Random Houston Rockets Trade Ideas - 2012-13

Today Nash? No
Today Kobe? Probably.
Today Metta? No.
Today Gasol? Maybe.
Today Dwight? Definitely.

All of these guys, except Dwight, are a shell of their former selves. Harden, Parsons, Love, and Asik are all just barely past the dawning of their careers. Each, including Asik, probably have 10+ years left.

And while I agree with your "chemistry" point, I don't think adding Love and subtracting Lin hurts chemistry. Aren't Harden and Love good friends? Love is a high IQ player, so I imagine he will fit right in.

 

"ZOMG look at the Lakers, they are .500. Conclusion: stars are overrated"

Who the heck attributes the Lakers' current issues purely to chemistry and stars bickering? How about injuries? Mis-coaching? I'd say they had far more problems than lack of "off court relationships." Maybe it's injuries that are underrated?

 

True... BUT global sales don't win championships...

I seriously doubt Alexander would let Morey trade Lin though... But you best believe Morey will bring in another point guard to compete with both Beverly and Lin.

 

How bout you can't just throw some stars on a team and expect a championship. Pippen and Barkley in Houston for example...

 

They were old. Put those guys in their prime together and we'd have a ship.

 

Check their numbers for the last 10 games or last 20 games compared to the whole season, and you'll see Lin's slow start this season is the reason why his numbers are so much shorter.

There is absolutely zero basis to this idea that Teague is a better player than Lin. If I didn't know any better, I would say you guys are assuming the black player must be better than the yellow player who has equivalent stats.

 

I think you are missing my points here. I am not going to argue with you about the caliber of Lakers roster (although I completely disagree with you on your judgement on Nash, Kobe, and Gasol, but it's a different discussion I don't want to bring here). All I am saying is that building a team is not as simple as 1+1=2. You don't get a championship by simply putting several stars together. Even with teams like Miami and OKC, it takes some time, probably years, for the team to develop and find their best system. The chemistry/synergy I was referring to has a lot to do with our current offensive system and Lin is a BIG part of it. He absolutely excelled in fast-paced transition offense. I don't think Rockets fans who watched some games this season could argue on that otherwise. Our offense is clicking and it is recognized as one of the best now. I am not sure if it's a good idea to take out an important piece of that system to upgrade our 4 which is currently not heavily used. That seems to be going towards a very different direction (slow down the pace, rely more on half court offense and post plays). I don't think we need to go that route before the current system yet reach its potential.
So it is really not about Lin vs. Love, who is the better player discussion. It is probably more relevant to discuss whether we should stay with current offense system. So that's why i said we should give more time to current core (Lin-Harden-Parsons-Asik) and see how it develops. Don't get me wrong here, I believe Love is a great player but I don't quite believe that Beverley is ready to take over Lin's job to run some offense. Label me as LOF whenever you want, but I do think Lin is as important as Harden in our current offense

 

ok? i think you are responding to some keywords here as opposed to the actual discussion.

to put it simply, the guy basically said that the Rockets shouldn't look at upgrading talent because hey, it didn't work for the Lakers this year. i disagreed.

 

Easy. I never object upgrading. Just saying not in the expense of breaking the current core that is clicking. Lakers have their own problem. But for me, i think it is more valuable to find the right player and right formula instead of just chasing the big names out there.

 

well you basically criticized that guy for the very fact that he was judging the talent level by position. if you don't want some specific player, fair enough. but that's really where the discussion has to start.

 

I really like Love too, but I don't think they take that offer unless you throw Parsons or Asik in.

 

I get your point, but I don't think you can dismiss the 'better player' argument for the 'best fit' argument. Love is clearly the better player of the two, and I would argue that over the long term, he is likely the better fit. The Rockets offense is going to evolve as its players evolve...it will not always be the run and gun we see today. I'm not saying Lin is a bad player, but I don't believe he will ever be a legitimate All-star (as Love has already proven).

Lin doesn't have the lateral quickness to become a great defender, and even with practice, I don't think he will be an elite shooter. Love is an elite shooter, and an elite rebounder....both of which are needs on our current team, and in the current system.

