This really is Houston's only chance of going from a playoff contender to a championship contender. I hate Josh Smith's price tag, but I Love the prospects of what he could potentially bring to this team. We need a 4 who can block shots and rebound well, to pair with Asik. He also runs the floor extremely well, and can play off the ball. I don't think Dwight Howard is coming to Houston, and to be honest, i don't want that Diva to be anywhere near our guys. Harden is our unquestioned leader, pair him with a veteran player in his prime, like Josh, and i think this team is poised to become a championship contender, immediately.
Josh Smith will not make us a championship caliber team. Signing a guy like him who depends mostly on his athleticism on a long max contract would be the worst move we could make....period.
I would like JSmith, but what if we can buy Millsap for a smaller price? If we do that, we can amnesty Lin for Paul, or amnstey Omer for Howard (cut throat, but I think it would work. Maybe?)
If we don't get a 2nd star to pair with Harden, there's no way they move up to the upper echelon of the West's best. if things stay as they are, they probably snag a 5-8 seed next season, if they land Smith, they are immediately in the 1-4 seed in the West, next season.
if we get smith, I think that will push us up but not to where we are a championship team which is what morey wants. I think we'll be between 3-4 after okc and sas. Still not good enough.
he's only 27, his athleticism will not erode until he is 31-33. If you are fine with just waiting and allowing this team to grow slowly, that's one way to go. If you want to win now, you need a guy like Smith. I don't like the price tag he would cost, but considering how he would fit next to Asik, and how devastating a Harden/Smith combination would be, i say it's worth the gamble.
Josh Smith IMO would make this team a championship contender. He is one the most versatile defender in the game. He is a good post defender and a great perimeter defender. I think our defense could be top 10 with him on the team. On offense, his main flaw is him doing isolation plays and taking threes. I don't think anyone is dumb enough to offer him the max, including Phoenix. He will probably sign for around 12-14m which IMO is reasonable for what he brings to a team.
you have to take that gamble, if you're Morey. What other options are there? I Love the core of our young guys and the potential of them growing, but we need one more star to help with the growth spurt of this team. Harden is entering his prime, and one major piece could vault them into the stratosphere. We gotta crawl, before we walk, but Harden is already running. We need to land a big fish.
Why would Houston hitch its future to Josh Smith and a near max contract? First they have to find out how good D-Mo is going to be. He certainly has the potential to be a much better player offensively than Smith will ever be. Defensively there is not much better than a really mobile seven footer for shot alteration and intimidation. And what would be the downside of holding cap space until the summer of 2014? The free agent market should be spectacular then.
We have a lot of high upside 4s that could possibly turn into a Josh Smith caliber player. With guys like LMA and Love becoming free agents in 2015 there is no real reason to rush to sign a guy with a team as young as ours. If we don't get Smith we have lots of other options.
you are absolutely wrong about no teams offering him the Max. If Kevin Love and Eric Gordon can get the max, Josh Smith surely can. It'll happen, it's just a matter of which team is willing to bite the bullet. In this case, if Houston sign's smith. Houston's chamber will be locked and loaded. pull the trigger, Morey
Smith not only wouldn't be enough to win now, but he'd also ham string us from making other moves. Also, guys from high school tend to have their athleticism erode at a younger age, around 30, from increased mileage. Also, he's an inefficient 3 point shooter, which automatically makes him a bad fit for us unless we can get a full time center that shoots 3s.
Morey is in win now, mode. or Win as soon as possible, anyway. Josh Smith is a risky move, and it is a move that would keep Morey up at night, but considering our personnel and how we play, he would be the perfect fit. We need an agile 4 like smith to play with Asik. in any other circumstance, i would never consider taking on a max deal from J-smoove, but in this case, he would thrive and catapult this team onto a whole other level.
you don't need a stretch 4 if you have an athletic 4 who can do damage with the pick and roll. Plus, don't underestimate how big of an impact he would have on the defensive end. I don't see Houston ever improving their defense unless they get a 4 who can block shots and rebound well.
I think that if we don't end up with Dwight (and right now I hope that we don't), we'll trade for Gasol and his expiring contract and see what kind of run that team can go on while biding time for Kevin Love to become free in 2014. You have to think that we'd be front-runners for him since we'll have great foundation in place and considering his relationship with McHale. I would be excited if we got Smith just because he's very talented, but a max contract is for him just does not line up with Moreys usual way of doing business. I would rather see what we have with T-rob and D-Mo above signing Smith.
and one more note, you don't need a 4 who can shoot 3s, Asik is not Dwight Howard. Why would we need 1-4 shooting 3's leaving Asik to be the only guy rebounding? We already have Lin, Harden, Parsons, Delfine to stretch the floor. If you have Smith, you can be more versatile, and i can't stress this enough, we'd have one of the best interior defenses in the NBA.
