Kevin Love is perfect for this team. Great rebounder with a polished offensive game, can spread the floor, still relatively young. If Morey can pry him out of Minnesota without giving up any of the current building blocks (Harden, Lin, Asik) we should name a couple of streets in Houston after him.
Cousins may become expendable if SAC finds itself spiraling out of control... yet again. That franchise is in disarray, and has been for many years. The Maloofs have had a gut-full of Stern, and will likely end up pulling the trigger on a Seattle sale in the next 6 months. With an impending relocation, management may decide to part ways with "headcases" like Cousins and Tyreke in hopes of generating a fresh buzz around T-Rob, Wash native Isaiah Thomas, and another young, blossoming star(s) acquired thru next April's Draft. If they dump Cousins early enough, they're essentially guaranteeing a sub-20 win season, meaning a shot at Noel, Zeller, Shabazz, etc. Not to mention, they likely get a nice collection of picks in return for Cousins. Cousins is only 22. He and Harden would be the cornerstones of this franchise for the next decade.
i understand marcus morris is a little rusty but man he missed a couple of open layups! i didnt like the way he played last night and he definetly did not deserve to start, i think jones should have started
Lamarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, DeMarcus Cousins. I'd love to have any of the 3 but I think Cousins fits perfectly well for this team - young, a lot of upside, and big.
Love, Cousins or Aldridge. I don't think we can get any of those 3, but you never know. All the others mentioned seems like a short term improvement but will not make us title contenders which is way more important than playoff contenders, something that I think is missing on some of you. If we can't get any of those 3, we might just have the perfect PF on this team, Jones/D-Mo combination. If they don't work out, we could be in position to get Zeller or Noel.
Our future superstar power forward may already be on the team...if only Mchale would give him minutes.
It seems the team is going young - I suspect it will be someone in the 24-25 yr old range that is mobile run the floor and do some nice things in the post with a good mid range game. a few players come to my mind. Gibson - not fully ultlized - make him sound like a player that Morey would go for but he is now locked up (he out of the question) Favors - can run the floor well, not sure how high utah is on him. AL Horford - i think the only untouchable from ATL Love - Near untouchable Amir Johnson - not bad not way better than Ppat Bargnani - Plays Center but probably better at PF, doubt they move him Jason Thompson - I'd take Ppat over him Derrick William - Minny seems open to moving him but is he better than PPat? All that said if they want to go all in now - Love /Alridge would be awesome but I think they want someone that isn't quite there yet... but ready to explode. I dont really see a clear winner. But from the list above i'd choose. 1. Bargnani 2. Favors 3. Williams I think outside of Bargnani - i'd probably keep Ppatt and stay put since he has shown flashes.. Hartford/Love/Alridge would probably impossible to get, I believe they are near untouchable on their teams.
I am positive he would try to go after Kevin Love but I believe Love is locked up for the next few years so any deal would have to come via trade. Kahn will not be trading Love anytime soon -- certainly not for cap space alone -- Our best best in a trade scenario is to have Jones, White or Motiejunas develop into a up and coming star and then ship them along with picks to get a Love or Aldridge (absorbing their contract into the open capspace)
Yep, but don't forget Patterson, Patrick's turn has come, time to step up or else be defined as a back-up.
Not only are those 4 guys untouchable but let's say 1 of them does become available....after the Harden deal what in the world does Morey have to offer that most other interested teams could not beat? The Rockets owe their #1 to Atlanta (its lottery protected but that still precludes us from moving furture picks until that one is conveyed). Limited player assets - I know we all like Jones, White, and DMo but that's not enough for the players listed above. Nope I think it's FA upgrade or taking advantage of a cap strapped team like Memphis to upgrade the PF spot.
DWIGHT HOWARD!!! I think the harden move was done to bring him to the ROckets after this disappointing season with the Lakers.
I agree with Buck... We can't trade for a superstar level player since we are lacking the assets. What we do have is cap space after the season. So if we can't find a desperate team we'll have to wait till next off season - unfortunately neither Love nor Aldridge or Cousins will be available. Josh Smith is actually our safest bet. Is Milsap an UFA? He might be a target. Unfortunately neither will make us a contender. We either need one of our guys to really step it up or a whole lot of luck with a desperate team...
Dwight is in it for the money. He wants Adidas shoe money and he gets that in only NY or LA since Chicago already has DRose. He ain't leaving LA unless LA management becomes r****ded over night.
