I think there is no going back. GSW is worse and I do not think Rockets really know how competitive New Wild West has become. Until they go head to head, toe to toe.
He checks a lot of boxes for us. Long, lanky and quick defender that is perfectly happy sprinting the floor and standing in the corner. VERY smart defender. Gets over picks, helps the helper, etc.
I agree -- if he's available for the minimum, I would 1000% sign him. However, at a skinny 6'6" he would be much more useful defending guards than wings. We already have CP3, Gordon, and Rivers who do that at a fairly high level. I'm much more worried about the forwards in LA and right now we only have Tucker/House/Clark that have the length/thiccness to guard those guys
I’m honestly not sure the Rockets know what they are doing. Salary cap constraints, an owner an GM that imo are not on the same page. Seems as though MDA is a dead man walking...wait...is he? Front office doesn’t even know that answer. I could go on and on, but I won’t. For the first time in a longtime I feel like there is a real lack of direction due mostly to differences that start up top.
There is some footage of him defending Lebron on YouTube. Pretty good work honestly. He is wiry strong like Jrue. I agree though, he is more of a 1-2-3 defender, not a 3-4-5 defender. Still, I think Mike could use a guy that runs like he does. Knows his role and plays really hard.
I'm there with ya but the most frustrating part of this summer is the soundbites that Morey and Tad Brown provided to the media leading up to the start of free agency and then it's all been radio silent since because they couldn't walk the walk. I can't even blame that on Tilman either since Morey was ready to talk and tweet even before Fertitta's arrival. As much as this board can be divided at times, there seems to be a general consensus that we know how limited Morey and the Rockets are in terms of adding or trading for players going into FA. Basically our expectation and hope was a little bit tempered. Unfortunately it became a slap in the face of the fans (especially the knowledgeable or tenured ones) to get on radio shows or TV shows and basically promise huge changes only to, as of 7/9, have nothing to show for all that talk. That, to me, is not cool at all. I'm still waiting on Morey getting that key free agent with our MLE he promised us a couple of weeks ago lol.
If it breaks down completely Morey should throw some of the mle at him. Very good three point shooter and would solidify the sf position allow Morey to focuson upgrading pf (Love) through trade. I'm curious as to what his injury is though. Edit: Hip and back
Yeah I don’t disagree with this. Just wondering if some of what Morey and Tad said was echoing Tilman’s big mouth, or maybe blind confidence thinking free agents would take less money to play with Harden. Either way as I and others have stated all offseason, just shut up and work. Talk AFTER you’ve done something important. There was too much money available out there to think guys would take considerably less. I’m still dumbfounded but completely grateful that Rivers did the Rockets a huge solid.
I think they had intel that Jimmy wanted to be here. Harden said he knew what we needed to do. He and Butler were talking throughout the offseason. My guess is Butler changed his mind.
lol you know what's funny? I'm b****ing about them talking too much and not doing anything to back up that talk but right now they're dead silent..... I guess I'll have to pre-order my throwback Westbrook jersey soon. lol
Butler changing his mind is understandable. Sh*t happens right? But it's not like Morey hasn't seen this happen before so why not be silent about it until the trade actually, you know, goes through? Did he learn nothing from the Bosh-at-the-11th-hour fiasco?
The Bosh thing was radically different than this. Bosh committed to the Rockets and then Miami gave him an offer that they had previously said no to. In this case I think it's very likely that Butler told Harden he wanted to be here if we could make it work. There was no "unless Miami wants me." That's my guess. The language from Morey echoed the Chris Paul pursuit. They used the exact same phrasing about "confidence" (@Deuce ). I genuinely believe that Butler told Harden he wanted to be here unequivocally and then "screwed" us. Whether that was because Wade was working him and he just didn't tell Harden and then changed his mind or whether it was because the plan was Heat all along but they needed Morey to be the one to get Sixers to get on board with SnT because they wouldn't have done it for the Heat at first...who knows.
I don't know that it was Butler changing his mind as much as it was Pat Riley letting him know that he could get him there if Jimmy was interested. Remember, Butler's love affair with the Heat was well-documented even during his time in Minnesota. Riley just wasn't willing to pony up what was necessary for a deal at the time. I'm guessing Riley knew that acquiring Butler in the off-season as a FA would be much easier, and require less assets for him to give up. I think the Rockets were always a Plan B or C for Jimmy, and he was going to give Miami first crack at making it happen for him.
Could be, like I said, I have no clue. Reading the public language though, my personal interpretation is that the Rockets believed it was a done deal.
