Strategic Advantages of Acquiring Paul Millsap Mid-Season

What I am wondering: if Millsap is better than Aldridge - why is Aldridge playing like a star and Millsap has never been more than a good role player?

Stats don't always tell the whole story - otherwise Greg Smith would be a superstar. To be a star you need to be able to create your own shot and consistently put up big numbers. And I haven't seen Millsap being able to do that.

He would be a great player for us - that probably costs about 10 million a year. So with him, Lin, Asik and Harden we'd already have more than 40 million spent. That means its basically impossible to get another star with him Lin, Asik and Harden on the team. That means getting him makes only sense, if we plan a big trade soon. And for that I think we can wait till the off season. If we can't get a star by then, we can wait and see if we can get him at a good contract. If we do, great - let's see where we go from there. If we don't, it won't sabotage our plans for the future. I just wouldn't give up any valuable piece for him...

 

The Rockets really have to think about this one. Milsap is a good player and can help any team in the NBA. But the main problem for Paul Milsap is that he is not a star caliber player.

He is a really good player no doubt about that, but he isn't the star caliber player the Rockets need. Paul Milsap will definitely help the Rockets but not enough to make them contenders. The Rockets will be at best, a good playoff team but their goal is to be championship contenders. Right now, Paul Milsap is as good as he's going to be and that is an NBA starting caliber power forward.

In order for the Rockets to get to elite status like OKC, Clippers, Spurs and Heat, they will need another star player. Every elite teams in the NBA has multiple stars and the Rockets are on the right track. Houston just needs to be patient for the time when that right star comes along. Right now, rushing into things would only prevent the Rockets from acquiring another star. The Rockets core players of Lin, Asik, and Parsons are still young and improving and the Rockets star player Harden is also young and improving. So there is time for the Rockets to be patient and just wait and see who will become available in the future.

But right now, Paul Milsap isn't the answer but more of a bandage to fill temporary holes on this team. Aldridge though isn't having All Star numbers like he used to but he does have the talent and skills as well as length to be one. We just have to see how things would turn out. But one thing, Paul Milsap may have better or similar stats to LaMarcus Aldridge but LA can impact the game much more given the right circumstances.

 

Lets just wait for Dwight and Smith to join Harden .......and everybody will be all


THE Next Big 3 (but everything is big in texas....thats what she said too!)

 

Not really. He's talking about a package deal of a couple of good players for one better player who needs a new home. Milsap by himself is probably not a big trade draw, but Milsap plus Asik plus promising rookie plus draft pick or whatever could be good compensation for a team who must lose a star player. Much like Kevin Martin probably did not have a large market by himself, but Martin + Lamb + picks was perfect to fill the void losing Harden created. And, if there's no deal there, you still have the incumbent position to keep Milsap and the flexibility to dump him for cap space if you prefer.

Of course, the achilles heal is still the cost. You'd prefer to not give up too much potential in a trade if there's a likelihood you'll just cut the guy a few months later to chase an FA target. And, Utah will probably be most interested in trading him for a gamble on potential. Which leaves the obvious choice:

Royce White for Paul Milsap.

 

Milsap is a great role player just like Scola or Landry. He is another one of those hard working power forwards that out-work their opponents and uses their hustle to an advantage. But in the NBA today, not only do you need hustle and hard-work, but in order to win, you need big time talent.

You're right, Paul Milsap may have similar stats to LA but stats doesn't tell the whole story. Though Paul Milsap is a good player, LA has the length and talent of a star. Though LA isn't putting up All Star numbers this year but he is more than capable of creating his own shot when his team need it.

LaMarcus is an all star caliber player in the right circumstance. He impacts the game more than Milsap and opposing team focuses on LA much more than Milsap. Paul Milsap is nothing more than a good role player that has to out-work his opponents night in and night out, but at the end of the day, talent triumphs all.

 

Meh, frankly I haven't seen anything from Millsap this season that makes me think he'd be worth trading for. Surprised so many or such a vocal minority on this board think he is worth any effort to acquire. He isn't the sort of player that can push a team over the top, he is a role player similar to what we already have at the position but a little bit more physical.

 

we have a perfect team and nice chemistry it would be near sacrilege to give away TD let alone Morris and ppat for this alleged star....


just keep rolling we dont need no more stars....we are already top 8 in NBA just keep gathering playing experience together...the sky is the limit....

 

we don't NEED a flashier guy like Aldridge..

what we need is an enforcer bruiser type who can get his own in single coverage and has the potential to draw double teams when he is hot. Millsap can do these things as he has a very solid inside-midrange game.

thats Millsap.


teams will not be able to double team Harden without giving up a high percentage shot to either Parsons, Lin, Asik, or Millsap.


think about that.

