there really is no one left in the free agent market at a position of need except Paul Gasol, who is hurt and probably more of a center at this point in his career, which we don't really need. Presumably he can still stretch it, but last time i saw him he was kind of a statue. But honestly, there really is no one left. The rockets address their 3/4 issues through trade or not at all. The Bennett signing may turn out to be really consequential if he makes the team. Right now he's actually the only real 4 we've got.
I see the depth chart and minutes distribution like this: Capela (30) - Chandler (12) Tucker (32) Ego (32) - House (16) Harden (36) - green (0) Rus (36) - Austin (24) I see us as very thin in the front court. there are 22 minutes remaining at the 4/5. and if you consider that chandler only plays half the games, that creates 34 minutes at the 4/5 every other game. I think we can focus more on a 4 since tucker can slide to the 5 for the very effective tuck-wagon lineup.
RoCo or Korver for me.. Korver could start at SF and have Gordon off the bench.. Catch and shooting passes from Harden and Westbrook? Korver would have a season.. RoCo would be best fit but costs the most.
The clippers bench also had Harkless and Shamet. The Clippers top 9 players: Bev/Lou Will PG/Shamet Kawhi/Harkless J Green/Harrell Zubac/J Green If Shamet is one of the unknown guys that you are referring to, you may be in for a rude awakening. That kid looks like he could become a 3 and D killer. He's an assassin from deep. We just don't have enough to compete with that currently. They are too long and too skilled on both ends. If we want to win the whole thing this year, Morey had got to add quality length, defense, rebounding and shooting to our 3/4 position. I just don't trust Bennett. We can't be screwing around at this point. We need someone with experience who we can trust in the playoffs. I would go all in Covington. If not maybe Crowder, and sign Holiday. This the one area Morey still has not fully addressed since we lost Ariza and Luc.
I still see gordon as the odd man out. Moreys asking price is probably pretty high for gordon and rightly so. I wouldnt be surprised with a before deadline deal but the better time is now. With gordon as a piece you really open things up as far as who. Separate of that Iggy is your top choice right? klove is a yawner
WB trade not finalized so could be another roster change soon. And room on roster can be made for right additions. Clark, Harty, Deyonta, Chiozza, Frazier and any other NGs should not get too comfortable - they could be part of future trade(s) to improve roster. Shump will be SnT as well. Morey is far from finished tweaking roster and will likely be different again after buyouts. Tilly is impatient and Morey has greenlight to work his magic.
Sefolosha would have been awesome 2 years ago. He is starting to break down due to age and injuries. Older than PJ. Worth a look for vet min but temper expectations, no longer a lock down defender.
Maybe Dante Cunningham is worth taking a one year flier at vet min. 32 y/o.....SF/PF....6’8”.....42% (3P%)....it was only 65 3PA’s, but in 16/17 Dante shot 39% from 3 on 181 (3PA’s w/Pels) Talking backup minutes behind Tucker. Feel Morey wanted Dante years back. Morey tends to circle back on some players.
Covington makes 12M who exactly will you ship out for him? Crowder? Crowder's shooting 33% from 3 you don't want him on this squad as we already have Rivers and WB as the dudes who can't shoot 3s. If you can get him with the remaining cash Rox have left then ok but I doubt he will settle for chump change as he already made 7M last year. More importantly, role players stink in the playoffs. Going all in on Covington is going all in on an early playoff exit as 3nDs notoriously turn into trash once playoffs start, defenses get tighter and they can't get separation to shoot properly. Covington shot 37% from 3 in the regular season but shot 31% in the playoffs the one year he got there. Jae Crowder shot 33% from 3 in the regular season but shot a Westbrookesque 30% in the playoffs. Haven't we seen the same thing with Ariza and Scrubberson? In contrast, EG shot 36% from 3 in the regular season he shot 40% in the playoffs. That's right big dick EG actually rose to the occasion and played up to the competition. That's because EG can actually be called a star on the offense side of the ball, we need him on this team more than a dude like Covington or Crowder esp when we can sign Shumpert on the cheap and we already got House. If Covington and Crowder both shoot 30% from 3 in the playoffs then what's the difference between them and House and Shumpert? Literally become the same players because they all can't shoot and their diff on defense is inconsequential, Crowder and Covington aren't gonna stop Kawhi and PG. Ok Shamet is a future superstar lol. How about you see the Clippers play first before you anoint them the uncrowned kings? Maybe you forgot but Beverly and Kawhi both belong to the All Injury team, hell even PG13 missed significant time last season due to injury as well.
Could Bradley Beal play the 3? I know he is undersized but so is Gordon and Beal would be a big upgrade.
Covington was first team all defense at the sf. We currently have no one even close to his level defensively. He may not “stop” Kawhi or PG but he may be able to prevent them from going crazy and scoring at will during a playoff series. I didn’t bother to look it up but what did House shoot during his first playoff series? Do you expect Bennett to fair much better? Even if Covington were to shoot 33% again in the playoffs, his elite defense and rebounding fill a void that no one else currently on the roster can fill. PJ is getting older. What if he finally breaks down as an injury and has to miss significant time? Do you expect Bennett to fill that role? Rivers is the only player currently coming off of our bench that I would say we can actually trust during the playoffs. Chandler to a lesser extent. House has to prove himself. Adding one more key role player via trade at either the 3 or 4 who can defend at an elite level is paramount imho. I think we will do well if we stand PAT, but winning a ring just because we swapped out CP for WB is a bit of a stretch for me. The front court must be addressed. On a side note check out Shamet when you have a chance. Not a superstar, but an ideal two way role player coming off the bench with elite shooting ability. Those guys are loaded and I don’t want us to get caught with our pants down again.
Me too. What'll it take? Unlike @roslolian above, I don't think RoCo will be fighting for time if the Rox get him. I think he replaces Gordon as the third threat. But, and though I agree with the poster who says we devalue Gordon on this board, Gordon and picks won't be enough, IMO. We'll need to add more, and who would you give them? Or we'll need to take back more from Minny. I don't think Wiggins is reasonable. The Rox'd need to throw in Capela, and I'm not OK with that. But, Gordon + Shump at 13.2 for RoCo + Gorgui Dieng, works. Add whatever picks you want. Minny's been trying to get off that contract forever, and the Rockets need bigs. Even if they're as overpaid as Dieng.
technically we have $9.4M of remaining incoming salary, if covington is added to the westbrook trade. we'd have to add 2 NG guys to cover his salary. no big deal. however i'm of the belief that covington is a pipe dream. the wolves want to go all in for dlo and dlo wants to go to the wolves. rosas has no other trade piece to make salaries work besides covington and teague. warriors won't take wiggins or dieng. so i'm sure roco is earmarked for the warriors in a dlo trade on december 15th. iguodala is interesting but not a great shooter to pair with rus. he'll also only played 23mpg last year, i imagine he will play less this year to make it through another season. we need someone who can play 24-28mpg at the 4. i would make the trade if the price is right (2 SRPs at most) but i don't mind passing. crowder is better than his numbers suggest. he wasn't getting open looks on the jazz. they asked him to create offense since few outside of mitchell could. i don't think anyone is getting their hands on the ball with james and rus on the same team. he'll be standing in the corner getting wide open looks like everyone else. get him into the PJ tucker role and he's going to look like a better shooter. he can also score a bit but not as a 2nd or 3rd option like in utah. i would be very happy if we spend a second and some NG contracts to acquire him.
We all do, but him right now is good enough to help us win a few games. He's a smart man. Highly efficient even though the crazy dunks are gone. It's all good.