You keep saying backup, but I pretty much guarantee that they don't use him as a backup if he signs here. He's starting, and DMo would be coming off the bench. Given DMo's injury concerns last season, I think that's pretty much a lock to be the case.
They already have to compensate for Harden's laziness on defense. How many players is the team going to have to "compensate" for? You start DMo at PF because he has the all around better game. He's a plus defender and he can score from 3 and in the post. You bring Anderson off the bench to launch 3's.
Dmo is better player but Anderson will probably start. That's what they will promise him in order to sign him.
Well I'm not sure how valuable your guarantee is. I don't expect the Rockets to start inferior players again this season, I'd hope they would have learned their lesson after starting Jones last season.
2 years ago we sign Ariza for 8M I see Anderson and Ariza in a similar level as players more than 12M is bad for me
If you're bringing in Ryan Anderson and playing him $20 million a year (which he would likely get) and then you turn around and match a deal for DMo for far less money (also likely), then this team is starting Ryan Anderson next season. Plus, we don't even know what DMo's health situation is right now. He's likely to miss the Olympics. Over the course of the season, could DMo take the starting job back as the team figures out everyone's best role in D'Antoni's system? Sure. But if the Rockets sign Ryan Anderson, I can pretty much guarantee he'll be the starter on opening night.
The fascination with a veteran player with a bad back that doesn't defend the lane and has career averages of 8/4 is bizarre.
Fair enough, the Rockets do have a history of starting inferior players at the 4 so maybe they'll do so again. I mean I guess we can root for the Rockets to do something stupid if we want. Either way, if Ryan Anderson is the starter, the Rockets are screwed.
Or...D-Mo could be the starting center, with Capela off the bench. Those three could rotate at the PF/C spots. Just remember, the Rockets went on quite a run in 2014-15 with D-Mo starting at center. And that was with lesser PF options next to him.
I mean, I know they hired D'Antoni and all, but you don't think Anderson's incompetence on defense would be a problem for the team?
If DMo can stay healthy and is at 100 percent, regardless of whether he's starting, I think he's going to get plenty of minutes in the rotation next season. I actually agree with others that a healthy DMo playing at his peak is a better overall player than Anderson was last season. But we haven't seen that guy in over a year, and given how bad his back still seems to be, I don't know that we ever will.
That would be ideal..... but let's be honest ..... That would be the worst defensive post defense in the NBA.... The league would just install a green stop light in the lane at the Toyota Center. Donatas is a solid defender with a lane protector next to him.... but Anderson/DMO inside is scary.
Ryan Anderson is significantly better than D-Mo to this point in their careers. I like D-Mo's potential, but it's really not even close.
Why not just pay Leuer? Obviously not as offensively versatile, but he'd be a very nice player in MDAs system at a fraction of the cost. Grab Leuer, maybe throw an offer at Crabbe and/or Harkless, toss a massive 1 year deal to Marvin Williams or CLee, and get rolling.
A healthy DMo is arguably better than Anderson, yes. But when was the last time we got a healthy DMo playing at his peak for more than a small stretch of games? Say what you will about Anderson, who pretty much only gives you 60 games a season, but at least you can trust him to give you that. Right now, I definitely wouldn't bet on Motiejunas playing more than 60 games next year. I really hope I'm wrong. I love DMo's game and was glad when the deal to Detroit fell through. But I also think there's a very good chance that this injury prone version of him is the version the Rockets are going to get from now on.
