Actually I do not see Jones gone before the summer of 2016. D-Mo is more likely to be traded because of his extreme value and his positional and skills overlap with Howard.
Once again, agree to disagree. Morey's pattern of past moves (multiple times) indicate quite the opposite.
There is no pseudointellectualism there. You got to believe what you got to believe in. There is no such thing that you can gain with this kind of argument. At the point of draft.... the Rockets sure were going for talent before need. (like most of the time) and they selected couple of tweeners like Jones or Marcus Morris who were not undersized to play small forward, while still being fast enough when playing the Power Forward position. I do not usually care about if somebody is 6'8.25 or 6'9 with shoes. The more pressing issue here is people tend to forget what a player has done for the team when he is injured and another player takes his spot.... This was ongoing with Brooks coming and going, Lowry coming and going.... other players. They are all good, useful players. The issue here is some players that were gone were replaced with stars or good role players but for example a Luis Scola has not been replaced adequately for a long period.
I was not even in this conversation when you were parading his height to begin with. I only corrected that he is not 6"10' as you were saying. The only data we have to go by lists him as 6"8.25'. That seems the most accurate. As for the rest of this post, it is a bit spastic. But I do agree with your point about all those players the Rockets traded being good and useful for us at some point. I agree that Jones was very useful to us last year. I still have never been a fan of Jones's game and do not see any extensive upside to him. I've thought he was and is fool's gold since the beginning of last year. I stick by that. I do not see him as a player logging heavy minutes on a championship contender. That's my personal opinion. He is what he is. I'd rather sell while his stock is at its highest. And after his very good season last year, that time is now. We will simply see what happens come February or next off season.
OK. But everyone in Morey's eyes not named Harden or Howard are in the end just assets. It is going to be a long time before Jones is a trade-able asset.
It is the NBA. The only standard is what are you doing for me now and what can you do for me in the future? That second standard is where people tend to sell Jones short. IMHO I hope Jones gets back soon and gets up to speed. D-Mo backing up Howard and Jones for 32 minutes a night is optimal. It is looking like it would be one of the most formidable front line rotations in the league.
I would probably give you the advice to expand your evaluation up to the week before the playoffs start. Teams will be forced to play to a halfcourt setting with more intensity. Donatas will be playoff tested by then, JTR.
Yes I agree. The latter, I'm not so sure. NBA GM's have this tendency to overvalue past production relative to current events, even going so far as to it sometimes trumping ongoing production. Especially when injuries are involved. Historically, there is always some NBA GM that does not care and still goes for it. If that was not the case trades like Gilbert Arenas to Orlando or Andrew Bynum to Philadelphia would cease to happen. Yet they continuously do. Sometimes it works out, as in the case of Dallas trading for Chandler this year after he had an injury plagued season last year. Sometimes it does not, for example Orlando trading for Grant Hill after he had an injury plagued season two years prior. Or Philadelphia trading for Chris Webber (though I guess he ended up having one pretty good season for them). It happens with free agents too. Once again, Andrew Bynum being signed by Cleveland. Greg Oden being signed by Miami. Hell Carlos Delfino was signed by the Bucks after he was injured playing for the Rockets. That is the perfect example and should tell quite about the evaluation ability of a number of NBA GM's. Which btw, I think is terrible, but that's another topic altogether. Injuries do not deter a good amount of NBA GM's from pulling the finger on a trade or signing. I think Jones' trade value is in the same neighborhood as where it was before the injury. Especially with Morey's ability to maximize value in a trade, I am not worried about Jones' trade value.
I really enjoy your post you save me alot of typing, but i think D-mo game is so well rounded that he and Howard can do great. He just plays ball, to me one of the best all around ball players on the team. The best news is the Rockets have never traded this kind of talent with out a big score.
But unless specifically waived, traded NBA players do have to pass the physical. That is not the case with FA signings. But overall you may be correct.
Yes of course. My personal opinion on the matter is that the Rockets would be in the best position come the trade deadline if Jones is back by mid January(ish) and can start contributing. Then Morey will have multiple assets to choose from that he can package together for any remaining pieces and we will be very serious contenders.
I think the Rockets will keep Dmo and ultimately unless they win a championship will let Howard go as his play continues to decline. DD
DD has tried several times. Even the curse isn't working on D-Mo!! That's how you know he's a truly good player.
I said when he was a rookie that DMo had superstar potential due to his quickness and athleticism. He still has a long way to go to reach the superstar level but he has made major strides this year. He is fun to watch and he is making it look easy!!!!
I've heard NBA analysts and former players always cite that big men take a while to develop and usually make a big jump by their third year. If they do not by their third year, they are probably busts. Well, D-Mo is in his third year and making the first jump right now. Hopefully he continues on to improve and make another big jump to get to an even higher status. Another guy who took a while to develop but then turned into something special (before injury) was Jermaine O'Neal. Look at the stark difference between him in Portland and Indiana. This is part of the reason I really hope we do not (and I think we wont) trade D-Mo.
Dmo's path is up. He still needs confidence, experience and to earn respect from the refs. The hook shots and spin shots need to be a little softer, he needs to get a little closer and use more finger roll so they don't spin off the rim. But he's coming on like I had hoped.
