No i don't believe his salary would fit the TE....even if it did and i didn't have to include the pelicans pick i still wouldn't do this. Lance is probably one of the worst fits in the entire league for the rockets. Picturing Lance attempt catch and shoot 3s for the rox make me vomit in my mouth.
Gibson and Johnson are a no-go imo because their teams are doing well and will need them come playoff time. Monroe...sure he signed a small deal but his talent level is worth more than his salary. You're going to have to take on a Josh Smith or Brandon Jennings to get Monroe Brewer is stuck in no man's land simply because Kevin Martin is out. Chandler might be a good buy from Denver
Sorry, I'm not following you here. McDonough will only pay Dragic the max this summer (or close to it) if he moves Thomas or Bledsoe. My thought was that Phoenix would be smart re-sign Dragic and package Bledsoe, Laker's lottery pick, fillers, etc. in a mega-blockbuster, multi-team trade for a proven All-NBA PF/C talent. There's little doubt the Suns roster needs balancing. Bledsoe (at the max) will return stronger value than Dragic (at the max). That was my point. Sorry for the confusion.
Have you seen Lance so far this year? The Hornets should actually PAY the Rockets or any other team to take him off their hands. I think for the Rockets, I'm not sure if its too high of a gamble to risk the makeup of the team both on and off the court to insert Lance in and just expect him to fit right in without ripples in the ocean. If Dwight had the personality of Yao, and if you knew Jason Terry could be the Battier/Scola of the locker room for a few more years maybe you make the Artest-like deal now, but I just don't see it right now. Too risky. Oddly enough the team that makes the most sense is Indiana. If they thought they were getting Lance back at the contract he's on, I don't think they worry a bit about it and take the hard stance of forcing him to find a deal elsewhere. For some reason, I just see him going back there.
It is a very complicated situation for a variety of reasons. On the surface it seems like a no brainer for the Suns to resign Dragic for the max, based on what he did last year. However, there are many things to consider. First, this is a league saturated with high quality point guards and there are others on the market (Rondo). Second, the Suns are very deep in talent at the point guard position and have a lot of money tired up with Bledsoe and Thomas. Third, the Suns have showed that they will play hard ball. They did it with Bledsoe, and are not going to just give Dragic a max contract. However, other teams will give it to him and it puts the Suns in an odd situation. Fourth, Dragic WILL leave if he doesn't get the money he deserves. He didn't want to leave Houston but did and then it was leaked that he would explore leaving Phoenix this off season. Fifth, there is no doubt that Phoenix wants to bundle assets (they have some good assets) for an elite 4 or 5. However, who is going to be available? Aldridge isn't. That leaves really no one unless they want to go after a DeAndre Jordan (he wont be in LA long term with tax issues). Is DeAndre Jordan an upgrade? Would LAC do that before this summer? I don't see it. So Phoenix can either deal Thomas/Bledsoe for a 4-5 and resign Dragic or risk losing him.... or trade him. Phoenix shelled out some money this off season, they have less flexibility than before. Does Phoenix want to deal Dragic to Houston so that the Rockets? Of course not, no one in the West wants that. However, what other trade possibilities are there? The Lakers? Would Dragic agree to an extension for the max there? A lot of parts in motion.
They should do a Scola/Stuckey/Copeland for Stephenson and a 2nd Rounder and be down with it. Charlotte gets a serviceable front court player in Scola, a scorer in Stuckey, and Copeland is a filler.
Add to the fact that Houston is willing to deal anyone not name Harden and Howard for what would essentially be a rental until next summer. Would he re-sign with Houston? Probably but even that is not a guarantee. Houston/Morey would roll the dice on that but how many other teams would give up noticeable/valuable assets for Dragic? Like many of us have said before--one out of those 3 PGs will be moved and only one of them has an impending max-contract demand. Math is easy.
i think that DMo is now off the table in a potential Dragic deal. We can always just sign him in the offseason.
If Dmo is what it takes to get Dragic I'm sure Morey would make that move and get a 3rd team involved so that we get a front court player back.
For Dragic? Morey would drive D-Mo to the airport while working the phone for a replacement like Brandon Bass.
I think he is. He has missed 150 games out of the last 275. Roy Hibbert is a name floated on here... that is possible but he does not fit the style Phoenix plays at all.
