[Chron] No extensions for Thabeet, T-Will, Flynn, Hill

It appears to me we're trying to trade Hill to a team that will extend him.

 

Thabeet not getting his option picked up is a no-brainer. That would be $6.5 million for a guy that doesn't play.

Flynn I thought was highly doubtful, as I think they would rather bring Lull over if possible to backup Lowry assuming Dragic leaves.

I thought TWill had a decent chance of being re-upped, but apparently not. He has shown flashes at times, but I guess the organization sees better uses for $3.14 million.

Hill certainly makes the most sense, as a young rotational big man making $3.6 million. My preference however is that either he or Scola be traded by the deadline. Scola is clearly the better player, but much higher paid.

 

Very interesting. Hill and Lee's situations being the most interesting.

-With Hill you try looking at case examples of guys out there who are long and athletic, but have terrible hands and virtually no offensive skills to see waht their value is in trades and free agency.

Id look at Kwame Brown and Mikki Moore as examples, and say... you know teams traded for these guys so Jordan Hill at 3.5 million for just one year... Id go ahead and extend him if it was me. At the very least, you have a 2012 training camp body and expiring contract next year.

Given the lack of depth at the center position this year, I think the Rockets should go ahead and give him another year knowing he's should never be allowed to touch the ball on offense.

The downside to that is that he's no longer a trade asset this year IF you can swing a deal for a Robin Lopez or Omer Asik type of backup center to Dalembert.



-With Lee Im not sure what him and his agent are demanding but they might be surprised what they Will Not get offered as a restricted free agent. He will have high interest but the low MLE seems about right for Lee at this point. If the Rockets can get him at that rate, take it.

But more than likely his agent numbers similar to what Lowry's contract looks like... roughly 5mm a year for 4 years. Paying market rate for Lee should benefit the Rockets.




-As for Flynn, Thabeet, and Williams... sorry, but times up. They had a short window to impress the coaches in training camp. They had to know that was the case and that the Rockets were not going to extend them.

The only real loss here is the potential Non Lottery 1st round pick that they gave up for Williams. Hinesight is always 20/20 but these are the types of gambles the Rockets had to make last season when they were desperate for future talent and athleticism. I ultimately believe Morey will make up for this loss before March with the expiring contracts of Flynn/Thabeet/Williams in a deal that should account for those losses.


The sooner Morey can make a deal the better off the lockeroom morale will be, and the sooner the 09 draft busts will be able to get playing time to showcase their skills for the 2012 summer free agency.

 

Just like Ariza, Morey is quickly washing his hands of gambles that don't pan out.

 

Seriously??? The Rockets thought that T-Will was a talent worthy of a top 10 pick in 2009 (they didn't think that of Hill and likely ranked both Thabeet and Flynn a lot lower than where they were selected), so trading a pick that was unlikely to be any better than #18 or so (given the lack of depth in the Eastern Conference) was deemed worthy of the gamble. Plus, the 2012 Draft is expected to be fairly weak in that range.

Williams actually hasn't been that bad this year. If not for the completely unexpected emergence of Chandler Parsons, there's a chance that Williams is still in the rotation.

If this answer (and the others in this thread) are not sufficient for you, then I guess you don't understand the point of taking calculated risks. Sometimes they don't work out as you've hoped.

I've been the most vocal person here about the negative impact of owing a future first rounder on trades, but I STILL think the T-Will trade was a gamble worth taking.

 

That surprised me on T-Will. I thought the organization had enough faith in him that they traded away Martin.

He's a good player, but the Rockets are just stacked at that position right now.

 

Well said Bima. I have very little love for the baggage T-Will brings, and i think he's got a long way to go in his development, but his talent and athleticism is undeniable. He truly does have the talent to be a game-changer, and that is worth taking a risk on for a team that rarely finds itself in a position to aquire game-changers in the draft.

I'd also point out that i thought Thabeet was also well worth the risk. Just because things don't always pan out doesn't mean Morey was wrong to have taken a chance. When one does finally pan out, it will be worth the ill-fated gambles. I like having a GM that is willing to take calculated risks, especially when the downside is substantially limited.

In Morey we trust!

 

You say people are underrating Terrence's talent, others say your overrating his talent... More than likely his talent and abilities are right in the middle as most observations are.

