It's not as if we want to lose him or see him fail. Probably we're reacting to news (that they'll deny) that Morey was shopping Lin last summer. And that Lin makes an average of 8 million while PBev makes less than a million, and deserves a pay raise. So naturally you see Lin + Asik + whatever for that third All Star trades on here. Thing is, there are two untouchables on the team (H and H), one "hmn, I'd rather keep him, let's keep him out of the conversation" (Parsons), one "look, just because I got Howard without giving up anything doesn't mean you can have this guy for nothing" (Asik)........and just about everyone else.
morey was only shopping lin and asik to clear space for chris paul this summer, Chris paul was going to come to the rockets if clippers didnt get doc rivers. 2 weeks after he signed with the clippers over the summer it was all over the news. Asik still maybe shopped depending on how camp and preseason goes.
So, I stumbled upon this two month old Tim Ohlbrecht interview with a well-established German news outlet. Basically, it's bla bla bla... the Rockets told him and his agent early on that there was a real possibility of him getting cut to make room for Dwight and that the Rockets thus wouldn't be able to play him in Summer League because they wouldn't have been able to waive Ohlbrecht had he got hurt. Ohlbrecht and his agent tried to talk the Rockets into either playing him regardless or waiving him if they chose not to play him. Which the Rockets countered with: which translates to: So, for the few folks that for whatever reason didn't believe any of the reports citing sources saying as much, here you have it coming from someone who was directly told so from the Rockets.
I understand that you're just presenting the info... but I seriously doubt that Daryl tells Ohlbrecht his plans. we all know that any one on the rockets not names harden and howard are movable for the right price/peices so it's not like Asik and Lin being mentioned is new news.
I understand there being a source for this, but come on, Morey telling Olhbrecht he'd try to move Lin and/or Asik so there's room for him on the roster? I recall Olhbrecht having played in the summer league for short minutes.
For those that want Lamarcus Aldridge as the third star, in exchange for say Lin and Asik, just imagine the Miami Heat with say Parsons (resigned at $8M) and Asik instead of Bosh. Would the Heat do this trade (hypothetically, ignoring the super friends issue)? Chalmers, Wade, Parsons, LeBron, Asik is arguably better than Chalmers, Wade, Battier, Lebron and Bosh. A number two option getting paid max contract and getting number 3 option touches ( arguably #3.5 option touches as both Lebron and Wade are ball-dominant) vs two #3 options each getting paid half the max, which is better? I'd take the latter. And Aldridge will be seeking a fresh max contract at age 30 with previous back trouble issues.
Trade does not work out under CBA trade rules. Remember trades both have to be in the 150% rule, and work under the lux tax rules. Asik AND Lin MUST both go out in a trade in order to bring back a 18+ million dollar a year contract. However, LMA is only making 14 million a year, and Asik + a rookie scale contract like Terrence Jones can work. (Asik & Parsons actually doesn't even qualify for LMA). If the Rockets want to trade for Bosh, they are gonna have to find out a way to move both Lin and Asik in either that deal, or separate deals.
Wish I could put a moratorium on people throwing Parsons into trades, especially along with Asik. Neither Bosh nor Aldridge is worth the loss of both of them; and Parsons isn't so readily available. Great glue guy (15 pts, 3 pt shooter, 3 or 4 apg). And gets "hey, you want a beer and nachos?" women to buy (expensive) tickets to games. Not a bad point about Aldridge, although someone posted somewhere that Morey made a play for him (which I don't remember, but let's pretend it's true).
I think we could see a small move before the season. a 2for1 type deal where morey tries to shuffle off our abundance of players for a slight upgrade at spots. http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=kqu4o88 Hou out: t.jones/smith Hou In: Steve Novak Tor out: Novak Tor In: jones/smith Outlook: whether starting off the bench could be a really cheap and effecienct version of anderson. Good fit for what we need at the 4. For Toronto they get a backup c/pf on a cheap contract in smith and a potential quality starter in jones. they also shed some cap which they are currently 11mill over. http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=loyh7rn Hou out: jones/smith Hou In: PPat Sac Out: PPat Sac In: jones/smith Outlook: ironic i know, but he is a great fit and would make us even better. Added bonus is we may get the old CarlHerrerra back. For sac its about taking a risk on jones to see if he becomes better than what ppat is. get a backup center. save a little scratch. Thoughts?
