I agree that D-Mo, Lamb, Machado, and Royce will be in the D-League. This could be a good thing however as long as they have the right attitude about it. Letting our rooks develop TOGETHER in the d-league is probably a pretty good idea, and i don't know many teams who have had this many high upside rooks at one time. I think Jones solidified himself as the backup PF for sure. I also feel Greg Smith has made himself the defacto backup C as well. His hard work in the D-League payed off. Anyone of those guys can be called up if need be due to injury/trades etc but right now the only rook that's really ready to play significant nba minutes is Jones. I wonder if Livingston has played himself into the backup role? That looked to be t-dougs spot to lose earlier on but now i'm not so sure.
Also, remember Morey's elephant vs. salmon analogy in terms of farm systems in basketball and baseball. He wants to try to setup a farm system that allows for more talent evaluation for longer periods of time like the minor league system in baseball. If you think about how many rooks with upside we have this year and the multiple future picks we have it seems that he could be moving forward with this idea. Ultimately the best players will eventually rise above the rest. At best, you may find a true diamond in the rough... a potential all-star who just needed time to develop (this can be true for lots of one and done picks) or at worst you get solid rotation players that either contribute or become valuable trade pieces. Greg Smith is a good example of how the system can work. Also this should give us even more reason to follow RGV.
So are u saying send D-Mo, Lamb and Royce to Vipers. And cut Machado (his contract is Viper valid too - but once there any team can get him).
machado brockman and forbes...i think you keep jj he can play anywhere from 3-5 in certain situations
As a rule, don't get too attached to people on the Rockets. I was really attached to the Scola / Landry / Brooks / Hayes / Yao era of the Rockets once upon a time.
Morey has said in Interviews that they are a young team by design so i don't him sending 3 of our rookies to the D-League. Prepare yourselves for a young mistake making team.
Given what our rotation looks like and barring any trades, Terrence Jones is the only rookie I see getting significant minutes with the Rockets any time soon. The others are better off getting playing time in the D-League rather than just watching from the bench.
I believe they'll keep Machado in the D league. And the point of my post wasn't really saying that I think Morey should send Royce, lamb, dmo, and machado to the D-League, it's that I believe he will do it. I don't know whether or not I fully agree or not. It just makes sense with what he's said recently about his desire to create a true farm system.
We'll be a young team regardless of whether or not 3 of our rooks will be in the D-League. What rooks have clearly earned consistent rotation minutes other than Jones and maybe Dmo? There's no reason our young players with high upside should sit at the end of the bench when they could be developing together and working on the things that will help them crack the rotation. Granted, if a trade occurs, that could open up more opportunities at which point we'd simply have to call them up.
2nd and third year players are still young. So if all the rookies went to the D-League we'd still be a young team.
Smith and Livingston have done enough to crack the rotation so I would be very suprised if they cut them. Greg Smith still has a lot of room to improve but he's much better than during the regular season last year. He couldn't stay on the floor, didn't use his strength and missed simple lay ups. Douglas is not going to be cut so it comes down to: JJ, Brockman, Machado & Forbes. I think we should keep Machado for the future because even though Forbes is an okay player, SF spot is set and when there are any injuries I rather see TJones or White play some SF.
Keep JJJ!!!!! High upside!!! Loads of athleticism!!! We may have a ton of PF's, but it's not like any of them have proven themselves in this league. The more young ones with potential we have, the better the chances we have one that develops into something special!
If JJ is really worth keeping, then perhaps we need to trade TJones for a 2014 lottery pick right now???
Have you noticed that the Rockets are trying to go with players who can go above the rim and not one-dimensional ? Machado is one-dimensional, whereas JJJ can rebound, block shots, and score down low. In addition, if one of the big PF/C is injured, he is a nice backup to fill the void. So, keep JJJ definitely, please.
If it were up to me, I'd cut Douglas and Delfino, neither of whom have little place on this roster. And Brockman, because he's hurt. Keep Johnson, who has the best length/athleticism combination on our roster. Keep Machado, whose ability to run an offense is unparalleled. If need be, send him to the D-League to develop his defense etc. Until he's ready (or we start tanking, let Livingston run the backup PG). Asik - Motiejunas - Smith Patterson - Jones - Johnson - White Parsons - Forbes - Morris Martin - Lamb Lin - Livingston - Machado With any combination of Machado, Donuts, White, Morris and Lamb taking turns in the D-League if they aren't cutting it.
