Josh Smith was too inconsistent to say he puts us in the top tier with Ty on the team. Sure he saved our butts in a couple of playoff games but if he was really as important as you think, we shouldn't have even been in a position for him to save our butts like that. Because he didn't just save us, he brought us back from the dead in an amazing fashion. Where was that Josh Smith in the WCF? You just can't count on him to say he'd put us in a position to defeat the Spurs, GSW or the Cavs. I believe if he'd stayed, he would have gotten better and made us better. But his playmaking ability, one of the reasons you might think he's a tier-determining player, shouldn't be a factor with Ty on the team. Just my opinion. I wish he had stayed, tho, if just so I can stare at our depth chart even more, lol.
Doc Rivers will have him focused on D but the issue will be all the wasted offensive possessions he ruins for the clippers... it will bite the clippers on the butt. Free throw shooting and stupid three point attempts... with the rockets he looked better because our style of play. Unfortunately Clippers style of play won't mix with Smith style of play.
Also, it's going to make good drama theater when he and CP3 butt heads and Doc & Blake chooses CP3's side.
Dmo was already better than Smith this past season. Just got injured. We'll be fine. I hope Tjones is taking nothing but jumpers this offseason if the plan is to indeed keep him.
i feel similarly. was smith a massive loss? no, not really, particularly if you expect jones and dmo to a. become even better and b. stay healthy, but what smith brought in terms of length, defense, stretch-ability and of course PRICE i'm of similar mind that he would've rounded out this roster perfectly. i'm not going to lose a lot of sleep over it but it was strange how he decided to take less money when he seemed to fit so well here. with lawson on board i thought he would've been a perfect 4 off the bench.
Interesting take... He decided to go to another team that showed interest in him, and left the team that showed zero interest, yet somehow that means Smith being selfish and he's all about himself. LOL.. okay...
Losing J Smith for nothing definitely hurts. If anything a package of Smith and TJ for a real upgrade at the 4 would be enticing to any team. Not sure if and how the salaries work but Ryan Anderson would have been my choice TJ reunites with Brow Anderson reunites with Dwight
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/spo...hp?t=f70e2fb6b8438d9cbb&cmpid=twitter-premium LMAO that dude is delusional. Clips were done without DJ
He wants that Hollywood life. That city like his game is sometimey... ironically the team is too. Perfect fit and a truthful explanation why they haven't advanced past the 2nd round.
I am not tripping though, everything happens for a reason. Thanks to him leaving we were able to trade for Lawson which is the play maker we sorely missed last year. Can't wait to play them, and the Dubs to see where we stand. Fack when is training camp september ?
I liked Josh while he was here and I wish he would have stayed. He wasn't perfect but overall I think his pros outweighed his cons. I think he still contributes for the Clips next year as Doc seems to be pretty good at helping talented, but emotionally combustible guys play to their strengths (Rondo, DJ). From his perspective I can see why the Clippers offer made sense to him. 1) Playing Time: In LA, He will definitely be the first big off of the bench whether playing with Griffin or Jordan. At 30, he can probably eek out one more multi-year contract next off-season with a strong showing. Here, the outlook is a little less clear as D-Mo, TJ, Dwight, and Capela are all rotation worthy. Also, I'm sure its easier to be a backup to someone like Blake who is without question an all-star versus someone like D-Mo who Josh may think he is better than. 2) (Perceived) Chance at Winning a C'hip: At the time Josh signed the Clippers added Lance Stephenson and Paul Pierce to an already very good team whereas we had done zip. I'm sure Doc sold him on being that missing piece to get them over the top after his performance against them. Obviously, the Lawson trade makes our teams about even in the talent department so we'll just have to see how it plays out. 3) Money: The difference in salary for him staying with us or going to the Clips was negligible since Detroit is still paying him $5.4M a season and the offset rules apply. I don't know if josh is still an Adidas guy but it wouldnt surprise me if there was a clause in his deal that pays him more if in LA, Chi, NY... Plus Adidas already has a rep in Houston with Dwight while they have nobody in LA. Love him or hate him he was a key part in one of the best Rockets' seasons in a VERY long time. First WCF since 1997, so I have nothing bad to say about him. Even from an emotional standpoint I can see how being told "WE DEFINITELY WANT YOU, NO WE NEED YOU!" versus "we want you at THIS number depending how other things shake out" could have driven him away from us and toward the Clips. I wonder how involved Dwight/Harden were involved in lobbying for him to stay.
I like Josh but we'll be fine the writing was on the wall the second we drafted Harrell he is exactly what this team needed if he can hit 75 percent of his fts. He Rebounds Hustles and basically plays with his hair on fire and is physical Josh was a good player for us last year but imo his good is totally erased if TJones Mans Up and plays hard and not scared he does everything josh does except he has confidence issues. This years team is way different than last years team Not alot of useless dead weight the team has choices now if you dont perform off to the bench you go
While he did some good things with the Rockets, it was painful many times in the playoffs watching GSW literally do nothing if he'd catch the ball and the 3 point line. They would barely even get near him...and he'd never adjust. He'd just keep jacking 3's. True that we likely don't beat the Clippers without him, but he literally didn't do anything to help us beat GSW.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">At intro presser, Ralph Lawler said Josh Smith "did some dastardly things" to Clips and was "a real thorn in Clippers' side" in playoffs.</p>— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/623570213506674688">July 21, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I agree, the Josh smith clips signing still stings, even with Lawson. For the min! That's what hurts. Our team would be almost bulletproof if he was on our roster right now.
