Which point guard would you give a max contract to?

First, the rockets cannot sign Rubio or Bledsoe to a 5 year deal. Bledsoe because it would be a SnT....Rubio because Harden is already our designated "5 year player".

If I'm giving a max deal, I need to know that whoever it is can play. I don't want a prospect, or anyone with big holes in their game. I want to know they can fit and stay healthy.

The only correct answer is Dragic. I like Bledsoe, Rondo, and Rubio, but they all have huge question marks. Dragic is the closest one to a sure think.

 

Um.. ok. What does trading for, and giving a max contract to have anything to do with each other? If they trade for one of these players this year, they hold their bird rights, and can go as crazy as they want to over the cap to retain them. Much like the Bosh/Parsons situation... it doesn't matter since they will be going over the cap and that's the move that solidifies their core moving forward.

Also I'm not sure if people just don't care to really even discuss it (because they are used to the Rox having max cap space in the past)

But...

(unless the salary cap going through the roof beyond the projected 66 mil)

The Rockets will not have anywhere close to max cap room to go get one of these guys with a max salary slot in free agency. That seems obvious but I guess some people just don't seem to check all the available resources. They would have to trade for them before hand (assuming they really are max salary players which IMO some of them aren't even close).

To get max salary cap space they would have to-

-Decline Papanikolaou's team option
-Trade Ariza for little to no salary coming back
-Waive all non-guaranteed contracts
-And probably make one or two T-Rob-like trades to get extra cap space

But that's a moot point because like I said before.... It doesn't really matter what they pay them next Summer. Either way its going to solidify their core, and put them over the cap until Harden & Howard are off the books.

Your question should be "who to pay", it should really at the core of the question be... whose the best PG for this team moving forward & who can we get (probably the most important part because they likely can't get any of them)??? If you look at it that way, the term "Max Contract" or "3rd Superstar" conversation might not even be worth adding in the conversation. Just get the best PG you can for this team to complement H&H.

 

So forget Max Salary, Trade-ability, Assets, Availability, etc....

Let's talk first about WHO WOULD BE THE BEST FIT AT PG WITH THIS GROUP?

And then from there we can discuss how you get that player, or that type of player.

 

I'll take the NBA champeen

 

I like Lowry at his new deal.

 

rondo - experience, eager to get back, found a way to avg 10+ppg on 45fg%+ with no 3pt shot, no mid range game, and a bad ft shooter, and isnt that big of a pg. not easy to do.

 

None of them

May be Rondo before his ACL tear. With James Harden here and locked up, you don't need to pay max dollar to a PG unless he is top 5 undoubtedly.

 

As dobro mentioned, "best fit" is a more relevant discussion to have....

I voted Dragic since he's the most reliable and basically a sure thing. Plus, it falls in line with DM's pattern of reacquiring former players. And you know Goran is never going to be a problem in the locker room.

I will say: the gambler in me wants Bledsoe since he has the most upside and could potentially recreate the deadly Westbrook/Harden backcourt that went to the NBA Finals. All the same, Dragic is the smarter move.

 

ITT cyberex thread

 

I agree regarding Bledsoe. There are just 2 things about him that scare me:

1) Health history. In 2 of his 4 seasons, he's played 43 games or less.
2) Turnovers. We already have 2 high turnover players in Harden and Howard. Bledsoe is another high turnover guy.

If it works, it will work beautifully. If it fails, it will fail miserably. Bledsoe has the potential to be Curry (injury prone player signed to a big contract that lived up to his potential) or Amare (injury prone player that became a shell of himself).

 

Why do I care about their next contract? Why wouldn't I just go after the best players that I think would be the best fit next to H&H? If that really is Rondo, Rubio, whomever than so be it. I think people are penciling Morey into who looks like the most available rather than focusing on the point of making a move at PG.

I don't really even need to talk about "max contract". If that player who is "best fit" is Patrick Beverley than you are still going to have to give him enough salary to retain him next Summer that will probably lock you out of any other free agency acquisitions.

I'm just saying, lets get or retain the "RIGHT GUY" first, and then worry about contracts later. Regardless of salary size, its almost certainly going to lock them into whatever they have for the long run.

 

Although I do not think I would start a team by paying any of those guys MAX money, I would pay Dragic max money as our third star, especially if we get to keep Bev.

 

I'd take any of them other than Rubio.

We are very close, and adding a player of that caliber could push our team into championship contention. Whether they are actually worth that money or not is irrelevant--we will likely have to overpay for the last piece.

 

Clearly Rubio.

 

That's a good question. Everyone is obviously trying to figure that out to totally understand Morey's targets & direction, but everyone has seemed to back themselves into a corner here.

I think its important to note that of all the players available this Summer, what position were the top free agents Morey went after?

I get that Rondo, and Bledsoe would seem like the "most available" right now, but whose to say where Morey's priorities are. PG and PF seem obvious, but like I said before, Morey isn't painting himself into a corner I'm pretty sure.

As for PG & fit. If you remove the boundaries in your head in regards to the term "superstar" & "max salary guy" and just focus on who is the right type of fit at PG... Patrick Beverley deserves to not be immediately dismissed. Maybe there are better "fits" out there, and I'm not saying Pat Bev is the ultimate answer, but we shouldn't rule out the possibility of upgrading elsewhere if that's the more impactful acquisition on the basketball court than just swapping Pat Bev for someone that is just a bigger name & bigger salary.

So I guess my answer to your question in a roundabout way is I'm more than willing to go to battle with Pat Bev as my PG and best fit at PG if I can upgrade elsewhere on the roster. I'm even open to keeping Bev at PG this year, (and as an EXAMPLE) bringing in an elite 2 guard, and shuffling around Harden and Ariza's rotational minutes. Point being... we should stop limiting Morey's options to whose out there that the "insiders" gamble on as reporting as Morey's targets.

Sure there are better PG's out there than Beverley, but if we remove the constraints of only "max salary" and "all-star talented" etc. and just focus on fit, it frees up your mentality to not paint yourself in a corner that you might get stuck in needlessly.