Assessing the Potential Value of a Trade Package for Our Next Star Player

And the only reason I feel marginally comfortable saying that is the rise of Greg Smith.

 

Perhaps we should look past Love and Aldridge since they are locked up for so long.

I think a more realistic possibility is adding Millsap or Josh Smith from free agency next summer.

 

^^This lol

 

I meant ^^this, lol

 

http://youtu.be/ysmLA5TqbIY

http://youtu.be/oZzgAjjuqZM

I lived there for four years during the Lebronese era. It was bad even before Lebron left lol. The second video describes it perfectly. The videos are only about a minute each so it won't waste too much of your time.

 

I guess that just begs the question to be asked-

Would you rather put yourself in a good position to acquire either Cousins, Aldridge, or Love somewhere between the Summer of 2014 till February 2015 trade deadline, and stay with what you have now + acquiring trade assets(future picks, prospects)

or

Would you rather get a player now that isn't necessarily a player that will make you a contender, but will definitely help short term get over the hump to a playoff team?


-Personally, Im in it for the right price. Meaning, you better be able to move that contract if you need to. You never know when a franchise player is going to come available, and you better hope that Paul Milsap's contract isn't the only thing keeping you from getting that player.

Hate to use the word patience, but it might be the best long term solution for the fanbase utilize. Still, if Morey can get Milsap, Jefferson, or even Smith on a one year high end deal with a team option on year 2 Im all for it.

 

Not interested in moving Asik.....he could be our cornerstone at the 5 for years to come. It would take a huge multi-player deal for me to move him. Other than he and Harden, the rest are on the table. Would really like to see what D-Mo becomes.

 

Player 1 (21 years old):

Points per 36 min - 13.2
Rebounds per 36 min - 10.13
Blocks per 36 min - 3.2

Player 2 (21 years old):

Points per 36 min - 17.11
Rebounds per 36 min - 10.57
Blocks per 36 min - 2.05


Player 1? Serge Ibaka 2 years ago
Player 2? Greg Smith now

We got a future STAR right in our frontcourt...who knew?? Who else is on the bandwagon??? This guy better not be in any trades!

 

One thing I am sure of is that Josh Smith will almost certain be a cap killer for the Rockets if you look at the free agent market this summer and where he ranks after the big guys. He will get a 3 year deal at the very least. With any other free agent below him, it just depends on when the free agent dollars dry up from there.

Whether or not you think Josh Smith is worth it or not, doesn't matter. The market will dictate Smith most likely getting a very close to max level contract if a heathyish Bynum, Howard, & CP3 never hit the open market. He's going to be a hot commodity if that happens. The longer Howard, CP3, Bynum stay on the market, the lower the price goes for Smith. I dont think that will happen at all, and the top level free agents(Howard, CP3, Bynum) will all most likely re-sign with their current teams.

I could see Dallas being a team that goes all in on Smith, as well as Cleveland. Not to mention the fact that Atlanta seems to have a strong interest in bringing him back as well, and holds his bird rights. The Rockets would most likely have to come very close to the max to bring him in. To me, I say wait it out for the better bargain.

Milsap to me looks like he might be the best player to get passed on in free agency next Summer. Utah or the team he might get traded to at the deadline, might look to bring him back, but I think eventually he hits the market, and sits there for awhile until all the other big name players get taken up.

Hence why the Rockets might be able to get a bargain there. Other bigs like Smith, Pek, and Al Jefferson.... not so much. If free agency started today, I assume here is the MY opinion of what the order in which the free agents will need to domino first on down...

#1. Howard- X
#2. CP3- X
#3. Bynum- ?
#4. Andre Igoudala(if ETO option used) - ?
#5. Josh Smith
#6. Nik Pekovic(R)
#7. Brandon Jennings(R)
#8. Al Jefferson
#9. Kevin Martin
#10. Manu Ginobili- X
#11. OJ Mayo(player option)
#12. Tyreke Evans (R)
#13. Paul Milsap
#14. Eric Maynor(R)
#15. Everyone else- Landry, Foye, Jack, Mo Williams, etc.

