For those who can't listen to it at work: Asked about why the Rockets felt White ultimately was worth the risk, Morey said if you're using the draft to get solid players, you're not using the draft the right way, stating that you can solid players in Europe (Beverley) or the D-League (Greg Smith). Morey then talked about the usual we need one more foundational player -- either from within, via free agency or via trade, etc... that they didn't think Harden was going to become available and that they need to be and will be ready when the next "Harden" becomes available. Morey then said it wasn't just about guys becoming available in the upcoming free agency, but guys that have a threat of free agency coming up (i.e. DEN-Melo, UTA-D.Will, ORL-Howard). Morey said the guy they want to pair Harden with at a minimum needs to be a top-30 player and that there will or at least should be be more of those players guys available this summer than just the two guys that everybody talks about (Howard, CP3). They talked about a few other things... nothing too noteworthy IMO though.
To piggy back on this - I found that segment very interesting. I would be interested to see who Morey thinks is in that top 30. Might be looking to acquire a player that nobody is even considering right now that they value much higher than the mainstream media. He seems to have his eye on a good amount of players coming up. He pointed to the fact that its not free agents that they are looking at necessarily, but players that might become free agents that aren't looking to stay with their team long term. That's their MO for getting that all star calliber player. Also, pointed out that they have been on the forefront of valueing players better than any other team in the league that are currently bench players, but would blossom in a starting role. Talked about how they evaluated Asik last year going in to this Summer. That seems to be something they will continue to look at doing. From his tone, it seems like they will try and accumulate assets again to setup for trade this Summer. Wouldn't be shocked if they are working the phones to try and get draft picks at the deadline in minor deals.
But Morey may have a different top 30 to the general public. Remember Patterson was 5th on his draft board. Like he said, I see the Rockets going for a backup ready to take the next step like Bledsoe. Any player not as coveted, a player teams let fall under the radar due to their status.
to that end, here are a few guys who are free agents next summer (2014), that Morey may be referring to: Lebron Melo Monroe (restricted) Paul George (restricted) Gasol Gay Randolph Bosh Turner Bynum Vasquez (restricted) Cousins (restricted) Favors (restricted) Wall (restricted)
Signing a top 30 player in FA doesn't preclude the Rockets from getting another one via trade. And it's easier to get two 20-30 range players than getting a bonafide top 5-10 superstar. If you go by advanced stats, Josh Smith seems to fit the bill. Mainly because much of his impact comes on the defensive end, which isn't factored into people's impression of what a top player is.
The "top 30 player" comment was interesting. At least we can narrow the field a little. IMO, here are the top 20-30: Derrick Rose Kyrie Irving Dirk Nowitzski James Harden Paul George Chris Paul Blake Griffin Kobe Bryant Dwight Howard Chris Bosh LeBron James Dwayne Wade Kevin Love Carmelo Anthony Russell Westbrook Kevin Durant LaMarcus Aldridge Andrew Bynum Tim Duncan Deron Williams Rajon Rondo Paul Pierce I think if you go to far beyond this, you're getting into really good, but not star players. The name I keep coming back to is Kevin Love. He just seems like a great fit for the Rockets.
I think these guys are top 30 but not on your list: Stephen Curry David Lee Tony Parker Zach Randolph Josh Smith
The "top 30" and "free agents beyond the top 2 (CP, DH) comments are definitely notable. Wonder who among the top 30, but not, say, top 10, guys are available this summer for Morey to chase. My guess is we are talking about Millsap in free agency and Granger and Gasol via trade.
Well, I don't think it's too hard to come up with the players the Rockets are looking to possibly trade for. Remember, Morey said the guy would have to be a top-30 player at the minimum and just just the sentence before he said "well, there aren't more than 20 very good players in the league", when asked about how man guys they'd consider as the second piece will be available this summer, so just from the sound of it I'd say he's aiming a bit higher than 25-30ish, if at all possible. So when you look at the guys who generally are to be considered top-40 players or so (just to not leave anybody out) you can already eliminate half of the players, because they either won't get traded under any circumstances (Durant, Rose, Irving, etc..), are too old (Pierce, KG) or play the same position as Harden (Wade). Some guys are multiple offenders (Duncan, Ginobili, Kobe). So it pretty much comes down to to LeBron, CP3, Howard, Love, Bosh, Rondo, LMA, Horford, M.Gasol, P.Gasol, Dirk, Cousins, Granger, J.Smith, Millsap, Bynum. In one of his recent interviews Morey said that he'd preferably pair Harden with a big and that such big ideally would be elite defensively. The only true elite defensive big out of those guys is Howard, if healthy, which he might never fully be again. Horford and Marc Gasol are very good defenders, but don't offer quite as much on offense as some of these other guys and it's hard to see either guy becoming available. Would Morey take the chance on Bynum after Yao? I doubt it. Dirk probably isn't going anywhere and might be too old anyway. Bosh and LMA offer a pretty good mix of offense and defense. Love is very good on offense, but not a plus defender by any means and sadly also a douche . Josh Smith, Granger and Millsap, are very much borderline IMO. Cousins I can't see getting traded. Rondo is interesting, because he's relatively cheap and the only guard. He'd compliment Harden well on D, but like Lin Rondo can't shoot (he's probably worse than Lin, in fact) and he's even more ball-dominant than Lin. Just not a great fit IMO. Anybody else that should be on that list?
