Replacing what Jones does will NOT come cheap also. Again Brandon Bass makes over 6 million dollars. You want to sign Llull or bring back Brewer/KJ etc... You can kiss that idea good bye if you want to trade Jones for scraps and sign that "replacement" you think is so damn easy to sign. Of course if someone of that caliber is willing to wait and sign at minimum than sure.. Great lets trade him, but that's a fairy tale dream.
It's all relative. Jones is the solidly the 3rd best PF on the roster right now, if you were to get rid of someone, the 3rd string PF would be one of the least painful to get rid of. As to "There is literally nothing he can do on the court that would ever convince you we shouldn't get rid of him" tripe, had he shown at least SOME progress on the mental side of basketball, or at very least not been largely worthless in the playoffs to the point of being benched for the good of the team, I would probably value him more. As it stands, the least valuable Rockets would be Dorsey (3rd string center), Jones (3rd string PF), and Prigioni(incredibly old 3rd string PG that is probably going to retire). I don't think that's even arguable. I don't think we should get rid of him "at all costs", but wouldn't it be better to get something for him than nothing in a year?
Josh Smith is a better player and there's a good chance he'll be back cheap, are we really worried about production from our 3rd string PF? Why would you want to sign someone like Brandon Bass as a 3rd string guy?
He's a third string PF that has found his way into the starting lineup and major supporting role two years in a row. If you think the Rockets don't need a halway decent big behind DMo and potentially even Smith than I don't know what to tell you. Obviously your not caught up on current events. If we didn't need him next year than that means the Rockets got incredibly lucky this year with injuries and Smith resigned for a bargain contract. I'm not going to argue with you because it's like arguing with a brick wall, but I'm totally comfortable saying very bluntly that in June with the variables that can go wrong with the PF's who might or might not be available next year, it would be plain stupid to trade him right this second for scraps just because you are insecure about free agency(which is lame excuse for the Jones hate mob to continue their smear campaign).
Dobro what you have to do is ignore the little hate minion Bobby, he will never stop spewing his hate towards Jones and you will never reason with someone that is unreasonable. Most of us in here are real rocket fans without an agenda and there are a few that are not.
No actually he was a Starter that dropped his way to a 3rd string PF. He had two playoffs to really show his worth and what he showed was inconsistency. I had so much faith in Tjones but these playoffs showed that Dmo is much more of a viable option, w/ Josh Smith, to take the starting and backup 4 position.
And he's performed so poorly as to lose that starting job 2 years in a row hasn't he? Hell, the only reason he got the starting job back this season was because of injury. You might be the only person that thinks 3rd string PF is a serious concern. You shouldn't argue with me simply because you have no case. Jones has yet to progress as a player and he's solidly 3rd on the depth chart....why you are so obsessed about a back of the bench type player I'll never know.
Only against smaller opponents. Against comparably sized (or bigger) opponents, he has a tendency to throw up a shaky, double pump layup. He has great handles for a PF, but they're horrible compared to a guard. And because he has "great handles for a PF", he often dribbles unnecessarily after defensive rebounds which negatively impacts our transition offense. Not really. He can drive well against weak defenders who guard him closely, but good teams know that his jump shooting is inconsistent. As a result, those defenses sag off him and render him useless. Jones' biggest problem is that he doesn't play within his limitations. He can't shoot, but for some reason, you can always find him on the perimeter. And because he's on the perimeter, when a shot is taken, he has no chance at getting the offensive rebound. The Celtics ended the season with a losing record and got swept in the playoffs. In the playoffs, 7 Celtics averaged more mpg than Bass. Additionally, he just turned 30 years old which is much older than the Celtics' core. I don't see him having a big role in their future plans.
Terrence may make it work in a year or two. I do think he has a lot of skill but just no cohesive level that he can play at. Jones+18 would seem to get us to 12 or so IMO.
Well sure. If Smith doesn't want to stay around, you keep Jones by default unless you want to draft a replacement athletic tweener forward. I think Smith stays at a reasonable rate, and if that's the case, there's not much need for Jones.
Don't kid yourself, they were 27-16 with Bass inserted in the starting lineup. No need to act like his price was driven down by this performance. Also, stability is a great thing to build on, something he offers to their successful run TO the playoffs when they started so far behind the chase. We'll have to agree to disagree on Jones. I personally believe you are looking at the wrong set of games for determining who the man really is and will be. He has, in no way, shown me himself during the playoffs. I fear this is the only place you are using to judge him on his potential. You're also nitpicking like a mf'er. He's got a lot of tools and time to develop them. He does not excel, but is pretty darn good at all of that stuff I listed. I'm sorry he's not perfect enough for you. He's still a great NBA prospect worth developing over some unproven rookie. Haven't we learned enough about inknown commodities on this board? Fools! Fools everywhere, without a drop to think!
TJ is 23. I'll take McHale's evaluation over the boo birds. Also Leebig's and Dobro's. Of course for a Lowry or similar he is available.
This might be the way to go, unless there is a good enough offer for TJ this summer. They will be RFA, so teams will be willing to trade for them at deadline for matching rights.
Bird rights are not something much worth when you have cap space to get them for free 6 months later and you know their team will be stingy with capspace to add Durant. Maybe worth a second.
It's not about Jones' age or upside. The Rockets are not going to have him after this upcoming season. They're not going to fork over a big extension AND give one to D-Mo AND an even bigger one to Dwight(and possibly to Smith if he signs a 1 year deal or a 2 year one with a player option) and then try to lure a big name free agent like Durant. If Jones is a Rocket past late February 2016, I'll be stunned.
if we have him for cheap, i'd rather keep and devlop him further. as said before, the kid is 23. his potential is sky high right now.