We will know today who gets cut. As of right now, I think the only guarantees on who are in the steady rotation are as follows: P.G. - Jeremy Lin _______ / S.G. - Kevin Martin _____ / Carlos Delfino S.F. - Chandler Parsons _ / P.F. - Patrick Patterson __/ Terrence Jones ..C. - Omer Asik _______ / I will preface this assessment by saying that in all likelihood, Kevin Martin, Terrence Jones, Patrick Patterson?, Chandler Parsons? anyone else? were not supposed to be on this years roster because in Morey's eyes, he was going to get Dwight Howard. He went out and got as much value for his players he traded as he possibly could to rebuild around Howard. He didn't just reach out only for contracts to fill a deal or help another player get signed to the deal they wanted, he brought in players he has probably been eying for a long time and was excited to get on this team. With that said, I will discuss my thoughts on what Morey and McHale may be going through right now with the cuts having to be made immediately. Jon Brockman is a player that really fits both Morey and McHale's mold in a player. To Morey, Brockman is an efficient, Chuck Hayes type of player who plays larger than his size (6-8) and understands the game and to McHale, he sees himself, a rugged player who has a nose for the ball and who fights for every possession. It is a shame that Brockman got injured and if he gets cut, it is not due to anything he did on the court. If cut, Brockman will get snatched up quick by another team and will likely be a fan favorite. Gary Forbes is another guy who I think Morey would not want to just cut, reason being he was the player he got back in return for trading Lowry. He is 27 years old now which by the average age on our new roster is a veteran despite the fact that he only has played for 2 years. He had a strong close to last season for the Raptors but he has not earned much time in the preseason and though he had some hype around him he hasn't shown much on the court. It would be sad to think that we will only got a draft pick out of the Lowry trade. It was expected that Forbes would add to the team over the long haul but with the Rockets having to commit to their Rookies development it appears that the plans for him have been pushed to the back burner. Will Morey take a chance on him and see if he develops into the player he expected to get? Hard to say. JaJuan Johnson is a guy that I think Morey REALLY wanted to get and wasn't just trying to help Courtney Lee (Remember that name?) get a contract he wanted. Boston wasn't real happy in letting him go either. This is a young and talented prospect who alongside someone like Howard could have really developed. Now, with so many big men on the roster, we face another conundrum. What to do? Send him to D-League or cut him? He needs time to mature and grow as a player and sadly it may be another team who picks him up and finds out that it really does have a gem. We'll see. Greg Smith is another young prospect that the Rockets have actually invested a lot of time in. He was lost on the court last year when brought up from the D-League but looks like he has learned a lot and started to understand the game. To grow as much as he has in one year shows a real commitment by him. Will he have the skills of an Andrew Bynum a couple of years down the road or will he end up a bust? Morey is really working to build a team and players for the long haul but with so much talent on the roster someone has to be cut. Shaun Livingston has been around the league for years and has bounced back from a gruesome injury that many thought would have ended his career. He is an exceptionally tall Point Guard with great passing ability and is able to handle the ball and keep the team on the right track when brought off the bench. Only issue here is, he is who he is. You won't see Shaun Livingston improve his game. He is a solid backup for a team looking to make the playoffs and have a steady veteran hand. Is that really what the Rockets are looking for right now? Tony Douglas is a combo guard that has been inconsistent over his first three years in the league. There was a lot of hype around him after his second year (which I attribute to New York media) due to his ability to get hot from behind the 3-pt line but that came crashing down in year 3 when the media destroyed him and fans were ready to drag him through the streets of Manhattan for his poor play. I think Morey thought he could bring him into a new situation and watch him bounce back and hopefully grow, question is, does he play backup Point Guard or Shooting Guard? Is there really a spot for 6-2 Shooting Guard on this roster when Delfino and Lamb fit your traditional height and length for the position and either play better or are going to show you more over their career. Tough decision especially since he is on a guaranteed contract but Morey dealt his cards right and was able to get New York to pay his salary this year, so it won't hit the books now if he decides to cut him. We will know soon enough. Scott Machado is a young Point Guard who just came out of College leading the league in assists. He shows tremendous potential for All-Star level assist numbers if given the minutes but still has a lot of room to grow especially on the defensive end. He is also undersized for your traditional Point Guard but this has never stopped Morey before (Lowry and Brooks). Machado has the bravado (Did I just coin something here?) that you would expect of the Quarter Back of the court and believes he can be the starter on this team. Question is, has he impressed Morey and McHale enough to even put him ahead of Livingston and Douglas at the backup? Another tough cut that I think Morey doesn't want to make if necessary. Marcus Morris is a strange name to put in this discussion but one has to look at what he has brought to the table over the past year. He was kept or pushed out of the backup Small Forward and Power Forward slots by Chandler Parsons and Patrick Patterson last year and sent to the D-League where he was visibly disgruntled. He was brought back near the end of the year but still didn't play well. Morey has stood by his pick and really tried to give him time to develop but in one offseason has loaded the roster with bigs and with Patterson, Jones and Motiejunas all showing that they are more equipped at the Power Forward position than him and Parsons and Jones and possibly even White showing that they are better suited for the Small Forward position than him, it makes you wonder where he fits in with this team. He obviously has a ton of skill but does he have the right attitude? Another tough decision to make. If you think it is unlikely that a second year first round draft pick gets cut or tossed aside, look at the outcome of Hasheem Thabeet (#2), Jonny Flynn (#6), Jordan Hill (#8) and Terrence Williams (#11) all being drafted higher than him back in the '09 draft. All discarded by their teams and only Thabeet and Hill making a slight name for themselves even now.
