Yao was a gamer, but he didn't help us much in 09-10 and 10-11 when he played a combined 5 regular season games. Rondo is a fierce competitor and would make us GREAT -- if healthy. But recent history predicts that he won't be healthy for the full year, and he's proven to absolutely SUCK as a bench cheerleader.
Rondo is the only elite level PG on this list...yes his shooting is suspect, but he is relentless at attacking the rim, and is an excellent wing defender. Rondo, Harden and Howard has much more of an immediate potential than Dragic, Harden and Howard. Personally I worry that Dragic may defer too much to Harden...The two major advantages that Dragic has is in age and injury history. Just think of pick and rolls with Rondo and Dwight with Harden cutting weakside.
I have a strong feeling Cyber is gonna come back and say his guy has heard nothing... (I like to prepare myself for the worst, just in case. )
Personally I think Rondo's the best fit out of all of them, he makes Howard and Harden ect. much much better IMO. He's the proven winner and he's got playoff moxy that none of the other guards have at this moment.
lol Yes and Rondo ain't on the team and threatening and fighting players in the locker room and just being a cancer is he? He has a history of doing this. Of course maybe he has mellowed but again maybe he hasn't.
I definitely agree that the age factor and injury risk are scary aspects when considering Rondo to Houston, but injuries can happen to anyone at any time. The addition of a player like Rondo allows for a proven play-creator makes the lives of Harden and Howard easier. Pick and Rolls become easier. Harden can play off the ball and conserve more energy towards the end of games ala Paul Pierce. Coaching demands/ Mchale's ineptitude as an in-game manager would be masked, as the elite level PG makes in-game decisions. Rondo is still an elite level wing defender/rebounder/ passer. Rondo in my personal opinion would maximize this team's peak. Dragic would be nice, but there is still a question if his addition can help this team get to the promise land...and the truth is that if Morey believed that, Dragic would have never had a chance to leave the Rockets a few years back.
The question always seems to come back to "fit with Harden" Harden was 38th in time of possession during the regular season. There were at least 7 duos that averaged more or relatively equal TOP (each individually) than Harden alone. Calderon/Ellis Lebron/Chalmers Westbrook/Jackson Nelson/Oladipo Dragic/Bledsoe Lillard/Williams Lowry/Vasquez In the vast majority of cases, these offenses were very good (with only one exception.....Orlando). So how did this ball-dominant guards co-exist and have an offensive systems that thrived? In some cases, it was staggered minutes. Lowry - starter, Vasquez - bench Lebron - starter, Chalmers - bench (kinda) Westbrook - starter, Jackson - bench Lillard - starter, Williams - bench One argument could be, "well Howard demands a lot of touches/time", and you would be wrong. Howard controls the ball about the same amount as Nowitzki/LMA and half the time of Durant/Wade/Derozan....all of these guys were 3rd or less on their teams in TOP. So what I'm saying is other teams with 2 guards that control the ball either more or equal to Harden have found success......why can't we? I think PHX and Portland are both particularly relevant. Portland has a big that needs touches, but both of their guards got plenty of time on ball. In PHX their guards completely controlled the ball with everyone else benefiting from their drive and kicks. If we can find some middle ground between these two offenses, I think you've got a working model.
You could not have signed Parsons to a max extension THEN get Bosh. You had to get Bosh to sign first. Morey took a risk and it didn't pan out. Oh well, I like taking risks, you got no where in life without taking risks.
With the papanikolaou signing, we could easily trade for Williams. Something like TPE and 2nd for Jason Richardson then Papanikolaou, Richardson and Gee for Williams would work. IF we strike out on Dragic, Bledsoe, Rondo, Rubio etc I wouldn't mind trading expiring and non guaranteed contracts for Williams. I believe he will have a bounce back year.
Keep in mind that if Garcia really hasn't signed back with the Rockets, he could still be used as a piece in sign and trade for Bledsoe and be given a Keith Bogans-esque contract
lol I agree with you. When Lin was having a good game and along with Harden we had great guard play. We need a good combo guard and preferably one that can come off the bench. Harden is one of the best ball handlers in the NBA and doubt anyone can honestly say different. What many here are thinking is that we get a great ball handling PG and take the ball out of Hardens hands and let him play off the ball. Guess what. Not gonna happen. Rondo is a cancer in the locker room and would be going at Harden so he needs to stay away. As noted Bledsoe and Dragic had great years but it was the system they were in that allowed this. Our system would require them to play differently so they will have to adapt to ours. Out of Bledsoe or Dragic I believe that Dragic would be a great fit but his contract is not team friendly at all. Bledsoe is not worth near a max. The key here is Harden. Any players we get has to fit with Howard and Harden.
