I don't expect us to go after anyone new come midnight or early into free agency. Focus on CP3 and Clint then we can see if any vets are willing to come for cheap once all the FA money is dried up. (Unfortunately like every other year before people will complain and fuss about us not signing anyone and everybody else being active... SMH) I want to see what happens with Ariza, sounds like he may go looking around. I like Trev, but if we could find a 3 and D wing with more ball handing and finishing capability I'd love that. We needed one of those vs G St.
He doesn't care anything about winning, he only cares about hanging out in LA, he's made that abundantly clear. If he cared about winning, he'd have opted in and would be headed to the Rockets to win the next 2 or 3 championships. If you keep thinking about his decision from a basketball standpoint it'll never make any sense because it doesn't make any sense if you assume that he wants to win ever again.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...e-on-retaining-their-free-agents-13040726.php The Rockets’ contingent in Los Angeles on Saturday was scheduled to meet this weekend with the five rotations players now free agents — Chris Paul, Trevor Ariza, Clint Capela, Gerald Green and Luc Mbah a Moute — in an effort to keep what works. It won’t be easy. Paul has not wavered on his intention to sign long-term with the Rockets, according to multiple individuals with knowledge of his thinking. He had said in the final week of the regular season that he made his free-agency decision last June when he facilitated the trade to the Rockets. He has since purchased a home more convenient to Toyota Center and the airports, further indicating his plans to stick around. Paul, 33, is expected to sign a max deal, with uncertainty largely about whether it will be for five more seasons or the four additional seasons that he would have had if he signed as a free agent last summer. The Rockets had been steadfast in citing a determination to keep their steadily improving center, a position that several individuals with knowledge of their plans said has not changed since the end of the regular season. But after a season in which Capela led the NBA in field-goal percentage, was second in blocked shots and averaged 13.9 points and 10.8 rebounds, he could land the sort of contract that would impact how aggressive the Rockets are in other moves. Capela could be in line for a contract to rival Rudy Gobert’s ($102 million over four years) or Steven Adams’ ($100 million over four years). Less clear is how many teams will be in position to try to land him. Decisions on Ariza could be more complicated. Ariza, who turned 33 on Saturday, is in line for what could be his last large contract. He is especially valuable to the Rockets not just for strengths that fit their style and needs, but because they have Bird rights to sign him, making him a player more accomplished than a replacement they are likely to be able to land given the constraints with their cap situation. Ariza seems likely to receive at least the non-tax payer midlevel exception that begins at roughly $8.5 million per year and could land a richer contract than that. With the Rockets’ tax situation, Ariza’s contract could cost in excess of $20 million per season. But if the Rockets had to replace him, they would be limited to the tax payer midlevel of roughly $5.3 million, unless they use some of those funds to keep Mbah a Moute and Green or to sign second-round picks De’Anthony Melton and Vincent Edwards for more than two years. If the Rockets lose Ariza as a free agent, they will likely look for the athleticism they have lacked at the wing position with the potential to develop, hoping to find the kind of bargain move they made last summer when Mbah a Moute signed a minimum contract. The success of their minimum-contract veterans, Mbah a Moute, 31, and Green, 32, has the Rockets placing a priority on bringing them back.
We're about to give cp3 the supermax I think. With Paul George going back and pop playing hard ball, to me that helps cp's leverage that he could run off and play with LeBron. The way it's shaking out, I bet LeBron is working on cp. Wtf do I know though?
His family wants to live in LA. He wants to settle down somewhere with his kids in school. He ultimately thinks he can get what he wants... winning and in the city he wants. He may still get Leonard. I don’t see Boston or Philly offering more for a rental than the Lakers for a long term version of Leonard. This just furthers reflects how mediocre the Lakers ownership and front office is. Ramona Shelburne can write as many glowing stories about her best buddy Buss and her Lakers... but at the end of the day they haven’t done anything other than be located in the city LeBron wants to live in. A year ago they could have easily dealt for Paul George. They didn’t because they were so arrogant that they believed they would just sign him as a free agent. Well they lost him to a team and organization with half the draw or resources. Now the Lakers have to hope LeBron is dead set on LA or bend over and take it from the Spurs.
So we went from Lebron, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard to Lebron and what's left of Boogie Cousins after an Achilles tear. LOL that's just hilarious.
