On the surface this sounds stupid but if you understand the game of basketball on the highest levels... you agree with the statement.
Damn, that would be nice. I might almost prefer that to LeBron. Butler and Evans will both turn 29 this fall. The same age as Harden. Assuming the T'Wolves will take EG(and filler) in return and the Rockets can afford to sign Evans and resign Butler, that's a lineup that's even more tailor-made to defeat the Warriors. Especially if you keep Ariza, Luc, and Green, That's an endless supply of wings to throw at their players.
Hartenstein is totally unproven. It’s a coin flip whether any of his flash in the G-league will translate. There’s not a lot of guys that can do what Capela did for us this year. He gets better every year. He dominated Gobert, another max guy. Capela will be here for a while
Yes, he is unproven, but I think he could make the roster, if he plays well in the summer league and in the pre-season. It might take him a few months to become a reliable off the bench 4/5, but he seems promising to me. Hard work over the off season will determine his future, I admit. I hope he will prove to be a pleasant surprise next season.
This. It wouldn't really take as much as you'd expect. He's an expiring contract that may leave anyway. At which point you lose him for absolutely nothing.
If at the deadline or after the next season he says "i'm out and i want to go to Houston" we may have a chance. Like Ben said, Gordon is a top 7/8 sg in the league, can score, shoot, plays good defense...has a good contract too and they would be likely able to keep him once he expires. The odds for them to find something better than Gordon in the market are low. Add some fillers like a pick and/or a veteran like Nene and i can see that happening, again, if Butler wants out and even better if he wants to be here.
Could also use a big that can play 4-5 that can shoot and pass. Need more versatility from the paint area or elbow area that we could create some offense. Instead of mostly high pick and roll.
Short-term, no doubt. But long-term, maybe not. Depending on how much longer LeBron can play at this level. He is 4 1/2 years older than Butler. Actually we could easily have the pieces for Butler. I mentioned in the BimaThug thread that the T'Wolves have a very difficult series of financial decisions to make over the next year. Butler and Teague can opt out next summer and will be looking to get paid. Gibson is also a free agent next year. Dieng is on a long-term expensive deal, and Wiggins' new contract kicks in next season and gives him an $18 million raise in pay. Rose is a free agent this summer. And the biggest issue of all: extending Towns. The T'Wolves probably do that, but they can't retain all of these players. Someone will have to go and Butler or Teague(and possibly both) have to be near the top of the list. The Rockets can offer Eric Gordon to the T'Wolves. He gives them a lot of the same production offensively as Butler, but is signed for one extra year(and for less money). I could see Minnesota going for that.
What if we didn’t sign a star at all?. Would you guys think smaller pieces could send us past the warriors?. Let’s say we retain everyone from last year excluding Anderson. Do y’all think a tyreke Evans and maybe a Reddick could make us championship quality or at least enough to keep us afloat if we lost harden or Paul I’ve seen comments by coach and Daryl not to expect many changes to the current roster. Obviously we’re talking about morey here though. And more rumors about Paul demanding a max and capela wanting the big bucks I think it’s pretty feasible to say we might not sign a star at all. With that said adding butler through a trade and picking up Evans would be epic
The TWolves were 27th in DRtg last year. They continue to be coached by Thibs. Gordon isn't horrible defensively, but not sure why Thibs would even remotely want to do that, just because Gordon has 1 more year on his contract. They probably don't want to lose Butler for nothing if it comes to that... but we have no clue that it has or will come to that. Maybe Butler is happy to stay - he'll want to get paid of course.
rockets would still be the same team they were this season with a punchers chance just like this season. no matter what role players you add the ceiling stays basically the same. the only way you significantly raise ceilings is signing guys like lebron, cp3, pg13. not sure why losing harden or paul was posted but if you loss either one of those guys this team easily becomes worse with no chance at beating GS. i don't get this fascination with evans either. I'd be surprised if that guy played more than 20-30 games
This is why I’m not worried about landing a big fish. The Rockets could’ve beat the Warriors as is. Even with one-armed Luc and gun-shy Ryno, both of whom were literally unplayable. Those guys aren’t close to stars. If the Rockets can get someone who could contribute what Ryno was supposed to, then they’re in great shape. But if the Rockets get a superstar, then they are the favorites by far to win the title. I’d go for 70 wins if that was the case.
they wouldn't and shouldn't put out of the energy for that especially being an older team. if anything this playoffs should be a reminder that for championship teams hca doesn't really matter. the rockets had hca and it still didn't favor them in the end. the most important thing is health above anything else
It's not about what Butler wants. It's about what the T'Wolves can afford. Let's say they let Gibson walk after next season(or trade him away before then). They still have the long-term contracts for Wiggins, Towns(assuming they're not dumb enough to trade him), and Dieng and then they have Teague and Butler with the option to opt out next summer and sign huge extensions. That'll be over 100 mil a season tied up in only 5 players. For a franchise that's not exactly in a big market and just made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. That's simply not feasible for them. Someone will have to go. Maybe even two players. Gordon gives them an extra year with a player of similar abilities as Butler and he makes 6 mil less.