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=n36p7db Howard/Asik/Camby Marion/Asik/Motiejunas Parsons/Garcia/ Harden/Carter/Williams Beverly/Brooks/Canaan Adding Marion and Carter clears a good bit of caproom when this season ends. It also adds big time veteran quality to our lineup. Both are still decently effective players.
I agree on the 2 for 1 idea. Been scanning the teams for possible deals. I would love to have Novak.....if only he were on an expiring or non-guaranteed deal. I can't see making a 2 for 1 deal if we don't get back an expiring or non-guaranteed deal (and a pick if the player is not worth much). Also PPat would be great to get him back now that we have Dwight. Just don't see Sac doing that deal though. So..here's a few possibilities: 1. TJones/Smith for Jason Smith and a second. Smith is expiring. He's a fit. Could possibly get his 3-ball going. Has a nice jumper. Veteran. Has a nice handle for a 7-footer. Nice speed for a big. And very good bball iq. He's a fit. 2. TJones/Smith for Al-Farouq Aminu. Not as good a fit as Smith in my opinion. He's a 3/4 though with great athleticism and defensive potential. Contract is a fit and can be flipped again in December to February. 3. TJones/Smith/DMO for Derrick Williams. If Williams is not extended by Minnesota then he becomes an expiring contract with Bird's rights. He's a superior shooter to both TJones and DMo. Would probably require sending one of those guys to a 3rd team for a pick. And undoubtedly will always be. Former #2 pick in the draft. I've been up and down on him. Still like him because he plays our kind of game, 3-pointers mixed with finishes at the rim with the intention of drawing fouls and getting on the FT line. And if we traded for him now...and he performs well, he can be flipped as well. 4. Smith/Tjones for Alonzo Gee and a pick. Perfect contract. non-guaranteed next yearwith no guarantee date. 5. Possibly the same package for Tyler Zeller although he would have no role here unless we moved Asik later. 6. TJones/DMo for ........ Scoooooooooolaaaaa!!!! and a pick. Not likely though. Can't see Morey bringing Scola back only to use him as trade fodder later. But his contract would be a fit. And we know his game. 7. TJones/Smith for Ed Davis or Quincy Pondexter and a 2nd rounder. Don't really like this deal. Don't feel like Davis is a fit here. Pondexter meh. But the contract fits. 8. Now for the killer....TJones/Smith for ....screeeeeech......Jan Vesely. Yeah, I know. He's a bust. Only chance Vesely has to succeed in the NBA is at the 5 spot. I'm thinking we could take a gamble on him if the Wiz do not opt in to him for 14/15, thereby making him an expiring deal. IF...we traded Asik later...Vesely is the only guy with the size and athleticism to become somewhat close to what Asik is defensively and on the glass. Vesely is a very good rebounder and he should be running up and down the middle of the floor at the 5 spot as a garbage man. And if he doesn't make it...his contract is flippable as extra salary after Dec. 15th. Morey always talks about taking gambles. If the Wiz don't re-up Vesely, making him by default an expiring contract..I can see Morey taking a risk with him.
