After thinking about it for a couple of hours Anderson makes a lot of sense. A bit more then Smith! Cut he doesn't really need the ball in his hands like Smith, but damn smiths D is great. Ryan is a great re bounder too!
Teams that need a center... Atlanta Boston Charlotte Dallas GSW LA Lakers Miami New Orleans OKC Portland Of these, only the following have a PF Houston would want.. Atlanta - Josh Smith Dallas - Dirk Nowitzski Lakers - Gasol Miami - Bosh NO - Ryan Anderson OKC - Ibaka Portland - Lamarcus Aldridge IMO, the Rockets should be patient and wait for a deal to present itself, rather than forcing the issue.
Where I am going is defense is much more than about one guy. Has anyone already forgotten the job Garcia did on Durant? Do we have Garcia anymore? Have we forgotten how Harden and Lin are both only average defenders? Have we forgotten that Jones, Dmo, and GSmith were below average? So our entire defense rests with Dwight and Parsons? Sorry, but I dont think thats going to get it done playoff time. This may work through the regular season. But in the playoffs, its a different game. And if you havent noticed that defense becomes more important there, where it counts most, then you havent watched enough playoff games.
i was an advocate of Josh Smith coming to Houston, earlier in the season, but that's only because of Asik's presence. We don't run plays for him, he's our garbage guy. He allowed us to play fast, a la Bogut with the Golden State warriors in the playoffs. Josh Smith would have worked in our initial uptempo system, exploit his rim attacking ability and speed in transition against bigger power forwards. With Dwight here, this is no longer the case, making Josh's skill-set an obstacle to what Houston is trying to do with Harden and Dwight. Harden and Dwight want to be this generations Kobe/Shaq duo. Josh Smith would only get in the way.
The same Garcia that is still a FA and could be a Rocket later on in the off-season...? You assume too much. Let the chips fall where they may. Also, I think Harden has a HUGE ceiling to improve defensively. Could be in for a much improved year in that regard. And Anderson isn't a terrible defender, which is exactly what you're letting on. He's not bad at all and would be just fine teamed up with D12 in the frontcourt.
What if Dirk demanded a trade to Houston, and agreed to take less money? Lin / Beverly Harden / Parsons / Nowitzki / Jones Howard / Smith Not bad!
So, if you don't want Anderson, who you say is better than Smith, then what do you propose for this team, Jim? I'm all ears...
I think if we can somehow resign Delfino and Garcia back...we're set....we dont' need to trade Asik. He will be a great backup Center that we needed. Josh Smith just doesn't fit. Ryan Anderson is NOT going to be able to guard player like Zach Randolph and Duncan at PF...i mean there is advantage for us...but also disadvantage...so i dunno. I don't think Anderson worth Asik though.
As much as I would love to get LMA with a trade focused on Asik (plus young players, picks etc.), with Portland just recently getting Robin Lopez I don't think they are as much in the market for a center anymore.
it's not just about comparing their talent levels, it's about which player fits best with Dwight's strengths.
I can say that having watched how good Nash was and how few people who have ever played the game did for his teammates what he did. This is not meant to take anything away from Harden. But you look at Stockton, Nash, and Paul, and you just cant come away not seeing how they transform the teams they were/are on. Neither Lin or Beverley are at or near that level. But this is really beside the point. What is my point at least is that we need to improve much more defensively than offensively. And trading away our best piece (Asik) for someone merely average on defense (Anderson), doesnt seem the best return for what the team needs most.
Personally, I think Smith is better than Anderson, but Anderson is a better fit for this team, both in terms of his offensive skill set and his salary. The one argument that gives me pause is the claim that Smith might help us match up better against the Heat. (It's nice to even be considering a finals match-up when considering what players to trade for!)
Dwight Howard is going to slow the game down, which will allow our young guys to expend more energy on defense. what aren't you getting here? Harden was actually a good defender in OKC, Parsons is already a really good defender. We have the capacity to get better on that end with Dwight changing the culture of our team, defensively. You do realize that the offensive side of the ball, effects how a team plays defense, right? This is a transformation of the highest order for Houston, i can't wait!
2 things: Asik + Howard paired together would be an utter disaster. Teams could double down on Howard due to Asik's inability to do anything offensively other than put-backs and dunks. So, if you're insinuating that we should keep Asik and pair him with Howard, that's absurd. Second, you might gain someone "average" on defense in Anderson, but he's paired next to, arguably, the best defender in basketball! He can be a bit of a liability, if you will, on defense, and the Rockets defense is not going to suffer much, if at all.
dirk makes $22M this year..not gonna happen Bosh makes $20M again not going to happen. I like LMA, but wont happen before February. So in reality Ryan Anderson
