As long as the borderline star, is healthy, plays hard on both ends of the floor, and complements Harden, I'm all for it.
I like PG. would definitely be a nice pick up and good fit but he isn't a FA this year right. Personally, I think Hayward would be my preferred pick but signs point to him just staying in Utah.
PG is a FA next summer, but I'd be willing to wait for him. Hayward is the prize in 2017 FA, but it does look like he's gonna stay in Utah. I consider Hayward a low tier star, but that might be good enough to give us a small chance at a ring. If we got a duo of Harden and PG, then that would give us our best shot a competing for a title.
what is AFAIC? I think you're too focused on the individuals and not the team. Harden just turned 27, is one of the most durable players around and is not exactly known for explosive athleticism in the first place....the window is wide open and will be for quite some time. I think they're going to have a couple more legit chances to chip up. Including this year. Super-team is the easy way out. We only have one transcendent player but the way the rest of the team gels and is filled 2-10 with good-to-above average players is one of the reasons we get to sit here, 3rd best record in the league talking about being contenders or a star away from chipping. I'm not saying ignore PG (I AM saying ignore blake punkass griffin though lol) but I think the onus should be more on him (and other free agent stars) at this point to realize Houston is a destination for the next 5 years at least.
AFAIC=as far as I'm concerned I feel what you're saying. The formula of Harden and a bunch of average/above average players around him will bring a lot of regular season success, but it's not enough. Harden probably has 2-3 more years before he inevitably starts declining. We must do everything that we can to take full advantage of what we have in Harden now.
idk, i think the 30 year mark is a little more football related than basketball. plenty of guys have extended dominance past 30. lebron probably feel he has 2-3 years of it left and he's what, 33? his like 75th year in the league... I'm just saying we don't need to dive after every name brand that comes up. I think we're at a point without it that hey, maybe name brands are looking at US as options instead of the other way around. If Paul George was dying for a ring where is he going? GSW lol
Not sure who we're going after when the plan A (Hayward/George) is probably going to fail...imo where we absolutely need an upgrade going forward is the 3 and 4 spot (unless Sam and/or Trez are going to make a big leap) so i'd say: - Gallo (should fit very well here and which may look at us as a top destination with MDA around) - Millsap (how much is he going to get though? And assuming it's something close to the max, are we willing to pay him that much? Not sure...) As a dark horse i'd say Holiday (since is very similar to Lowry and we know Morey was looking to bring him back)
Anyone know when DMo is available he would fix most if not all of our team's needs. Heard he is sensitive so don't string him along; just overpay and be happy he on the team.
hayward would be the best fit. blake griffin would seem like getting howard again. a dude that wont fit in our offense and demand touches with diminishing athletic ability.
This is the most exciting prospect to me, because even if we don't win the championship this year, as long as we make the WCF then free agents are going to be falling over themselves to be here. D'antoni is famous for getting people huge contracts, and it isn't gonna be hard to convince people to come and get lobs from Harden or open 3's from his drives to the hoop. It helps that the team is getting national coverage, having fun and Harden is the presumptive MVP. I still think we are one good defensive player from being title contenders every single year for the next 4 or 5 years, and I have faith that our front office, our players and playstyle are going to convince a couple of solid pieces to come here and finish the puzzle.
Unfortunately Rockets won't have max cap space without dumping Anderson, so swapping Ariza for Hayward makes the most sense. Not sure how Hayward statistically compares to Trevor on the defensive end, but he's looked good whenever we've played the Jazz.
I think he will get a big deal, likely 15-20 mill per over 3-4 years. He has that size were he can switch off on some bigger SG/SF wings and still guard PF's and even some small ball centers, he rebounds well, finishes well in the paint and has a decent 3pt shot. That versatility at only 26 years old, in his first breakout year (still has room to grow) will land him a big deal. So the question on him would be, would you dump Anderson and give Green a 20 mill deal? I don't think Greens that big of a upgrade to potentially hurt the chemistry and our spacing like that. I also think we likely pursue Gallinari/Ibaka/Milsap (of course Hayward/Girffin/Lowry as well) before Green if we decide to move Anderson for a big signing. His shooting is interesting, he makes .7 three's a game on 37 percent which is respectable, but it's too small of a sample size (only one year of shooting, less then one make a game) we would be heavily banking on him doubling his makes in our system and maintaining his percentage for him to be successful here and not seriously hurt the vital spacing we need at our 4 which is a risky bet.
Why no mentions of Ibaka ? That would be out r first target. The guy is a great rebounder and shot blocker, can shoot the 3 and has proven he can play with Harden. As another poster mentionned, our first need is inside rebounding an defense/shot blocking.
