If Goran is really interested in winning and thinks that opportunity exists with us (and does not exist in the Phoenix Suns' near future) then it's possible, I guess. I think there are more realistic options out there. I don't think we need anything more than depth at the 4 and maybe the 5. I'm content with Beverley/Canaan/Terry as PG's. Ariza, Daniels, K-Pap and Harden have the 2/3. We need to stick with Jones and replace D-Mo with a better option. He doesn't do what we need even though he's a good player. Similar to the Lin situation. I guess we could use help at the 5, though I'm not too worried about the 16 backup C minutes. There are teams with worse options than Black/Dorsey at backup C. I think we can add Brandon Bass and then sign Okafor and we can contend for #1 seed. Canaan, Daniels, Jones and K-Pap are bound to improve over the season. Canaan, Daniels, K-Pap, T Jones and Okafor is a formidable bench IMO.
hawks down at home to the fakers in the 4th. after such shame the honorable thing to do would be to commit suicide on this season and just trade millsap to us.
Yeah, Jason Terry was going to be traded the moment we acquired him. It's nice that he's had some solid games, but Troy Daniels can give us most of his production. I'd rather have Daniels and at least a border line 3rd star than what we have right now with Terry.
Brandon Bass is by far our best option. Good/versatile defender, very good mid-range and free throw shooter, and he's on an expiring contract. I think a good 2nd could get it done.
Too much front court depth, and he deserves to start, the bulls need guard depth as well, so if we were able to get them Corey Brewer or trade Terry and the NOP pick it might be enough, but of course I don't expect something to happen until later in the season. Overall for this team Taj is what we will need for this team for a championship run, and if reports of dragic really wanting to leave in free agency we could sign our PG there. Dragic Harden Ariza Gibson Howard
I like Bass or Arthur. They are both expirings and can both fill a need until possibly dealt again at the deadline. For those mentioning Brewer or Bud just stop. They both have player options for next season which basically gives them negative value on any future trade. I don't know why any GM would give a player option to a role player but my guess is Morey avoids those guys.
Here is my (slightly revised) incomplete list of possible TPE targets, along with 2014-15 salary: Tayshaun Prince $7.7 mil Wilson Chandler $6.8 mil Jason Richardson $6.6 mil Chuck Hayes $6.0 mil Chase Budinger $5.0 mil (will need to decline 2015-16 player option) Samuel Dalembert $3.9 mil Joel Anthony $3.8 mil Darrell Arthur $3.5 mil [Removed from previous list = Corey Brewer, as I don't see Minnesota giving him away.] These players are all a) overpaid and b) not very good. And, for the most part, c) not getting much playing time (since they aren't very good). Houston probably winds up using its Lin TPE to absorb a guy from this list (or some other guy, who a) sucks and b) is in the final year of his contract and gets paid a fair amount of money this season). The point here is that Houston will most likely NOT use the Lin TPE to acquire a rotation player. Instead, it will be used to acquire a relatively large expiring contract, and, two months later, this expiring contract will be packaged with one or more draft picks and/or one or more cheap, young prospects (non-rotation guys) such as Clint Capela and Nick Johnson. We may also see Jason Terry's and/or Kostas Papanikolaou's expiring contracts shipped out, as well, in January/February. Here is my projected timeline of events: 1) Late November/Early December: Houston clears a roster spot in anticipation of acquiring a player via the Lin TPE. Presumably Francisco Garcia or Troy Daniels gets waived. Probably Garcia. 2) Late November/Early December: Houston acquires one of the above players via the Lin TPE. Houston may send out a protected second round pick, or even receive a second round pick. The key for the other team is a) $ savings and b) they obtain their own TPE, 3) Early February: Houston ships out one or more of its three expiring contracts (again, Terry, Papanikolaou, and the player obtained via the Lin TPE) along with one or more draft picks and/or expendable, non-rotation prospects and/or draft rights to unsigned players for one, maybe even TWO good veteran players. THIS is what Morey is up to right now. He is not looking to acquire anybody good with this Lin TPE. Instead, he is setting himself up for a bigger trade or two (or THREE) right before the February trade deadline. Here is a list of the players who I think he is looking at: I) Veteran PGs Goran Dragic Rajon Rondo Ty Lawson Pablo Prigioni II) Veteran PFs Paul Millsap Kevin Garnett Mirza Teletovic III) Backup Cs Jordan Hill John Henson Alex Len Mason Plumlee Miles Plumlee Bismack Biyombo Meyers Leonard Tyler Zeller Jeff Withey Henry Sims Ideally, Daryl Morey acquires one from each category. These are the expendable pieces that can be used to acquire these three players: - Pelicans first round pick - Other draft picks - Expiring contract obtained in late November or early December - Jason Terry - Kostas Papanikolaou (preferably he is retained) - Donatas Motiejunas - Isaiah Canaan - Clint Capela - Nick Johnson - Tarik Black Here are three sample trades: 1) Tayshaun Prince (obtained via the Lin TPE), Donatas Motiejunas, Isaiah Canaan, and the Pelicans first round pick to Boston; Rajon Rondo and filler to Houston. 2) Jason Terry, Clint Capela, and 1-2 second round picks to Atlanta; Paul Millsap and filler to Houston. 3) Tarik Black, the draft rights to Sergio Llull, and 1-2 second round picks to Philly; Henry Sims to Houston (Sims is a nice player). Revised roster Starting lineup PG Rajon Rondo (36 minutes/game) SG James Harden (36 min/g) SF Trevor Ariza (32 min/g) PF Paul Millsap (32 min/g) C Dwight Howard (32 min/g) Key backups Patrick Beverley (24 min/g) Kostas Papanikolaou (16 min/g) Terrence Jones (16 min/g) Henry Sims (16 min/g)
good breakdown. I would also add Al Horford to the Power Forward list (even though he always plays out of position at C). As Clutch said in his podcast, he'd be ideal as a huge upgrade as starting power forward and a guy that can soak up backup Center minutes (which should be easier than starting Center minutes). I know some people have come to like terry and papanikolaou, but reality is that it's hard to get deals done without their salaries, and their production isn't irreplaceable. Terry's D is lacking and Papa's shooting has been really streaky. I want them to succeed here, but I wouldn't hold onto them if it meant passing up someone much better.
Thanks. You are probably right about Al Horford needing to be on my list of PF trade targets. However, he does not seem to be the same player from a couple of years ago, plus, like Lamarcus Aldridge, he appears to be overvalued by most, and we know that Daryl Morey is looking to acquire undervalued assets, not overvalued assets. And Horford is not loved by advanced stats. I think the price tag is too high. Also, he is older than people think. He is on the verge of getting grossly overpaid, a la Amare Stoudemire from a few years back. You are also probably right about Papanikolaou, he is probably a goner by Feb 20. Morey should be able to find an undervalued SF who can replace Papanikolaou as the backup SF. Houston is in win now mode. I do not see Morey worrying about the 2015 free agent class. I think he is going for it. Dwight Howard isn't getting any younger (or better!).
Someone explain what the point of losing draft picks to get this trade exemption was when the players we could target with it are worse than Lin and Lin had an expiring contract to begin with? Just another example of Morey wasting assets and needlessly downgrading the team.
