the most embarrassing thing was us leaking that we had so many good offers for Dipo including young players and picks, and then getting exposed it’s like someone getting their wig ripped off in public Woj probably sent Stone a “fck u” email for getting used like that if they didn’t before, all GM’s know now to not take leaks of alleged trade offers from us seriously
Oh the old "the Houston franchise did the best they could and no one else could have done better " defense heh? I've heard it before and don't buy it for a second. Stone should have been trying to trade Dipo the second he got him, not waiting to get squeezed by the deadline. What a freaking disaster this trade is. Two bench guys and a highly protected pick swap for a 2 way NBA player who averages 20pts a game. DAMN.
Should have just kept Levert. He would have been easier to move imo. But you are right we should have traded Dipo right away. Not only did we not show case him, probably drove down his value with the losing streak
If there were really better offers on the table and we did Mia to “do oladipo a solid” then someone needs to get the axe what has that guy done for us that he deserves to be treated that way ? it will weigh 0 for potential FA’s
MacMahon said it was keeping Dipo or giving him to MIA, only options. Bontemps said we got nothing back. This is brutal. Now Bontemps said we did the deal just to save $5M. MacMahon says the swap “isn’t nothing, but not srs compensation -@espn_macmahon “I was told earlier this week, we’re not just gonna dump him for a couple of 2nd” -@WindhorstESPN *interrupts aggressively* “Well that’s true. They did not” -TM “did not get a whole lot”; HOU discussed SnT options that would return “pennies on the dollar” MacMahon (ctd): “well they took dimes on the dollar” -Windy *excitedly* “Nickels!” -@TimBontemps: team should have taken LeVert and Allen -TM: Rockets didn’t see Simmons as a franchise cornerstone level of player -Windy: “Only a few people can answer [if Philly actually could have gotten Harden], Tilman being the most important one”; “Fertita has lightened his financial obligation to this Rockets team over the next couple of years”; says it may be fine/smart if the rebuild is successful -“But right now they got a 20 game losing streak and an owner who dumped a bunch of cash” -Questions whether even Morey knows why the Rockets didn’t take the 76ers package -@espn_macmahon:”I’ve been assured it’s wasn’t about [Morey leaving], it wasn’t about that, it was just about how we feel about Ben Simmons, but yea.” -@WindhorstESPN “What is the Rockets truth telling percentage? You have to cover them everyday” -TM: I don’t posesa a polygraph” -@TimBontemps “[@espn_macmahon] has a pretty good Texan BS detector, I’ll just say it, I don’t think there’s any way in hell Fertita was going to allow Daryl Morey and James Harden has a chance to win a championship together in Philadelphia. I’ve said that to [Daryl] off the pod” -Windy: [Oladipo] has gotta be one of the happiest guys in the league right now -MacMahon: “Oladipo got exactly what he was hoping for. He might be so happy he plays back to backs” -Windy: “He’s been trying to get to Miami in one way or another for literally years”
The Rockets took in Avery Bradley‘s $5.64MM salary using part of the traded player exception created in the James Harden trade, allowing them to generate a larger TPE for Victor Oladipo, says [John] Hollinger. That means, instead of having a $10.65MM TPE that expires early next season and a $2.77MM that expires at next season’s deadline, Houston has TPEs worth $5.02MM and $8.18MM.
There was probably a lot of better offers which required us taking back long term contracts and more salary. Tillman probably said no and wanted to shed salary. It's happened every year so nothing to be surprised at here.
The only way we get better is by pure luck, Porter and now possibly Olynyk was pure luck, there is a possibility Heat might lose this trade if Dipo remains inefficient and we get really lucky with that pick swap, there's a reason Dipo had no offers cause he really was not very good
Is it "luck" though? I mean, Porter, sure. If not for the complete incompetence of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise he wouldn't have been cut, but I don't think it's a coincidence that Stone won both trades by selling absolutely terrible players to teams for better players. Hell in the PJ Tucker trade we got TWO players who are both better than Tucker PLUS draft compensation. In the Dipo trade, we got pieces who were better fits on the team and some draft compensation. Neither of those were on accident.
What actually shocked me was Olynyk, I always liked him as a player but he is going to be perfect for a young team building.
Let's be fair. I would be stunned if this is not a commonly used tactic used by GMs/FO in all sports. In fact, I'm pretty it was used in both Draft Day and Moneyball. What is more annoying is that the Rockets are getting all this heat when Woj could have easily checked more sources from other teams. What is true though, is that this was a ricky maneuver for a first time GM early in his tenure. It makes more sense for a GM with more history/credibility to pull this, but you definitely lose bargaining positioning for Stone to pull this now and his bluff getting called. tl;dr -- Yes this was risky move that backfired, but it was not as bad as everyone is making it out.
Thou dost protest too much. Stone got rabbit ears and I think he is more a mouthpiece than I thought before. Looks like Windhorst was baiting here and Tim took the easy way out.
Except they didn't have to worry about losing their pick. Rockets better not screw up our odds on this tank.