Lets just be fair and say he is who he is. Versatile, athletic, but an anomoly on the court, and a tough fit in a normal rotation.

The last part being the most important. How much would the Rockets be willing to invest knowing that its going to be hard to get him to fit in most lineups a coach will go with?

Could he end up as a fit in some future lineup the Rockets might have.... sure. It is possible he might get beat out again, and again.... yes. If he's a player that you have a feeling might continue to get beat out time and time again, then why invest more years and cap space?

Maybe Terrence finds a good fit on another team in the NBA next season, but right now he just doesnt have a good role in this lineup, and there is a good possibility that he might not have a role for quite some time.

I dont think its fair to Terrence or the organization to keep spinning their wheels on the T-Will train. He couldn't hack it with this current group of players, its time to cut ties and let him pursue other opportunities.

 

even in the optimistic case that thabeet becomes a decent backup, he is nowhere worth his monsterous contract in the next two years if rockets picks them up.

 

No, everyone agrees his talent is first rate. It's his ability to hone his talent to fit the needs of structured play that's the problem.

When you can get bounced out of the rotation by a non-star role player, you simply aren't that good as an NBA player. Period.

He's got tools and talent, but can't put it together in a professional setting. There's a chance he'll put it together - Alston languished his first several years for the same reason.

Was it worth the gamble? Maybe. But it still goes down as one of Morey's worst flops. I definitely am not as upset about it as I was/am about Thabeet. That writing was on the wall before he was even drafted.

And I don't think you pick up Hill's option. He's at best a band aid solution at center, and we've got too many PFs on the roster. $3.6M is a lot for a marginal big off the bench. His agent's sweating because he knows he won't see that number on the open market. 4 and 3?

Harsh reality - role players in this league are disposable and star players are invaluable. Be incredibly selective how you spend your money.

As far as Lee, I love him to death.....but I think he's ready to cut ties with Houston. I think he wants another crack at a starting role and he probably deserves one. He's too good to be reserve, and I think that's part of way Morey tried to move Martin in the Gasol trade. They're far apart on contract talks because Morey can't justify starting money on a backup. If Martin survives the trade deadline, I think Lee pushes for his release.

 

I don't think Twill or Thabeet were ever really given a chance; Thabeet especially should have been sent to the developmental league. Both may turn out better than expected down the road. But I agree with the Chronicle poster who said they are tired of all the turnover, it is getting ridiculous. Players are in and out of here like a revolving door. Lee is a keeper, let Hill walk.

 

Bro, i agree with you. I don't think we should pick up T-Will's option. It has not panned out. I was merely saying that it wasn't a bad gamble.

 

After three healthy years, if you're not a PG then you are what you are. No one's going to be "breaking out" after we fail to renew their 4th years. Viable rotation players they may become, but in this regime Morey has shown that those guys are ones he has absolutely no problem finding.

I agree with freeing up the cap space for bigger and better fish.

 

If you look at the results, it was, and I think it has to be agreed it's arguably been one of Morey's worst moves, if not the worst. The rationale, however, is perfectly understandable, and we can understand why he did it. It was an opportunity, and it failed. That's all there is to it.

And I would argue in favor of picking up Hill. 3.6 for a role playing big isn't that bad, and there's still a small chance with him. Not to mention we would have the advantage of him being a RFA next year as opposed to a UFA this year.

 

Daryl has added a few pounds!

 

We aren't stacked at the small forward position. T-Will just wasn't good enough to win the starting spot.

 

Wasnt really directed at you as much as the people out there that think Terrence is the next great superstar and think Morey is an idiot for not giving the keys to the car to him.

Trust me, around Noon all the Twill bandwagoners will finally wake up and blow up the board with nonsense.

Point was that some people rate his talent & abilities a 10, and some rank it as a 2. While all along he's really a 4 or 5 on an NBA scale.

 

...to a step ladder? It sure isnt an NBA player.

 

I'm not saying they should but couldn't we resign them cheaper even if we did want to keep them? I doubt any GM is going to pay close to what the extention amount would be. League min is all they are going to get - and even that may not be guaranteed. This frees up the cap space for better players.

ie - None of this should be a surprise.