If Harrison were a 4 his name would be Terrence Jones. If TJ were a 3 his name would be Harrison Barnes. I'll vomit on behalf of anyone who offers anywhere near the max for Barnes. He's worth 8Mil TOPS and that's being generous.
Not really. Batum is an inconsistent player, but if Ariza's spot up three is off he is literally useless (so he's useless most of the time). Batum = 6apg this season: 2 ass/to ratio. That is all.
I hope that Watkins is just as bad as i expect from an average BSPN reporter, cause even if i'm the greatest fan of Morey, if he's goin to pay that scrub of Anderson i'm done with him.
I'd try to get Deron Williams. If Toronto loses Morey should give everything besides Harden to acquire Lowry.
FYI, i was trying to find a cheap and realistic route. Of course you go after all the big names, but they are all pipedreams except maybe batum and conley. You're going to be very disappointed just like in past summers when no big names want to come here. What are you honestly expecting? Truly? You think were going to roll out 2016-2017 with Dwight, Durant, Batum, Harden and Conley? So what i mentioned were just some players that could come cheap enough to stay flexible for next free agency. Biyombo - (Dwight wont come back)With the exception to steals, his numbers are nearly identical or even better than Ben Wallace before Ben went to his 3rd team to get starter minutes and blew up. I guess there was a reason Ben was undrafted and only played 17mpg in his first 3 seasons with 2 teams? Bismak is still only 23 years old. Ben was 25 by the time he got to Det. Not saying he can become the next Ben or even a poor mans Ben, but if you never have the foresight to grab young players for what they could become, you end up with old "proven" players that are in decline. PER 36 is just used to see what he could do at his pace for those minutes, Ben played 35 mpg his first season in Det and Biyombos PER 36 project to be nearly the same production as Ben that first season with DET. Batum is the same as Ariza? You kidding? Ariza can't handle the ball or create his shot worth a damn. His defense has also regressed. He's another former athlete with limited skills the Rockets were jam packed with on their roster this season that aren't even athletic anymore. He's in decline because of his age. I won't argue 3's, but Batum just has so many more skills. Batum is a great playmaker. Batum has averaged 5 apg over the past 4 seasons peaking this season with 5.8 assists while still playing stellar defense. He also gives you a block per game. Even if you still believe Batum is just a younger Ariza, my idea is to have both on the roster. You wouldn't want two Ariza's to keep each other fresh? Jerebko is just a suggestion. Like i said, BB8 and Batum are my primary targets. I don't know how much CAP them plus a preferred resigned DMO would take up. Jerebko is a cheap look at finally finding a stretch 4. You can't deny his production from 3 and rebounds at a better rate than DMO. What do you want? Ryan Anderson signed to 25 mil a year? Like i said, you're thinking too much about guys who "start" and get 30+ mpg. Jerebko hasnt started but he's produced good numbers in his 19mpg career. Of course this wouldn't be my #1 option, and it wasn't. You can clearly see i wanted DMO back but made more suggestions because of the unlikelihood that he would return to Houston. Scola would be our chemistry, locker room vet. Every team needs this guy. He'd be the Terry role, but better and younger. He's also DMO's favorite player in case he can get DMO to come back. He shot 40% from 3 with 2 attempts per game. He's clearly still working hard to stay relevant even with the bad playoffs he's having right now. Still very useful and a guy with all heart, but mostly a locker room leader that has exp with both JVG and Messina if one of them becomes coach. I want him to retire a Rocket. Beasley is a one trick pony. He never once looks to pass and the defense knows. Looks like Morey didn't even value Marcus Thornton and score is all he did too. I prefer to keep him because of his contract of course, and if you check again, i did keep him as a backup to DMO in the preferred roster. I only suggested letting him go if you got a guy like Jerebko, because a backup with defense would be preferred in that lineup suggestion. Chalmers was a starter on the Heat. He's a better defender, better playmaker and a better shooter than Bev. Bev is just a pesky defender, he's not even really good. Chalmers is a real defender. Bev is more of a Delladova. While Chalmers was winning rings as a starting PG, Bev was irrelevant playing in Russia. I think it was this thread where i mentioned that my dream roster build up is using the 2004 Detroit Pistons as a model. That was a team that was built in a year pretty much. Ben was a guy you would have talked about never starting and an undrafted player. Sheed was a talented knucklehead and i admitted he was the hardest player to find. Tayshaun was a late 1st round pick and Batum more than fits his role. We of course already have Harden who does a ton more than Rip who was just an efficient 18ppg scorer for 2 seasons before getting to DET. Billups bounced around 4 teams before getting to Detroit. Chalmers has better career numbers than Billups before he got to DET(Conley was my preferred option of course but highly unlikely he comes). Again you will probably just look back at who they are remembered as now, but before they all got to DET, they were just other guys with the exception of Sheed who no one wanted to deal with. Their coach was Larry Brown who might be most similar to our primary coach target - JVG. Like i said, you have to have foresight like Joe Dumars apparently did. Morey said himself we've had it tough because we can't build with high draft picks. GS had 3 lottery picks that turned into their soon to be dynasty. Same with the Thunder. Clippers signed Gasol, but Griffin was a #1 pick and they lucked out on DeAndre in the 2nd. SA drafted Tim and Kawhi as lotto picks. Cavs drafted LeBron and Kyrie with #1 picks. Rockets have to build in a much more difficult way while trying to stay competitive. Get Durant, Conley, etc if you can of course. But if you're really sitting there with high expectations that they come, you're going to be severely disappointed, adding to the misery of this season.
