Rockers are huge downgrade from clippers bro lol. clips now have the best bench in the west. ALso lakers are already overrated before taking the court. their best bench player is antwan jamison
I think just about anyone would prefer Cousins, but I believe the consensus is there is no way Sacramento would deal him.
I dont disagree .... My point was that Im just not sold on a single FA in the next class being worth max dollars , tying up the caps space just to say you have a star .... The majority of the next class of FA's arent what I call Alpha Dogs , they are secondary guy's to those alpha dogs.
The only guy I'd want here is Jefferson, who would bring some post scoring and rebounding at the 4 or 5 spot. If he wants to come in at a reasonable price, then he's a no-brainer. Evans needs the ball in his hands and wouldn't fit well with Lin, IMO. Also, it's really looking like the Rockets are betting Lamb will be ready to step into the starting spot by next season. The only 2-guard I'd go after that looks to be on the market is Harden. And why get Smith when you already have Terrence Jones, a similar player who may be able to produce at Smith's level in a couple of seasons, and is still on his rookie contract (Smith will likely command $12 million per).
I think Lamb has more potential upside .... I dont want a quick fix tothis team , I want a fix that takes us into the next decade. Give me Lamb and an early pick in the next draft. Josh Smith .... I Like the guy's game but the Rockets have both Jones and Motejunas if one of them develops , that money is better spent elsewhere.
Lin, Douglas Lamb Smith, Parsons, White Jefferson, Jones Asik, Motiejunas or Lin Lamb, Forbes Evans, Parsons, White Smith, Jones Asik, Motiejunas or Lin Lamb, Forbes Evans, Parsons, White Jefferson, Jones Asik, Motiejunas After Lamb gets the starting job, Evans can get the 3 job and the backup point guard slot. White and Jones can fight to get into the rotation. Very athletic and defensive lineups. With a year to gel, 2015 could be the year we make a deep playoff run provided that our rooks, free agents turn out to be good. Plus, Parsons would be 6th man of the year. All speculation though and rebuilding completely with our rookies could also be successful imo.
I guess I'm missing something when ppl say Jefferson can't be a franchise player to build around. Dude's a force on offense and draws double teams. That's what you build around, no? Guys who draw double teams. Right now, we maybe have one player who can draw a double team - Jeremy Lin. Also, we have no real offense from the frontcourt. Well, D-Mo may get there. Jefferson's the guy that makes me enthusiastic after this whole Dwightmare fiasco. But I don't mind waiting.
I don't think your deal would work... They'd get more than that for Harden. I also think we could offer more and less. No need to send Martin to match salary. Could do something like Lamb, Patterson, Tor pick and Bobcats pick. At the same time flip Martin + Morris + Dal pick for Jefferson.
Harden for Lamb, Toronto pick and a 2nd, you mean? that's not overpaying, that's buying for 30 cents / dollar.
'Could do something like Lamb, Patterson, Tor pick and Bobcats pick" lamb and patterson is what he wrote
you want someone who draws a double team AND takes advantage of it. Big Al: step 1. gets the ball. step 2. waits 10 seconds. step 3. starts a post move. step 4. double team comes. step 5. triple team comes. step 6. Big Al throws up a contested shot. Last year, he started to pass a bit more than in years past. But still, it's not enough considering the time he wastes with the ball and the opportunities to pass. Then you add his defensive deficiencies and overall softness. As part of a deep, talented starting 5, he's a nice piece. As the cornerstone piece, meh.
i know, but Patterson is not a huge piece. I wanted to write "Lamb and Toronto pick", I didn't mean to add the 2nd pick either, I added it out of inertia. The thing is that Patterson, early 2nds, late 1sts = not bad pieces. But they are basically sweeteners when talking about big time players like that. They just cloud the picture. Noone will trade Harden for 10 Pattersons and 10 2nds. You have to look at the core of the deal, and "Lamb + Toronto pick" is pretty crappy in terms of a rising great 23 year old like Harden.
Thing is that Harden most likely won't be a part of the future with OKC for salary reasons. They seem to have made their choice by paying Ibaka (less than max), they won't pay 3 max players on the same team (in that market). So what they need is the scoring punch that Harden brought. They can achieve this in part by bringing in Lamb, and Patterson is a nice shooting PF. So far the Thunder don't really have a similar offensive big man. Adding a guaranteed lotto pick (from Tor) enables them to plug the gap again by rounding out the team in whichever way they please. If it turns out to be pick 4-5 then they scored! And a late first rounder again gives them the chance to bring in a one-dimensional offensive player if they choose. The thing is that OKC HAVE their stars (Westbrook and Durant) and need to compliment them with a rounded roster. This is all assuming they won't (or can't) have 3 max players on the roster. If they will go that way, it's a moot discussion, and Harden remains with them. If not, then it's a fairly nice compensation for a team who believes in drafting 'pieces' isn't it?
there's no reason not to. These aren't Kobe/Howard/Joe Johnson/DWill max deals we are talking about. All of their max deals are much smaller. look at it this way. If they pay Harden max in 2013-14, they'll only be paying ~59 mil combined to Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and Harden. Leaving them plenty of room to fill out the roster. They already have two very cheap good role players in Thabo and Nick Collison + some guys on rookie deals. They need to find a couple more with their draft picks or exceptions. Their problem is getting rid of Perkins. They have no need to go into luxury tax otherwise. This isn't a question of Ibaka vs. Harden. It's a question of Perkins vs. Harden. Why would they give up Harden in that situation? They have so many options. Amnesty Perkins. Look for takers. If there are none, combine him with some picks or prospects and look for takers again. Trading Harden for pennies would be an inexcusable move.
