I think the answer to the OP's question is pretty simple. Its just the context that is pretty complex. -Josh Smith wanted commitment as the "long term" option at PF (starter or 6th man) -The Rockets long term commitment is going to be in the hands of Motiejunas and/or Terrence Jones. Smith could have very well been in a situation where he gets beat out for minutes. I'm assuming that over the Summer Josh Smith's agent and Morey had alot of conversations about this, and I'm assuming that since there were leaks about the Rockets shopping Jones around the draft (which were later shot down by the Rockets) there was probably consideration from the Rockets, and Smith's agent could have instigated creating a market for Jones to get offers to entice the Rockets to make a deal. However its important to note that its a guess how this went down. In the end... In the end, the Rockets came up with decision that they felt better putting their future in the hands of Jones/D-Mo.
He left cause he was disrespected by Morey... Im a huge DM fan, but basically he said McDaniels was more important then resigning Josh...
I really was on the fence about Josh. While I will always remember him for the good times he brought to the city, it's really hard to live with the type of player he is for a whole season. There were times he would look like a superstar while other times he looked like the worst player in the league. My guess is that he felt disrespected that he wasn't made a priority nor offered MLE money. I think Morey made the right call.
Honestly I like what Josh smith brought to Houston last year but we got to think like Morey. How often is smith going to have outburst like that? He is incredibly streaky and very inconsistent. The rockets have young players who are still getting better and smith is who he is. If you guys think about it, same thing with chandler parsons. At the time we let him go, everyone panicked because we think of the positives but we forget a player's true value. Parsons ended up leaving and it was better for us. Same with Josh smith. Most likely he's not going to pull that magic out of the hat again for the clippers. Doc and the clippers think they are getting the Josh smith that beat them in the playoffs. Morey sees a Josh smith that can easily be replace and so the rockets can focus elsewhere like KJ who has a really good ceiling and potential. Other players like Corey and Beverly have true value to this team. That's why Morey offered them better deals. KJ in the long run will be a bigger impact for the rockets than smith can be. Smith I'm sure Morey did wanted to keep but it wasn't his top priority. Josh smith can be replaceable. D-Mo is going to get better and better as his game matures and Morey wants to see how much more jones can develop. I do like Josh smith but the rockets don't really need him.
There is no doubt that Josh is very erratic, but he is fully capable of being an asset to the Clippers, provided if Doc Rivers utilizes him properly. I do think we will miss him in Houston. D-Mo's injury is a big blow to us, and although Jones may thrive in the open court with Lawson, he still needs a lot of improvement.
James Harden doesn't like him. He had to feed his family. He wants Windows 10 free for life....oh wait.
Maybe Morey did offer him the mle over 3 to 4 years. But josh just wanted a one year mle contract so he could cash in next year on the rising cap. So Morey weight one year of Josh versus 3 years of Harrell and McDaniels. I would not really want to be the team that promised Josh a big pay day after a one year deal.
I for one am going to miss Smith's rebounding and shotblocking, specifically on the recovery. I think that was one of the things we had last year which we didn't bring back or replace in some form.
So to sum up the OP question.... Josh, had to do what was best for Josh and DM had to do what was best for the Rockets.. T_Man
Either that or he over values Jones & DMo. Which I don't quite understand because Smith's the most well rounded outta all 3, plus he doesn't disappear like Jones does every year in the postseason. We can't afford to have our PF's getting bullied & pushed around missing rebounds.
No one did, but there was only one team that he did a huge favor for by signing for cheap last year, thereby saving their season, and that was the Rockets. I'm sure he felt that was worth at least a modicum of interest in the next off-season, which he did not receive.
Part of me thinks him and Dwight's relationship worsened. Perhaps not the main reason Josh isn't a Rocket anymore, but maybe had some subtle undertones in the decision.
Well Dwight likes to showcase his snake quite a bit. Maybe he showed it to JSmoove's wife and she accidentally made a comment about how big it was..