There are a number of routes to go. I know the Rockets front office covets Mike Conley. I can see why. He is mentally tough, defends well, is a leader and a legitimate point guard that can hit threes and defend ones and twos. He would help our defense greatly. I haven't heard the Rockets have interest in Nicolas Batum. However he can defend 2-4's, takes a lot of 3's, hits his free throws and can handle the ball. If the Rockets added both these players they would be a very interesting team. The defense would be much improved.
There is a difference between writing him off and not wanting to pencil him into the rotation. I didn't advocate cutting him - I questioned why you had him as the backup PF next year. IMO, he has not demonstrated he is a rotation player in the NBA at this point, for the reason already given, nor is his weakness one that is typically fixed. You're kind of defensive for some reason. A question is not an attack.
Spoiler <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Marc Gasol: "My advice to Pau, at his age with the things he cares about, not that (we've talked); my advice would be to go to San Antonio."</p>— Peter Edmiston (@peteredmiston) <a href="https://twitter.com/peteredmiston/status/724677778050670594">April 25, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yeah I don't think people are appreciating how well rounded of a player Batum is. Its true Batum does everything Ariza can do, he defends well, he can spot up for 3 (career 36%) and play off ball, he rebounds (better then Ariza) and he's a smart team first player like Ariza. But... Batum is still a much different player then Ariza, and is much more valuable for these 2 reasons. 1. He can create his own shot. He has handles, can shoot off and dribble off the drive - AKA he's a second scoring option 2. He creates for others. In the last 4 seasons Batum has averaged over 5 assist per game, and only 2.5 turnovers per game. Combine his offensive abilities to shoot and drive off the dribble, with his high IQ and you can see how he creates open looks for his teammates, he draws attention from the defense with penetration and makes the smart pass, and is a good pick and roll ball handler. These two key difference, have a worlds meaning on the court. To have a starting caliber player that is a true two player, that play D, rebound, defend, pass, shoot and drive is a ridiculous combination of skills that is a luxury to have on the floor for 35 minutes a night. Ariza is good in his role, but because of his offensive limitations he's simply no where near as valuable as Batum. Batum is the perfect mix of Parsons and Ariza. Parsons like with his creation on offense through shooting, driving and passing, and Ariza like on defense, while being able to spot up, come off of picks for 3's and rebound even better then both of them. All while being Parsons age at 27, and having Ariza's health with missing very few games over the last 4 years! Batum would really be a great fit for us IMO. Spoiler <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hVfkwk_oiGs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MP6t2cs1l5Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dS4i6J2UxI8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Def need a C to either start or pair with Capella... If a top level pf is available, you grab him, but I'd be fine retaining DMo to go along with Beas and Harrell.. If you can upgrade Ariza - do it, but not a top priority... add a cheap 3 & D sg to add to the rotation to battle KJ for backup minutes... PG is the biggest need... preferably somebody good enough that Bev would be relegated to bu, but at least good enough to split time with him... I think you throw max offers at Durant, Conley and Horford - and see if one bites... If not, gamble with a max contract to Whiteside or Batum... If we dont get get Whiteside, try to get a decent contract with a Speights or Mahinmi type or maybe gamble on Larry Sanders - to pair with Capella on a 50/50 split... grab a 3 & D guys like Lee If we dont get Conley (which i would think is doubtful...) you look at the pricetag for Jennings or try to swing a trade (Boston?) but you have to get at least a borderline starting caliber pg... to pair with Bev
Spoiler <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Grizzlies clearly intend to re-sign Mike Conley this summer. Here's what a max offer could look like: <a href="https://t.co/D7FJxLp3IY">pic.twitter.com/D7FJxLp3IY</a></p>— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) <a href="https://twitter.com/TommyBeer/status/723590129164685312">April 22, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
That's with a 5th year, and 7.5% salary increase which is something ONLY the Grizz can offer. A max contract from Houston would be more like 110 mill for 4 years right?
That would be absolutely unfair and ridiculous. Also didn't he pass up going to OKC a couple years ago bc he wanted to live in a major city?
