boozer, deandre jordan, and monta ellis of course now THAT will beat out a roster full of LBJs and Jordans.
Flush out all the above 30s, the centers and the shooting guards, all I can see is Love and LA. And somehow I'm still hoping that Love will demand a trade instead of ending his contract. If he opted to sign as FA, Lakers will be the favorite. Those 3s and rebounds sure look good in rockets red.
I don't think Morey ever goes "all in" because in the NBA you always have to keep your options open, nobody really know what can happen and things always don't go into plan. Dallas had an awesome plan for the "Triple D connection" but ended up with Devin Harris and Dejuan Blair instead (LOL!!!). The Rox went "all in" for Dwight but somehow ended up trading for Harden, and then signed Dwight anyway. You don't lock yourself in to something because there's always a chance to get predatory later on. With that said, if we could somehow get either Love or KD you can pencil us in for a dynasty. But quite honestly I'm feeling pretty good about the Rox right now, it's a team that is built to win now but is still brimming iwth potential. 2-3 years down the road Parsons, Lin, Tjones and DMo are gonna blow up and help Harden and Howard out.
Why would LA be the favorite for Love .... other than him being from Cali ?!? The Lakers are a disaster right now ... who on that roster says "Championship Contender" to potential FA's ?! Nash isn't much younger than me , Gasol is over the hill , Kobe is broke down .... Is he going there to play with ... Oh wait , they have no one under contract beyond next season other than Kobe's $25m cap hit. Sure they'll have cap space .... but if the goal is Larry Obrien Trophies , why LA as they have little to offer in terms of talent ?? All of Love's complaints in Minny have been about losing .... Only way I see Love going there is they sign another star to go with along with him , which with their cap space they could do .... then take 2-3 years to fill out a roster around those two prize FA's. Why bother when other franchises can offer you just as much $$ and already have talent to surround you with ..... He has lots of options.
The three most realistic options at this point are Love, Rondo, or Durant. The only way we get either Love or Durant is either through trade or free agency. Obviously we wouldn't be able to get Durant for another 2 years (FA in 2016). While Love has an opt out this year and Rondo is a FA in 2015. I think Rondo is the most likely out of the three but I would much rather have Durant or Love.
Did not bother to research which team have money as too many possibilities from now till 2015 FA. However, reasons why I think LA will be favored to sign Love. 1- California born. 2- Lake Oswego Lakers 3- UCLA 4- The city 5- The history of the team 6- Kobe in his last year
ala the HOUSTON ROCKETS. A high amount of cash will be put in the jip tar if WE DO NOT GET LOVE. Thats how sure I am he will end up in Houston before 2016.
I would agree with this sentiment. We're in the 2013-2014 season right now, and the names on this list are only going to be available after the 2014-2015 season. That's a long time in basketball years, given the relative parity across teams and the 4-5 year peaks that constitute true superstar talent. This kind of long-term planning is almost impossible in the NBA, and is really only an option for the franchises that are willing to overpay, both in terms of paying for past performance (rather than projecting actual performance over their contract) and for the luxury of putting all their eggs into one basket (and watching it all fall apart without a meaningful backup plan or assets in place to make up for it). In other words, trying to play this kind of long-term strategy is actually incredibly shortsighted, and only works if you are the Lakers or the Knicks. Look to those two franchises to see both sides of how that coin can turn out. Morey is most likely going to continue to do what he did to get the team to where it is now - stockpile as many cheap assets and draft picks as possible. The difference here is that instead of waiting for the big whales (e.g., Harden & Howard), he has the luxury of waiting for a truly good deal, only needing to shop for complementary players, and/or simply keeping the draft picks to keep the team in contention after the Harden/Howard window is over.
I think the 2015 FA is not a goal so much as a "very lucrative option." By that I mean every Morey move has to balance between win-now vs. long term potential. And the potential of 2015 FA is certainly alluring. But the 2015 FA also has a lot of issues. If the Rockets clear cap again, they can't rebuild their bench in 2015, but rather wait til 2016. So in a way, waiting for Love or Aldridge means the Rockets really start competing in 2016. And that's very long time. There may be injuries. Other teams may swoop in. Too many uncertainties. I think right now, Morey's default position is that he collects no unmovable contracts beyond 2015. Hence either forcing Minnesota to trade Love or just outright sign him. But if a better option comes along, Morey will move towards that. My opinion is that so far, I have not seen a player that will improve our chances of winning a championship so much, that I would be willing to sacrifice 2015 FA for. Jeff Green? Thaddeus Young? Do either of these players really move the needle in anyone's mind? Not to me. But what if, say, Greg Monroe becomes available? Or Klay Thompson? Not saying either are going to be available. But they would be the type of players who will be getting big contracts past 2015. And players I'm willing to give up Aldridge/Love on. And I imagine Morey's thinking the same thing. Until he sees a better option, he won't want to give up the 2015 FA option.
We need to stop wheeling and dealing and start building chemistry and a group that will give everything for each other. We have the players but not the mentality.
This. Also, with the way the question is framed, it's almost as if the "win now" philosophy HAS to require us taking on contracts that go beyond 2014. That's not necessarily the case. Somebody like Deng or Millsap obviously aren't the names Love, LMA, etc all are, but they certainly give you a chance to win it all right now while maintaining cap flexibility. Unless a Kevin Love is going to fall into your lap right now, I think this strategy is our best bet for the moment.
Sure they need to develop some chemistry .... but they are lacking a key component - Toughness. When you watch this team struggle to score over long stretches , its generally when the refs swallow their whistles & the opposition gets physical and tightens the screws defensively. Rather than play thru the contact or initiate the contact , the Rockets guards stop attacking and or look to the ref for a whistle that isn't coming. This invariably leads to turnovers and easy buckets for the opponent .... Two games really stand out in this regard , the loss to the Pacers and the first win in San Antonio where the Spurs wiped out a 23 point lead and built a double digit lead of their own before the Rockets woke up. Those aren't the only instances but the two that stand out the most. This team needs a real tough guy .... They need to develop a tough guy mentality because when the playoffs roll around teams will tighten the screws and get much more physical. Get physical yourself or get ready for a first round exit.
