I like the move. Iggy would've been great but not at his asking price, and I didn't want Shump. We needed a versatile wing defender behind Ariza, and we got him. I would've ideally liked some more height/length (6'8" type), but Tucker can guard 2/3/4 very well with his strength/smarts. He's not a great shooter or much of a scorer, but if he can up his 35% career 3pt clip to the 37%-38% range, he won't be much of a liability. I think Ariza is in for a big year. He has chemistry with Paul, already gets plenty of open looks in this offense, and I'm a firm believer that his streaky shooting is largely due to fatigue from all we ask him to do on D (guarding the other teams best wing and often, big/guard as well). Tucker will help keep him fresh, and together they can cause some havoc on D (as long as they're hitting shots on the other end).
Your man-lust for Morey has caused you to hallucinate. When DeRozan gets two steals that is not Tucker. When Tucker is rubbed off on a screen and Butler misses the shot in the lane that is not Tucker. When Tucker flies off the court on a ball-fake and Butler missed the wide-open runner that is not Tucker.
We lost a bully in Beverley and Morey made sure to replace him either with Iguodala or Tucker. Mission accomplished. Here's our RPM stats from the SF position last year: Ariza: 1.93 RPM, ranked #13 Dekker: -1.37 RPM, ranked #44 PJ Tucker: 1.09 RPM, ranked #18 SF depth was a critical issue last year and Morey resolved that with Tucker. This also gives Ariza more rest, and it was pretty clear he struggled when dealing with fatigue. With Paul, Tucker, and hopefully getting Nene back, we should be an improved defensive unit.
I don't support everything Morey does. I've called out plenty of his mistakes on this board. But you clearly didn't watch the video, or you would have seen Tucker make Jimmy Butler work for every shot. And that's why Morey signed him(perimeter defense). Harrell could not have done that.
Bobby Brown must be the GOAT recruiter... "One reason is the Rockets had three great recruiters who were in Paul’s ear to come to Houston: Harden, starting small forward Trevor Ariza and reserve point guard Bobby Brown." Spoiler: ... and now PJ Tucker!
Using the MLE on Tucker eliminates any chance of re-signing Nene. This is the point. Tucker isn't "free." Yes, Tucker can play. But Nene is worth three times as much to the Rockets as Tucker is. Nene played at Championship level in the playoffs last year. He played at the level of a starting Center on a Championsip team.
Did this get posted in the scores of replies? (If so, apologies) http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/246683/PJ-Tucker-Agrees-To-Four-Year-$32M-Deal-With-Rockets According to Brian Windhorst, the Raptors offered a three-year, $33 million deal compared to the Rockets four-year, $32 million contract. Chris Paul played a big role in recruiting Tucker to the Rockets.
Signing a free agent like Tucker can't free up any space for Totonto, even in SnT. It just helps us, and they'd presumably get a future pick for helping us. We wouldn't have enough NG contracts left (would we) to also get Cory Joseph from them, which WOULD free up cap space for TOR,
I suggest you wait for the entire story to play out. Nene returning is still the most likely situation.
Solid move,but they need to upgrade Trevor spot . He's a good bench player and the ultimate goal is to beat gsw, how does he help?
Our practices will be intense! Paul and Tucker don't play around. They treat practice like a playoff game. This will be great for Harden. Everyday in practice, he will be going up against Paul, Tucker or Ariza (sometimes Gordon). This team is going to be competitive and feisty. I love it.
I apologize to you. You're obviously substantial and I was wrong. Not about the video you posted, though. More in general.
