[NYPost] Rockets could make push for Carmelo (UPDATE: Blog post)

First of all- Hello BasketballHollic, or should I say Jopatmc. Maybe if you keep creating multiple accounts every two weeks it will seem like more people buy into your BS.

Its an assumption, and its a large jump. Yes even Larry Coon himself has Tweeted that this is the "projection". All I'm saying is that its not 62 million yet, and if your a smart GM, you should probably plan for anything and everything... and that would be to plan as if its not set in stone that the cap would go all the way up to 62 million.

My issue is BHollic speaking as if its written in stone. Its not yet, and you can only account for what the cap is now to know FOR SURE that the Rockets could get somewhere close to a max deal. Right now it looks like a very big paycut Melo would have to take EITHER WAY.

Apparently, its according to you and your alter ego BasketballHollic, its a no brainer for him to take not only the final year of his deal, but also shave off somewhere between 3 and 6 million dollars a year in the first 4 seasons. We are talking about a year of superstar salary, and essentially a pretty hefty bonus he's walking away from.

All I'm saying, is you shouldn't be discounting fact into whatever no-brainer decision making you think he or any normal opportunistic American would think.

Its highly dismissive & naive to think anyone would turn down that much more earning to go to the Rockets just because you say so.

Its called being sarcastic. I should have said 185 years old so you would understand. I'm perfectly capable of going online to look up how old he is thank you.

Point is: players peak, competition gets better, injuries happen, etc. etc... its a HUGE RISK to walk away from a guaranteed deal like the one he gets from New York if he stays.

However I would LOVE for the Rockets to acquire him, and for him to take the risk on the Rockets & for them to be able to move Lin & Asik for nothing & sign Melo with whatever cap space they would have left.

First of all- The Jazz were well compensated for their cap space to absorb these guys, and their contracts are very, very different than a traditional NBA expiring contract. For whatever reason, owners are having a real difficult time grasping the balloon payment, and are really having a tough time excepting the additional bonus essentially they would have to pay them.

Case in point:... Did you not just witness the public auction of Asik back in December??? Did you not see that the best offer on the table was for the Rockets to take back bad salary in Bass/Lee just to move Asik?

And Asik is a good players... Jeremy Lin.....????.... I think he's ok, but he's playing at a stacked position around the league, is generally very polorizing as a player, and comes with a hefty price tag.

If any GM can move these two players on the dime its Morey, but all I'm saying is we should not be dismissive (like you and Basketballhollic CLEARLY are being) at how freaking difficult it will be once there is ZERO leverage Morey will have to move them once other GM's see that Morey has to move them ASAP to make space for Melo.

Cause three team trades are that easy... Again you and your buddy are being dismissive & assumptive with trades. Yes its technically something they could theoretically accomplish, but it would be extremely difficult to do with no leverage.

I dont walk the GARM as if I'm the god of basketball and running a basketball team. I've been wrong before, and I will probably be wrong later about something again. However I'll at least admit when I'm wrong, and not be an incredibly huge douche to everyone else here, and act like everyone should throw a parade celebrating how lucky the GARM is to have me.

 

Here we see that the majority of Melo's shots (mid-ranged) are converted at a 44.3% clip. That translates into .886 PPS. Melo however is very good from beyond the arc. However Melo only converts 53.8% of his shots in the restricted area. That is approximately what D-Mo converts, a second year player. Melo takes almost 50% of his shots from mid-range.



Here are the same stats for the Rockets team. They convert shots in the restricted area 10% more of the time than Melo. They also only take ~11.5% of their shots from mid-range. This is opposed to Melo's ~45%.

Has Morey shown any inclination to add mid-range shooters to the lineup? Is Melo not scoring at a 0.10 PPS deficit to the Rockets as a team? Does Melo add anything to a team other than his inefficient point production? Won't Melo demand a $20M+ salary? Just asking. I have gotten off of the "superstar koolaide". Love is the target in 2015. Nothing major is happening this off season.

 

I learned my lesson about discussing Clutch. No comment.

 

I'm out of the loop on all this stuff, but is the following a possibility?

If we get Melo this summer, wouldn't that allow us to include him in a sign n trade package for Love in 2015? Or would picks/young players be more attractive to MIN?

You basically get a one year rental out of him to see if he fits with the team, and if not, ship him off to MIN.

 

#1 I would not count on Carmelo Anthony leaving the Knicks with Phil Jackson taking over the Knicks. Anthony only needed a genuine excuse to resign, and now he has it.

#2 To anyone saying Morey wouldn't deal for Anthony, you are just flat out wrong. Anthony is the type of stretch 3-4 the Rockets would like to have. He is strong enough to play the 4, and rebounds well enough. He can score in the post as well as on the perimeter. The midrange jumpers he shoots are in large part the product of the offense he is in, and has stated he would modify his game.

#3 The reality is that we cannot be overly picky, and Morey will not be either. The window to compete in the NBA is very small for everyone. Howard will not always be young, and you never know with injuries. At some point in the next 12 months the Rockets will get a star player, and Lin and Asik will be gone. The real question is will be player be an all star level player like Rondo or Afflalo level player or will it be the next level player like Love or Aldridge.

 

Everything JTR is saying about Melo not being a fit under Moreyball is understandable & probably correct that its probably going to be an odd fit with this lineup right way, and could bomb. I dont know if anyone would say that he's a perfect fit.

However, we can't discount Clutch himself's report that he has knowing that the Rockets went after him at the deadline and will go after him again. Also Morey went after him hard back in 2011 or whenever although under different circumstances. This is pretty much a fact, and says something about the Rockets way of thinking on this issue beyond what their analytics are telling them.

