[ClutchFans] Bargain-bin shopping: Where Rockets may fit with remaining free agents

I believe Ariza is of Latin-Caribbean descent....

Plus he drafted Alessandro Gentile... IJS

But I am curious as to the race element.... Also, what did you mean with your comment about Black Eric Bledsoe (Cyberex thread)

 

Ah, thanks!

 

I'd take Shannon Brown

 

Oh well.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Free agent forward Shawn Marion is leaning strongly toward signing with Cleveland over Indiana, league sources told Yahoo Sports.</p>&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/497188617593188353">August 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Marion hasn't formalized agreement with Cavs yet, but Indiana's already looking elsewhere than Marion for free agent help, sources said.</p>&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/497189847438610432">August 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Allen and then Sessions intrigue me the most. Marion too, to a less extent, but it sounds like he'll be headed to the East.

 

Dorsy and Isa Smith have higher priority in Morey's heart. He feels so good about his accomplishments this off-season.

 

Oh well is right.

Question: if we miss on Allen/others, do we go back to Kostas Papanikolaou and offer that $500k he was asking for?

 

It seems like we aren't pursuing Marion hard at all and that honestly baffles me. He would be great coming off the bench and can play the 3 and 4.

 

I hope Sessions signs with the Rockets.

 

I referred to the black Eric Gordon, not Bledsoe. This is because Eric Gordon is a common name and I wished to avoid confusing the NBA's Eric Gordon with other Eric Gordons.

 

Are we allowed to?

I'd be on board with that- but I doubt we do. I think Kostas comes over next summer if we have space.

 

My fault for referring to Eric Bledsoe (all of the Suns talk in that thread) when I meant Eric Gordon.

Are there any other players in the NBA named Eric Gordon?

I'm sure you have your reasons, but you seem hell bent on some type of skin color comment in some of your posts as of late.

 

If he's too busted up at this point, he's never going to be fit again to play.

 

You must either be a superstar or a D-leaguer to garner interest from the Rockets lately. Failing that, you may still have a shot if you are willing to play for free.

 

Haven't seen this posted, so...

Teams eyeing Emeka Okafor's return

 

Morey is focusing on trash picking now. We will waste Howard another year.

 

After adding a veteran backup guard, should Rockets chase an experienced center, too?

[rQUOTEr]When the Rockets reached agreement on the trade for Jason Terry, they sought a veteran to provide an experienced safety net for the backcourt reserves. They were as motivated by the pursuit of potential trade assets, including an expiring contract that falls in between the untouchable star deals and bargains of the young roster parts, but the veteran guard thing was a big part of it.

That little bit of roster tweaking, to be completed when Alonzo Gee and Scotty Hopson are eligible to be traded to the Kings, will give the Rockets 19 players under contract, 16 with guaranteed deals. They will have a veteran reserve in the backcourt (Terry) and on the wings (Francisco Garcia). For a team certain to be playing so many largely-untested players, having a few been-there, done-that veterans at training camp, in the practices and contributing as needed makes sense, but it also leaves a question.

Do the Rockets also need a veteran backup at center?

Leaving aside the demands of those still pining for a third star, which remains their long-term goal and a different subject, the Rockets’ backups inside are Joey Dorsey, Jeff Adrien, Donatas Motiejunas and Josh Powell. Dorsey is a veteran of sorts, but his successful experience is in Europe, not in his time in the NBA, and he remains a question until he does it in the NBA. Motiejunas is moving into his third season and should be able to reliably contribute, but is far from proven. Adrien is probably the most predictable after his impressive 28 games with the Bucks in his fourth NBA season, but also most clearly limited.

It would seem that the same logic that indicated that the Rockets could use a veteran with Isaiah Canaan, Troy Daniels and Nick Johnson would indicate they could use a veteran with Dorsey, Motiejunas and Adrien.

That’s where it gets more complicated, and not only because with 16 guaranteed contracts, they already have one more than they can bring into the season.

Adding Terry can’t hurt. He might be able to help on the court, but if he can’t, he cost two players not in the Rockets plans and comes with a couple picks and a potentially movable contract. Adding a center could bring tougher choices.

If the Rockets sought to chase one of the free agent centers in the FIBA World Cup – Aron Baynes or Gustavo Ayon – they likely would have had to offer more than one season. Ayon already seems headed to back to Spain for a better deal than he was offered in the NBA. The Rockets generally don’t mind doling out more contracts than they have roster spots, but they don’t want to impact next summer’s flexibility.

They could look at some of the free agent veterans still on the market. But they would have to ask if Nazr Mohammed or Ryan Hollins can help more than Dorsey. For that matter, if those are the options, is the need for a veteran in the midst of their backup big men as needed as it was with their even younger, more inexperienced backup guards.

At this point, it seems almost certain that the Rockets will go to camp with the players on their roster once the Terry deal is complete and Kostas Papanikolaou signs. Either way, their success will be determined by the players on the billboards, not the end of the bench. But the desire to add a veteran to the backcourt does point to the relative lack of a similar veteran among the big men.

It will remain a question until Dorsey can show he can bang inside without fouling, Motiejunas can show he is ready or Adrien can show he can take a spot in a rotation if necessary and produce for a good team the way he did for a stretch with the league’s worst team.

If nothing else, the questions inside could be among the most interesting when the preseason schedule begins in less than a month.[/rQUOTEr]

 

Goodbye Gustavo

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Former Hawk. RT <a href="https://twitter.com/basketballtalk">@basketballtalk</a>: Gustavo Ayon spurns minimum offers to play in NBA, reaches deal with Real Madrid <a href="http://t.co/6njV83KTBu">http://t.co/6njV83KTBu</a></p>&mdash; Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CVivlamoreAJC/status/509055133343174657">September 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
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The question with the backup 5 spot really has more to do with who goes vs. who gets signed.

Currently the Rockets have 3 roster spots to offer the following players:

-Ish Smith
-Robert Covington
-Francisco Garcia
-Tarik Black
-Jeff Adrien
-Joey Dorsey
-Josh Powell

If you sign a backup C, who else are you cutting in the process, and is the team better or worse after losing what they have to in order to gain insurance behind Dwight?

-Also from what you've heard from the FIBA tournament, Ayon is getting some pretty hefty offers overseas. The minimum wont get it done, and its arguable if the BAE will either. Aaron Baynes could be more of the same.

It sounds to me, like Morey saw this coming weeks ago, and he's put his faith in Dorsey/D-Mo being able to handle the backup 5 spot.


Edit: No more Ayon. Baynes might be the last true 5 out there that would be enticing as a big who actually has a potential future in the league.