one of these is not like the others... imo. he’s easy to underrate these days. Ibaka. he still “only” 30 (young enough still... unless you don’t believe his listed age...) and is putting up 16/8 with 51% from the field and 40% from three and still plays really really good defense. Not the block machine he was at one point but he’s basically having his best simple stat season of his career (combo of scoring and rebounding per 100 and ts%) ... And from an advanced stats perspective up there. if he’s available for the MLE while some of the other guys you list as out of our price range are actually that it’d be crazy not to sign him immediately and as fast as possible.
I would be absolutely floored if Ibaka went for less than $12 MM a year. Without an SnT I don’t see a realistic way for us to get him. James Johnson on the other hand...
I love this signing. They use the remaining MLE money from THIS YEAR to make the move. And they have their option on him for next season at a controlled cost. Nwaba's game perfectly fits in with what the Rockets want to do with their switching defense. And he is strong in the post. And has the wingspan coupled with quickness for the perimeter. He players bigger than he is. He is an adequate 3pt shooter. Not the exact same measurables, BUT Nwaba really looks to be the Luc Mbah a Moute replacement as a bench role player wing. Fingers crossed his rehab goes well and comes back strong. Rockets also have full use of their MLE this offseason, #Tilman pending. Just a good *chess* move from Morey here. Similar to when the Clippers picked up Rodney Mcgruder last offseason when Miami had to waive him. Moves are the margins matter. Getting a deeper bench matters. Especially at controlled costs. Sorry to see Hartenstein go, but the writing was on the wall with him. And that doesn't mean in the offseason the Rockets look to add another C. But perhaps a better C than Hartenstein that fits with what they are trying to do.
Nwaba will be regular rotation player next season if healthy (achilles). Clemons may have playing time when season resumes IF Rockets continue trend of not playing Russ in back to backs. Even if this pattern holds true, do not expect many minutes for Clemons other than garbage time. Guard rotation without Russ: Harden, EGo, Rivers, McLemore https://www.thedreamshake.com/2020/...art-player-previews-david-nwaba-chris-clemons
Agree with you. Been watching some tape of all his possessions, and he is a really intelligent and athletic player. He's on the older side at 28 (i.e. not a project) but if he can retain 90% of his athleticism and refine his 3pt shot throughout his rehab, he can be a clear upgrade over House. On guard rotation, we can easily just go bigger when Russ sits. Clemons is too much of a liability. We can give more minutes to Green and/or Caboclo and then the 4 guards are plenty to fill in for Russ.
Regarding the use of House jr. He will be temporarily used as a backup 4 from here on out so there is still possible value. Different type. House 6'7 Nwaba 6'5.
House is 6'6 with 6'8 wingspan. Nwaba is 6'4 with 7'0 wingspan. Length is more important on defense. Plus Nwaba is built like a LB similar to PJ, Beard and EGo not to mention is an explosive finisher. The very first element of Nwaba’s game that jumped off the screen at me was his ability to jump, land, restart his jump, and still get lift on his successive jump. That description doesn’t do justice to how valuable of a basketball skill this is, because it is this very trait that made Dennis Rodman the greatest rebounder of all time and prompted Phil Jackson to call Rodman, “the greatest athlete I ever coached.” It is a rare trait that serves as an amalgamation of terrific motor, limitless stamina, and superb athletic ability. There are few NBA players that have the aforementioned three qualities in enough reserve to treat the hardwood like a trampoline at a moment’s notice in the way that Nwaba does. That effort combined with intelliegence (he played college ball at Cal Poly!) easily explains why Nwaba averages a combined 2.6 blocks + steals per 36 minutes: https://www.blogabull.com/2017/12/1...-bulls-los-angeles-lakers-nba-waiver-cal-poly
Nwaba likely won’t have the same level of explosion we’ve seen prior to the injury. Still, it’s 100% the right move to pick up his option and see what he’s got.
What’s the story on this guy? He’s not very tall. Can he shoot the 3 and play defense? Was his injury one that players typically recover from?
He is a defensive specialist. Was not a good shooter at all. Though he had shown marginal improvement last year i guess...I don't see him being a good shooter. I liked him as a player when he was on the bulls. He's not very tall if he were to play small forward, tall enough for a guard though and he does have a 7' wingspan. His game was completely predicated on athleticism and he tore his achilles so...... yea. He has upside at the price and I think it was a decent signing but I'm not holding my breath. Lets hope he regains his athleticism and keeps working on his jumpshot.
What really stood out to me on his highlights was his positioning on defense and his wingspan certainly helped him in the post. On offense he was very good on the curl and it looked like he loved the corner 3. He reminded me a lot of Luc without the height. Luc also had an exceptional ability to attack the defense in transition. When the defense looked for Harden or CP3, Luc would attack the basket. I hope that Nwaba or Tate can bring that to this roster.