Think about it like this. Our future as of now depends on Dwight. Had we made a trade for a bigger name it means committing our future to that player as well. Right now our future and present depends on what Dwight can do. If he can come back healthy and dominate then whatever, if he can't then we can at least have the flexibility to quickly rebuild around Harden
It is not just about having legit pieces. It is about having pieces that other teams want. It is about having pieces that are better than the other teams that the team trading actually wants or needs. It is about what the other team wants to give back in the trade. It is about the player wanting to sign with us.
Heyyy at least we got a guy that can dribble the ball up the court without Harden and Bev on the bench.
I didn't say Canaan was as good a player. He wasn't. But they're both largely untested second-round picks that have some elite specific skills, major weaknesses, and are a dozen times more likely to become useful specialists than stars. And again - this could be a 3-month rental of a slumping rookie, which is about the most useless "asset" possible if RFA rights don't pan out.
The point is the Rockets could have given up the exact same assets as the Heat and it not cost them DMo or the Pels pick. Certainly could have done it without DMo. Not even remotely questionable now that we know the return.
Plus KJ has played like a Lotto pick this year and we got him for Canaan & a 2nd round pick. Thats just a damn good trade in itself and I'm one of those #FreeCanaan dudes
Yeah, our bench just got a lot stronger with Prigioni. McDaniels is a weird move, we didn't really need another wing, but I guess he adds depth "just in case". Maybe Morey plans on re-signing him in the offseason, who knows.
Even if Dwight plays as good as he ever has in a Rockets uniform, we still can't win anything without someone who can actually create, other than Harden. So 2015 and 2016 are still punted.
No offense, but this cheesy voodoo trick Morey supporters use every year has ran it's course. The whole "but, but..Morey's a few steps head of everybody" song & dance can't be applied after this year's trade deadline. Other teams we rival got significantly better this year, while we got older and less efficient. We had specific team needs and NONE of them were addressed. Morey passed on a few good bigmen just so he could sign Joey Dorsey in the offseason. Ppl said "no, no, no, Morey's definitely got something up his sleeve at the trade deadline. Just watch!!". Well, the trade deadline came and went and Joey Dorsey's still gonna be missing layups under the rim for us. Thanks Morey
Well thank God Harden isn't as short-sighted as you. Since he's been here, Morey has acquired Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza, Josh Smith, Corey Brewer, and K.J. McDaniels. That's pretty ****ing solid if you ask me.
Whew, we made out like Bandits. Rotation players, flexibility, little given up, such wonderful moves.
Realistically I expect us to get to the 2nd round. Once we are there I will reassess my expectations.
Then that is a problem as well if you don't have pieces other teams want. The entirety of the brain trust on clutchfans has highlighted all the good assets the Rockets had to move when in reality they were pretty much just ok given the potential trading partners out there. This draft isn't deep and if DMo was not made available, then in reality the Rockets had little in value in trade. This is why it becomes really important that Capella, Nick Johnson, KPap, and McDaniels grow and are all retained by the team. Morey then has to hit on the two draft picks that we kept as well. That would finally give the Rockets true pieces that might interest teams and at least strong cheap depth if the next big move comes via free agency instead. Even Morey admitted this Summer he didn't make other moves and instead geared up for this trade deadline. he also stated he didn't want to waste a MVP season. The moves made today aren't wasting this season but they don't really help you create seperation either. At the end of the day, I can be diasppointed and openly question the moves or non-moves made by the Rockets. That doesn't make me any less of a fan.
