Call Detroit's Bluff - Sign Amir Johnson

Sheldon Williams and Ryan Gomes have more upside potential than this guy does.

 

So? If we could get those guys, that would be great.

 

Just a short summary:

- Darko: Wants 8-10 mio.! Way too overpaid!
- PJ Brown: Solid but way too old! Chicago is about to sign him anyway.
- Webber: Pretty good solution, although he is getting older and older.
- Amir Johnson: Are u guys kiddin me? This guy playes the last 4 games of the season and a total of 8 games last year. Hes worth 2 mio a year not more than that!!! You are talking about the MLE, this is just ridiculous!
- Sign Chuck Hayes first!!! He has proven his abilities to rebound and defend. If he gets a little bit better offensively he is on the same level with the other guys above (may be except C-Web).

 

(Standing Ovation) This is the best description I've seen of how management has left Rockets fans thus far. (Continued cheers)

 

I was just looking up Jermaine's stats from his Portland days too to use him as an argument. Portland protected him for way too long and went with veterans and it completely backfired on them. Just like in Detroit, they went with Webber way too long in the playoffs when it was obvious his defense was atrocious. I think the Pistons are bringing Amir along at a decent pace but I would not be surprised if they were keeping him on the bench to keep his value lower than it would be if he saw more minutes. If they do retain him which I think they will, he will play solid minutes for them next year which is what they planned for him all along. To disregard potential in the NBA is ridiculous and to say things like, "well he didn't play in Detroit" or "he hasn't proven anything". Also, to compare him to someone like Novak or any other player that has potential but is way to weak to play in this league right now is silly. Amir's body is NBA ready now which is why he is so coveted. I almost hope Detroit resigns him and he plays heavy minutes and some of you claiming how "unproven" he is will wish we had the stones to offer this kid which we won't.

 

1) Kevin Pritchard and Danny Ferry played in the NBA. They have a basketball background.

2) Daryl Morey has no basketball background. If he's not doling out $Ball info...what other value does he have (beyond answering the phone)?

3) Morey is on record as NOT expecting to use the full MLE and to build via trade.

4) How does one derive a $Ball value for Amir Johnson with so little PT? Seems to me he'd be waaayyyyy under the $Ball radar. Again...emphasis on Morey's "build via trade" statement.

5) Like I've said before...we'll dream of Rashard...talk about players like Amir Johnson...what we'll get is Brian Skinner.

 

That's also give the Rockets the option of handing out a contract longer than two years for Landry.

 

Does this guy actually have any bball IQ or is he another SSwift breed.

 

Delegating that aspect to his scouting department, then as a team they work to an end result.

 

Hmmm...., that is a lot of money for a player that hasn't played much. But, it wouldn't be the first time it's been done. I'm all for it, if the coaches & scouts feel he's the right guy.

However, there is another option that hasn't been discussed in this thread, thus far. You're talking about bluffs & gambling in this thread, & if you'll watch Morey's actions thus far, it does seem as if his actions are mirroring a poker game. He does seem to have a pretty good poker face. We were all convinced he was going for a PF with the #26 pick & yet, he was targeting a PG (Fernandez). Even after his primary target was taken & all but one of the PF's we'd discussed were still on the board, he took Brooks instead. So, with that in mind (& since you touched on it in this post), why not use the threat of signing Amir to the full MLE to force a trade for McDyess?

This, of course, is assuming the Rockets feel they already have a young PF, or two, that they feel will be their future starter(s). I'm referring to Landry, Eliyahu, Novak, & Reed. Or, perhaps they have their sights set on another young player like Justin Williams, Jamal Sampson, or Andray Blatche that they can get for just a part of the MLE.

Here's what I propose......,

Morey calls Dumars up & says, "We're going to sign Amir to the full MLE, but would be willing to forego that if we can arrive at a satisfactory trade for McDyess."

With McDyess being 31 years old & going into the last year of his contract, Dumars says, "What do you have in mind?"

Morey says, "We have 2 players, Sura @ $3.8 million with only $1 million guaranteed & Spanoulis @ $1.9 million & just wants out of his contract that I can give you for cap relief, & I'll throw in Head for a sweetner. That'll give you a little over $4.7 million in immediate cap relief to resign Amir & a very good shooting PG/SG. What do you say?"

Dumars ponders for a moment, & says, "Let me call you back in a couple of minutes. I've got to run this by my people."

Morey agrees.

30 minutes later Dumars calls back & says, "You've got a deal. Have the papers drawn up & we'll make it happen."

It's kind of freaky how I can read their minds, isn't it?

This satisfies Morey's intent to trade for a starting caliber PF & allows him to split the MLE up among more than one player. We dump 3 of our guards for a starting PF, while not having to give up Battier. Of course, this is all contingent upon how badly Detroit wants to keep Amir.

 

Delegating toward an end result in and of itself may not be bad.

But Somewhere...at some point in time during the process...SOMEONE has to have the vision to put all the pieces together properly.

Let's look at the component pieces of the delegating and decison making process to see who may have the necessary vision to put a quality team together...

Hopefully, we can both agree...it ain't Les Alexander.

As much as I didn't like some of Rudy T's court methodology at the end, at least he had vision as a coach. Are you sure Adelman's player vision is as good as Rudy's?

So if ain't Les, and it's no longer CD, and it's not Lindsey whom they are in no hurry to replace after he bolted to SA, and we can't yet draw conclusion of Adelman's "vision" since Brooks was clearly an Adelman pick....what's left?

The scouts and Morey. As I mentioned....IMHO success is rooted in someone driving a vison. Without a baskeball backgound (like Pritchard and Ferry)..I don't see that vision coming from the mind of Morey.

I'm sure you'll disagree...regarding "vision" you've got way more faith in Morey and the scouts the Rockets have had for awhile than I do.

 

True, but to make the deal work, we'd probably have to sign Amir to an offer sheet. Thus, forcing Detroit to make a decision. Even at the full, or most of, MLE, the cap relief from Sura/V-Span would pay for most of the salary.

 

And that would break your heart?

Actually, if such a negotiation is occurring, now would be the time to be doing it. That way, Morey, Dumars, & Amir's agent could have the numbers worked out by the 11th. I'm assuming Detroit doesn't want to pay him the full MLE either. Assuming the numbers I'm looking at on HoopsHype are accurate, if Amir is signed for ~$4.3 million his first year, Detroit's salary cap stays the same & they pick up Head in the trade. That sounds like a win win for all 3 parties.

 

You know, after that trade & susequent FA signings with the MLE, our potential lineup wouldn't look half bad.

C: Yao/Mutombo/Sampson
PF: McDyess/Hayes/Sampson/Reed/Landry
SF: Battier/T-Mac/Bonzi/Novak
SG: T-Mac/Bonzi/James/Snyder
PG: James/Alston/Brooks/JL3

Sampson could be substituted with Blatche or Justin Williams. I just seem to be hooked on Sampson's potential.

Out of that list, someone would have to go. I could see JL3 being the odd man out, but we would have a log jam at PF. Not a bad problem to have, though.

 

I saw that JoeD and AJ have neared an agreement for 3/$10mm. So, McD should/could be available 'cheaply'. And Detroit is shopping for a back up 1...

 

mcDyess really isn't a starter anymore is he? he certainly can't play a lot of minutes on those bionic knees.................

 

I think he's still got something left in the tank. Take a look at his game to game box scores for last year. He seemed to be getting stronger as the year went along.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/antonio_mcdyess/game_by_game_stats.html