yah dont forgot about Garcia he was great against Durant I am so excited for this team... we have so many different tools to use... we can use different role players for different teams...whether we need more scoring or defense or a combo of both. I think this is the most excited i have been for a sports season since the championship days. If I read it right it looks like Ronnies advanced defensive numbers are better then brewers...that is interesting to me. Neither can shoot the 3...neither are particularly good at offense, but both can finish at the rim and run the the break. I doubt there is a huge difference in those two when considering the role they would play for our team.
I dont know why you are trying so hard to sell everyone on Covington and trying so hard to make it seem like your word is gospel around here that Covington is a lock, and Brooks is a for sure goner because of some under the table secret agreement to pay him a million dollars for "good measure" since he took a "measly" 2 mil to play 1/3 of a season in Houston as playoff insurance.... yeah... The Rockets really OWE Aaron Brooks for that one.... I'm sure he was so happy rotting on the bench in Sacramento. -Covington's contract is only guaranteed for 150K this year. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=240365 http://data.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/rockets.jsp Since Morey is the same GM that cut 6 + million in guaranteed salary last year, and amnestied a player that had over 20 million left on their contract as well.... its safe to say that an undrafted rookie coming into training camp with such a small guarantee is certainly no lock to make anything. I like Covington's skill set, build for a SF, and he showed some nice things in Summer League..... but come on... Covington is FAR from a lock. Brooks, Williams, Casspi, Brewer, Young, Covington are all NOT locks to make training camp.... some are more likely than others, but nobody.... not even Morey (and especially not you) know exactly how things will shake out from training camp in September to November 1st. But keep trying to sell us your conspiracy theories please.
Young, Covington are Rio Grande material. Between AB, Williams, Brewer and Casspi Williams might be the man odd man out. He is a homeless man's shooter and scorer. Aaron Brooks has been a Houstonian before, was drafted here, was a fan favorite so I guess he has a wild card at least to survive until the trade deadline. Could be wrong though but him coming back again and again proves this point. Casspi and Brewer are guys that are interesting with their strength. Brewer as a finisher and capable defender and Casspi as a versatile 3, 4.
As much as Greg Smith is a 'nice player', if Greg Smith is a heavy contributor on your team, you are not contending for a title, simple as that. Therefore, moving him along for some future asset, while sad, would be ok.
I have my personal opinions & educated guesses, but the truth is its just going to come down to chemistry, injuries, need, and hard work that is shown to the coaches & front office in training camp. My educated guess though is that Williams could be the odd man out just simply because of duplication of position & skill-set. The Reason why I've said before to not count out Aaron Brooks is because of the lack of play-making perimeter players on the bench. Beverley is a very nice PG, but he's not the offensive threat that Brooks has been earlier in his career. I think Beverley has more to offer as a well rounded defensive minded backup, but also having Brooks on the team for certain small lineups could be something the coaches really want to have in their back pocket. IMO, Young, Covington, and Henriquez have the biggest hurdle to jump because of lack of experience (and their contract status doesn't help their case). In training camp and the first few preseason games, they aren't going to know exactly what the coaches are looking for, and might not be as sharp on the NBA offense and defensive sets.... which the coaches will surely not like as they are looking to win big this year and beyond. Still.... its anyone's game to win... If Someone like BJ Young comes in ready to go, works his tail off, and has great chemistry with some of the other core players, you might see him force a veteran like Brewer, Brooks, Williams, or Casspi off the squad. Needless to say, its going to be a very competitive training camp.
The way I see it. Young & Henriquez were signed for their D-League rights/first preference. They'll be the first ones waived. Brooks, Camby, & Williams will compete for the remaining spot. If Canaan shows something early, Brooks could go. Camby needs to show he isn't done. Williams simply has to shoot lights out.
I'd rather have gotten one starting power forward than the last 27 swingmen we've just signed to partially guaranteed contracts. We must be expecting to play a lot of small-ball, considering the signings. If we moved Smith, we'd still be basically the same team. Are you saying if Smith is on the team, we can't contend, but if he's off, we can? Makes no sense.
FWIW, Covington's deal is fully guaranteed this season (at $490,180) and partially guaranteed for $150,000 in 2014-15. He is the only guy from among those on "the bubble" with any guaranteed money beyond this season. (You should re-read the Shamsports salary info for him.) That said, I agree that such guarantee will not greatly influence the decision to keep him on the roster over others. Financially speaking, the Rockets have apparently given the following guarantees to the players below: Henriquez - $0 Young - $40,000 Williams - $473,954 (50% of his 2013-14 salary) Covington - $640,180 ($490,180 + $150,000 in 2014-15) Brooks - $884,293 Camby - $884,293 Casspi - $947,907 Aaron Brooks is guaranteed more money by the Rockets for this season than Robert Covington is guaranteed over the next two years. With the Rockets expected to most likely operate above the cap next summer, Covington's partial guarantee in 2014-15 will not deter any roster decisions. If they keep Covington, it'll most likely be because they like his prospects as a player over any financial decision. Bottom line: Tough roster cuts are a GOOD problem for a team to have. Credit to Les Alexander for ponying up the extra couple of million bucks in guarantees to field a more competitive training camp roster that might possibly yield a superior final 15-man roster.
Agree. I continue to scratch my head as to why Greg Smith is so underrated on this board. The fascination with the grass is greener future of DMo and TJones versus the fact that Smith is still only 22. I think that the most underrated players on this Rockets team are Asik, Smith, and Lin, though for Lin there is more of a wide disparity of views. The repeated comments to trade these 3 guys when they are all young, rapidly improving (and have shown rapid improvement), have great attitudes, are excellent athletes for their position/size, and all play to win, not for stats. It only takes one chucker or selfish player to completely destroy chemistry.
No way they are getting cut: 10 Lin Harden Parsons Howard Asik Beverley Garcia Jones Motiejunas Canaan Almost certainly getting cut: 2 Henriquez Young Likely getting cut: 1 Covington One of these six will get cut: Williams Casspi Brooks Smith Camby Brewer My guess is Williams or Brewer.
i will say this: guys that we went after right away (casspi, williams), have a better chance than guys who we picked up because they were still available (brewer). and guys who proved they can contribute in the nba and playoffs (brooks, smith) have a better chance than guys who are unproven (young, convington, henriquez). most believed that young and henriquez were signed in order to give RGV the rights to keep them after they were cut. in other words, they only got the camp invite so that we can add them to the pipeline, not the rockets roster. while covington was thought to have a real shot at making the roster due to the need for a SF. giving preference to the guys signed earlier, and guys with more experience, the depth chart may look something like this: dwight-asik-camby jones-casspi-donuts parsons-garcia harden-williams lin-beverly-brooks-canaan with RGV but takes a roster space casspi, williams were early targets, so they are favored. brooks and camby are perfect ensurance policies. one spot left for smith, brewer, young, covington, henriquez. i think it comes down to how much better jones and donuts got. if they improved significantly, we don't need smith anymore. if not, smith stays. if smith goes, its between brewers defense and covington's shooting. since we have plenty of shooters brewer with his lock down defense and playoff experience makes the cut. the summer league guys go to RGV. best chance of staying: 1. smith (if jones and donuts haven't improved enough to earn some minutes) 2. brewer (if jones and donuts have improved enough) 3. covington (shooting may be more valuable than brewers defense / playoff experience) young and henriquez are going to RGV.
