Well, there will be times they want a good defender out there and that'll bump Terry and Thornton. I think he'll get a decent amount of minutes.
Think they'll try and manage minutes a little bit better this year. If we could get Harden to 33-34 that would be ideal.
He's good insurance to an injury and also a good change of pace when you want some more athleticism out there, especially defensively.
A lineup that has Ariza, Howard and KJ McDaniels would be hard to score upon. In the playoffs, KJ would really be helpful in spots.
Thorton is often hurt and Terry just keeps on aging. Plus he is probably the second best defender out of the five guys you named. He might not get minutes but we don't have such amazing depth at the 2/3 to think he won't.
All of the requisite elements are there for McDaniels to have a huge breakout this year. The more I've studied that kid the more I like him. His defensive disruptive potential is a higher level than even Tony Allen. Notice I said potential before you go jump on that. If we don't use him as a trade piece to get a starting point guard I hope we re-sign him and give him plenty of burn.
Excellent post. Morey gets criticized a lot for sifting for gold. Most of the time, you find nothing. Sometimes you find a Parsons who helps you for a few years. Sometimes you get a Royce White. I like the process. Most results will fail, but risks are likely worth it for the potential.
Do we have a current list of teams that have ABOVE the MLE that can outbid the Rockets on KJ? (Portland, Denver, Dallas, Philly?) Maybe I am just misreading it, but I don't see anyone throwing their full MLE at KJ; or above MLE level caproom. Hate how this is all dragging out and forcing the Rockets to wait on Josh Smith / Harrell contracts. I am sure the Rockets are hoping to get KJ for something like 3/10.
No team can offer more than the MLE in the 1st two years of his next contract. What they can do is offer up to the max in a 3rd year, but then they need to have cap space available. It is impossible for the Rockets to be outbid so long as they have the full MLE. The only other team that has the full non-taxpayer MLE is Charlotte. As far as cap room, it's hard to know who has space since not everyone has signed.
From http://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap/, It looks like the following teams are the only ones that may have cap space greater than MLE: Charlotte Philly Portland Detroit Indiana Boston Sacramento Boston and Sacramento will be gone with basically any additional move of consequence.
This isn't a Lin/Asik situation. Those guy's had actually proven something in the league. There's no poison pill offers out there.
Always need extra bodies, especially those who are between 6'5" to 6'10. Warriors just won a championship having a ton of guys in that height range on their team, playing major minutes for them. KJ is definitely a piece that you want to keep, within reason. He can help you in spurts now and potentially in the future, but he can also function as a valuable trade piece when the time calls for it. Having him on a mid-level contract will help facilitate trades too.
Portland just signed a very similar player in Luis Montero. Don't see them pursuing KJ. I have this feeling that Philly agreed not to pursue KJ in free agency when they traded him to us at the deadline. Nothing would ever be confirmed, of course, but I just don't see Hinkie doing it. After the David Lee trade and signing their picks, Boston's room is gone. Charlotte is not below the cap. Sacramento still has Mbah a Moute and Casspi to sign. Most of their room should be gone.
If you look at KJ's highlights on youtube take a look at how long his arms are. They look very disproportionate to his body. It's a little comical actually but is certainly something that helps him be a good defender and a great shot blocker.
Everyone is waiting for us to use our MLE, and then all they have to do is offer a 1 dollar more than our QO and we won't be able to match.
