Horford should be the number one priority now, it's clear KD isn't going anywhere. Marvin Williams would be a nice get to, Dion Waiters has impressed me this post season with his defense, both off the ball and on. His offensive game is still below average and he takes some bad shots but I am liking his defense.
How about an offseason that works like this: Trade Brewer and KJ Mcdaniels for cap space (additional 11m) Total cap space 55mil Howard opts out but resigned at 4/70 mil Trade Ariza for Jeff Teague Sign Parsons 4/60 mil Sign Horford 4/84 mil Sign Jared Dudley with MLE 2/12 mil Pick up option on DMO Howard/Capella Horford/Dmo/Beasley/Harrell Parsons/Dudley/Dekker Harden/ Free agent signed with LLE Teague/Beverly Three point shooting with starting lineup just got upgraded even with Horford. Additional shot creators with Parsons and Teague to help Harden. Bench is versatile with players who can score(Beasley & Dmo) Defend ( Capella & Beverly)
I'd think Blake would be the most attainable he's been at this point...although I'd agree we don't have the assets to straight deal with him maybe it becomes a three way deal... HOU gets Griffin NYK gets Capela, Harrell, Rivers, 2016 HOU 2nd round pick, 2017 HOU 1st round pick LAC gets Melo, Afflalo Some form of that seems to appeal to all teams involved...Melo can join CP3 (they're friends), NYK sheds salary, LAC sheds "troublesome" Griffin while adding his replacement and Afflalo - we get a legit third star. Sign Whiteside after that and I'd be intrigued. Bev Harden Ariza Griffin Whiteside JVG at coach - defensive woes would be resolved.
No kidding, we have junk parts with little upside. Sign and trade with Howard or dealing Beasley, Capella, and draft picks are our only shots. -That won't give you Butler or Griffin.
Idea #1 1) Let Dwight Howard walk - turn focus on Hassan Whiteside for our new center. He's younger, cheaper, and can be just as effective. 2) Sign Mike Conley - we need a PG with some experience on his belt. Someone that isn't afraid to take charge, especially during close game situations. We need someone to make sure we don't run the "give ball to Harden and move" play every f***ing close game...plus Conley is pretty good on the perimeter, has nice defense, and excellent FT shooting. 3) Sign Horford for our PF spot - I think we desperately need another dominant 'big' next to our center. I feel like this will sky rocket our inside scoring, inside defense, rebounds, and easily take more pressure off our perimeter shooters. 4) Forget KD and keep/trade Ariza/Brewer - as much as I want to see him in a Rockets jersey, I just have the feeling he's definitely not going anywhere now that OKC has found their chemistry. With that said, we should keep Ariza / Brewer since releasing them won't free up cap space. So, if we can't trade them and we should use them. 5) Start Beasley at SF - I think he's easily a better shooter inside, mid, and outside and makes more clutch plays than Ariza.
It's a good effort... it's not laughable by any means. But you have to think NY first would say no, and perhaps even LAC. But if something like that went down, you wouldn't be completely shocked, because of the salary shedding... and because of Melo's no trade clause. So if NYK really want to consider moving Melo, you know he's not going to say ok to a trade to many places. LAC, Miami, Boston (maybe), Cleveland... not many other choices. Don't think Boston would want him anymore. Not sure what Miami would offer that would have value, and Cleveland doesn't seem like a good fit. Melo to LAC makes sense. That said, I think NYK would just prefer something like JJ Redick, Pierce, Rivers ... with another third team to facilitate. And certainly you'd think LAC would prefer that... though I personally think Redick is an underrated player and might add more win value to a team like the Clippers than Melo at this point. Anyway... relative good job at proposing something that isn't completely ludicrous!!
No, they won't. I really wish Morey and Les would accept that any shot at assembling a "Big Three" went out the window this season when Dwight declined badly and the entire team played like garbage all year. There are only 2 realistic approaches they can take this summer: 1) Try to reload through free agency. And by that, I don't mean Horford who is very unlikely to come here given there are far better options for him out there. But rather target the 2nd and 3rd tier free agents(i.e. Ryan Anderson). Those guys will cost far less than Horford and we may be able to add 3 or even 4 players of that caliber to surround Harden with. We'd still be a team with only one superstar, but we'd potentially have a lot of depth and talent. Couple that with a quality coaching hire(hopefully JVG) and that could lead to a quick turnaround. 2) If they strike out in free agency, then rebuild completely. We have to meet a minimum cap threshold, so trade for expiring contracts that other teams are looking to dump and get them to throw in future first and second rounders and maybe even a young prospect. That'll maintain cap flexibility going forward and allow the team to stockpile picks and assets. If Harden wants no part of this, he may have to be dealt as well. But obviously get as much as possible if it comes to that. My nightmare scenario is a replay of the post-Dream/pre-T-Mac era where Les was so desperate to avoid losing that he gave Rudy and Carroll carte blanche to hand out huge contracts to a bunch of mediocre role players like Cato, Mo Taylor, Moochie, and Shandon Anderson and trade for washed up former stars like Glen Rice. I'd hate for the Rockets to doom themselves to another 3-4 years of mediocrity because we have an owner who'd rather field a 41-45 win team than build through the draft.
A trade for Blake Griffin would probably involve Motiejunas (extend qualifying offer and match RFA offer sheet); why keep DMo if you can get Griffin? Bobby Marks says the Clips need: So, you add KJ McDaniels to the trade with Motiejunas (and perhaps throw in Ariza if that's what it takes to match salaries); add some draft picks, as necessary.
