I want big al Jefferson he would look good next to asik. Can hit the mid range like Patterson but can actually get 10+ rebounds. Plus he's got the best post moves in the game. Regardless what some of you may say in order for the rockets to really contend we need a big who can fill it up down low and nobody does it better than big al. I guess I'm old school but I'm a sucker for guys that play with their back to the basket. Asik Big al Parson Harden Lin With harden shooting up the NBA best player rankings daily and Lin and parsons looking like the real deal, that team can be number 2 out west by next season possibly rivaling the thunder for the top spot. I really believe we could give the king a run for his money to if we met Miami in the chip. I hope morey is thinking the same way because you can't expect to run and gun and get any farther than what the suns did a few years back. The X factor is James harden though I truly believe we're watching a all time great in the making he's putting up numbers and doing things we only see lebron do which is scary cause he's only 23 and roughly 52 games into a starting role of being the man. As good as durant is he doesn't have the same skill set that baby king James has which is why I think he can/will end up being the better player and 2nd best player in the league to lebron. Durants a great scorer but he also realize heavily on Russ to take pressure off him harden at the moment has me myself and I and is still getting it done on a nightly basis and doing things we only see one other player in the league do and he's a three time MVP and last yrs finals MVP I think u guys know who I'm talking about.
Honestly this is BS. He is exactly who everyone thinks he is. He's a very talented knucklehead type player who is more about his dunks, highlights, and getting paid than he is about winning or team. He's the kind of guy who will suck the life out of your franchise by tying up a ton of money in a constant tease of potential.
I think u have to look at "the celing" of the offseason first. Could the Rockets end up with DH12? Yes it is possible, but is DH12 still a "max" performing player. Maybe / Maybe not. Asik is effectively providing us with similar skill sets and numbers on the court, at a cheaper rate, better attitude, better team-mate, diva-less, doesn't need "touches", etc. Next I think you have to look at "the best of whats left". The best free agent besides DH12 is Josh Smith, without question. Does he make this team better? Yes Does he make a weakness of our team stronger? Yes Will addressing the PF position with Josh Smith be more impactful to the progression and depth of our team more so than adding DH12? Yes Is having a starting lineup of Lin/Harden/Parsons/Smith/Asik better than Lin/Harden/Parsons/Patterson/DH12? Yes He will not be the #1 go-to guy here and I think that should allow him to have a greater impact on the court. Our team fits his skill set (young, uptempo, PnR) and he can really fit in, grow, and fix weaknsses (defensively, rebounding, shot blocking, athleticism, versitility) with this team. Would I prefer LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love? Of course, but neither of them are available and CANT be rockets anytime soon. SMITH is not the "final championship piece" but he is definitely an athletic and versitle piece that you need to compete in the playoffs in the west. Getting him in FA in the summer would be best though.
And/Or Kevin Love. I'm with you with the 2014 bandwagon. We have to be patient. Give this team a season or two to develop then we can make a splash come 2014 off-season. I don't get how people are impatient and would settle for a a player that would make us good but not good enough to be a contender. Message to everyone: Remember that we are rebuilding. No rebuilding team becomes a contender in just 1 or 2 seasons. This time, we can really afford to wait and be patient. We haven't even had a full season yet and we should all be thankful that we're winning despite having a brand new roster who's youngest in the league. What we should be doing is try to accumulate more assets (future draft picks) rather than spending and giving up young players for rentals because honestly, i don't think we would be able to receive equal value even if we S&T them in the off-season. Again, lets just sit back and enjoy this young core we have now and wait for this off-season or next with all our assets and max salary cap room at our disposal for that big splash to make us a TRUE contender.
To those who haven't seen this yet, watch this so you would further understand why we're opposed to acquiring Josh Smith.. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/csmf5DmrgLE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> This video was posted in Bima's thread but i just thought i'd post it here since i know several fans who are more interested in these types of threads instead.
Hoopseak article on Josh Smith from last week. I didn't see this posted in the thread, but I thought the analysis on his steals pg and blocks pg was interesting. The Rockets offense excels at fast breaks off turnovers/rebounds and being fast pace after baskets to catch defenses sleeping. You're throwing in someone who is 10th in defensive win shares, whose main upside is in stats which facilitate fast breaks off of turnovers. Btw, you'd take anyone in the top 15 of that stat. If he was the first piece to rebuilding our team, I'd probably pass. He's awesome to watch, but the Rockets would just be an early exit playoff team (which we will probably be this year anyway unless we pull off a nice rental without giving up much). However, we acquired Harden who is our first choice shot selection who is extremely young, fast, and well... good. Having a player like Josh Smith on the team would make for an insane offensive/defensive presence. Asik/Smith on defense blocking, stealing, rebounding, Lin's stealing (#2 total, #3 pg) and driving (ref Grantland driving eff article), Harden's driving, shooting, facilitating. Throw in a 5th that can shoot 3s: Parsons, Delfino, Patterson (shifted down and also if he isn't traded) and you have a very well rounded turnover machine that's constantly feeding an offense designed for fast pace. Josh Smith gets on our team with only having to give up Morris, some rookies, some picks, maybe Patterson (hopefully not), we're a very serious title threat. I think at that point you might want some veteran help (Marion rental maybe?) to push you over the hill, but still we're a top 4-5 team in the nba at that point.
They can take Morris, Patterson, Motiejunas, Aldrich, Beverley, Delfino. Throw in picks too if they want to. I think the key is, HE CAN LURE DWIGHT HOWARD HERE TO HOUSTON!! HAS ANYONE NOT THOUGHT OF THAT?!!!! LIN HARDEN PARSONS SMITH HOWARD WE'D OWN THE WEST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.
Sorry if this is breaching the area of RTI, but I figured it was pertinent to the thread. I can't imagine the deal being done without a 3rd party to make the salaries work. First pass at TM. The numbers would work just by dumping Aldrich, Morris, White, and DMo. Get a 3rd party like the Pacers involved (who want to dump Granger) and hand them an expiring (Aldrich) and maybe some low cost risks (DMo). Hawks would probably take Granger over salary incentives from the summer's s&t, etc fun. Free's up our PF/oversized SF log jam we have with the younger players as well.
Josh Smith will be demanding for maximum salary. We'll be capped out with him as is. Do you really want Josh Smith at max salary and not give yourself a chance of being able to pursue a true franchise player?
Well option 1A will be Dwight Howard. If we can't get Dwight then, no one is better than Josh Smith unless Millsap is willing to take on a lesser salary. We either use our capspace now or we will never get a chance to use it.
Everyone please watch Bimathug's rocketslive guesting to at least stop you from posting unrealistic lineups or trades. Do you really want a power forward who can't shoot jumpers in this system we're running and kill our spacing? Heck, he's not even a legit post threat. And most of all, our worst free throw shooter (Omer Asik) shoots a higher percentage than Mr. Josh Smith at the line!