-Under the CBA rules, a team that amnesties a player cannot re-acquire that player under their current contract. No Scola until either next Summer or the following summer after if his contract is picked up in 2014/15. -Derrick Williams???.... umm not my favorite player in the world, and is currently under the curse of the #2 pick. He's on the books for 5+ mil this year, and without sending out either Lin/Asik, the only choice the Rockets would have in trade is to send all three of Jones/D-Mo/Smith to make salaries work under the 150% rule. All of that given up on a 5 Mil + (and team options for 6 & 8 the following years) a year player who statistically was not even in the TOP 20 in PF rankings last year. On a value contract, he's a long shot worth taking a swing at.... giving up 3 really talented young players on great contracts with almost equal talent, and taking a risk that Williams will leave in free agency after this year if the Rockets do not pick up his ludicrous team option for 2014/15. Do you want me to keep on going or can we all just agree now that Derrick Williams should NOT be a trade target for the Rockets. -Jason Smith I like the idea of picking him up if he was ever to get cut, but the fact is the Rockets are over the cap and would have to send out something like T.Jones and Greg Smith to make the money work. Also, the past two years Smith has had increasingly bad knee issues following his torn ACL a few years ago. He's a quality veteran, but not someone the Rockets could count on to give them 30+ minutes a night as their starting PF. I wouldn't be surprised though if the Pelicans waive him at some point late in the season. If that does happen, and nobody else has stepped up at the spot, I would love for the Rox to make a bid to pick him up for the playoffs. -T. Zeller would be nice, but I just dont see the Cav's trading their 2nd year big man when he had such a strong rookie campaign, Bynums injuries looming, and Varejao most likely leaving them next year in free agency to join a contender. You are going to have to blow their door down with a nice offer to get them to bite. I dont think Zeller would be worth to the Rockets what his asking price would be. .................................................................................. The unpopular unsexy answer here is simply to wait. Right now there just isn't much out there to go after. If D-Mo/Jones/Smith/small-ball doesn't work out then I would assume that a quality veteran will come available sometime around the trade deadline for near scraps. Its worth saving your assets not just in case a perfect scenario trade comes available for a true starting PF or star player like Aldridge. Dont forget the Rockets won a championship with a starting PF that previously the year before was playing in the CBA and Italy..... (Tinman would love this reference). The Rockets probably could have traded Kenny Smith(since Cassell looked like the future PG) for a veteran PF instead of taking a flyer on a CBA reject, but they didn't and Kenny ended up being a key part of the sweep that year against Orlando. I think a perfect player will fall into Morey's lap for the PF position if he's not already there on the roster now. You'd have to hope that SOMEONE will step up and claim that spot at some point in the next 4 weeks. If not, Morey found Beverley in Russia in the middle of the season last year. I think he will at some point find a quality PF without breaking the bank or trading the farm. (maybe even your boy Covington steps up.... who knows)
Bad knees and not much of an upgrade Aminu is a 3. Good at d but doeant really improve us much... No thanks. Not a good fit and were past taking risks on players hoping for a star. Not worth it. Decent but more a 3 imo plus not worth it. Zeller is not going anywhere, besides he's likely more an offensive 5. Illegal under cba, but i wish... Good player, just bad fit. A rich GreggSmith. No thanks to jan vesely. Doesn't fit. More of a 5. And a bust.
Picked this one up from Real GM: HOU out: Greg Smith, 2014 1st HOU in: Pat Patterson PHI out: Evan Turner PHI in: Greg Smith, Outlaw, HOU 2014 1st SAC out: Pat Patterson SAC in: Evan Turner This will make the Rockets much better this year and doesn't hamper us going forward. Patterson is an efficient stretch four with serviceable defense. Smith will likely find his playing time limited this year and a late 20s pick isn't going to do much for us going forward. Lin / Beverley / Brooks / Canan Harden / Garcia Parsons / Casspi Patterson / Jones / Motie Howard / Asik / Camby
So you'd give up Smith's cheap contract (which I imagine we could get a 2nd rd pick for) and a 1st... for PPat? PPass..... lol
I don't get why everyone likes this so much. Trading away our bench defensive anchor for more 3 pt shooting just because we seem to have an extra 5 and lack a starting 4 is questionable. Makes sense for Pelicans, not for us. We have plenty of offense and defense is the big question mark; you do not improve by trading one of your best defensive players for another offensive weapon when you already have plenty of shooters. And it helps the Pelicans more than it helps us, and they are a divisional rival, so that makes it a definite no.
When you have an obvious surplus in one position and a glaring weakness at another, it definitely makes sense to upgrade that weakness to a strength, while keeping the other position a strength as well.
