I think we're looking at a couple of things. 1. Players like Chandler, Noel, Okafor, etc. don't move the needle anyway. Look, I know Tyson Chandler at one time anchored a championship defense. And is a solid, vet defender NBA center. But at this point, is he the difference between 2nd round and WCF, or Finals? Doesn't seem like it. Same can be said for all the others. The only caveat I might make would be for Noel.... because he is very similar to Capela in game style, which we know works with this team and Harden, because I think if on this team, theoretically given minutes for the next 6 weeks, with this chemistry, he will get in line, and because he's effectively a FA, and DM can decide to do whatever he wants in the offseason. 2. NBA bigs are becoming more and more irrelevant. Bigs in the "classic" sense. Used to be they were just phased out offensively. Now they are increasingly becoming phased out defensively, too. Because the great offenses of this NBA will PnR, back-screen, etc. those bigs to depth. And then shoot a ton of 3's. Make note. this doesn't mean teams don't need very very capable and competent interior rebounders and defenders to have meaningful success. It just means that the "classic" big is less and less valuable. 3. Rockets as noted seem to be working decently well in this MDA style anyway, which further de-emphasizes bigs. 4. Cap space is a risk, but I'd rather have it than not, either to chase big fish, or to sign some of those bigs that might be more apt in your scheme in today's NBA. It just gives you more flexibility. I'd rather have the room to go after Hayward. Sure, if they sign him, they have a lot of clean up work to do in the frontcourt, but they could get there. Because at that point they'd have some great trade chips (Ariza, Harrell, Dekker) ... though I'd rather they just keep the depth and look to bolster the bigs as much as possible through Nene like signings (see. McGee, Speights type guys historically). And, moreover, while you clearly need a top 10 defense, and the Rockets offense is already great, a 1-2-3 combo of Harden-Gordon-Hayward is just insane. And Hayward is a solid defender at the 3, and allows you to do some interesting things in lineups with maybe him and Ariza for defensive purposes. And if it's not Hayward, you still have that cap room. The only guy I'd remotely consider trading for is Noel... but I'm not giving up Harden, Gordon, Ryno, Ariza, Capela, Bev, Dekker, Harrell.... which doesn't leave much to give to the Sixers.
I see WCS as kind of a rich man's Ryan Hollins, I wouldnt trade that much for him. Not calling him a bust, just not a blue chip prospect like he'd seem. I'd put that package toward Noel. WCS could be a really good fit for what the Rockets do though, wouldnt have to be a big rebounder just get some lobs and defend with length. The same Capela approach more potential D less offense.
@Mathloom he actually said he wanted to try to come back in December/January so this would be a perfect timing lol...how many years he has been out at this point? 3/4?
Is Andrew Bogut unrealistic? Mavs only gave up a 2nd round pick for him, I'm sure in their current situation, they'd take a 2nd round pick back in return. Throw in Brewer to make salaries work, and an extra 2nd round pick + KJ for them to take on Brewer's salary. You dump Brewer's contract and bring in a center who's on an expiring contract all in one move. And it's not like Dallas is unfamiliar with Corey, he won a ring there. - Houston sends Corey Brewer, KJ McDaniels, Denver's 2017 2nd round pick, Portland's 2017 2nd round pick. - Dallas sends Andrew Bogut.
Yeah I love the idea of Noel. If he doesn't work out then we let him go during the summer. But like you said we can't give up any of our rotation so picks would have to be enough. I know someone has said they have inside sources about Rockets targeting Hayward but I would bet anything that A) he's not coming here and B) Morey knows this. I don't see Utah letting him go. They've worked really hard to build a great young roster. And he has never shown displeasure with Utah. Not a realistic target in my opinion.
I'm personally not big on Hayward. That's fine if you or anybody else is, I think he's a good player I just don't think I want to next long and large contract going to him. Then again we seem like an annual playoff team now, so our picks are going to be in the 20s and higher so where will our youthful rotational players come from? It might be a good investment on second thought. I think it's important to invest in youth. Harden is in his prime and balling and likely to be balling for the next 10ish years, probably dominating for 7 of those, you think? None of us can see the future but I think that's a reasonable frame. Plenty of time but I think investing in some young guns would be nice. With that being said I think Noel is a great match for Harden. He shouldn't command Cousins' money, but he might. The market is sometimes generous. I thought DeAndre Jordan was a bad contract but it turned out to be fair. What is Noel's ceiling? I think we need to see more, but I think he can be a super role player. That's basically what Whiteside and DJ are. He's on his rookie contract, if he gets maxed in RFA as far as I know he has not hit the super max years of experience so he will have a Harrison Barnes/Hassan Whiteside lower max. I think that's fine. It's not my money, it's not any of ours, so I know it's easy to spend it. I think giving up a future 1st and 2nd plus prospects would be great, if Philly would do that. KJ, Wiltjer, Ennis, Brewer, Chinanu, Joe Chee, right to Llull, rights to Gentile and even Harrell I would be willing to move. And i sort of like Ennis, I understand he's fast from where he can be but I have a greater belief he can be a future rotational player than KJ. Plus he's only 22. Harrell has shown he has a great motor and I like that. He's undersized but he's brave, he doesn't back down. I even am curious how Gentile would do in the nba. But I would trade it all for Noel. He's also 22 and growing. He can be Tyson Chandler for us. A big, defensive anchor who is playing until he's what, 35? 34? Still in the league, still serving purpose. Yeah I want 12+ years of service. Im definitely not saying trade Capela either, instead I think Noel and Capela for 12+years would be phenomenal. Pick n roll play ages very well. 48 minutes of rim protection, pick n roll and lobs just sounds great to me.
