I just can't imagine superstars running to play with Butler and if another disgruntled star shakes loose I'm not seeing anything that's going to blow teams away. The Butler love as of late has been getting crazy, he's always been a complimentary star, and I think a year in Miami will reveal them to be a mediocre team that will be hard to court the true batman they are looking for.
I mean I'm there with you--Butler ain't the guy you want to be your centerpiece. That being said, the allure of Miami and no state income tax matters to players, as Tomball Jimmy has shown us.
I rather have the flexibility of having cap space to make the team better rather than not have the cap space and hope that the vet minimum players we bring in outplay their contracs.
Biggest thing is that even if they will be able to get a big name (personally i think they will, i don't like Riley but he knows how to make things happen, Spoelstra is a great coach, Miami is Miami...i have no doubt someone will join), the next free agency just doesn't have great players like DVauthrin said so, they likely won't be able to upgrade enough to compete, Derozan, Draymond, Conley...
I feel like it's more than Miami, it's Riley and Spoelstra, before them the Heat were an irrelevant franchise mostly. I feel like they are reaching to stay relevant here, maybe that's just BITTERMAN speaking but it made a lot more sense for teams like the Lakers and Rockets to go after Butler but the Heat and their fans act as if they nabbed a 24 year old star. They should have made this move for DLo, not Butler. I wonder if this Heat team even makes the playoffs.
Seems all the vitriol towards Morey is blinding people and they all forget about this. Portland, Utah, Denver, Lakers, they all improved! And we didn't! Screw you Morey!!! Sure, they all improved, but I still think the Rockets are better than all of them. I'm still most scared of Golden State after they turn that DLo contract into good supporting pieces, and then obviously the Lakers if they end up with Kawhi.
I’d rather keep Chris Paul than trade him for that awful return to free up money for Draymond Green, Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan next summer. I like Draymond, but he’s never going to be the second best player on a championship team. As for Jaylen Brown, he hasn’t shown enough to warrant the max, and Ainge is likely to match any offer below that. Finally, none of those options make the Rockets better than they are today.
So you rather keep a declining Chris Paul on a max contract than to take a flyer on a young player like Jaylen Brown? You know what option is not going to make the Rockets better in the summer of 2020 than they are today? Keeping Chris Paul and his max contract.
I agree with you......... but as we have learned players do not always make what appear to be rational decisions. For example KD going to the Nets over the Lakers.... or other free agent signings.
I agree with you in theory. However, it depends on how likely you believe the Rockets are to compete this season and whether the Rockets believe they can move Paul next season if they choose to.
Every forum poster thinks they JUST KNOW a players motivations. It is different for each player. The motivations are not always the *best basketball fit* This isn't some NBA 2K simulation. These are people
If I am Morey, I might consider targeting Harkless with NGtds (Davis, Chiozza, Hartenstein, Clark, Frazier). I would hate to see Hartenstein blow up in Miami, but Harkless and Gordon off the bench would be a powerful combo.
If taking a flyer on Jaylen Brown means giving him a max deal that he hasn’t earned, yes. Anything reasonable, Ainge will match, so it’s a moot point. Chris Paul is still a better player than Jaylen Brown today, and it’s not that close, either. Finally, I believe the Rockets are one of the few teams capable of winning the championship this year, so I’m certainly not blowing the team up for that crop of free agents next summer.
But getting back Dragic, Johnson and Olynyk isn't the end of the world in terms of talent. Dragic isn't a bad starting point guard and Johnson/Olynyk solves our front court issues on defense and rebounding. A team of: Capela Johnson/Olynyk Tucker/House Harden/Gordon Dragic/Rivers Should still be formidable. It won't win 60 games but still a very competitive and balanced team.