 

Millsap is worth 10-13mil a year,and he'll likely get that this summer. Morey prefers good young players on rookie contract or true max players on max contract.

 

OP, great thread. I like the analysis and generally agree with the notion that Paul Millsap would be a valuable addition to the Rockets. (Not sure yet how I feel about what I'd give up to trade for him now, though, or what other options I'd forgo to add Millsap.)

That said, just wanted to correct you on one minor point: Under the new CBA, players CANNOT make more via sign-and-trade than they can by simply signing with a new team outright. This may have been pointed out elsewhere, but I didn't see it upon a cursory look. However, it may be that you were referring to Millsap's OPTIONS being greater as to which teams he might be signed-and-traded to (since S&T would open up some over-the-cap teams as landing spots for Millsap).

Carry on. Again, good thread.

 

Let's just ignore the silliness about Millsap being better than LaMarcus Aldridge for a second--that's just a whole different brand of lol there--and address these myriad claims that acquiring Millsap in a trade using young, valuable Rockets players would be better than acquiring him for free as an unrestricted free agent in the off-season:

Get what done, exactly? With the Lakers comment, it sounds like you're talking about the possibility of trading for Dwight Howard on his expiring contract. It's nuts to think the Lakers will trade him away in the next 5 weeks regardless of their playoff outlook, and as far as chasing Howard as an unrestricted free agent, that's something that would actually be harder with Millsap on the team, since the Rockets will have fewer young players under contract (they were traded for Millsap!) and it would be tougher to make a compelling case that Dwight should sign with Houston.

The Kevin Love thing I don't even know what to say to. If you think Asik + Millsap would be enough to net even a Kevin Love with four bad hands, six bad legs, and who just barged into Khan's office to tell him to go f**k himself, you're out of your mind. That's something that isn't happening in the next 5 weeks either.

It does do that, but think carefully about what you're saying. The Rockets would be retaining Parsons because they would be agreeing to a smaller upgrade at power forward than they'd like. Their "second star" would be...Paul Millsap.

What do you think Millsap's value is in a sign and trade scenario versus his value as an unrestricted free agent this offseason? I'm guessing 1-2 million in added cap hold at the *most*, and that's giving you the benefit of the doubt.

Not in the scenario you described, though. Is he being signed by the Jazz and traded to the Rockets, or traded outright to the Rockets as an unrestricted free agent? In the former scenario, there is NO "try before you buy" period since he would be under contract with the Rockets. In the latter scenario, there would be no savings under number (3), and no ability to flip him for other free agents in (1) since he would hit the market as an unrestricted free agent for *every* team. It's one or the other, you can't have both.

Are you really talking about losing important players to get Paul Millsap with no future contract, on the hopes of wooing him into signing with Houston from that point on if things work out? And you seriously think Millsap is the kind of player worthy of that risk? Or that Daryl Morey is the type of GM to do that for any player not named Dwight Howard?

Okay, so that seems like what you're saying. Trade for him naked, with no future deal in place. Trade for an unrestricted free agent with no future contract nor promise to sign with the Rockets--hope that works out--and then just be out the assets used to trade for him if it doesn't?

That's crap man. That's serious crap.

Paul Millsap is a backup backup backup plan for the Rockets. He's a guy they'll sign for free in the off-season if they're unable to obtain better free agents using all that sexy cap space. That's always been the case. For all the reasons mentioned above, shedding young, valuable and improving players for him at this point is a bad, bad idea.

 

Great thread, repped.

I think you see a lot of people using the "eye-test" on Aldridge and Millsap, but I agree that Millsap is the better player (advanced stats show this across the board, as you pointed out).

I'm still intrigued by the idea of the Rockets going after a smaller player (like Iguodala, Granger etc.) and sliding Parsons over to the 4. I really think that the NBA is moving in this direction, and Parsons is a good enough rebounder to play that position for extended periods I think.

 

One more thing to note: Beginning this year, teams over the lux tax apron or has used thr taxpayer MLE cannot receive a player via S&T. For example, HOU would not have been able to trade Camby to NY under the new restriction. This reduces the value of the S&T option some more.

 

Why not just get Carl "The Tooth" Landry back? I remember everyone used to say he was on par with Millsap.

 

I like Milsap but our ship is sunk if he's the guy we're counting on to be Yin to Harden's Yang (haha).

Milsap seems to me to be more Carl Landry than Rasheed Wallace; an energy guy who gets his by out hustling his opponent, Aldridge OTOH is skilled and can be relied on to score in the post, a much better option if you can get him.

 

As the Jazz and their fans have found, Millsap is more effective as an energy guy/6th man.