So your saying he's not our savior, but the Rockets should overpay to keep him? I dont get it. This team isn't in the place where it needs to be locking up players longterm that aren't going to get this team to championship contender or at least have the ability to be a franchise player to build around in the future. Im all for locking up Dragic long term and moving Lowry if there is a decent deal out there, but not at a cost that will disable the front office from taking on salary that puts this team in a better postion going forward. Not stabilizing on the 8th seed, and first round exit year after year ALA Atlanta Hawks. Im all for maxing out the salary cap year to year, but flexibility in contracts will be key in building a team at the stage the Rockets are at. If they can get Dragic on a contract (big or small) that makes him tradeable on the market then yes, get it done. However, if his contact is potentially unmoveable for the forseable future then I dont think he's worth mortgaging the future for. So yes, Dragic is slightly better than Lowry, but dont just assume the Rockets are stupid for not overpaying him in free agency. This team is in no place to stabilize on players that aren't major foundation pieces for the future to build around. That being said maybe Goran can be a foundation piece. Im not sure about that yet. I think he's one of those players that could be a piece if he was matched up with the right post player in a pick n roll type of gameplay. He also would be more effective on a team that plays more uptempo then the Rockets do. Teams can make him less effective in a slow East Conference half court style that they are playing now.
No, I am saying good, quality franchises are not afraid to pay the market rate for their better players. True, but you don't just let your better players walk while you try to get that franchise guy, you still need good players around them once you do acquire him, or you need good players to trade FOR him. I don't think Morey has any issues with manipulating contracts, and he will not be the Atlanta Hawks, why does it have to be one way or the other, who is to say Dragic getting $7 or 8 is a bad cap hit? It isn't for his production. Morey has never done an untradeable deal, I trust he won't this time either. Conversely the Rockets are in no place to let good players walk and become even better players somewhere else. I think he is a foundation piece or one that can be flipped later for a superstar. His production is only going to get better, his skills are higher than Lowry's...so you keep the better one and trade the one that has a very valuable production to price contract. DD
I totally disagree that Dragic is only going to get better. As soon as he becomes a full time starter, I think teams are going to figure out just how much he struggles when you attack him while he runs the PnR. Over the last 8 games he's picked up his dribble way too much in late game situations, and it's completely killed the offense. I've also figured out that he's really not good at passing the ball down to a low-post player. Personally, I don't think Dragic is ever going to have the production he has had over the past 20 games or so again. The unfortunate thing is that he's a free agent, which means you can't get anything for him. That's just really bad timing for the Rockets.
I don't think they want Martin back, but that would be a good deal for the Rockets. Even if you tossed in Patterson or Bud or Morris too. DD
That's the thing with this entire team, no one is necessarily special. As funny as this sounds they could do very little in the offseason or blow up the team and start over from scratch . . . and next year's records end up being fairly the same. Lowry is a good pg, so is Dragic, neither one is outstanding. It's almost wash. SG - People love Courtney Lee on this site, but again he's not an exceptional point guard. Would let him go, if a team offered high on him. SF - Parsons looks promising, but again more of a really good role player. If a particular SF becomes available (in the off-season), he's not safe either. Though, I think he will be the main player that comes back next season. PF - Patterson and Scola, it depends on what other teams want and who is available in the offseason. I know alot of posters are counting on Motiejunas, but how NBA ready is he and is he ready to start. Moreover, how much of starter is he compared to other forwards who might be coming into league as rookies or available free agent forwards. C - ??????????????? , Camby is good, but he can only log so many minutes.
Maybe, maybe not, we'll see. Judging by the pattern of the Rockets, even if they look to trade him, they will still be picky about the trade. A disagreement between McHale and Lowry probably won't change that. Given that Lowry's value is most likely rather low right now compared to where it was even a couple months ago, I would not be surprise if they simply keep him around simply due to lack of trade interest.
If Morey is paying Market, and getting a tradeable contract then hell yes Morey should resign him. Morey typically does a great job at contract negotiation. The issue isn't that, its going to be if a team offers him a contract that becomes toxic in 2 or 3 years. In the new CBA era, I dont think thats going to happen, and if its a 7 to 8 million dollar contract for 3 years with a team option on the 4th then thats a fair deal for both parties. I dont disagree here. If he has potential to improve even further then hell yes get him now, rather than overpaying later for someone else giving you the same production. If he's going to be "right priced" or a bargain in a few years then of course you dont let a good player go. I think this would end up being based on the contract he gets and the attractiveness on the market. We just dont know that right now so its hard to say whether he's going to be an asset or a liablity. I would guess an asset now, but you just never know. It seems to me that you have had the attitude of, buck up and pay at whatever cost. Its Les' money, why do we care. Yes, I agree, but you and I both know there are going to be alot more factors to consider this summer with Morey's negotiations with Dragic. I guess Im just staying cautious on the Dragic situation, and planning for the worst. Which would be knowing now that we wouldnt make the playoffs and loosing him for nothing when they could have gotten something for him at the trade deadline. I assume that was a risk that Morey knew he was going to take in keeping him. You know what though, If he would have traded Dragic, and the Rockets didn't make the playoffs, everyone would have been blaming him for trading Dragic & starting Boykins as the reason why the Rockets didnt make the playoffs. Either way, he's going to get the blame. Let's just hope there is no reason to blame anyone if Morey is able to resign Dragic on a reasonable deal and get a haul back for Lowry. Thats turning a frown upside down. I think we all can agree on that.
Ya that would be a great deal DD we give um bk Martin (fan fave) in return we take on a bad deal in Evans but get COUSINS!
The good thing about internet discussion forums is that anyone can register a screen name and then lie about whatever he feels like lying about. My source says you are a stinky mouth liar.
And while Morey has been excellent in turning tin into silver with his trades, it's disconcerting that we've almost never had a sell-high move. V-Span Rafer McGrady Brooks Ariza Battier Miller Hill-Thabeet-Flynn I really am impressed how he's consistently turned vinegar into cheap wine, I am. But we're still waiting on him to turn several good players into a star. I'm starting to wonder if he can do it. Coffee is for Closers, DM.
It takes two to tango. Teams who are willing to part with franchis players tend to do so when we have a promising franchise talent to trade back; KG for Al Jefferson, Deron Williams for Favors. Likewise, teams do not trade promising talent unless it is for established players; Gay for Battier, Kobe for Divac, Kwame Brown and Gasol (results may have turned out differently, but no one could deny that Kwame's talents weren't promising). Players leaving due to burned bridges would have to want to come here first. Morey has shown that he can excel when things are more within his realm of direct control. We have to be logical here. Now that we have young talent (Lowry) and established players (Dalembert, Scola, and Martin), can we do something with this and hopefully without completely cleaning house?
Like the Gasol trade that got vetoed by David Stern? It's never easy acquiring an elite player in a trade. Teams typically don't trade them for non-elite guys except when the elite player has one foot out the door (like the Melo and CP situation). You get maybe 1 or 2 of these instances a year (some years there are none) and pretty much every team in the league is interested in putting in a competing bid. Free agency has its own issues: there are the matching rights for RFAs and the extra year and % raise even for UFAs.
