Marc Stein @ESPNSteinLine 25m We know Knicks & Lakers will chase LaMarcus Aldridge come July, but at least two teams in Texas believe they have shot at him: Spurs & Mavs Marc Stein @ESPNSteinLine 23m You keep hearing Spurs/Mavs plan to be at front of line for Big D native Aldridge in free agency. Blazers have work cut out to hang onto him
If the Rockets are really a lock on getting Scola, they can't do Dmo dirty again by moving him away from Scola. He freaking loves Scola. That's his idol when he was young. He imitates his offensive game after Scola. Keep Dmo and let him train with Scola!
I suggest no one try to make scenarios on what's going to happen this off-season lol. I think the most we can do is list our for sure players which right now only consist of Harden, Dwight, Ariza, Jones, Donuts, and Capela. Beverley, Brewer, Smith all do have a great home here in Houston, but it's going to be tough retaining them. Cyberx, news on Rockets using their bird rights on Brew and Pat? Or will they let them walk? This is crucial because all three can be great 6th men. Kpap, Terry, and Prigioni aren't that great and Morey can find better I think. They contribute, but let's be real y'all. Dorsey may be waived/cut for a new roster spot now that we have Capela. Both KJ and Johnson are rooks who can't contribute as much as others. Could become liabilities, but KJ will be hard to retain while Nick could be used in a trade. Then you got players who are considered "almost" locks like Llull and Scola. Scola should come for the min, but Llull will take a bunch of money. You also got two draft picks (#18 and #32) Those are potentially four players.
Not going to happen, I'm not saying Cyberx is lying but he is trying to get everybody all hyped when even he must know there's maybe a 1% chance of us gutting our team for LMA...I would love Scola back, but to say he's a lock is just ridiculous. This guy has been right about a lot but to already say Scola comes back for sure, I don't buy it...
Never takes long for the "I'm not saying hes lying" brigade to chime in. I'm sure he's repeating what he hears, but the Rockets wanting and the Rockets getting are two different things. Scola, to me, is wasted roster space (except as a buddy, along with Prigioni, to ensure Llull signs). LMA? It's a stretch. Landing him would be a coup. I'll just wait to rent this movie when it becomes available on Uverse; I'm not rushing out to the cinema on this.one.
Cyberx: How does the firing of Scott Brooks affect his chances of leaving? Especially with his pal Kevin Ollie in the running? We all thought Durant was the end game and I personally though we had no chance at LMA and he was a lock to stay in Portland. Who's likelier to leave?
He never said the Rockets are going to get Aldridge, just that they are chasing him. Most reasonable Rockets fans aren't expecting us to get him, completely unlike the Bosh situation last offseason.
Are we talking about Meyers Leonard here ? If so I think morey should reall look at him he shot 90, 50, 40 this yr. he is very underrated. All hustle & good rebounder. I'm sure morey and crew already has a eye on him because of advanced stats. Honestly I think bringing him for jones and bringing lull over would be a good look if we can't get LMA
You bring in Scola means that TJones, Smith, and Dmo are targets to being traded or signing elsewhere. Because he is a PF who right now would have a lot of competition for minutes. I would have liked to have seen what the current Rocket squad could do with everyone healthy. But even in the playoffs we are missing two starters, DMo and Beverly.
No need for anymore PFs, bring over llull, draft a high upside player with our 1st rounder, get good value in the 2nd, sign a shooter or two, and go the golden state Route, if Curry, klay, and green can take the next step, why not Harden, bev, dmo and Jones do the same...
Same here. Look, if the Rockets could somehow get Aldridge here without having to give up Ariza or lose Brewer or Smith to free agency, I'd be in favor of it. He's a terrific PF and a perfect complement to Dwight. The problem is I don't see how that's possible given our cap situation. We'd have to potentially gut the team in a sign-and-trade. And no, Aldridge will not take a 1-year cheap deal with a handshake agreement that Morey and Les take care of him in 2016. Not at his age. He'll be looking to get paid this summer. Didn't we go through this star-chasing nonsense last summer only to have it blow up in our faces? And the irony is that if we had signed Melo or Bosh and held onto Parsons, none of those guys would be in uniform right now thanks to their respective season-ending injuries. I said back then that Morey should focus on depth and improving the team's defense. Well, lo and behold, we now have a terrific bench(which would be even better if D-Mo and Bev were healthy) and a much improved defense which has resulted in the 2nd seed, the 3rd best record in the NBA, and a 2-0 lead in the first round. You know the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Well right now, the Rockets ain't even close to being broke. I am worried about Dwight's knee going forward, but that will need to be addressed a year from now when he presumably opts out of his deal. For now, the priority should be bringing back the core of this team(you know, the one that won the TOUGHEST DIVISION IN NBA HISTORY!!!) and adding a starting PG and maybe one more wing player. If the opportunity presents itself to add yet another star in 2016 when the cap increases(*cough* Durant *cough*), so be it. But there is no reason to break up this group, especially when their season isn't even over yet.
Before we say we aren't "broken" let's see how we do against an opponent that isn't crumbling internally.
I agree with this. Before the last game of the season, the Rockets were the 6th seed and the general feeling on this message board was that the coach was stupid, we had a broken down center and we only had one really good player. 2 games into the playoffs and suddenly it's "no need to make big changes." I believe personally that REGARDLESS of what happens in these playoffs, they absolutely 100% have to get a guy on this team that can create offense other than James Harden at the guard spot. Even if they are just a bench player. Maybe Llull is that guy. However, until we get through the playoffs I don't think we really know what changes need to be made to the core. I don't think Ariza should be shipped out though personally, because I think his defense makes a HUGE impact on this team and he's a big help to Harden on the wing.
It is highly beneficial for Aldridge to wait a year to sign a max deal. I think he will be looking to win this summer, not secure the most money. No, it didn't blow up in our faces. We tried and weren't successful, and our back up plan was adequate. Getting depth is easy, getting max players is not. And Parsons/Melo injuries are based on circumstances. Sending them down an alternate history will not make their injuries certain. That is a logical fallacy. I am happy we are 2-0, but to act like we are some championship favorite because the Spurs choked us into the 2nd seed is another fallacy. Right now, this team is not good enough. If you have a chance at LMA, you take it. Role players are replaceable.