I think the overarching theme is that Morey will take the superstar talent and let the basketball philosophy take care of itself later on through change of style of play (either from that player, or the coach changing their style) to complement their top talent.

I think my take would be that the Rockets offensive philosophy would probably change quite a bit, and the guy who would most likely be victimized over it (in stats & status as the #1 scorer) would be Harden....

However, my one take-away from that was that Harden would be in a much of the same role that he was with OKC playing alongside Durant where he was more of a creator/facilitator, and scored at a ubber efficient rate.... basically otherworldly efficient.

Melo is not Durant, and Harden has an ego that might be effected with him taking a back seat in scoring... so there are things to consider, but I personally think that Morey (possibly pushed by Les here more than anyone) will try and put themselves in that risky situation for better or worse.

 

I think Parsons is a very good player but he's not on Carmelo's level. I don't think we can keep him AND sign a 3rd star to go with Harden and Howard.

So if I can't keep him, I rather trade him to get that potential 3rd Star for the team. ( ie Carmelo) Who is a proven commodity we can trade if it doesn't work out.

 

Love is a free agent in the summer of 2015. The sign and trade is not being used for good reason anymore. Love is tantalizing because the Rockets need nothing to sign him other than cap space in 2015.

 

It'd be PR doom so it'd never happen.

 

The Rockets can keep Parsons AND sign a third superstar.

 

If Morey acquires a 3rd (I dont like using the term "Max" player) "Large Salary" player either this Summer of before next, Yes Morey can acquire that player and resign Parsons since they earn his bird rights going into free agency.

However, the only question is if he's making enough to push the Rocket deep into the luxury tax level, how much is too much for Les?

But yes the Rockets can keep Parsons and make a move for another "Large Salary" type of player.

-People have different thoughts on this I'm sure, but I believe Parsons can fit in just about any lineup. He doesn't rebound at the rate you would like for someone his size, but he's got the potential to improve enough to play the 4 more minutes than he currently does, and in the Rockets offense, Melo (if he's that third star) would be your Power Forward although the Rockets offense would likely change to get more ball movement, and prevent isolation stagnation.

 

Just out of curiosity, what makes Love a better fit than Carmelo, since you obviously believe Carmelo is a flat-out terrible fit.

Melo is more accurate from 3 and plays far superior defense to Love. He can also create his own shot more reliably than Love.

 

The Rockets have a very short window of time to compete for a championship. Injuries, age and production call all come into play at any time. Look no further than the McGrady/Yao years.

I find it very hard to believe that Morey will essentially waste 2 years of Harden/Howard in their prime to go after a free agent in 2015 unless it is an absolute last ditch option.

The reason Asik and Lin were not dealt is because the Rockets were offered nothing that would help the team as much as Asik/Lin in the short term AND not destroy long term flexibility. Had such an offer been made, or a star player available, the Rockets would have made a move.

In 2015, the Knicks and Lakers both will have cap space. The Rockets really do not want to get into a situation where a number of large markets/attractive teams have cap space and there are only so many free agents. In the case of Love, it is VERY possible he would sign with LA (his home) or NY (he loves attention). If the Rockets get Love, it is a S&T and that is a long shot.

The first legitimate star player that Morey feels makes us a legitimate title contender that is available, Morey will go after... and yes, that player will have warts.... but they will make it work, like they have with Howard.

 

Yes, he went after Gasol, LMA, and Melo twice, all midrange shooters.

Yes, but he is scoring more efficiently than those who he would be replacing, thus team scoring would increase. What backwards math you are using to convince yourself otherwise is an extreme reach. It is also well known that as your volume decreases, which it would here, efficiency increases which you are ignoring.

Yes, low turnovers, better bench/starting balance (IE less minutes for Parsons/Harden). He would be the best post up player on the team. He would be the highest 3 point shooter on the team. He is also an excellent rebounder, specifically for his position.

Yes, he will demand a hefty price tag because he is a top 7 player in the league. Get back on the superstar koolaid. Love is "A" target, among many, but it is first come, first serve.

 

Everyone should take a Xanax before considering Morey trade talks. Morey has every other NBA GM on speed dial. And he is viewed as the most active NBA GM. But is he offering credible trade deals? Are the discussions serious, or are they just a courtesy call? I have no idea.

 

It depends then how much you like Parsons. I don't think he's worth it to go deep into lux tax for. I think he'll want 10+ mill at year which is way over priced.

 

One reason Melo would be good:

The Rockets in the half-court end up playing iso ball. Who is better at going 1 on 1 than Carmelo?

 

Don't forget that Melo is BY FAR the best player on his team. As such, he's asked to do things that he otherwise wouldn't if surrounded by better talent.

Again, we don't want NYK Melo, although we would almost certainly still take him. We want Olympics Melo. THAT Melo has better athleticism than Terrence Jones (which is the whole reason Jones is even on the court), a better 3 point stroke than Kevin Love, is an equal free throw shooter to Harden, and can mix it up in the paint on either end. Melo would be the 3rd best player on this team, and he's still a top 15 player in the NBA.

I don't think having a 2nd go-to scorer can be overemphasized. You would probably see everyone's efficiency go through the roof. Also, with Harden, Howard, Melo, and Parsons, you would always have at least 2 of them on the floor at all times:

Harden - Parsons
Harden - Howard
Harden - Melo
Howard - Parsons
Howard - Melo
Melo - Parsons

That gives your lineup incredible flexibility, and it means the foot never comes off the gas throughout the course of a game.

 

I rather pay someone like Ariza 7 to 8 mil who can shoot the 3 and be our defensive wing player.

Parsons definitely can fit in any line up but at what salary and would you go into lux tax for him? For me, I wouldn't.

 

Are you saying that the Rockets are not competing for a championship this season? Like in seriously competing?