year he's played, culminating in an average of almost 5 per game last year. You can't have a point guard that averages 5 TO's per game. You just can't. There are other ways to maximize Harden's strengths, he doesn't have to always be the guy bringing the ball up the floor.
     
  19. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    I think you should play Harden off the ball sometimes, nothing wrong with that. But most of the time he should have the ball. He's more LeBron than Curry in that sense. Would you want LeBron off the ball? Then what's the point of having LeBron James?

    OKC brought him off the bench because it maximized the time he had the ball in his hands.

    If you look at TOV%, Harden's rate was stable until last year. He was at 14.8-15 for 4 years before last year when it ballooned to 15.9.
     
  20. Texanasiafan

    Texanasiafan Member

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    Ted Brown would like to give you a hug and then hire you to be in charge of the Rockets 2016-17 marketing campaign.
     

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