You're forgetting, though, that Harrell and Onuaku were 2nd round draft picks. It's not likely that they'll waive guys they just drafted in favor of an undrafted free agent. However, if the Rockets don't sign DMo, it's still totally possible that they keep all three of them.
I'm not forgetting anything. Draft status doesn't matter to me, at all. Wiltjer is a better player than onuaku for sure and likely more effective than Harrell too. Honestly, what are people seeing in Harrell right now? i understand if you wanna say the 3 ball from wiltjer has a little flashiness to it but he's hitting them like few can.
Defense, shot-blocking, rebounding and fantastic screens. A nasty attitude to compete every night while Wiltjer does the lazy victory trot back on D. Send Brewer packing...
Expendable doesn't mean I don't like him. Just means that they are players that have the potential to be moved or cut IF NECESSARY. That's why I say Prigioni is more likely to get cut since his value is needed much less than the potential value Harrell could POTENTIALLY give this season. Harrell has had some nice minutes in the preseason, but let's be realistic about the competition he's seen. The way the Rockets are structured to play now there is what I refer to as "The Big Spot" which Harrell is now 3rd string. Anderson, Wiltjire, and Ariza are playing the 4 but in this offense it is just another skilled perimeter player. Harrell has many many weaknesses that would keep him on the bench in a normal NBA system, but playing the 5 or "Big Spot" in D'Antoni's offense he's got all the space in the world to do what he does best (dunk & catch & score in the P&R), and set screens. Playing the 4 spot in McHale/JBB's offense was problematic to say the least. With Nene's injury history, having Harrell will likely be key. But the fact that he's third string, and will likely be 4th string If/when D-Mo returns just automatically puts him on the "expendable" list IMO. He's not for sure secure, but he has a really good shot at being secure & heavily relied on this season.
D'Antoni has made it clear in the preseason that he can use Montrezl, he even said those exact words I believe. D'Antoni had Trez as competing neck and neck with Capela last I looked. Whatever "string" you want to attach to him is meaningless as a coach. There are always times in games where you can see that you need a spark from one of your bigs, and Trez is perfectly suited for that 5-10 minute energy roll nightly. Not only that, but I am far away from trusting Ryno/Nene's health this season. In that we agree. Kill Brewer!
Wiltjer looks like a great shooter and deserves a spot on the team, but people are going overboard. The sample size is small and entirely preseason. What can he do when he's not hitting 53% from downtown? Because that percentage is not sustainable. Hell, Steve Novak has shot a blistering 43% from downtown for his career and is barely in the league. If Wiltjer wants to be more than a specialist he'll need to rebound, defend, and pass; all things he couldn't even do on the college level. Plus, it looks like he's running on prosthetic legs. How does an athlete look that awkward while moving?
he more than held his own at the college level, especially when we made the decision to go to Gonzaga. Again, its been said before he's not going to wow you athletically and never will. He stays within his own lane and doesn't try to do too much. He fundamentally is a solid player for this current team. People criticizing him for all these other things that he should work on can say the exact same thing about guys who have been in the league for years. Just nitpicking over an undrafted FA. Wiltjer is so much more versatile than Novak. not much of a comparison at all.
Don't be too sure. Boston is looking like they may have to waive RJ Hunter or James Young. We're going to have to waive somebody unless we make a big trade.
I'm with you. I like Harrell's hustle, but he can't shoot. He's basically a poor man's Faried. But I do think this comes down to Onuaku vs. Wiltjer and Wiltjer's ability to stretch the floor is a skill everyone covets right now. That should be more valuable than a 3 year project.
We do criticize players in the NBA for those shortcomings, even on our own team. Look at the Ryan Anderson signing thread, for example. That he couldn't rebound or defend was a common complaint. Anderson is far more mobile than Wiltjer and a proven NBA scorer, but those criticisms are totally valid. And it's not just because Anderson is highly paid, as Dekker and Harrell are on rookie contracts and also get rightfully critiqued. If we can't compare him to Novak, who would be more appropriate? Ryan Anderson? Dirk Nowitski?
I'm pretty sure he has more threes made in the preseason than our entire bench last season. Feels that way. He can shoot the hell out of the ball but I do worry about his other skill sets. He is pretty much a taller Troy Daniels with a little post game. Defensively, he is pretty horrible Effort is not always there, especially getting back on defense or making the right defensive rotations. Rebounding is poor. Comparison sake, what is he? Matt Bonner, lesser Matt Bullard..? Those names really don't excite me as a player we should hype up as much as we have. I don't think he is ever going to be a true rotational player. I really wish that Rob Covington worked out here. His skill set would be prefect with this team and a good three point shooter and pretty good defender.
definitely but these shortcomings are often just redundant and unnecessary. it's like nowadays if you're not considered a lockdown defender, you're put in the category of not being able to play any defense at all. Not saying this towards you specifically. Just a general observation I've noticed around here. You can still be fundamentally sound and solid in areas and that's ok. The criticism of RA not being this big rebounder or great defender is just another example. So what if he's not elite at those two. Who else is and can do what he does? Atleast he's capable of both regards. He's conscious at boxing out and gives effort on the defensive end with hands up. There's probably only a handful of guys that are considered lockdown type guys in the league and you can count on one hand how many of those are actual threats offensively.
I haven't gotten a chance to see too much of the Rockets this preseason so I couldn't really formulate an opinion on KW. From @heypartner's KW video thread, he looks way more comfortable/confident/looser than he did in the Summer League. I initially didn't think he had a chance making this team, but looking how far he has come in terms of comfortability on the court, I think he seriously has a chance. KW plays way looser than Novak ever did. Novak played a bit stiff.
People are frustrated with Harden's defense and he's an MVP-level player offensively. I don't think some shortcomings can be easily overlooked. Our defense has been a really sore spot for years and likely will be this year too. It's not an issue for top teams in the league, so if we want to be on that level we need players that are capable on that side of the ball to put next to Harden. How much did we pay Parsons over his career here? About 4 million altogether? Even when he was a darling here we all knew he was a crappy defender after his rookie year. It cost us games, it helped us lose that Portland series. As good as he was offensively, his defense was that much worse. You don't have to be a lockdown defender, but you can't be terrible. We'll see how we fare with Anderson at PF this year, but I can guarantee you that his defense will affect us negatively.
I think he's capable enough to be a wash if anything. He's not going to completely stop anyone but I think he's solid enough to not be some complete negative. Overall the league isn't based off frontcourt play. If anything hurts teams it always starts with the perimeter. But then again we know defense isn't the priority here based on this team's philosophy going into the year. We just have to hope they make it more about team defense which is how it should be and not how each person is individually.
Intrigued by his ability to spread the floor and draw a big man away from the basket in certain situations and match ups. With his form he looks like a knockdown 3 point shooter and good god did this team miss that last year. Nice pickup by Morey.
