Rockets acquire Thomas Robinson; Morris traded to Phoenix; Patterson, Douglas, Aldrich to Kings

This is the Alston/Lowry trade all over again. I didn't realize people could be so short sighted that they would focus solely on this year's playoff run. I'm a Patterson fan and even I could see he wasn't going to be our starting PF next year.

 

There is the opposite side and then there is a guy whining about playoffs. Using past tense about anything playoff related as the Rockets have already been eliminated is ridiculous.

There is nothing the Rockets can do to prevent LAL from passing the Jazz and making the playoffs. The Rockets would need a complete implosion to miss playoffs instead of the Jazz..aka something wrong with Harden. PP just isn't good enough to be able to carry team if something happens to Harden.

Say your piece that you don't think Robinson will be worth PP. Don't get melodramatic about playoffs. Making the playoffs ride on Harden's shoulders from here to end of the season.

 

Smith is a poor defender and makes too many mental mistakes, not surprised that Robinson played meaningful minutes. If Robinson can improve his feel for the speed of the game he will be a 12/9/1 player with NO development of his offensive game. He is a very good athlete, tough nosed and reasonably gifted.

 

He isn't out of the woods.. and I always worry when a player has an issue with the speed of the game (especially someone 21).... seen too many Stromile Swift's, Billy Owens' and O'Bannon's.... but Robinson was worth the risk regardless because Patterson was mediocre.

Robinson has reacted faster of late, and has positioned himself better on the floor. We still have not seen his offensive arsenal... he can handle the ball a bit, and is a good shooter from 12-18 feet out. At this point, all we need him to do is be a garbage player and maybe contribute by finishing screen and rolls from Lin and Harden.

 

Robinson will get 10 boards/game if he gets enough PT. He just needs to work on defense and hustle on offense. Unlike Sacramento, the Rockets generate easy looks for big men willing to be inside for dunks.

I don't expect him to be a stud offensively. I do think Robinson as a backup center and Motiejunas at the 4 will be a killer lineup against other teams second units when they get defensive rotations down. I think Robinson will be great as the roll man. Motiejunas is deadly inside and outside which makes him difficult to guard without the ball. Defense will suffer, but the transition offense should make up for it.

 

You have two types of PT: starter and sub.

Main guy gets 20-30 mins
Sub gets 15-20 mins

Rotation pre-trade is Ppat (starter), MM (sub)
If you just traded one guy, Dmo would be the sub instead of the starter getting 20-30 mins a night. With Delfino and Parsons also able to play PF there's a chance DMo would still have been buried in the bench.

 

This part caught my attention. I wonder in what ways TR was cocky in SAC. It is all good to have "swagger" but if you are so confident in yourself that you don't even listen to coaches and teammates who are trying to help you get better, it can be a problem. Now, it could be that the whole environment there is just toxics so who knows.

Also, Robinson is BFF with the Morris Twins and Marcus was too cocky for his own good as a rookie (and still thinks HOU used him wrong). I wonder what TR and MM have talked about since the trade.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/28749/vcu-laughs-all-the-way-to-houston

 

There was a time when Morris was playing very well and had the starting job. Then he regressed and Patterson was clearly a more consistent guy, so he got the starting job back. McHale is known to give minutes to players who earn it.

If DMo got 15-10 minutes non-garbage time, he would have the opportunity to earn the starting spot over Patterson. If he couldn't, that means Patterson would still be a better option, which would prove the whole point of my argument that the trade weakened the team in the short run (and whether it improved the team in the long run remains to be seen).

 

I will not say that it is entirely toxic, but they don't have a foundation. They don't create opportunities. They have been in the bottom 2 in assist percentage the last three years and bottom ten in assist percentage since 2005-2006. So basically, few easy field goals.

Guys that depend on others for opportunities are going to suffer. Robinson definitely fits that bill. They need a PG or someone that creates for others and a coach that coaches.

 

1. Cap space
2. TRob
3. It's done, build a bridge and get over it.

 

Mchale is going to bury this kid at the end of the bench faster than I can say D-Lea...

 

I kinda doubt that, he seems to reward hustle and effort on D with PT

 

Why will he get this if you still had Ppat, Delfino and Parsons who could all play the PF? The problem with your theory is there is no precedent for it, Ppat and MM got injured and Dmo didn't really get any PT, he got like 5 mins in garbage time. Mchale is the type of coach who always prefers the sure win over putting rooks out there and seeing what happens. His hand needed to be forced, just like with Adelman.

 

I think that rockets are really just hiding dmo and maybe even Jones now. While keeping value for the other guys. It seems like Morey pretty much wins every trade. To go from two dead max contracts to this is actually really amazing.

Maybe this off season he trades dmo and asik and trob for Kevin love or Aldrich and signs Howard outright.

Pg Lin
SG harden
Sf parsons
Pf love or Aldrich
C Howard.

You never know. You could really see some big time players want to come here the next two seasons.

 

McHale was on record saying that he expected Morris would be traded to give DMo the minutes. He was surprised that Patterson would also be moved. So it's not just my theory. They have planned it all along to give DMo the PT.

The Patterson trade was not about freeing DMo. It's about preferring Robinson over Patterson. Like I said numerous time, we should just wait and see if this is a good trade or not.

I guess my reluctant to endorse this trade stems from my being really tired of the revolving door roster. It's just emotionally draining to see whoever you root for just goes poof and vanishes. The only trade I want to see from now on is to get a true fire superstar and that's it. And Robinson is far from being a sure fire superstar.

 

Just in case this hasn't been posted or if anyone missed it:

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We are VERY blessed to have Morey as our GM!!!!!

 

Thanks. Morey confirms what happened.

The Morris trade was planned and had the coach's consent. DMo was going to get minutes.

The Patterson deal happened unexpectedly. Morey couldn't resist. McHale didn't know about it until after the fact.

 

Yes.... but there is no doubt DMo is getting more minutes with PPat gone. Had PPat stayed you would see DMo getting 12-14 mins a night tops and less with Delfino playing in a small line up.