[BS Report] 03/09/15 - Kevin Love to Houston, Harden MVP

Flipping Dwight would be a really, really bad look.

 

I would like k love being able to keep Dwight but having to flip him to get k love that's a no

 

All we need is Love

Please, don't start that again

 

Would be bad on the court too...

There are only a handful of elite rim protectors in the league and they are extremely valuable...

Dwight's defensive impact > K Loves all around game and its not even close IMO..

 

I think we started getting defensive once the media really started to pile on the team.

The latest wave of hate started with the Dwight signing and how he turned LA down to play with us, then for some reason we copped ridicule for missing out on Bosh after an ambitious attempt and losing Parsons, Lin, Asik in the process.

We also got annoyed about being written out of the playoffs after these moves and instead we're sitting in position for HCA...without Dwight.

No one seems to mention how little each of those players has moved the needle for their new team and how we've flourished with their replacements through smart signings, excellent trades and the development of our bigs.

I will also echo the statement that trading Dwight will look terrible and I don't think Morey has any interest in doing so.

A consistent mid range and improved 3 point shot from T Jones will do wonders for our squad with a healthy Dwight.

 

Interesting is the comment about Dwight "sucking up negative possessions". Obviously these guys don't feel Dwight is a good fit.

As for getting a 3rd star, that idea is flawed. First off, Dwight is no longer a "star" in terms of his play, but in name only. So, hanging onto his fat contract will hinder the Rockets big-time if they go after another high-priced player like Love. I think the best thing Morey can do to build a championship team, if he is determined to hang onto Howard, is to ask to renegotiate his deal, based on his injury status, or simply trade him. I realize the chance of this happening is slim to none, but this is McGrady/Yao part two. The Rockets don't have the cap space to make any other solid moves.

 

gotta give dwight one more year. trading him now would make the rockets look pretty bad in the loyalty department. good luck signing another max free agent anytime soon.

one year from now would mean dwight would be entering his final season of the contract. due to his injuries the rockets can make him a low ball offer, when dwight doesn't accept it because he still wants the max, the rockets can site that as the reason to trade him at the next trade deadline.

 

First off, it is too early to say Dwight is no longer a star. Even if comes back at 17/12/2 he is a star with his defense and rebounding/scoring. Second under the CBA Howard cannot renegotiate his contract.

The "sky is falling" mentality on Howard is premature. If a year from now he isn't effective, then it is time to write him off... Not now.

 

You forgot how ESPN dropped James Harden to #9 on their rankings. And derided him unceasingly about the "best player" comment (taking it slightly out of context in the process).

I was pissed at Harden's stayed-too-late-at-the-strip-club-again performances in the playoffs, but dropping to #9? Clutchfans can give him some grief, but that's too much.

If I may quote "Animal House", "They can't do that to our pledges....only we can do that to our pledges."

I started to believe James Harden might wake up while under the tutelage of Coach K after the Portland series debacle. And how.

 

Don't underestimate Morey's ability to create cap space

Dwight (if he can stay 80%+), Love and Harden and next to jack **** is better than Harden, Love and other stuff.

As this year showed, he can create a bench very quickly, especially since we'd get stuff to offload since the space we'd be clearing are all positive value players

He wasn't healthy, and really, he was sucking up negative possessions. Because Zach actually watches everything, he realises what we all did (and Dwight too), that Dwight wasn't much use in his poor state.

 

Go back further. The NBA at-large dismissed the Rockets' back-to-back championships as an anomaly of Jordan's temporary absence. Our franchise's best player, Hakeem Olajuwon, was never an NBA posterboy like Barkley, Robinson, or even Ewing and -- besides afficionados -- rarely gets ranked as one of the NBA's best-ever players. A decade-plus of Barkley hate and recent scolding from the Grantland-led basketball intelligentsia only deepens a persecution complext that's already embedded in the DNA of most Rockets fans. (If you really wanted to reach deep we could tie it to the city of Houston's image and place in the country.)

Make no mistake: Rockets fans are wrong to jump on every suggestion that Harden isn't the MVP. But the feelings responsible for the backlash aren't unjustified. Simmons might knock Morey for getting into beefs with everybody, but at some level, I wonder if DM hasn't reached the same conclusion about our franchise. I think he has, and it's one of the reasons I like him more and more. He's started fighting back.

 

There was definitely a level of irony asking why Houston fans were so sensitive only to start talking about how much hating Houston can impact the perception. Did they plan that or was it just complete coincidence?

 

I strongly disagree - 17/12/2 are arguably not star numbers and are certainly not worthy of $22M of salary cap. Especially when those 17 pts comes as inefficiently as Dwight's points have since joining the Rockets.

I've stated this so many times that I feel like a broken record, but Dwight is never going to be a star player again. Never. When you look at his recent injury history, the production of other big men at similar points (years/mileage) in their career, and the fact that Dwight's NBA dominance was wholly based on his now rapidly deteriorating athleticism, it all adds up to the conclusion that his best days are now far behind him.

I have no doubt that Dwight will come back at some point and have a few fantastic games that will have everyone expecting "the sky is falling" skeptics to eat crow. But for $22M, a few fantastic games against Robin Lopez is not star level - star level requires high level play night-in, night-out, all-season-long. Dwight at 80% (a rather optimistic number if we're talking 80% of peak Dwight - I'd guess we'll be lucky to get 60% on average) may be better than most other centers, but it doesn't do us a lot of good if he spends 25-30 games a year either on the bench due to injuries or coasting/playing tentatively in order to avoid a new injury.

With Dwight taking up so much cap space, the Rockets cannot improve the roster significantly, and in fact, it's not even a given that we can resign our current role players, some of whom (Beverly in particular) already seem inadequate. To get this team to the next level, we absolutely have to have a legit 2nd option and a solid bench, yet Dwight's presence makes that close to impossible.

That's why I'm all for Morey trading Dwight if he can get a good return. It may be that we have to wait until Dwight returns from injury for that good return to be a realistic possibility. I can live with that, but I am not at all enthusiastic about trying to win with a Harden-Howard 1-2 punch.

 

There's so much wrong in that post I don't know even know where to start.

 

K.Love fixes the rebounding problem

 

But introduces more post defense and shot blocking issues. His career is 11.9 per game. Not a whole lot considering the amount of minutes he got in Minny. There is every reason to think that TJ will average a double-double in his career.

He also needs touches to be more effective unlike TJ who is low maintenance but gets you the numbers. I was high on him before, but after his difficult transition in Cleveland, I am not sure if the rewards out weighs the risk by a lot.

 

Dwight shows up in the playoffs....Love, well ummmm...?

 

Nah to Love.

 

I call this BS. Love will either resign or goes to Lakers and have a new buddy with Rox favorite whipping boy.

 

I think the Big Three model is outdated. The Heat lost to the Spurs last year. The NBA is now in the business of promoting Team Ball. It's their definitive counterargument to the collusion of the superstars. There is a mandate coming down from on high, to officiate games more in favor of teams that can play the read-and-react style that Popovich (and before him d'Antoni) cultivated. All five players need to be a threat. Which is why, this year, the league has decided to make Atlanta > Cleveland, and GS > the Clippers.

We would be a worse team with Harden, Love, Howard and fillers than we would be with Harden, Healthy Howard and the bench we have today. That bench is serious folks. It's going to be what defines us in this year's playoffs.