I'd be all over this, but no way ATL lets horford go. It'd take Asik + Parsons + Picks to even start a conversation with them and we ain't giving that much up. They're looking for a scoring sf or sg if they're going to lose horfords production.
I don't know. They are obviously over stacked at the PF position and there is no need to keep two players of that caliber there in the same position. I would think that Asik + Jones + Pick/s would be sufficient though not sure we want to create a hole just to fill a hole. Asik kept us alive during the Portland series. We need a legit backup to Howard.
I agree, they'll need to let one of horford or milsap go to fill their holes at the 5 and 3. I just think they'll let go of milsap before they do horford.
I love the Rockets, but I would be utterly disappointed if we play the same style of games next year. As shown in this series, we can not live and die by harden, he does not have the will in him. Promising superstars shows improvement each year but I have yet to see that from Harden. There's a lot of work to be done and this team is FAR from being a contender. I hope being exposed in the playoff serves as a wake up call for the entire organization from top to bottom, that you can't just cheat your way to championship with no defense, harden iso, and dwight post ups, you need more dynamics and make your offense unpredictable. Harden needs to commit to defense and we need to rely less on his offense, having more plays for other starters will help conserve harden's energy so he could play some d what a disappointing season, acquiring Howard made zero improvement to our playoff success, and that is totally on the coaching staffs. It is ironic that we lost to this quote “Teams that play together beat those teams with superior players who play more as individuals.” -Jack Ramsay
Harden played like crap against Portland and he needs to be held accountable for doing nothing on the defensive end. That being said, it's untrue to say he didn't show improvement this season. That midrange stepback jumper became a reliable go-to move for him. He definitely got better at that this past year. Also, even though the differences may be marginal, he improved his assist numbers and free throw percentage. Are there still areas he needs to work on? Of course. Defense first and foremost. I'd also like to see him continue to expand his offensive game. Learn to post up. Get as good going right as going left off the dribble. Make his move quicker instead of using up most of the shotclock. But let's not act like he hasn't made huge strides in his game since arriving in Houston. Believe me, if he was this good back in his OKC days, he'd still be a member of the Thunder.
I'm convinced the plan is to dump Asik & Lin during the draft (even if we have to throw away picks as a sweetener), use the cap space to sign Melo, and then make Parsons a RFA to keep him on a reasonable contract as a backup SG/SF/PF. Maybe offer Pau Gasol the full MLE? PG: Beverley/Canaan SG: Harden/Daniels SF: Anthony/Parsons PF: Gasol/Jones C: Howard/Motiejunas
Gasol for the full MLE would be awesome though he would likely be offered a starting job and more money elsewhere.
Because Gasol played so well with Howard in LA. I will say though, Gasol with Hakeem and McHale is scary.
I would like this option better than any I have seen so far. Like was said later, I don't think Gasol would take just the MLE, but if so, get it done. This would give us a very good starting line up and a good 2nd unit. Would love to see this happen.
I'd still take Horford over Gasol. He puts up slightly better numbers, is a better defender and is 6 years younger. Works far better long term with our team as constructed. Also, don't want Anthony on this team. He's a cancer.
At present the Rockets have no answer for players like LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant, Longhorns both, unless Donatas Montiejunas finally learns how to use all the tools we thought he has to develop. I don't see trading Lin for anything near equal value or even trading away without damaging the team by including "incentive" players, so that $15M consumed for next year. Asik, a player I would love to keep, is the only somewhat expendable Rocket who possibly can get us a second or third scoring option via a direct trade or a three-team swap around. Bosh and Love has the height and scoring ability to counteract Aldidge and perhaps offset Durant somewhat. Carmelo Anthony's acquisition means saying good-bye to Chandler Parsons. Melo is just not a power forward, but he would be an upgrade at SF (and that's tough to say and tougher to swallow). Since the Rudy Gay trade, I have never had any confidence in Morey, but he had better find a once-in-a-lifetime gem of a PG or PF in the draft.
#1 The point of Asik and Lin is move them for the cap space necessary to sign a max free agent. Adding a max player takes priority. #2 The Rockets will keep Chandler Parsons if they sign Carmelo Anthony. The rules are such that they can go over the salary cap limit to resign him. #3 Rudy Gay is an overpaid, inefficient player. I am glad he is not on the Rockets. In hind sight the Rockets actually won that trade. #4 Morey doesn't need to find a "once-in-a-lifetime power forward or point guard."
You're looking at this the wrong way. The mentality of the Rockets front office is: 1) The Rockets lost a bunch of those games against Portland on coinflips. 2) The Blazers were one of the best #5 seeds ever. 3) Coaching doesn't really matter in the NBA. So with that kind of mindset, the real question is why would you not bring back McHale? (P.S. I'm not defending this delusional thought process of Morey and Les's. Just trying to explain why to them it makes sense to waste another year on the McFail experiment.)
That may be the mindset of the FO but mostly the mindset is young teams get better if you just leave them alone. Morey mentions the Thunder's growth all the time. Yes there will be tweaks but teams grow as a unit and do get better if they have consistency. Get a new coach and that chemistry, consistency starts all over again. The gains are lost. Are you saying McHale can't learn to be a better coach? This was his third season here and his teams have won more games each year. I'm not defending him but from Morey's view it's useless to just replace him when they'd have to pay him anyways (contract ends after next season). Look at the coaches available now. $25 mil for Steve Kerr? That's just stupid money for a coach with less experience than McHale!!! The team will have better depth next season and Morey will see to that. Parsons and Harden won't average 40 mins a game.
That is a much more persuasive argument then anything I heard so far. But, it's hard to take when you really haven't seen much progress and in some cases, you see the same problems / mistakes throughout the season and into the P.O. In addition, you see development of bad habits for young players (e.g. - not holding them and yourself accountable on defense). To me, McHale hasn't shown anything that give me confident that he can get this team to improve much more than what they naturally would by themselves through gaining more experiences. I said, McHale is holding this team back.
This Atlanta trade idea is similar to the Blazers on for Aldridge last year. Why would they trade their star player for players (mostly Asik) that was suppose to compliment said star player?
