The question is a two pronged question. Just who is the Rockets high on and just what is their concern in any player movement? They need a center as Morey suggested and they are looking long-term as Morey suggested. Why not make the move for Whiteside of Sean Williams as one poster in a different thread suggested. Both long and big bodies and are young and can play center. Unless a KG/Allen type deal is in place then pull the trigger. And chances tell me that no such deal is on the table.
For a trade to happen both sides need to agree to it. No way Denver trades Nene for what you proposed. For all of our supposed 'assets' this board overvalues them in trade proposals.
We are in a similar position as Boston was before they landed KG/Allen. They had a ton of assets, but none of our assets can equal the likes of Jefferson. I think Morey is trying to snag that type of player, but none are available for the cooking. Boston gave up quite a lot for KG and it paid off. This franchise is in a delima imo.
Tough choice??! Please, the choice wouldn't be so tough if Trick Adelman would learn how to sub and play the players that he has( T-Will). Tricky Ricky, foolish old man.
We have our Allen in Martin. They need the KG/Pierce type players. We have assets, but teams are not that high on them except for Brooks and this is just one team. This is the similar approach Boston did when restructuring that franchise. They hanged on to Jefferson until just the right moment which is what i think we'll end up doing with Scola as evident with Bosh. The only problem is Scola is 10 years older then Jefferson just about. Boston landed Allen and already had Pierce with Jefferson and most their assets. We don't have the assets Boston had almost but not. We have financial assets none of them that will impact a team in terms of winning basketball. And i agree people on the board do over value what we have. Players like Battier/ Jeffries / Budinger and the likes teams just ain't high on them to make a reasonable move in terms of winning that will help Houston.
In order to make the two trades, Boston also had to give up a bunch of draft picks: a No. 5 pick, the return of a Minnesota pick they got in a previous trade (I think the 7th pick), and their own 2009 pick (the 28th pick). That's on top of two coveted players (Jefferson, Delonte West), several more young guys with potential, and the Szczerbiak expiring contract. At this point, I don't see Houston's leverage coming anywhere close to Boston's.
We all want that grand slam type deal, but imo we should take it one step at a time and settle for a home-run. What i mean people bring up Carmelo and Paul this would be a grand slam. With a home -run type deal Morey has coveted Cousins and Love which is what we'll have to settle for imo. We need a home-run type deal to improve our assets something that is similar to a Jefferson type player. Young and is a huge asset we have none Brooks is the closest. And teams hardly ever trade big for small. So we'll have to gamble and look at players like Whiteside who i think has a very high ceiling higher then Patterson or Hill.
True, Boston's collection of assets was quite impressive. But let's break them down into what was traded for each star: For Allen: --2007 #5 overall pick (Jeff Green) --Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract --Delonte West For Garnett: --Al Jefferson --Theo Ratliff's expiring contract --Ryan Gomes --Gerald Green --Sebastian Telfair --Return of MIN's lottery-protected first rounder from a prior deal --2009 BOS first rounder (turned into #28 - Wayne Ellington) That's a LOT of assets used to acquire Allen and Garnett. But the Rockets don't necessarily need to acquire TWO stars in order to contend. They just need one. Boston was one of the league's absolute WORST teams when they made those deals. Meanwhile, the Rockets are no worse than a middle-of-the-pack team. I think Morey has accumulated quite the war chest of assets. Maybe none of them are quite as intriguing as the #5 overall pick or Al Jefferson (then still on a rookie deal), but he's got a lot of assets better than anything else the Celtics traded away. They ought to have enough to be able to acquire one star. Too bad the other team has to WANT to trade them that star.
Jeff Green and Al Jefferson are some nice assets and prospects Rockets have none just Brooks. I don't think Scola qualifies being already 30 years old. And in 2 more years Brooks's value will drop as he's paid more and getting older. So right now his value is at an all time high. Rockets will need to aquire 2 players like Green and Jefferson. Perhaps they can sign Green AND settle for Nene, but i doubt it including Brooks who will be paid more then Lowry. Imo they'll need to move Scola to a contender for a prospect that's good kinda like how Garnett was moved, but not as much coming back now that's a lot.
