If you think Jeff Adrien would be the difference in securing a WCF birth vs first round exit than we will just have to agree to disagree. Jeff Adrien can stop guys in the preseason but he's not stopping Aldridge, Griffin, or Duncan. Neither is Dorsey, and neither are protecting the rim when Dwight is out in a playoff type game. Clint Capela probably won't this year either, but he might be able to next year. He has the tools. Now your looking at a situation where for three more years at least he can be that #2 defensive big to back Dwight long term. You talk about the vicious cycle. Hell I think sticking with Capela is the way to eventually get out of that cycle. Gutting the future and wasting assets to put your hope in a 6'7" center playing in China is a better way to secure first round exits. Morey and co. have to keep generating high level talent during the Harden era. Just like playing cards in Vegas, you want to play the odds that will allow you the maximum amount of hands to give yourself more chances to win hands. Guys like Capela represent more hands in the future to keep your seat at the table if your patient and if we want to talk odds, the odds another year might be substantially higher to win a title than this year. if that year exists with more opportunity, you need to make damn sure you are still at the table with a hand to play. You'd hate for that to be the year you see Capela thriving with another team and say damn that guy could have helped us right now. When Alridge lights up the Rockets for 40 this weekend I don't think anyone here in their right minds can honestly say "Jeff Adrien would have stopped that."
Lol you were the one popping that question 'Is Adrien missed?' Stop throwing Adrien at me every time. I am an Adrien fan and I simply want see him paid wherever he goes. I like players that are hard working guy from the Dleague like a Chuck Hayes. I put Adrien way behind me as a Rocket when he got waived. I followed him sporadically when he was with the Guangdong Tigers and with Minny. You think I don't know **** that is fine. I sure know the difference between a raw International prospect and an undersized hard working marginal NBA player. Never did I say Adrien was such a difference maker. But I was impressed with the way he played before in the NBA (a 15-16 mpg kind of player) I was questioning the 'Direction' Morey and others were headed by taking raw prospects like 'Thabeet' and Capela given that Capela might be turning out a lot better. (Sure but Thabeet was also a good defensive prospect coming into the league. It went south)
At the end Capela is a second rounder and the Rockets have been very successful with them. Ok. But by the time Capela might be averaging 12 and 10+ and 3 blocks who knows who will be on the roster.
The Neutralizer. Because he shuts down anyone who would dare put up a shot in his vicinity, and his country is famous for it's refusal to enter into wars.
During Daryl Morey's tenure, he's never been shy about aggressively churning the bottom of his roster looking for better players. He's constantly willing to take risks that have a low percentage of turning out as long as the cost isn't exorbitant, and the potential reward is high. Miami is really the perfect example of this; when they had LeBron, they were constantly undersized because they would take up valuable roster spots with mediocre, low-ceiling veterans such as Joel Anthony or Juwan Howard. Finally, when they did start taking risks on athletic projects, they struck the lottery in Hassan Whiteside, and went from a dull team with no future to an intriguing dark-horse for next year in the East. In today's NBA, where everyone is scouted heavily, you simply have to get a few lucky breaks to field an elite team. And you're not going to get a lucky break if you don't shoot for guys with very high ceilings, even if that comes with a risk of completely busting. I'll live with getting nothing out of Terrence Williams, Royce White, Marcus Morris, Isaiah Canaan and Jermaine Taylor, if it means ending up with Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Chandler Parsons and Carl Landry. I'd much rather feast and famine rather than just get guys like Quincy Pondexter or Andre Roberson every year; guys who are guaranteed to contribute, but are fundamentally limited, much like Jeff Adrien.
What's the roster going to look like next year than? His per 36 is already 12 pts / 10 reg / 3.5 blocks lol. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/capelca01.html#per_minute::none Sure its early, and per 36 isn't a perfect telling stat, but as a backup 5, he's almost already ready to produce if season 2 was about to start. Season 1 playoffs really just comes down to coaches trust. However, the stats show at least that he's already producing better than Dorsey. As a 4 yeah he's Thabeet level as a project, but as a backup 5 he looks pretty much ready to go. Put on about 15 pounds of muscle, work on defensive rotations and learning the plays better this Summer & training camp. Grind out some games in preseason to work through mistakes, and he looks good to go in season 2 unless something crazy happens like a crappy offseason, problems with the coaches, etc. I think its pretty obvious this isn't a player we have to wait till season 4 like a Hasaan Whiteside in order to see production. He already does things that make his valuable in that role. And also he was a 1st rounder. Some guys like Kevin Pelton had him rated as one of the highest prospect bigs outside of the top 10.