I won't label you. Lin is nowhere near as important as Harden to this team, IMO. If he were, he would close out games more than 50% of the time. Beverly, a rookie, gets more time at the end of games than Lin does. That's because a) he plays good defense, b) he plays with consistent, high energy, c) he doesn't make mistakes that will cost you the game. Is he near the offensive threat Lin is....no, but you want the responsibility of taking the right shot or making the right pass going to Harden at that moment, not Lin.

I have no problem with letting the current roster develop, but if Love is available, nobody but Harden, Asik, and maybe Parsons is safe.

 

Has anybody considered Dirk? The Mavericks are getting way too old and don't think many people would absorb that massive contract so if he got cut is it possible that the Rockets could target him? It seems like he would be a perfect fit in the offense, even more so than Kevin Love.

Granted, Kevin Love is a rising star and Dirk is in the very end of his career. But imagining a Harden-Dirk combo on offense matched with the Lin, Parsons, Asik running their roles. And then once Dirk retires you still have T-Jones, D-Mo, and T-Rob rising behind him.

Anyways, probably just a pipe dream but I can dream, can't I

 

Houston In: DeMarcus Cousins, John Salmons
Houston Out: Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, DMo, HOU 2014 #1, HOU 2016 #1

Sac In: Jeremy Lin, Eric Gordon, DMo, HOU 2014 #1
Sac Out: DeMarcus Cousins, John Salmons, Marcus Thornton

Pelicans In: Omer Asik, Marcus Thornton, HOU 2016 #1
Pelicans Out: Eric Gordon

Houston
Get 2nd foundational piece in Cousins. Bring Llull over from Spain to compete for the PG slot.

Sacramento
Depends on how much of a headache Cousins is. If he demands a trade (like he did earlier this year), we may have a shot since he's in a contract year (restricted). Lin will have a HUGE following in Seattle, and I imagine would help the bottomline of the struggling franchise tremendously. Eric Gordon, when healthy, is a very good/borderline all-star player. DMo is a developmental big.

Pelicans
Anthony Davis is the future for NO, not Gordon. Adding Asik makes them an elite defensive front court, and allows Davis to focus more on the offensive end. Marcus Thornton replaces most of Gordon's production at a cheaper salary.

 

No to DeMarcus Cousins or Eric Gordon. DeMarcus Cousins is Royce White without the paperwork and Eric Gordon is made of glass and cost way to much. Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik are not untouchable but would like more back PLUS all those draft picks, NO THANKS

 

What is D-Mo's trade value now? Is it more than Pat Patterson or Marcas Morris now? Did playing him hurt or help his trade value. Of the for power forward who has the most trade vaule? Some one needs to go...

Greg Smith (less then 1M a year)
Terance Jones (well rounded game less money the T-Rob)
Terance Robinson ( a lot of upside but RAW)
D-Mo (?)
Royce White ( there is nothing that has not been tweeted already)

 

Sacramento fan?

Asik plus two 1sts is close enough for a love type player... Not too mention what Lin and dmo could fetch you...

 

Cousins solves the mystery of our missing low post presence, and he allows us to maintain spacing on the floor with a stretch 4. He's a headache, but nothing close to Royce and DeMarcus has proven he's an elite talent.

Frankly, I think Lin + Gordon + DMo + 1st round pick in the 20s is cheap for Cousins, but I'm giving Lin a premium for non-basketball reasons ($$$) and Cousins a discount for boneheadedness.

 

Would love to trade Lin, Robinson, D-Mo, and White's useless contract to Utah for Big Al and Milsap in a sign & trade. Utah would get the PG it needs plus young, cheap replacements for its FAs, and we would have:

PG: Beverley/Brooks
SG: Harden/Anderson
SF: Parsons/Delfino
PF: Milsap/Jones
C: Jefferson/Asik/Smith

Too bad Les will never let go of Lin.

 

Al AND Milsap? LOL.... yeh, im sure Utah would be all over that.... why wouldn't they want to trade their whole starting front court for Lin and a couple unproven youngsters......smh....lol.... oh, AND their gonna take White's contract off our hands! LOL....