So, just at first glance, Id say Milsap just might be worth waiting to see if he slips down as a bargain in July to sign. Smith on the other hand... teams like Dallas, Phoenix, etc. that miss out on the big names, will have money to spend and will want to make a big splash.

Again, I dont think Smith will go cheap. A few teams will need to make a splash and have cap space to fill. The Rockets are better off waiting for a bargain IMO unless for some reason Morey thinks THIS IS THE GUY that is going to make the Rockets a contender. Somehow I dont think that's the case.

 

I believe you are somewhat jumping the gun comparing Ibaka with Smith.

However, given the Rockets current assets, we better hope that we can grow D-Mo, Smith, Jones or Macado into a few high value young players.

 

I know I'm jumping the gun too but it's very promising to see statistics like that for projecting success with our players.

 

Have been lurking in these forums after seeing the first 2 games and decided to sign up to reply to this thread.

I wouldn't let go of the starting lineup for any trade at the moment. These players are still developing and none of them are have hit their skill ceiling yet.

Asik is a great defender and he also occasionally proved that he can be a threat in offense. He needs to improve his ball handling skills and probably build up some stamina to stay aggressive inside. Keep in mind, he never played this long in the last season and he is new to being a starter.

Parsons, well, I think he is a fantastic young player with so much potential ahead of him. I thought he would perform like Gallinari when I saw him play in the first 2 games (when Harden was stealing the spotlight) and he actually matched him so far. I hope that his shoulder injury won't disrupt his development too much.

Harden is Harden, he will score comfortably and easily. If he can improve his defense, I expect him to be the next superstar. Otherwise, we will see opponent SGs score 20+ easily in most games - like we've seen so far.

Talking about defense, Lin is doing a lot better this year. Last year, he was trying to get steals too much and leaving his mark too lose. This year, however, I saw him stick to his man and he actually shut down a few players like this. Offensively, he still needs to work on his shooting and gain some experience when running the offense. He certainly proved that he has what it takes and I expect him to get better over time.

The key missing ingredient is the PF position and I am hopeful of Greg Smith filling that spot.

I would rather build around this core players and try to acquire some good subs through smart trading with teams suffering from being too close to the cap.

 

forget the numbers. watch the games and its apparent smith has potential.

 

The team to watch for us and the NBA is Atlanta.

The NBA salary cap this year is set at $58,044,000. Considering that the salary cap will remain around this number (it will probably increase) then look at the committed salary Atlanta has next year: $18483800

Atlanta obtains this number by not picking up any options, or offering QO's and by dumping any 1st rounders they have. Very plausible considering the cap room opened up would amount to about 40 million dollars....

The players they would have left would be:

Al Horford
Lou Williams
Jeff Teague

Now here's where it gets intriguing for the Rockets. Josh Smith Lou Williams and Dwight Howard are all best friends. They grew up in the area too. If I'm Atlanta I have two options going forward.

Plan A: resign Smith and sign Howard outright. Leaving the team as

Teague
Williams
Smith
Horford
Howard

I'm not a big fan of this plan since there isn't much spacing on the floor

Plan B: Trade Horford for cap expirings at the deadline. Leave yourself at only 6 million dollars committed. Then go hard after Paul, Howard and resign Smith. Leaving you with

Paul
Teague
Williams
Smith
Howard

and all the veteran role players you want. I know there are issues about raises and sign and trades but that would be the framework i'm looking at if i'm Atlanta.

Plan B: enter the rockets. If I'm Morey, Im praying that Ferry is thinking along those lines. Then I would offer any expirings, and since were under the cap, we could offer less money and just take Horford straight up. Maybe taking away the protection on our pick to give them a new asset. After picking up Horford I would be calling Kahn up and letting him know that TJones, Horford and Dmo are up for grabs.....