He was taken in the first round and was supposed to be a euro stash. The guy has first round intangibles. He's still raw but the things he does well translates into today's NBA game. He's the new prototype ala Gobert/Whiteside.
Sorry. Not trying to throw it in your face, but the whole point of this thread is about Clint Capela, and he wouldn't be on this roster if Morey took your suggestion in training camp to waive him primarily because of said player whose name we won't bring up again. Morey's direction? To draft young players? I don't really understand the issue with his direction. He has a roster now with two point guards playing over the age of 37. Are you trying to say he doesn't value veteran contributors? Please explain the issue you have with his direction better. I have my issues with some of his moves too, but as an overall direction, he seems to have a much better planning process than well over half the league. I'm sure you will say his decision to keep McHale. You can spare that one. I have my issues with McHale too, but id rather just see what problems you have with his roster building first. That's probably more productive to talk about.
Exactly and this is why Morey performed brilliantly in not breaking up the team to rent Dragic for a few months.
We might Capela in this year's playoffs, however green he might be. When Dorsey comes in, teams will go on a layup drill. DMo's injury really put us in a bind if we have to play big frontlines like the Blazers, Clippers, and Memphis. Even San Antonio, with fat ass Diaw was feasting on Smith and Jones.
The only rationalization I can come up with for McHale's playing Dorsey in the regular season-- at all-- would be he was trying to hide Capela as a secret playoff weapon, and keep him healthy. If McHale plays Dorsey at all in the playoffs, assuming Capela is healthy and available, I'll finally jump on the "fire him" bandwagon. Capela should spell Dwight, and both of them should play elite, energetic D, all game long.
If you care to notice. He selected strictly ready players such as Patterson, Aaron Brooks, Landry who could contribute right away when Yao was semi-healthy. Once Yao was off the books he made a 360 degree turn and went with players such as Thabeet or Royce White. Either raw or very risky. There are different "young players" in the league. Thus I mentioned "directions".
In addition 27 year old rookie Luis Scola was the readiest "young player" I have ever seen. 34 or 35 yr old rookie Prigioni could top the age thing but not his skill level
You said it yourself whether you acknowledge it or not. Yao and TMac were fresh off the roster. Had to load up on high upside talent at that point. Yes... that was his "Direction" then. Then Morey trades for Harden with said prospects, expirings, and picks.... accumulated in order to either draft a high upside player that turns out great or to trade for one. Now there is another "Direction" to build around your stars. Now we will see more evidence of how Morey drafts. Will he pick 2Pat type of players, or will he go high upside. IMO I see more and more safe picks so far from what we've seen post Harden and Howard acquisitions. -Nick Johnson, a 3 years college player, looked pretty NBA ready as a rotation player coming into the draft and Summer league. He was still a draft pick that might not get PT (which he hasn't), but he doesn't really fit the mold of a high upside project. Same can be said of another rookie this year, Papanikolaou who is about as safe/NBA ready/blue collar type of a rookie as you are going to get. Had Morey's "Direction" still had been to go high upside, I would think his choice of rookie Euro to bring over would have been Marko Todorovic who is very high upside, and a gamble. So is your only case that Morey is still shooting for the moon with "Thabeet type" of picks going to be Capela? Because although he's raw for a 4, but as a 5, he's someone that could have very easily been projected to contribute in year one as a bench big... something the Rockets desperately needed coming into this Summer. Need being the key word. Other moves that counter your argument- -Letting go of young prospects like Troy Daniels, Bob Covington, and Tarik Black three players with said upside for 3 established players in Corey Brewer, Josh Smith, and Prigioni. So if I'm wrong here, please tell me. I don't see Morey gambling on Thabeet and Royce White type of players at all, but if you see it differently then I'd appreciate hearing further. If picking, and not waiving Capela in training camp of his rookie season is the only evidence of still holding that "direction" then I don't quite understand the argument.
