What position do we need the most: Point Guard or Power Forward?

I actually don't think we need a point guard. I think James Harden is our point guard. I'd just as soon see them go get a shooting guard that can shoot 3's, play solid defense (on point guards) and handle the ball some too. Wes Matthews comes to mind and Aaron Afflalo come to mind. Maybe Jimmy Butler?

Matthews has an injury that may forever change his game. Butler is going to command near max money. Not sure how available Afflalo is. But I wanted to give some example of the type of player I think we need to add.

That said, if a big defensive point guard that can knock down the three is available, go get him!

 

PG by a landslide. So obivous that none of our PGs can guard, or even stay with him by a big margin.

 

DMO is gonna be a Pau Gasol. Automatic from 15 ft in. He's gonna come back so complete next year. If Howard accepts his role like DJ - Rebound and get lobs maybe occasional post up. Dmo is gonna average a double double for the season. We shore up the PG position (preferably one that knows how to guard Curry) and we will be champions next year.

 

We lost because of terrible perimeter defense, and interior rebounding. Get rid of Jason Terry, get rid of Dwight Howard.

Dwight Howard is the dumbest player in the NBA. He get out rebounded by Curry, when all he had to do was NOT WATCH THE BALL IN THE AIR, and BOX OUT! He makes TERRIBLE decisions on defense, especially once the first line of D falls (terry) and he has to decide wether to stay on his own man, or switch. He usually does a half-ass job at both, and they convert.

Dwight, you're just not that smart.
He is too dumb to be relied upon.

 

I agree. Dwight needs to play his role. I worry that this dumbass is too stupid to do that much even.

 

A playmaking PG who can get Harden some easy buckets along with our other players. I believe Harden needs to learn how to play off the ball. Run curls off screens and catch and shoot. Harden also needs to consistent hit his perimeter jump shots. Definitely needs to work on it this summer.

Rockets need more ball movement and less ISOs. Until they do, they will come up short.

 

Definitely PG. This might sound a little foolish, but I think we just need a good basketball player there next to Harden. In other words, the 3&D or the secondary playmaker role will work. We need better production from that spot, and it'll be a fit. (Provided that whoever it is can shoot a little). Here's some possible pairings with Harden that could be available:

Available: Ty Lawson, Kyle Lowry, Brandon Jennings, Aaron Afflalo

Semi-available: George Hill, Jrue Holiday, Danny Green, Wes Matthews, Alec Burks, Darren Collison, Ben McLemore

Not likely: Avery Bradley, Eric Bledsoe, CJ McCollum, One of the Atlanta PGs, Kemba Walker, Ricky Rubio

 

I don't see mcfail can lead any team to an nba title, not even a roster of usa olympic team.

 

how can you think we need a pf? we got two good backups in smith and jones, and a starter in dmo. desperately need a pg. prigs is our only real pg

 

I know that it would be very difficult but I think we need to upgrade both. I am a DMO fan but in my opinion he isn't a starting 4 on a championship caliber team. We need a four much like draymond green. He provides energy, has 3 point range, can handle the ball, and is a great defender. I know Dmo is DEVELOPING, but we need consistency now. There were numerous times DMo looked lost and out hustled. Every power forward we have seen in the playoffs were better than dmo with the exception of dirk. If Morey can trade him for upgrade then he should make the trade. Secondly, we need a playmaking pg that can create offense for others. Our current offense relies too much on harden, once he is stopped our offense turns sluggish. Lastly, the only untouchables on our roster should be Harden, Howard, and maybe Ariza

 

Just a playmaker/scorer off the bench. At the 1 or the 2. when healthy our team is a championship team.

 

I don't think people realize the cap situation the Rockets are in. They have $52.3m tied up in Harden , Howard , Ariza , DMo , T_ones & Capela. Thats not a bad group to start with but it doesn't leave much to work with in filling the roster out with quality players when the cap is expected to be roughly $66m.

It's going to be real difficult to add significant talent to this team. They'll almost have to operate from above the cap from the outset of the offseason.

They still have a couple other contracts on the books - KPap , Johnson , Dorsey & Prigioni that put them at about $61m for next season and that doesn't take into account cap holds for PatBev or KJ which should put them right at the cap if PatBev qualifies as a starter in terms of his cap hold.

It will be difficult to fix both point and pf issues and retaining a solid bench with the assets and cap exceptions they have to work with.

 

If the Rockets can attract the interest of a big time free agent (Aldridge, Love or whoever Morey thinks qualifies as such), Morey will not hesitate to dump Ariza's salary somewhere or find a way to construct a sign-and-trade. Ariza is good, but it's a lot easier to find an Ariza, or at least a knock-off version of him, than it is to get an elite player.

The most important and difficult part about landing a free agent is to get the player's interest, the cap clearing part is secondary and can often be done on the spot.

Golden State in summer 2013 is one such example. They had no cap room going into free agency, but managed to clear $20M+ off their books by using a couple of draft picks to dump the contracts of Biedrins, Rush and R.Jefferson on Utah, which enabled them to sign Andre Iguodala. They could have made a deal to land Dwight Howard, too (either instead of Iguodala or maybe even in addition to him), if Dwight had chosen them as a free agent.

You are right about not enough assets to fill all the needs, but I bet Morey goes after a 3rd elite player first. After that, if he needs to try and luck into some low-priced useful player (like he did with Smith and Brewer this year), he'll take those chance.

 

Agreed. Matthews, Afflalo, Dunleavy, Carroll...there are quite a few wings that fill our hole. I fully expect we can grab 1 of them assuming we make a couple minor cap flexibility moves.

 

We need to fill the holes of this team with proven players that know how to win, bottom line. Next year is going to be even more competitive in the west than this past year. OKC is going to be healthy and hungry, San Antonio is well San Antonio, Dallas is looking to make a splash in free agency, and GS will most likely comeback with the same roster. Plus, you still have LAC and Portland coming back at full health as well. I could easily see Memphis falling off due losses in free agency, but next year is going to be tough and roster retooling will be needed.

 

We need a power guard and point forward

 

Morey is always a step ahead. Don't be surprised if KJ McDaniels becomes Ariza's replacement

 

The team will need to sign KJ first. He is a free agent and teams will have interest in him at well above the minimum.

 

I recommend everyone listens to the Rockets' discussion in the latest Lowe Post podcast:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/archive?id=10528553

They are 100% correct. Morey always has cap space. By the way, I like how Bill Simmons and his guests refer to Morey as simply "Daryl" like he's some Brazilian superstar.