The players I would love to get are either Marc Gasol or DeAndre Jordan....but the more realistic options are either Dalembert or....wait for it...Yao Ming(IF healthy by beginning of season)
This. My thoughts exactly about DeAndre Jordan. Quite the opposite. If anything, the Battier-Thabeet trade ENSURED that Marc Gasol will be a Memphis Grizzlies player for the next several years. Even before the trade, it was widely reported that Memphis was going to match ANY offer for Gasol in restricted free agency (just like the Rockets with Scola last year), even if it meant letting Zach Randolph leave. But by being able to dump the $5.13M owed to Thabeet next year, the Griz may be able to keep both Gasol AND Randolph. But Gasol ain't going anywhere, that's for sure. Yep, pretty much. News flash: DeAndre Jordan and Marc Gasol are RESTRICTED free agents whose teams actually WANT to build around them as key pieces. Unless the Rockets GROSSLY overpay for them (something that they currently are incapable of doing), there's really no conceivable way that they can get either player. (If you ask me, I think Morey was already convinced of this about Gasol, which is why he didn't mind helping Memphis out further with its ability to retain Gasol by taking a chance on Thabeet.) As for Tyson Chandler, I think that's another pipe dream at this point. Dallas can offer much more money, a starting job AND a better chance to win now. Why would Chandler pick the Rockets (for less money, mind you) over the Mavs. Dalembert's the only one of that group who is remotely attainable, and I'm not even all that enamored with him. Frankly, I think that Chuck Hayes is a better basketball player. Sorry to rain on everyone's parade. There just aren't any major upgrades at the center position in 2011 free agency who are realistic options. I think THAT is why Morey took a chance on Thabeet. If Hasheem can put some things together this offseason (a BIG "if"), he's just as good an option as the next guy. The one guy I think Morey may go after hard is Nene. If he opts out of his contract, he'll probably be the best free agent center on the market. But Denver's surge after the trade deadline may have cinched his staying a Nugget long term. Plus, the Rockets would have to muster the money to pay him; but at least Kroenke is no Mark Cuban.
I like all 3,but neither will put the rockets where they need to be. I would rather sign Thad Young for 6m per, trade scola and miller for kaman, and wait for the summer for a shot at howard and williams. These centers are solid and would help the rockets move closer to the playoffs, but they are no closer to contention because they dont have a closer. Martin and Scola are 3rd wheels, not 1st or 2nd.
Do you really expect an agent to low-ball the a player's worth? I mean C'mon, it's every agent's job to make players seem more valuable than they really are. I'd say he's worth somewhere between 7-9 mil/year. Similar to what Kendrick Perkins got.
Other than the Kaman trade (the Rockets could probably get more for Scola and could even wait until 2012 to trade him), I could get behind those moves. Also, don't think Philly would let Thad go as a RFA for only $6M per. I think Martin is a solid "2nd wheel" on a contender.
If one believes as I do that there will be a post-CBA 'amnesty' then some bigs might well become very available for 'free' (sic), like: Kaman Brand Bogut Okafor TyThomas Diop Haywood Chris Anderson Biedrins Bargnani Al Jeff None of these guys are saviors but 'at the price' some of them might be very nice to add to the roster (like any of the four topping this mythical list).
Avery has eyes set on Thad Young. So the Nets may go high. I'm not sold on Young. Too much contract year heroics. I fear we'll see a return of the inconsistent player after he gets his contract.
You're implying scola is a better player than Kaman and he's not unless kaman is gimpy. My point is, why wait till 2012 to attempt to trade scola if you can trade him now for value and put the team in the money game for williams and howard? As for young, he plays behind iggy, their best player. We should assume Holiday is going to command more and is more important and they have the Ohio St kid on the bench as a 2/3 also. It may not be economically feasible to pay the backup behind your best player who never misses games. In terms of martin, to me, he's the 3rd wheel comfortably. If the rockets so happen to get howard, they would still need a guy to make plays in the 6 minute stretch to close games and we know thats not martin. If they were to get Williams, then he would be that guy, but the rockets would still have the problem at the rim. Ideally, Williams and Howard are your superstars and martin is the 18ppg,high effeciency boderline all star with Young and patterson as the risers on solid contracts. Lowry would be traded, dragic the backup behind williams,chase or lee filling in behind martin and young.
