just for comparison purposes, when the Lakers resign Howard, they'll be paying over 80 mil for their 4 best players in 13-14. Even with Nash being relatively cheap. Thunder "max contracts" just aren't comparable.
Thanks for answering my question. Yeah, it'd be great if Al Jefferson was a more accomplished passer and if he drew more fouls. Still, I wonder if he's being held to a different standard. His assists aren't any lower than Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, or even Yao's. Furthermore, he's basically shooting 50% on those contested shots...
well, most of those are Melo assists. They result from passes with no time left. His problem offensively isn't some lack of ability to pass. It's an attitude issue, like with Melo. He had some very nice passing games, when he focused on it. But he just doesn't do that typically. If he started his play as soon as he got the ball and actively looked for cutters, he'd save a lot of time, resulting in more good shots both for him and teammates. But he overholds it. Then if he doesn't get a good shot, he'll take a bad shot with a couple seconds left. Or sometimes he'll pass to a teammate for a bad desperation jumper. Some of those go in, resulting in assists. It also helps to keep his % relatively solid - not great, but solid. He's a very gifted player overall. If he changed his attitude offensively and defensively, he could be a perennial All Star. But that's not realistic to expect at this point IMO.
I think this is exactly right. They're gonna match...if it gets that far. And if it does go into restricted free agency and a matching situation, they're still going to control Harden for the time going forward. I think most of us would love to have Harden. Only way that happens is if something goes very sour in his relationship with the Thunder. Odds of that happening are very, very low. On another note, teams are finally getting smart about amnesty. Instead of trading for a guy like Perk, they know they can get him for a lot less money if he goes on amnesty. So teams are just waiting it out now. If we can't move Scola for anything of value without taking back a bad contract, I seriously doubt that OKC will be able to move Perk unless they deal sometime between now and the trade deadline in February. OKC knows this. So, expect them to deal him for some sort of expiring contract(s) at the deadline. Perhaps Portland bites off on his deal. Perhaps OKC flips Perk for Josh Smith (expiring). They'll have to do the deal at the trade deadline midseason, kinda like they did the Green/Perkins deal. Otherwise, if they wait until next offseason, then they'll be stuck with amnestying him most likely, and eating most of his salary. That's really the same thing as paying a $ for $ luxury tax.
Well I'll remain unconvinced! Harden isn't as essential to the Thunder as Durant or Westbroook, and probably not even as important as Ibaka. What they NEED from him is bench scoring. If they were simply to Amnesty Perkins, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot, since their setup requires a very good defensive big, and those things don't grow on trees, nor do they cost less than $8mill(ish) in the open market. I'll stick to my guns on this one. IF Lamb has a season where he shows he can score at NBA level, and if one of our 'young bigs' looks convincing (any of Jones, Motie, White or Patterson) THEN I could certainly see OKC swapping Harden for Lamb, a big and 2 firsts (one of which is lottery guaranteed - great way to add another piece for them). To their advantage, it's the kind of thing they could do on draft day 2013, allowing them to keep all their pieces for a championship run this year. Of course they'd get more value by making the trade prior to the deadline this season, but that wouldn't help them attack the championship...
I would assume the point in maxxing Harden would be to build a contender. And if one is building a contender, one doesn't want to be pulling the purse strings to save on a starting C surely? If the Thunder are going all in on salaries to contend, then good luck to them! They may as well max out Harden and pay tax - my assumption is that they'll continue in the same vein they were born in --> namely that they'll draft young pieces to add to the core, and only spend what they can't easily draft. IMO you can get a scoring bench guy in the lottery reasonably often. Even moreso if you actually trade for one, pick up another first, and solidify your bigs as well.
so basically you are saying that Perkins is a more important and harder to replace piece than Harden. Well, I simply disagree. That's basically like saying that the Spurs should've kept Rasho Nesterovic over Manu because Rasho was a center and Manu was coming off the bench.
It's not at all like saying that. Rasho has never impacted a team defensively like Perkins has. What I'm trying to say is that they really can't lose either piece if they want to be a contender. So they need to either pay tax, or find a way to replace one of them. To get a Perkins cheap is not easy, and to offload his contract simply by amnestying him means they are then stuck trying to pick up his replacement at the end of the draft or for veterans minimum. To replace Harden, they have the option of trading him for several nice pieces which can help the overall structure of their team. Clearly he is more valuable to OTHER teams than Perkins is, and so easier to move and get good value in return for. What I'm saying is that other teams can build around Harden, but OKC don't need to. So if they wanted to sell him for pieces, they could get a fairly decent compensation package. I'm assuming that Lamb and one of our bigs show they can play at NBA level. If Lamb has the potential to be a 15ppg scorer, then taking him, a useful big, a lotto pick and another first round pick is NOT a bad package. Yes, another team gains a star, but OKC fills their need cheaply (bench scorer) gains another rotation player cheaply, and has 2 draft picks to potentially bring in 2 more rotation players (heck, the lotto one might be pick 4 - they could be drafting another Westbrook). Not as bad a package as you're making it out to be. I reiterate my premise that OKC would be unwilling to take on as much salary, and so looking for the cheaper alternatives (AND Lamb + one other guy pan out well)
and what if they use this lottery pick on another Jeff Green or another Cole Aldrich? Lets be realistic. they are already building around him. He's giving them 30 min+ a game of a elite guard play. Why does it matter if he starts or not? You can't replace that with anyone who can score 15 ppg and say it's good enough. They are building around him more than they are around Kendrick Perkins. You are painting Perkins as this all around defensive beast Ben Wallace type. He's not, he's very flawed and limited. He's been a disappointing, overpaid and forgettable signing for OKC more often than not.
It would not surprise me one bit, if we try to trade for big-time players during the trading deadline. I believe these past few offseasons, we've been shorthanded in getting the player we want and most likely we'll get someone this trading deadline this upcoming season than through free-agency 2013.
Most likely the Rockets won't be able to pull of a big name during FA. Their best bet is drafting a marquee player through the draft. Though the chances in that are low but if the Rockets are one of the worst team this year, they have a chance to get a top 5 pick. They can also trade up the draft with their high pick and probably another pick or future pick for players like Shabazz or Nerlens Noel. That is the best way to jump start this team with a future star rookie along with our young talented players. The growing process is painful but if the Rockets have enough patience and don't try to rush things they can slowly build this team into a contender with the right young talent and players. They first though need to draft a player with great talent and the most upside. Along with the Raptors lottery pick they can also get another high quality pick. Until next year around May is when you know what players are top 5 material. The Raptors lottery pick gives the Rockets options. I think they will most likely use it to draft a good player or if they have a top 3 or even top 5 pick, they can use that Raptors pick along with some of our young talented players in a trade for a more establish player or they can move up in the draft. That would give the Rockets 2 top 10 draft picks. Even though I much rather trade that Raptors pick for a top 5 pick would make more sense. But with the open cap space, young talented players like Lamb, Donatus, White and Jones, and high draft picks, the Rockets have so many different options. To be honest, I am glad the Rockets didn't make the trade for Howard or Bynum. With Howard you are not 100% he would stay here or not and Bynum knee issues is a red flag. Without that trade going through, the Rockets have more options for their future. As of right now, the Rockets seem like one of the worst team in the league but they do have one of the brightest future.
Love wants to go to a contending team, why would he go to the Rockets lol? unless our rookies all put up 20 ppg or something, he won't come here. he has a better chance at winning with minnesota
they may, or they may not... anyway, it's not about who competes this year. his option is up in 2015. that's 3 seasons away. this is all about who's who in 2015 and going forward from that.
