We've all talked about preserving flexibility and assets for the pursuit of another star. Paul George, Demarcus Cousins... names recycled over and over. I'm starting to wonder though....is it time to make a deal where we overpay slightly or trade for a player on an underwater deal to fill a need now? To be clear, I still think there's a line we shouldn't cross. No sense in throwing good money at a pretty car with a bad engine. But we've got a bunch of interesting pieces....KJ, Harrell, 2017 1st, Portland's 2017 2nd, Denver's 2017 2nd, rights to Llull and Gentile...(Dekker purposely not included). Maybe we are at a point now where we can take on the right guy on the wrong deal....
I would like Paul George. But I think any offer of KJ, Brewer and Harrell (Picks) would make a team laugh.
D'Antoni and Cousins? not sure how a laid back coach can handle this guys antics. Cousins is a hot head with no control. As good as he is there is a reason why teams are somewhat inclined to think twice about this guy right now.
Not suggesting that at all. We can't afford George. My basic question is should we settle with "someone else" to win now?
I'm up for it, but I think it will be difficult find a better risk/return proposition than waiving Ennis, signing Chalmers and trading Brewer for any C. That's a solid upgrade to the roster that's already doing well and risk is practically zero. We would be as certain as possible that we'd lock up the 2nd or 3rd seed and be a top 5 team come playoff time. Harrell, Dekker and Capela will make incremental improvement too, that can't be ignored. Alternatively there are players we can trade for who can make a more significant impact, but the risk will be higher. I find it a bit crazy to mess with something that is doing SO much better than it logically should be doing, but I'm a crazy mf'er so I would probably opt for the riskier proposition.
The Rockets are in a tricky spot. They have been playing well and should be considered title contenders but not at all title favorites. They wouldn't be favored in a series against SAS, GSW or Cleveland- not to say they couldn't win those series.. Just that it wouldn't be as likely. And that's not even mentioning that it definitely wouldn't be easy to get past other teams like Utah, Memphis or a healthy LAC. On the other hand I don't know how we could get ourselves over that hump and take that next step. Maybe it's just that I still have a bad taste from the dumpster fire of last season, but our team chemistry has looked so good that it makes me reluctant to make any major moves. If we traded Capela for Cousins straight up (hypothetically just for discussion) we would obviously be more talented but if last year taught us anything it's that we may not be a better team. So it's tough. I don't want to mess up the kind of chemistry we have but feel like we probably need to do something to improve to be a serious contender. Morey definitely has his faults, but the one thing about him is that I feel like he will be constantly looking for something to try to improve the team, no matter how big or small. Try to look for a deal out there but then if nothing improves us then roll with what we have and save space for off-season.
I think we make minor moves around deadline time, like Mathloom talked about, then see where we stand after the season ends.
We should trade Eric Gordon or Ryan Anderson (plus Ariza, Harrell and picks) for Paul George. Although it seems like a bad move, we must remember that there is a very high chance that Gordon and Anderson will be injured come playoff time. I know that nobody wants to hear that, but you have to look at the history of these guys.
I could not disagree with this more. If your reasoning for trading away 2 players who have been key to being 27-9 is they are injury prone, wouldn't you have to say the same for Paul George as well? Besides, Indiana isn't trading Paul George. Lets be real.
I know that realistically we do not have any unwanted players on the roster that carry value around the league (i.e. McDaniels, Brewer, Ennis or Brown); therefore, I am hoping for a low-key move that could help us out. A Jon Barry, David Wesley type of move that will spark us even more. I definitely would love to look into Mario Chalmers, would love to have his experience as a third stringer. I feel that Carlos Delfino would be worth a look, he looked decent in the Olympics. Maybe Jared Dudley is available since the Suns are a sinking ship. I know others have mentioned Korver, but I don't feel that he is a realistic target. The Hawks are not out of playoff contention and Korver is not going to get them some season altering piece; therefore, I don't foresee Mike B. trading him, probably just best to let him expire.
Still so early with this team, if they make a big trade they risk not ever knowing what their ceiling is. Each month they get better and we've only had all players healthy for a handful of games in December. I think I want them to take it to the playoffs with about the same group, and then reassess in the offseason. It'd be a shame to trade someone like Dekker for an overpaid vet this year who doesn't work out for whatever reason, and then watch Dekker excel somewhere else.
I'm really liking Cyberx mentioning Gordon Hayward. I know he isn't a realistic trade target, but hopefully this offseason we are able to lure him in. He would be a great 2nd or 3rd option.
I think people have a misconception that you bring in one piece to put yourself over the hump automatically. I am not in favor of making this one big move. Instead we should stand pat and see where we stand after this year. I'm not saying morey cant do what he does best and make minor moves...but the chemistry has been off the charts this year, and I don't like the idea of bringing in one guy at the expense of multiple others who are vital to the current team's success.