The problem is that our 5 spot is very thin.. But I guess we can see what Nene and Harrell can do. I think we can buy low on Nurkic at this point and possibly Noel (he was benched in the game following his public expression of discontent). I don't think he will last in that system till the end of the season. And to be honest, I understand his frustration. What on earth are Philly trying to do with that logjam at the 4 and 5? Its good that a player just isn't content with his salary and is trying to contribute to the team - it shows drive rather than an "attitude problem". And why are they playing Jahlil over Noel when he's actually playing pretty badly? I say give up KJ or Ennis for Nurkic or Noel (his frustration might prove to be toxic to the locker room)
Super role player? DJ is the anchor and does all the dirty work on the Clippers team, they wouldn't have molly coddled him and flew out to convince him to re-sign if he was just a "super role player". Whiteside is the best player on the Heat. I agree both can't really create on offense but that doesn't make them "role players"
No doubt the odds are long.... as usual. But it's happened before, and I think the argument that it comes down to Utah, Boston and Houston would make some sense. Utah has familiarity with an "up and coming" team - though their ceiling is limited if Gordon is their #1 guy. He's clearly not a #1. But a max contract #2 guy? Sure. Boston has Coach Stevens, and assets to improve that team. Houston has what should be at the end of the day the best performing squad, the best player to join, and a coach and offensive system that would fit very well with Hayward's game, which is a bit of everything done very well. That said, long odds. But Hayward isn't the only FA. There's Millsap, maybe Blake, Ibaka, Gallinari, Iguodala, and a whole bevy of other role players. If you can add 1 or 2 more guys that have an impact like the 2 guys you added this year, then you have a lot of assets, that either give you a real solid, very deep team, or the ability to package and land a bigger fish. In a way, this passes the hat on this season a bit. But I have no illusions the Rockets are championship contenders. If they can pull off a major trade this year, sure. Otherwise, happy to look to next season to make real noise.
I'm not sure this is true. A move to get these guys might be a great move for a team like the Nets that is bad but doesn't own any of there picks who is also trying to implement the 3's and layups offense. 2 project young guys with talent that have been learning in a good system. I bet there are some teams that wished they would've swooped in on Ian Clark last year.
I think 3? Yeah I thought I remembered reading something like that. I wonder if he still lives in Houston too, would be super convenient lol
I think you're forgetting that Chandler's "style" is like Capela in that he's mastered the PnR from playing with the likes of Chris Paul and Jason Kidd. What you're assuming is that I think Tyson would be our savior when, in fact, I just need him to be a great complementary role player...which he is perfectly capable of doing. Remember Mutombo's time with us? That's what I would want out of Chandler. Again, I'm not looking for a big to come in here and try to assume the 2nd super star role. We went through that with Howard already. Are bigs being phased out? I'll agree to disagree for now but there are two things that's not being phased out any time soon and two things you brough up: rebounding and interior defense. I don't care if it's a classic or non-classic big the Rockets bring in. Point being is that we need more depth at that position. I'll give you a scenario where Capela can't perform in the playoffs and we only have Nene and Onuaku going up against the Spurs, Clippers, or Warriors. Do you think that's enough to beat them? While he's not a 20-10 player, the ability for Capela to run the PnR and catch alleys on a nightly basis is a sizable part of this offense. Is it 1st or 2nd on the offensive hierarchy? Nope but you are underselling the importance of what Capela brings or just underselling bigs outright. Like I said before, when you have three players accounting for 60-65% of your cap room and you still have about half of your roster to fill, you're not going to be chasing big fish for a while. That's the truth. Unless they move Anderson and/or Gordon in the next two years we're not going to have significant room to sign big stars unless you're prepared to field players 7-15 with D League talent. I'm not a huge fan of Hayward but I respect his game and what he can bring to the table. That being said, there's very little chance he leaves his kingdom in Utah. We all should see this already because, barring an unforeseen implosion by the Jazz, Hayward is their cornerstone/franchise player. cyberx can tell us insider news all the time but not all of them did/will come true. And you said it yourself: you rather keep the depth we have and would rather bolster the roster. So why bother hoarding cap space to go after a third $20+ million player only to look at our bench filled only with minimum players and DLeague graduates? Everyone wants to get on the Yule C bandwagon but the kid has issues. I can look past the off the court issues and the whining about PT if he has elite talent and I'm not sure he does. If what I read about him the past couple of weeks is true in that execs and scouts are steering clear of him due to his mental/personality make up, why would we want a headcase on this team, at this moment? The guys on this team don't have time to baby him and make sure he feels like a special snowflake when they're battling it out in the West. All in all, I want Chandler not only because of his defense and rebounding but because, come playoff time, we know he can perform because he's been there. We can take a crap shot at Noel and hope he can shine in the post season but this is a veteran team/crew and these guys are owed a player that can come in and help the team, whether it's Chandler, Gortat, Koufos, Chucky Brown, Mark Bryant, etc.