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"we don't have another james harden to throw out there, who's elite at least on one end and not killing us on the other end"
"people are focused on the 4 spot and we haven't gotten great production there, there's no way to spin it" ouch
**We feel like we have a guy we can build around. Big picture, we feel good. Lots of ways to improve the team. Getting the first all-star was a big step. That was the step I was worried we wouldn't be able to execute. The next steps are hard but not quite as daunting as getting James at 23. Expectations, we thought we would be fighting for one of the last playoff spots, we are. We're about right where we hoped to be. Reality is you go through ups and downs. Our January is one of the hardest in the league. Not an excuse. We should have fought through it better, we didn't. Only Denver went through a worse schedule early. We need to right the ship. Even with the schedule, we aren't playing well right now. A lot of things going on with our O/D that we need to correct or else we'll be trending out of the playoffs. We're trending it but it won't last if we don't correct things. **It does feel like we've been to the movies before.(Same mistakes over and over.) **We're not good enough to be behind 10. **People are focused on the 4. We haven't gotten great production. Marcus gives us better offense, slightly worse defense. Pat gives us worse offense and better defense. No simple answer there. Our starting lineup hasn't worked well so they're looking at changes. I do agree that you don't make changes just to make changes. That doesn't work. Marcus is more respected as an offensive player but is also attacked more on the defensive end. Not a simple formula for the coaching staff. Every player they put out there got some trade off. We don't have another James Harden to throw out there, elite at least on one end and not killing us on the other end. **(Marcus) didn't play last year so that was disappointing. This year sorta his rookie year. For his rookie year, he's been solid. He's improved through out the year. He had some good stretches and a down stretch with the whole team and a couple of good games lately. I feel like he can help us over time. ... Marcus has potential to take a step forward. Right now, he's a guy who can help you stay in the game but probably doesn't turn the corner and win it himself, for sure. **Can't say much on Royce White. I feel like progress is being made. We're in conversations with him. Hopefully he'll be back in not too long. ... Can't get into details into where things are at. ... It's a constant process of us having conversations with him and him understanding things and us understanding his situation and getting to something that is workable. We haven't to this point. I feel like we're getting closer and hopefully on February 11, things follow through like he said. **I didn't watch the (HBO) piece. **If he's(Oden) healthy, every team will get that info and then we'll be able to make that decision. **I think it'll be 43-45 wins(to make the playoffs). I think the team we gotta beat is the Lakers. I thought before the season, Minnesota is better than us and would be with health. That's probably taken them out of the race. Portland is similar to us. They have a tough stretch coming up. I can't imagine the Lakers not pulling it together. I think they will pull it together. **Memphis has a good thing going. Not the best team but a chance to upset people. I'd be careful breaking that up and I think they are too so they made the move they made. It's special to be mentioned as one of the top 4-6 teams in the league. **Cleveland deal w/ Memphis, from a Rockets standpoint, do you view that as a last resort or type of deals you actively seek? That's a deal we would do. It would have to be the right deal. That one didn't work for a bunch of reasons I can't go into because of private conversations with Memphis. That's the kind of deal we would look at. We have all options on the table. **The idea of renting a player just to make the playoffs, does it have to be a player you want past this season or is it case by case? It couldn't hurt the future. We're trying to build around James. We're not a championship contender right now. Any move that hurts the future would be myopic. If it'd help now without hurting the future, we'd look. If it helped now and hurt the future, those would be harder given where we are positioned right now.
Announcer asked very good questions. Daryl's interviews always are morale-boosters. I like the direction he's taking the team on and the fact the FO knows precisely what our weaknesses are. The team is in good hands. Fingers crossed that we bring in that #2 superstar ... sooner than later
After years of futility trying to get back into the playoffs, if we finally have a team that can contend for a championship, I'm sure our owner will gladly pay the luxury tax. Also--our FO is excellent in finding solid role players at low, low prices. Our teams the past 3 years have been like that. It's this year's team that has been blown up and full of holes. They know it and will now build around Harden.