I do like Smith. Is he a go to offensive player in the clutch? No. But he's certainly a capable offensive player. 19 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, almost 2 blocks. That's all around great production. He's still young. I think it'd be a no brainer. David Lee isn't an all-star, but is way better than what we have now. He's kind of Josh Smith like/light, without the defense, and never attempting 3s (a good thing?). He might be get-able for relatively cheap due to his salary... but then that's the reason you might not want him. Eat up cap space on David Lee? Still, his PER is consistently in the high teens/low 20s, the same as Smith, and he put up 20 points, 10 boards, 3 assists on 50% shooting last year. I'd rather have Smith's age, athleticism and defense, but Lee migh tbe more available. Zach Randolph might be a possibility if the Grizzlies are disappointing. He gets paid a lot, and that always seems to be a factor for the Grizzlies. But he is really getting old now - 31 - for a guy who has been injured on and off as he has. But when he's healthy and on, the dude can seriously ball. I'm not in love with anyone else that is in any way available. I don't see how LaMarcus is available, even if the Blazers really struggle - which I don't think they will. I don't see how Cousins is available at all. If the Kings struggle, even with Cousins sometimes shaky attitude, it won't be his fault. David West.... bleh. Kevin Love is nowhere close to available. I'd rather have Millsap than Jefferson, but I'm inclined to think the Jazz would also rather keep Millsap. Ryan Andersen would have been an interesting option, as a major improvement though not a second all-star, but I don't see the Hornets trading him. So my list, accounting for potential availability: 1. Josh Smith 2. David Lee 3. Zach Randolph 4. Paul Millsap I'd really really really focus on Smith, though. People consistently underestimate the defensive side of the ball. Smith at the 4 and Asik at the 5 is a defensive frontcourt that can be truly dominant. And, as a further aside, this same analysis should be done for the SF spot. Parsons is a fun dude, but the team needs to get better there. Or Parsons needs to become a slightly better, more efficient scorer. That's entirely possible I guess. I think Smith gets us closer than some think. And it's the defense. He's not a great one on one defender, but NBA defense is about team defense. And NBA team defense is about two things - protecting the paint, and stopping the three. Followed up with defensive rebounding. Asik/Smith provide you serious paint protection. That allows your perimeter defenders to gamble a little bit more. That makes it easier to stop the three. Smith is a great rebounder, too. They'd still need one more piece, and its not clear how they'd get that. But it's a start.
Don't forget Houston's connection with China. thats worldwide stardum. we already saw D-Wade take his shoe contract there.
I disagree with the sentiment that Josh Smith would only raise the Rockets postseason prospects to 2nd-round exits. The general sentiment is that the Rockets need a post presence to create offense, but what teams in the league genuinely rely on offense coming from the blocks besides LA, Memphis, Sacramento, Indiana, Utah and San Antonio? Of those teams, only 3 are realistic contenders, and of those 3, only 1 has a real shot of getting out of their respective conferences (LA). The fact of the matter is that the real contenders rely on athleticism, strong team defense and outside scoring. Josh Smith would be indispensably valuable on the right team, and the Rockets, so long as they add some more bench players to play the wings, could be one of those situations. The two other premier teams in the league, Miami and OKC, run a lot of small ball, and the Rockets would be able to match up defensively with that kind of approach very well running a lineup of Lin, Harden, Parsons, Smith and Asik. Another concern is that Smith has a habit of jacking up bad shots, but look at how much his efficiency has improved over the last 3 years. His 3-point shot attempts have dropped enormously, and his shots from mid-range to around the basket have increased. For a tweener power forward, he has decent ball-handling skills, and his speed mobility and athleticism would be incredibly useful in the pick-and-roll because he can catch the ball on the move and will draw defenders away from the ball-handler because of his ability to finish around the basket. He's also a very good passer for a big man, putting up 4 assists per game last season. And while his post play isn't elite, having McHale as his coach is bound to mean he can improve on that facet of his game. All in all, his above-average defensive play would help prevent elite wings from penetrating due to his length, mobility and shot blocking ability, and his mobility and athleticism on offense, combined with his decent passing and ball handling ability, would create more space in the lanes for our two penetrating guards. Furthermore, in a situation when we play a team like OKC, he gives us a premier defender to stick on someone like Kevin Durant, but offers the flexibility to also guard bigger players when the time comes. The thing with Smith is I don't see us trading for him - he's in a contract year, and is an unrestricted FA in the offseason. It's not Morey's style to give up assets for a player he can get for free in the summer. My hope is that we can sign him to a near-max deal, and that the prospect of playing with Harden Lin and Asik, along with coming to Houston (a place he has previously expressed a desire to play) will be enough to lure him away from Atlanta or any other potential destination.
