Smith took over fifteen shots a game in Atlanta. He wouldn't get that many attempts here. His defensive impact would fully carry over, though.
I think you're way off. Smith and Howard are anything but redundant. They are both near the top at their respective positions in pure athleticism, both can leap outta the gym, block shots, rebound well and have great quickness for their size. Smith has plenty of range. Range is not his problem, shot selection has always been his issue. He wont have to lead this team, which I think will help round out his overall game. He spreads the floor out to the three point line, so spacing will not be an issue as he wont be asked to postup unless D12 is on the bench or he has a mismatch. As for why everyone would love to see the Lin-Harden-Parsons-Smith-Howard lineup. Lets start with average age of 26, all still improving, Lin is healthy and his game and shot continue to get better. 2 players with massive ball-handling abilities, allowing our offense to be more multiple. Smith can run point forward in certain sets and can play the 5 when D12 needs a break. Smith can run like few others his size, advantageous when we play smallball and get out and run. Parsons is a Top 10 SF who can play multiple positions, plays above average D, has range, improving 3 pt shot, and is on the highest value contract for performance in the entire league. He is the type of player that Les will exceed the luxury tax to keep because he is that valuable to the team. Harden's value and ability at 24 speak for themselves. D12's value speaks for itself. Rockets become a title contender for the next 4 years if we roll out this lineup next season. Odds in Vegas will drop down to probably 8:1 for a title next season.
The Josh Smith hate is unreal... So much misplaced criticism...We've got people claiming he shoots less than 50% from the FT line, and that he is one of the most inefficient players in the NBA... Smith would be a perfect fit. He would be a very good 3rd option on offense, and he can clog the paint and haul down offensive rebounds. He defense and athleticism alone make him worth it, but he can do a little bit of everything. He and Howard could be a deadly combination in the paint. All that combined with Harden and Parsons on the perimeter... That would most definitely be a legit championship contender.
JSmith would be pretty good on our team, esp. if we got Dwight. I'd move Asik for him, esp. if he'll sign for just $12.5M. Moving White w/ Asik to pay JSmith more is okay...but I'm not as happy about that. Why? In offense, JSmith works fine because he is enough of a threat to spread the floor out to a reasonable degree. This is, however, where most of his cons are: He's 38% from the right wing and 30% overall from 3. That is bad, but not atrocious. Obviously 38% from the right wing is great, but we may not be able to control where he shoots. His midrange %'s suck and he takes 2/3 of his shots away from the rim. BUT at the rim he is a whopping 78%! Where he takes 1/3 of his shots. Being part of the Rockets, his offense will be okay because we do a lot of fast-break and transition points. Smith is one of the best above the rim finishers and will get tons of points that way. Otherwise on offense, he is what...4th option? He will simply not have the ball in his hands NEARLY as much as he does in ATL. If he is just as inefficient, at least he does it w/ way fewer touches. I can live w/ that. Smith is also a good passer out of the post (Dwight isn't) so having that helps. He's a decently good post player, and has a pretty darn good drive and kick game, which is very much what Rockets do. Smith is not a black hole on offense as some suggest. His RAPM ORating in 2012 was a positive 1.3. This yr (up to end of March), it was positive 0.8. But we all know, if we get Smith it will be for his defense more than his offense. Smith is a top defender in the league. He can defend in the post, is a great weak side shot blocker and more importantly, gives us the flexibility to play him as a defender on the perimeter as well. It allows us to field different lineups to match the opposing team, and in crunch time, he won't be taking the clutch shot. Let's be honest -- that's Harden, or anyone else but him. But in crunch time Smith WILL be the one defending the other team's star. Smith allows 101 points per 100 possessions, which is pretty good when you compare it to some of the best defenders in the game (Gasol at 98, Tony Allen at 98). Lebron is 101 as well, and I don't think anyone on our team who played significant minutes is better than 101. For comparison, someone like Melo is 108. Last yr, Smith was an amazing 96!! for his DRating. His RAPM stats are similar. Last yr, his DRating was 4.9, a big reason why he ended up being #6 in the whole league for overall RAPM. This yr, his DRating was 2.3. Guy can defend, and I'm not even looking at how he stuffs the stats sheet. TL;DR: Smith will be great on our team due to our drive and kick system, transition/fast break points where we need a strong finisher above the rim. Pros: -matches aforementioned offensive system easily -can pass out of the post -78% conversion at the rim -not negative on the offensive end, just not amazing -defense, defense, defense -- the main reason why we get him +can defend the 3 or the 4 +amazing stats when it comes to defense and a clutch defender +good weakside shot blocker to put next to Dwight Cons: -one of the worst bball IQ players in the league right now making significant $$$ -outside of 9 ft, he can't shoot worth a damn, though at least he's 30%+ from 3 pt range (and 38% from the right wing) -bit turnover prone But his cons are somewhat mitigated by the fact that he will NOT have the ball in his hands nearly as often, esp. in clutch situations. No way Smith will have the ball often enough to take nearly 16 FGAs a game like he did this yr, or have a 27% usage rate. pffft. He will drive and kick a bit, settle closer to the low block or camp out at the 3 pt line on offense. He'll still make dumb offensive plays and brick some midrange shots, but it will be a fraction of how often he does it now w/ ATL, where he's essentially one of their top 2 players.
