I just can't think of any other player who would be a more perfect point guard for us right now. With Goran along side Harden, it would make our backcourt the scariest in the NBA along with G.S. Teams would have to deal with both a massive front line and a backcourt pair that can be triple threat players - and it would give us 48 minutes of constant attack and keep Harden fresher. Imagine a starting line-up of Howard, Smith, Harden, Ariza and Dragic, with Brewer, Dmo, Terry, Papa, Bev, and maybe even Jones off the bench. I mean, that 2nd unit would probably make the playoffs as a high seed in the East. So I am saying Goran - please come back to Houston - someway somehow, and come get your ring in Houston vs wasting years in Phx, NY, LA or anywhere else.
This is not a Goran decision. He would come here traded. AND, once he is in Houston, it would imposible for the Rockets to keep that roster. It wouldn't be possible to keep Smith + Dragic, not even counting with Pat.
We have no need for his talent at this point. I like Bev's D, Dragic will bring more offense, however, it's not needed. We don't need a pg taking more shots out of Dwight's hand. Barely enough buckets to go around.
We would have Dragics and Pat's bird rights. Smith we wont be able to keep anyway if he wants anything of substance. And if Goran wants to be here, the Suns will trade him versus letting him leave for nothing.
Oh we need him bad. I love Pat, but he can not run an offense. He's a 3 and D guy playing the pg position. We have to get a real point guard to run the offense when Harden is on the bench.
I could be wrong, but I don't believe either or your assertions to be true. First, we could sign Smith to the MLE if he accepts that to stay with us with the promise of a longer term deal after we get his bird rights, and then we can sign Dragic or any other of our other players to whatever using their bird rights. Second, if Dragic makes it clear to Phoenix that he is leaving in FA, and that he preferred trade destination is the Rockets, they will be almost forced to try to get a "decent" trade from us or risk losing him for almost nothing, since no other team would offer much for him knowing that not only is he a FA, but also that he prefers to return to Houston. Lot's of leverage for Dragic IF he chooses and wants to use it.
For closing out tight playoff games, the Rockets absolutely need Dragic taking shots out of Dwight's hand. If Dwight could shoot FTs, it would be a different story.
Bev/Harden/Ariza/Smith/Howard to me is definitely the BEST starting defensive team in the league. Dragic/Harden/Ariza/Smith/Howard Bev/Terry/Brewer/Jones/Dmo to me is definitely the BEST COMPLETE team in the entire league.
What are you trading in this scenario? The NOP is valuable, but it isn't going to be enough to get us a major contributor like Dragic. Especially since New Orleans is hanging around so close to grabbing that 8th seed for the playoffs. I feel like for Phoenix to break down and desire to trade Dragic, they will have to fall out of contention for making the playoffs. If they are still close, they will probably just keep the squad that they have, try to make the playoffs this year, and then figure out what they will do once they get to the offseason. If they do decide to trade Dragic, I would imagine that they would want a legit big man for their team. They will not want Jones- his trade value has plummeted since his injury and he would be very repetitive with the Morris twins. I would bet that they would want us to include 7-foot D-Mo (along with the NOP pick and other players as salary filler) or they wouldn't make the deal. And if, a really big if, those pieces fall in place for them to make a trade, I really don't know if it would be worth it if we had to lose D-Mo. He is really our only bench player with any size. If we traded D-Mo as part of a package for Dragic, as good as our guard rotation would be, besides Dwight all of our bigs would be only 6'9 (Josh Smith, Terrence Jones and Joey Dorsey).
The exciting thing, to me, about Dragic is it would give us a legitimate secondary playmaker for times when Harden is forced to sit. Dragic is great at setting up other players and is unselfish, which would be needed on a roster that is that loaded. Plus it would help to reduce Bev's minutes. I really love Bev as a player, but I am afraid that his intensity will cause him to break down at too high of minutes. It would allow him to come in, play 110% during the time that he is in, and reduce the amount of wear and tear and chances of injuries that he might have
If the Rockets wanted to keep Dragic and Pat, I think we would be talking about a taxpayer MLE. He's not accepting that paycut. Probably not even a pure MLE in my opinion, let's be realistic. If he does it normal in Houston he will get offers that easily double that amount. Not sure about that, it would require a deeper analysis. But if we don't bring Dragic, I could see some good cap space amount for Smith even counting with Bev's cap hold... That paycut could be possible; but like I said, it requires a better analysis. Probably renounce to Brewer continuity....I dont know. Best option for Houston is wait and see what the real value of Smith is for us. But could Josh Smith's level shown from now to the deadline dictate Morey's intentions about going after Dragic or not going? I guess so... - I know that question is not correctly formulated, sorry -
We need to root for Phoenix to fall apart. That's step #1. The good thing is eventually OKC is going to plow through the bottom of the playoff seedings and knock Phoenix out of the race. Perhaps that will set the ball into motion. Patience is key here; especially if we want to pull a deal off without including the NO pick.
Smith was offered for trade at 13 million to every team in the league and no one wanted to trade for him, even getting rid of bad contracts. I doubt there were be several teams that have the cap space that will be offering him 10 million plus this offseason; although I do admit that it only takes one. The problem with that is that it will probably be a non-contender and I don't think he will want to go there even for more money. He has already made plenty of money in his career. Also, whatever a team pays him over our MLE will only net him half of that anyway because of his stretch provisions.
I want Dragic as long as we do not have to give up DMo to get him. I am okay giving up Jones, the NO pick, Canaan, etc.... but I want us to keep DMo. I think DMo is only going to get better and better and I want that to happen on the Rockets and not somewhere else.
I agree. Although I have no problem giving up that NO pick as long as we can keep both DMo and TJones as well as our top rotation players.
I think the question in the medium term it would be if the Rockets scenario keeping Smith + Jones/Dmo + Pelicans pick, it would a better one than a situation that gives you Dragic but forces you to let Smith leave + renounce to Jones/Dmo + the pelicans pick. Don't forget that that Pelicans pick it could be converted into a solid rotation piece, rookie scale contract for the next 4 years.
Trade for Dragic for anyone not in the starting 5 or Dmo. NOP pick and any of our other assets is plenty for Dragic given the market rate for what pgs hitting UFA are going for. Give anymore would be foolish and over paying. And count me as one who believes the addition of Dragic puts us over the top. Anyone else get that nagging feeling when harden goes to the bench, like "I hope the team can just hang on" feeling. That's goes away with Dragic.
