Orlando maxed out Rashard Lewis b/c of poor management. Were any other teams even pursuing him? Morey is all about value. If we have to overpay Smith to get him, we aren't getting him. Disagree. We already have Dmo and Trob. We have no need for another PF who can't play center. And while Smith will improve our transition game, he does nothing for our half-court game. For next season, we need a backup pg, backup sg/sf, and a backup center. It makes no sense to spend ~12mm and not address any of those concerns.
There isn't a pressing need for a backup center. Houston can afford to go small because of the pace they play at. What we need is a seasoned veteran who can make life easier for both Harden(by attacking the rim) and Asik(by protecting the rim). Josh Smith does both.
Are you seriously trying to argue that Josh Smith is a better overall player than Kevin Love? Is this another one of those times where your eyes are telling you one thing while stats are telling you something entirely different?
And Love is going to get you 5-7 extra rebounds a game which can't be overlooked. He is also going to space the floor a lot more on offense and open up the lane for Lin and Harden. With Asik you don't need another elite level interior defender. I believe that Love partially makes up for his lack of defense by dominating the boards.
My point was that a small market team had to overpay a B-star player to retain him. This is the fate of the small market team.
Yeah, there is a pressing need for a backup center. Asik gets winded pretty quickly, and we can't rely on small ball in the playoffs against teams (LAL/SA/MEM/UTAH) who will slow the game down and force us to play half court basketball. By your logic, Al Jefferson is better suited for us b/c he's a better scorer than Smith (and therefore makes life easier for Harden), and he's capable of playing center and letting Asik rest (thereby making life easier for Asik). Like I said before, next season, we need a backup pg, backup sg/sf, and a backup center. It makes no sense to spend ~12mm on a guy like Smith who addresses none of those needs.
You're erroneously assuming that since one small market team had poor management, all small market teams have poor management.
Plan A. Diva Dwight Plan B. CP3 Plan C. Love Plan D. LMA Plan E. hope a rook turns into a star (Dmo!) and splurge on the best FA's available to make a run at a ring (Lebron ain't leaving) Did I miss anything?
Big Al is not a guy who can attack the basket off the pick and roll. Big Al's specialty requires him to stop the ball, and play with his back to the basket in order to be effective. This is not how Houston plays, which is why Big Al would not fit with this team. This doesn't take into consideration, the fact that Big Al isn't the type of player who can be effective in an uptempo system such as Houston's. We don't need to worry about backups right now, what we need to worry about is finding a starting 5 who plays great, together. Everything starts with the foundation. Can Josh Smith play in this fast, uptempo Houston system, better than Al Jefferson? i'm going to go out on a limb and say yes.
you're either REALLY lucky like OKC and land Durant and Westbrook, or you land someone else's superstar, a la Harden. how long did it take for Morey to land one superstar? Do you honestly think another superstar is going to land in our laps, after all those years of Morey stockpiling and biding his time? Get real, Morey is going to have to overpay for a B star, or hope and pray that Lin, Parsons, or T-Rob will develop into an all star player.
i should ask you the same thing, Kevin Love puts up gaudy numbers, the numbers are there, but the impact is not. So whose eyes are fooling, whose? Josh Smith has had more success in his career compared to Love. Love stuffs a stat sheet, but that's about all he's doing.
Actually, you do need another elite, defender, especially one who can cover wings and work his way into the interior. Houston is one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, Josh Smith would reinforce that defense by being the perfect weak side defender--next to Asik.
the only way i can see Love fitting in better with this team, compared to Josh, would be if Houston played a half court set instead of running and gunning. As of right now, the way the team plays, Josh Smith is the perfect complement.
Jefferson is a legitimate post presence who we can surround with competent 3 point shooters. He fits perfectly with this team. That's your opinion, and it doesn't make sense. Before the trade deadline, our starting frontcourt was Asik and Patterson, and we still had a good transition game. I could very easily argue that since Jefferson is a good rebounder, he would improve our transition game. The problem with your logic is that Asik gets tired after about 8 minutes. So we do need to worry about a backup center. Yes, you're right. In the current system, Smith would be better than Jefferson. But if you tweak the system slightly, the Rockets with Jefferson are a much better team than the Rockets with Smith. Remember, in the playoffs, we can't rely on a fast, uptempo system. We will need to be able to consistently score in a half-court offense. Jefferson gives us that. Smith doesn't.
The Rockets actually aren't as terrible as people think when you look at fg% and pps. We are by no means great defensively but we aren't near the bottom. Love also gives us the option to run more half court sets as you mentioned above which is something that becomes very important come playoff time.
Josh Smith has had significantly better teammates. He's had Joe Johnson and Al Horford (who I think is better than Josh Smith). Who has Kevin Love had? Whenever Love gets a new contract, he'll definitely get the max. When Smith said that he felt he was worth the max, he was nationally ridiculed.
and why does everyone keep saying that we can't rely on a fast, uptempo system? I'll quote Greg Popovich for you, "what, do they for some reason forget how to run?" this is popovich when reporters questioned him about the Steve Nash led, phoenix suns. I'm paraphrasing a bit, but this is true. We have an elite superstar in Harden who can get into the lane, anytime he wants. We just need an elite rim attacker who can play off the ball and protect the rim. Introducing, Josh Smith
