Memphis would be devastating at the front court. Two top 4 defensive Centers. The only thing is, Asik would be a rental and once Marc comes back, Asik would go back to being mad about being a back up. Thus, Memphis would give a quick "no." Although, they did just fire Lionel Hollins. So, it's not like they will always make the smartest moves. That trade would most definitely solve a lot of Houston's problems and puts us in contention.
More to do with Blazers not really needing Asik or Lin with Lopez and Lillard there. According to most Blazers, Asik is a very small upgrade to Lopez and Batum is next to untouchable. And with their great start to the season, I doubt they want to change things up
Best player available always, or there is the possibility of getting great draft pick value that you can later flip this Summer. Also just because Jones looks like a keeper, doesn't mean you can't upgrade the position and still keep him. If someone as good as Taj Gibson can come off the bench for the Bulls, so should Jones be able to. Here are ways you could upgrade- Upgrade the 2/3/4 spots- The weakness of this team seems to be leadership & having a steady hand in late game situations, 3 point shooting, and perimeter defense. Adding a veteran like Luol Deng makes perfect sense in this scenario where you bring one of Jones/Parsons/Deng off the bench, and rotated those 3 at the 3/4 spots. Casspi then sees less playing time which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Batum would also fit very well in this spot. Upgrade the 4- Obviously LMA, Bosh, & Love are obvious upgrades, but also bringing in Millsap & Ryan Anderson would do wonders as well. Anderson is someone that can come off the bench or start, and gives you the ultimate floor spacing weapon to play alongside Dwight. Its a pricy, but deadly pairing. Millsap is a sure upgrade at the 4 spot, and immediately makes the starting 5 better on both ends. Not really the vocal leader you would want, but he's a hard working vet who can put up all-star level numbers if you need him to. Perfect fit for this team IMO, but I'd still like to keep Jones if you are NOT getting one of LMA or Love. Upgrade the PG- Rondo is the obvious candidate here, but I'm less high on bring him into the mix than others might be for this team. The personality mixture in the locker room is what kind of scares me. On the court, I love it.... especially if they can keep Lin coming off the bench in a 6th man role. Another candidate nobody is mentioning is Ty Lawson. Other than that, not too sure there are many other viable upgrades. NO to Deron Williams if he ever was to come available. Its been 3 years since he's put together a quality season, and has earned the title coach killer over the past few years. Also he's making 22+ mil in 2016/17... he kills the ability to upgrade anywhere else on the roster. Upgrade the Backup C- Only as a side deal or part of a bigger deal. No way I simply downgrade Asik for another backup center right now that isn't as good as Asik is. There will be options for backups later on this year if there aren't any now. Okafor could very well get bought out in the coming months, and Camby can fill in come February. Also D-Mo's long term position is the 5. He can fill in most nights. They just need someone there in case he's getting trampled on defense. I'm not as worried about this as some here seem to be. The Rockets will also have their mid level this Summer to bring in someone in free agency.
The problem with another wing defender is they are not going to start over harden or parsons so it defeats the purposes which one will be on the bench when it's crunch time and we need a stop and don't say parsons will be at PF at those late game situations where we need big stops because TJ has proven to be a good defender so somebody explain to me how this can work
If they bring in another wing player... especially a 3, it cuts into Casspi's minutes as Parsons slides over to the 4 spot more.... not necessarily a terrible thing as I really dont see Casspi as a big part of a contending team. Dont think of it as upgrading Harden/Parsons/Jones. Think of it as upgrading Casspi's minutes with either Parsons, Jones, or X player instead.
I watched both games twice, and funny as it sounds, thought TJ played good defense. NBA is just weird, it's not normal basketball. At any other level you would want to run an offense to get an open shot. But in NBA you have players like Dirk and Melo who can score 40pts when covered. Both were on top of their game, and had their animal instinct going, so the defender really didn't matter. That's the difference with these types of players, they can score 40 when covered, and ironically sometimes they may be a bit worse with a bad defense than with a good one. Give them open looks and they can get out of sync. That's the difference between those player and the Kyle Korvers and J.J Redicks of the world. The latter can't do a squat when covered... I remember Dream was like that, too. He would destroy the likes of David Robinson and Ewing, but never had a single good All-Star game, where there is no defense...
I'm not sure about that. It's not like he's just hitting a bunch of 23 foot shots and he's just hot. He's getting high percentage buckets for the most part. There is no reason why he can't keep that up.
Here's a possibility on how it can work Rondo / Brooks Harden / Shumpert Parsons / Casspi / Garcia / Shumpert Howard / defensive minded center filler / Camby / Smith Rondo 2013-2014 $11,900,000 2014-2015 $12,000,000 Shumpert 2013-2014 $1,400,000 2014-2015 $2,400,000 we can still make a run if needed in the 2015 free agency after we assess Rondos production, asik & lin would not stay reguardless, the cap is expected to go up $5-6mill that would put us at us $20,000,000 to spend, possible to resign rondo & parsons Rockets turn into a defensive team without sacrificing much offense 1. defense on the perimeter with the 1st & 2nd unit 2. still have offensive on the perimeter with the 1st & 2nd unit 3. maybe brewer can be that guy instead of shumpert when he comes back from his calf injury, but shumpert is the better shooter regardless. Shumpert can slide to the 3 if we go small to close out a game, he likes to guard guys like Paul george, parsons will be at the 4, you will a ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM PLAYER at the 1 & 5 and have a PROVEN lockdown perimeter guy at the 3 to close g 4. This line up gives Harden more rest which will help us going into playoffs RAJON RONDO NBA champion (2008) 4× NBA All-Star (2010–2013) All-NBA Third Team (2012) 2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2010–2011) 2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2009, 2012) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2007) 2× NBA assists leader (2012-2013) NBA steals leader (2010) <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wFH_qCJlD_8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Iman Shumpert - young but PROVEN wing defender in reg. season & playoffs <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XADvQQHdxWY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
^^^^^^ this post also helps the rebounding & turnover issue that are being discussed in the other threads. Rondo takes care of the ball & is a great rebounder, he averaged a triple double before in a playoff series against the heat.
Throw the Bulls in the mix. They won't win anything this year with Rose out, so maybe we can pry some pieces from them. I do doubt why they would want Asik, but maybe something could be had.
They would get Asik because they already know him, and if you're dismantling the team Noah is too good to keep on the roster when you can trade him for picks and young players. Noah is a necessity on a play off team, he's a luxury on a rebuilding team at $11.3M/year. I wouldn't be shocked if Noah, Deng, Gibson and Boozer are all gone by next season.
Asik for Tony Allen? we need to improve our perimeter defense i was thinking Deng since Rose is out again Chicago may just tank and get a good pick this year but with Deng, Parsons, who will start? Asik+fillers for Deng and it's not really helping the team
I'm beginning to doubt that we will wait on potential moves to make sure we have max room in 2015. We would lose two years of the MLE, when we clearly need defensive help and consistent bench scoring. If Morey doesn't wait until 2015, that means everyone on this roster, minus Harden and Howard, are available. Can Asik + Lin + Parsons + Beverley + TJones + Houston's picks get you an all-star level player? If I'm Harden/Howard, I'm willing to live with holes/flaws in the roster this year, but probably not next year. We really need those MLE's to fill in the gaps.