I agree that we would need a sign and trade to land him. But i think that would be the best option for Houston at this point, besides Marc Gasol. Chandler is too much of a risk to me, he has the tendency to get hurt at the wrong times like Yao. D.Jordan is all that a team like the Rockets need. He actually doesn't have to be that smart to play with us. He fast enough to not slow down the offense, has the size and athletic abilities to be a rim protected. His hands are okay, no where near as bad as Stromile. He can DUNK. He's not playing in a real system in LA, its just the Blake Show, here he would have a proven purpose and Role on a structured offense His main problem would be focus. But if we come out winning it alot easier to focus than it is when you are not. We dump Hill and Thabeet and some money from TE and do a sign and trade. We get our young Big, They get a Big and save some Money = WIN WIN
I can understand that and like I said, I'm not nearly as high on Jordan as others. Until very recently I probably would have shared that opinion. Signing average players, to me, is the last thing we need. Pryzbilla is just a big dude at this point. He's not worth spending any money on. Camby will retire in a year. Makes no sense to trade for him. Haywood won't get us anywhere and neither will Diaw. I also don't see the payoff in going after Chandler, though I don't see a realistic scenerio in which Dallas would let him walk, so there's really no point in talking about him in the first place. I agree that Memphis will more than likely match any offer for Gasol, but with the Clippers I'm not so sure. Not if they're unable to move Kaman. This is the Clippers we're talking about. Donald Sterling. You really think he's going to spend over ~$23mil on two centers? To quote Elgin Baylor: "Teams sell one of two things: success or hope, and the Clippers sell hope."" If the Clippers don't find a taker for Kaman and a team throws $10mil+ at Jordan, would you bet money on the Clippers matching? I sure wouldn't. Again, I'm not completly sold on Jordan. Far from it to be honest. But I wasn't sold on Ariza and it turned out OK. If possible (again, it's might be not likely, but a hard cap would likely mean a higher cap), sign Jordan to a offersheet worth about $53mil for 5years. Hope the Clippers don't match. Play him 36 minutes+ and if he doesn't produce, develop or fit in like you'd hope him to, trade him. Their are so few, young centers with upside, I just don't see a scenario where you wouldn't get at least decent value in return. I agree about Dalembert and would add that with the 2012 free agency coming up though, I'd be hesistant to spend any kind of money on anybody but Jordan or Nene. Not worth it IMO. Also, if I recall correctly, when I visited a Sixers board a few weeks ago, most of their fans were pretty confident that their front office would match anything up to about $9mil for Young.
I won't even attempt to speculate about how much any of those guys will cost. We have no idea what the new CBA will look like. My preference would be DeAndre Jordan at this point. He has the most upside and this season he finally began to turn his athletic talent into basketball skills. I really couldn't blame the Rockets for passing on him and going with Chandler if they had the choice, though. As well as Jordan played this season, there is still some uncertainty there. Chandler is a true professional with a longer track record of success.
A simple trade that makes a lot of sense is Thabeet/Miller to Clippers for Kaman. We could even throw in a couple million dollars so they could buy out either one of Miller or Thabeet if they want to. Kaman would be a servicable center on a big $12.2 expiring contract. He would give us a big center and also a huge trade asset in case the New Orleans Hornets folded the tents next season and moved out Paul and Okafor. Kaman/Scola/Lowry, picks would be about as good a deal as the Hornets could expect. If the Chris Paul situation turns out like all the other superstars and we can get him to sign the extension, it sets up the next domino, that being moving out Kevin Martin, Okafor, etc. for Dwight Howard. Then you've got Paul Lee Kirilenko or Prince hopefully through FA S&T Howard Hayes Patterson Dragic Yao 2011 #14 pick Orlando #23 pick Clips 2011 2nd round pick a couple veterans signed at the vet minimum This is kinda my dream scenario
Morey dropped $24 mil on Lowry last summer, during which he was the backup to Brooks, the player widely considered to be the team's best following his MIP campaign. I don't know Young's value on the open market, but he'll surely rack up heavy offers, and I expect Philly to dig deep and match. I would kill to have Young in Houston... 22-yr old, 6'8'' combo forward. My dream scenario would be Young + Jordan, but Morey would have to really make some drastic changes to the roster in order to free up cap room.
i think acquiring a Center goes in line with who's gonna coach our team...if Rick returns, a passing big man is a must
Pass on all 3. I honestly don't want a borderline 50 win teams that have no shot at going anywhere. Which is what we'll be at best with any one of those three AND them playing well(rather than mailing it in). I'd rather take my +???% chance at hitting the lottery and 1% chance at Dwight Howard and/or DWill instead.
I can't stand this talk. Can. Not. Stand. Do you realize how brutally DeAndre Jordan/Tyson Chandler/Samuel Dalembert would ravage our offense? People keep talking about "we don't need an offensive center... this team needs a paint presence." ALL THINGS EQUAL this is absolutely correct. However, these people fail to realize how criminally underrated Chuck Hayes is on the offensive end. Do you realize that our offensive uptick over the latter 3/4 of the season directly coincided with Chuck Hayes increased offensive production. Chuck was one of the main reasons our offense worked under Adelman... his passing is at an elite level for the center position. Whether Adelman is back or not, our offense is going to flounder with the guys you have mentioned. The three listed options have been hounded by critics for "low basketball iq". While that is quite a nebulous criticism... we all understand what they are trying to say: "These guys don't understand how to utilize teammates." This includes the fact these three our notoriously awful passers. In my opinion, any of these three's increased defensive efficiency would come at an even greater offensive cost. It would be a net loss, not a net gain. That said, this decision must also take into consideration the return or departure of Adelman. If he returns: His offense revolves on the passing acumen of the entire 5-man unit... and requires at least a somewhat capable passing center. As many have already stated, I would love to see them target Bogut or Gasol; although, we must recognize the extreme unlikelihood of landing either. If Adelman departs: The entire offense is (likely) to be retooled. I have a difficult time imagining an offense anywhere close to as efficient as the current one, especially given that we only have one player who can create offense (Martin, and even at that he can't create offense late in the fourth when defense and physicality increase while foul-calls decrease). If Adelman departs, the Rockets' brass may consider one of the three mentioned options. Even at that, I am hard-pressed to believe that Morey, a GM focused on finding 'value', would find their production is equal to/exceeds their going rate (which, again, as other posters have mentioned, RFA will dramatically increase). In the end, this problem is symptomatic of a larger epidemic within our current roster. I truly believe that any poster on the forum who thinks ALL we need is a paint presence to get us into semi-contention couldn't be further from the truth. I would go into greater detail on what I think the true problems in the roster are, and what ideas the Rockets should consider in fixing them, but that would be too far off topic for this particular post.
