Upgrade from ryno whether it's a 3 or 4, Ariza plays bigger I don't see why he can't be a stretch 4 if ryno can. Millsap is ideal, if not Melo or unlikely but Hayward.
Gordon Hayward is the ideal wing player for this team. Man I hope we can somehow just get a meeting with him and let harden and MDA make there pitch. He's big athletic can play d playmaker rebound and best of all hit threes at 40%. This guy is the pro type for MDA at the small foward spot and he can play small ball four. I don't know how u do it but if you can keep harden bev Gordon Lou Anderson Capela and nene while adding him. The Rockets could compete with golden state.
Agreed Hayward is the #1 target... I think we should be able to give him the max if we move Ariza... Might have to move another piece too... I don't see that many places as potential destinations for him if he wants to contend.. Most contenders are maxed out... Utah, Boston and Houston make the most sense from a competitive standpoint and from a money standpoint
I think nene can alway sign again for the vet minimum assuming we're over the cap but I'm not 100% on that. I think nene will sign again for the minimum. He likes it here has a lot of friends in houston and was contemplating retirement but says the Rockets with this team rejuvenated his love for the game. He seems like a guy who does not need the money anymore and seems happy being here on this team and this role. Plus we let him rest whenever he wants from what I gather he tells them when he wants off and they never say no. That major loyalty from the rockets imo. He's a mentor to everyone on the team it seems also.
Does anyone know what our max cap space would be with only harden Anderson Lou Gordon bev Capela and nene at the minimum? Curious to see if we pawn off Ariza dekker Trez and nanu if we can get into the 25m range to atleast be in the ballpark we're we can make a competitive offer to Hayward. All those guys should be pretty easy to move I think they all have positive trade value.
You had me at Covington, then lost me when you said let Nene go. And Lou is more integral to this team than adding another Bev (Hill) in my opinion.
0% chance Hayward leaves. Focus attention on Paul George and/or Deandre Jordan. Or even griffin. Or D cousins. PG AND ONE OF THE LAST 3 mentioned. Picks. Ariza. Anderson. Capella. Dekker. All can be dangled.... We have to wait a year to sign them out right.... but they should look at dangling those pieces.
Nene isn't a rim protector, doesn't rebound defensively well enough. Lou is a really bad defender. That being said, both have been balling in the playoffs. They just create holes on our team with their weaknesses. They are elite offensive role players, when they are hot they make up for their short comings, when off it gets ugly and costly. If we opt to keep them, still would like to see a trade for Covington, then would hope we dump Anderson add sign a legit PF (Milsap/Ibaka/Griffin).
I know Cousins is a headcase, but perhaps the Beard can reign him in? Cousins is unstopabble on the inside. Coupled with our shooters, the offensive production would be off the charts. Lastly, if beating the Dubs is the ultimate goal, having Cousins working down low could be very interesting, as no team is likely to out shoot them in a playoff series.
I used to think bad things about this guy until some of his interviews. Turns out he does workout to try to tune his body for the game of basketball. But man does he make a whole lot of money. Don't know if he's worth it over this Capela/Nene combo barring any injuries. Nene is a beast for his age. He's like 2 years younger than my old fart ass and does remarkable things due to the dedication to stay in tuned.
I think we can use our room exception on him if we decide to go under the cap to sign a free agent. I'm pretty sure it's what we used to sign him this season. The room exception will be about 3 million, we can offer him either one or two years. which to me seems about the right value for bench vet who will be 35 year old, playing very limited minutes as well resting a good sum of games (this season he averaged under 18 mins, missed 15 games for rest). Like you said I'm sure he can find a little more else where, but he's been a great fit, we're one of the best teams in the league and he seems to be happy.
As today the cap is projected to be 102 Mill if i remember well so, minus those guys (pretty much 80 Mill -> but tbh i don't see Nene getting the minimum) we'll be left with basically 22 Mill in cap space which is not enough for Hayward, this salary might get you a Gallinari, Holiday i'd say...not a top tier free agent. Oh, and with very few players on the roster...that's what i was saying in the Ryan thread, it would be way less painfull to trade him alone than trade/renounce to basically 5/6 players... Ryan < Trevor + Lou + Sam + Trez + Nanu + Kyle
we're not gonna get anything close to a star dangling those dudes...we just don't have the assets to trade for a star we have decent young players, some ok vets, and useless picks signing PG in FA is the dream
Is harden eligible for another max extension this summer? I seen that OKC was going to offer westbrick a 5yr $200 mil extension this offseason. Can we do that with James?
True, we need front court players at this stage. I will even go further in that we really need to get a center who can score inside, rebound and play physical defense.
I totally agree with picking up Covington and Dedmon but, I really like our backcourt rotation. Good mix of offense and a touch of defense. Covington has really improved on the defensive end since his stint with the Rockets, though his 3-pt percentage has fallen off a bit. Dedmon can rebound and protect the paint which is something that the Rockets need desperately. Holmes, O'Quinn, Reddick, and Patterson would also be good pickups.