Thanks for the more detailed breakdown. I looked up that protected first rounder Boston returned to Minny in the Garnett deal. It was lottery protected until 2008, top-five protected in 2009, and top-three protected after that. Basically a good chance for it to be a high lottery pick. So that means it took Boston a top ten pick and a coveted young talent to bring in EACH of its star players. Morey's assets are good, but he has neither a player at the level of Jefferson nor a draft pick that's in the top ten. And he is going to need both to get the superstar deal done IMO.
Ahhh, but you're forgetting about the Ted Stepien Rule. That pick COULD NOT be conveyed until two years after the pick they owe to the Clippers is conveyed. Seeing as how the Wolves will likely pick in the top 10 picks this year (the pick owed to the Clippers is top-10 protected in 2011 and then unprotected in 2012), Minnesota would have had until 2014 to right the ship and work their way out of the cellar before having to actually convey that pick.
You are so correct there sir i agree. We have Brooks, and need the top ten pick is about as close we'll get. I've been trying to say this too.
Question. If the Rockets managed a deal for Carmelo Anthony...is he plus Luis Scola and Kevin Martin competition for the current Spurs, Mavs, Lakers, Jazz and Thunder? IMHO, no. And here's why. Melo is not LeBum, Martin is not Wade and Scola is only better than Bosh in the low post. The proof of this is when the Heat take a WC road trip. If the Heat can't cut thru the WC with their stars (and I personally don't think they can)...how could the Rockets? Especially if you had to partially gut the team to get Melo. The end result is still Hayes at C and Lowery at PG. They are more than a single star away.
They should find what team could possibly contend next season that is below .500 this season and move Scola for that top ten pick. Imo they are far and away from getting the superstar thing done. And even that imo ain't gonna be enough. They need to pull a Boston type deal from thin air, but they need to upgrade their assets first.
OK I'm getting it now, but my head's starting to hurt. It's weird that Minny would be allowed to trade a protected first rounder to Boston when they had a lottery-protected pick deal in place with the Clippers. I didn't know that kind of overlapping was allowed.
You're absolutely correct, but it's hard on the perimeter defenders, because once they get pass the 1st line there is nobody at the rim to block anything. We are KING of taking charges and teams have caught on. We also get destroyed on the offensive and defensive boards. Too players who give us O and no D or vice versa. We need better all around players. Way too many nice guys
There are no title aspirations in the near future of this franchise baring the "magic" trade. However, we have been in desperate need of a center since Deke and Yao went out. That's over a season ago. We never addressed the need last year and we haven't addressed the need this year either. Having someone like a Camby or Gortat would shore up the middle. Defense usually is better when the opponent is always thinking about his shot being blocked. Yao was never a shot blocker but his size changed many shots. Lastly the reality is that this team lost it's defensive mindset when we lost JVG. If we would have been smart and kept TT around instead of letting him turn Boston into a defensive juggernaut, we would have been in better shape. You have to be blind to think that Rick was ever a defensive coach. Que sera, sera
We need to unload Hill while he has a decent amount of value. He's not a very talented player, and consequently, he doesn't have the ceiling that some of our other young guys have. I don't think more minutes is going to get it done, either, he gets by strictly on athleticism -- no smarts, no real skills. I like the guy, but he'll never be more than a 2nd-stringer at best. Right now, though, I'll bet there are some teams out there who think he might might have more of an upside than he actually does (in my opinion). Package him with a starter and we might be able to get an even better starter and a pick in return.
Yeah, this stuff'll hurt your head. Sure, that is legal. If the Rockets wanted to trade another of their own future first rounders, it would most likely be: Houston's 2014 first round pick (lottery-protected), to be conveyed no earlier than two years after Houston fulfills its obligation to convey a first round pick to New Jersey (Terrence Williams trade: 12-15-2010)
This team function under Yao...without him, it's hard to contend. It's going to be hard to find a replacement. Hell, even if you find a good Center, it's going to take awhile to develop. Dwight Howard even took years to develop where he is now. So it's not going to be easy. I think this team is PERFECT and will be the best in the league if and ONLY IF Yao is healthy. Too bad, it's not happening.
