If he's intent on leaving, Portland's mind set would be it's better to get something from Houston than get nothing and let him walk to the Spurs
Why do people not understand, LMA is not leaving Portland this year. He would be throwing away 100 mil to risk leaving now. It's so much smarter to sign a 1 year extension and then if he wants to leave do it next year. Do the math 4 year max deal with anyone else equals ~80 mil. But Aldridge is a 9 yr vet, meaning he is eligible to take a maximum salary of 30 percent of the salary cap. That percentage jumps to 35 percent next year. Taking a one-year contract this summer would allow him to vault into the highest max bracket in 2016, in a year that the salary cap is projected to sky rocket. Why sign a 4 year deal now at 30 percent of 70 mil when you can make 20 mil for 1 year and then get 35% of 90 mil for 5 years. Add al 6 years together and he gets close to 200 mil as opposed to 80 mil. It's easy to see LMA is not going anywhere next year. If he's willing to throw any money away it will be after next year. At least if he signing a 4 year deal to move. he gets it at 35% of 90 mil for 4 year and then he is losing 30 mil+ not 120 mil. Forget getting LMA now and to a lesser degree the same applies to Kevin Love. Anyone who thinks they are worth max money would prefer to begin that max contract next year.
Just thought of this: Say we bring Llull over. He's going to take a while to transition to the NBA. I wouldn't expect instant success from him. So we need our starter to be completely and fully developed. Why does Scola have to be the only ex-Rocket to return? Why not Aaron Brooks? He's a solid fit next to Harden and still has a lot left in the tank (go look at his Chicago game tape). Only reason he didn't get playing time was because our PG rotation was way too full. With Prigs leaving and Beverley likely gone, we need to revamp the PG rotation. He's worth at least a look for 1 year/vet min deal.
Ehhh Aaron Cant Defend Western conference point Guards night in and night out and on top of that he's incredbily streaky I'd rather see them go after collison or let a rookie like Jerrian Grant or Tyus Jones play that role, We all know what Aaron is at this point and he aint gettin any better
I see your point. But personally, Collison is a slightly better version of Pat Bev. Not much of an upgrade. If we got him, I wouldn't start him. Drafting a rookie isn't a great idea, imo. He'll take time to develop. We're in win now mode. We don't have time for that. Aaron Brooks can at least compete with WC point guards.. He'd do better defensively than Terry did.. so I'm not too concerned there lol If we signed AB on the cheap, we'd have room to either trade or sign a 3pt shooter to come off the bench. I like Bellinelli or Dunleavy.
I think someone along the lines of that can handle the ball at times but still thrive while playing off the ball and can play some sort of defense. Would like for us to look into the likes of George Hill, Greivis Vasquez, or even Brandon Jennings if possible.
I forgot to mention (and maybe someone mentioned it previously) that Dmo idolized Scola. Would be ironic if Scola were brought back and Dmo for whatever reason traded. If they're both here, teammates, maybe the master can teach the Padewan something.
Brandon Jennings would be a good pick up. But... A. There are concerns about his health. B. Don't know if Jennings is "analytical" enough for Morey.
I think it would be really dumb if DMo got traded based on his improvement the last couple of years. LMA is also old already at 30 so I don't know why we'd want him.
I think it would be pretty stupid to not trade for one of the two, or three best power forwards (who is just 30) if DMo is the biggest piece on our side. DMo, remember, is a below average rebounder, still gets in foul trouble too much and is coming off of back surgery. There is limited evidence that he is enough of a difference maker to propel the Rockets to a championship. He really only played a few months of inspired basketball. Aldridge is that type of player. He's not perfect for the Rockets, but come on now. He would make the Rockets a true juggernaut.
Yea, we would never pick up a polarizing, non-analytical, big money, streaky, athletic Detroit Piston castaway. . .
Money talks. Josh was cheap. Jennings would cost $8M.. Would be worth a look if we could convince Detroit to give us a draft pick with him..
Jennings for 8 mill is fair value, likely to be a value contract once the cap increases. I know he seems like a total chucker but his EFG and TS %'s are close enough to league averages considering he's a guard, and that he shoots a lot of 3's. A player that puts up 17 points, 6 asst, 2.5 boards and 1.5 steals is well deserving of a 8 mill contract when players like Meeks, Fry and Parsons are getting 6 mill, 8 mill and 15 mill per.
It depends on how much Aldridge is willing to take in $. If he wants max, then the Rockets won't have any money left for depth.
Aldridge would really move the needle -- vault the team to the next level, Golden State territory. You'd have to think Morey sees the opportunity this summer and will make getting him or Love to Houston as the final major piece his top priority, even if the chances are slim. If neither one pans out, a healthy D-Mo and an upgrade at point guard, like Lawson, would still be a damn big improvement over the team we had in the WCF.