I don't know how Chandler will be on defense. It slipped this past season as he focused more on offense. Not sure how any changes to the team will affect where he emphasizes his energy/time. Smith would be a great perimeter defender on Lebron of course, but really, no one can fully contain Lebron over a 7 game series. Same is true to a lesser extent for Durant. It is really just stopping them for a few games, and then hoping for the best, i.e., shut down those around LBJ/Durant.
Actually bad news, and not only because we view and evaluate Smith's talents differently. If Dwight had instead said he would LOVE to play w/ Smith, then Rocket's chances of signing Dwight go WAY up since we're one of the few teams that can sign Dwight AND make a move for Smith in a SnT that ATL would love. If he really doesn't care at all about JSmith, we sort of lose some leverage
so... if dwight told the rockets that he wants a third superstar, but doesn't care for josh smith, then who does he have in mind? cp3? hasn't that ship already sailed?
Yea and if he doesnt care to play with Smith, than what the hell are we doing meeting with Smith today??? Especially if the Rockets feel confident they will sign Dwight..
I would take AK47 over Smith. Always been a huge fan of Kirilenko and his intangibles. On a related note, is it me or is the chemistry already starting to come into question with DHo apparently rolling into town? We hardly had any discussions about chuckers, bad shots, low iq, etc. with our lineup last year. Not a good trend unless you like drama and missed potential. Well, I'm still hoping if this all happens that our coaching staff can sort things out.
HAHAHA this is hilarious. ITS HAPPENING!!! Lord, please let it happen. Please. We've all been through so much as Rockets fans. Its about time.
This is how I envision the meeting: Daryl Morey: Josh, we want both you and Dwight. The way it will work is we sign Dwight with our cap space, then trade both Lin and Asik either to a team that can absorb their contracts or to Atlanta in a sign and trade for you and a 1st round pick. However, we're going to be honest with you, Dwight is our priority. We will wait for him to make a decision before we do anything other than make preparations. You will be our starting PF and back-up SF playing heavy minutes. Your role will be a simple one, on offense you will be stationed on the right wing where you will take open 3's, not long 2's, pass or shoot depending on the situation. Other than the restrictions on long 2's, you will have alot of freedom within this offense and we believe you will do very well. I believe you have played at an All-Star level before but you didn't get the recognition you deserved, and you will get that recognition here because your talents will be maximized here. What do you think? Josh Smith: Sounds good! I'm definitely interested. Since you need to wait to see what Dwight does, I will also do my due diligence with other teams, but you guys are on the top of my list and I think it will stay that way if you guys will have me. Daryl Morey: Perfect, we will keep in touch.
Ok, you've got me convinced to give him a shot, but at what price, Asik, Lin, or both Asik and Lin? But Smith still seems like an amped up Stacy Augmon to me.
I don't think ATL wants Lin, and Asik would be more redundant if we got Howard than our starting PG. ATL wants Asik -- they've expressed interest ever since the trade deadline. The deal would have to be centered around him. I imagine Rockets would want to do a SnT for Smith w/ Asik only (assuming we go this route). That'd allow us to offer Smith around $12.5M his first yr. Is that enough for Smith? I don't know...it is sort of low. Our next option would be Asik + White in a SnT. This would allow us to offer up to $15M. I would hate to do this though because Smith isn't worth that amount and it ties us up in the future. I'd do maybe $13.5M or something, but move White w/ Asik out. There is absolutely no reason to move both Lin and Asik out unless Morey has other plans (i.e., to clear the room to sign Jack or something, but again, Smith would have to agree to a much lower deal, like around $12-13M, and we'd have to move others too like White or some other young PF).
Josh Smith had his best season a few seasons ago when he abandoned the three and played more focused on driving and post play......if he gave us that Josh Smith then i would be all for signing him
