[ClutchFans] Notes/Buzz on Nene, Hayes, Motiejunas and Team Direction

Any of you guys think Donatas can become the next Pau Gasol or Dirk Nowitizki lite?

 

OK Mr Lawyer. Expecting Denver to be appreciably worse does not mean they will lose any more games than the Rockets. That's a fact!

 

That is a fact. My opinion is that Denver is going to suck and it really depends on whether the Rockets can get a good center or not.

 

That is a fact. My opinion is that Denver is going to suck (relative to other teams in west) and it really depends on whether the Rockets can get a good center or not.

 

Art, I suppose you're technically correct. (Thanks for defending me, Joe Joe!)

My point still stands, though. Those teams are very, very likely to be worse. And the Rockets only finished 3 games back from the Hornets last season.

Meanwhile, people think we'll be bad enough for a top-3 pick.

If you desperately want the #8 or #9 pick, then have at it and "tank".

Me? I'd rather make the playoffs and actually SHOW SOMETHING to would-be free agents and the rest of the world.

It may not work, but it will probably give the Rockets a much better chance at landing a star (especially since it will increase the trade value of most players in the rotation) than the "allure" of a middling lottery pick. I'm still waiting for the news story about how Nene, Tyson Chandler and Marc Gasol are angling to head to Charlotte so they can play alongside Bismack Biyombo.

 

But I wanna play with Bismark Biyombo.

 

After further deliberation, I would concur with CBXXY and trade for Al Jefferson than overpay for Nene.

Al is 3 years younger and a better scorer, rebounder and blocks per game.

He could be had for cheap since the Jazz already have Kanter and Favors as their 4-5 combo.

Maybe the McHale factor would let Morey trade for him?

I would look to trade Scola for a upgrade at the wing and re-sign Hayes to play alongside Jefferson

 

We'll see what's up with Denver: They were VERY good last year, even after Melo trade, but they'll be minus Kenyon Martin, JR Smith, Wilson Chandler and likely Nene, too. That's 4 very important guys in the regular rotation.

They actually only have 5 guys under contract, and will start the season with a 16-day training camp/preseason. Hard to imagine how the season will start smoothly for that team with a bunch of new faces. Hell, even the Miami Heat had its regular season issues and I don't think anyone added to the Denver team will be of the Lebron James caliber.

 

I'd definitely take Nene over Al Jefferson.

Nene doesn't need to dominate the ball to score points.

If this team wants to keep their efficient offense, with a lot of ball movement and motion, Al Jefferson is the last guy they need.

 

That's really interesting. I think Hill and Flynn are both going to pan out over t-will and thabeet. Makes me think twice.

 

ESPNSteinLine Marc Stein
As negotiations with Mavericks have stalled, Golden State, Houston and New Jersey have emerged as three most serious suitors for Chandler

ESPNSteinLine Marc Stein
Rockets and Nets remain in hunt for Denver free agent Nene and are likewise expected to soon make face-to-face pitches to Brazilian as well

 

Exactly.

Mobile centers are more in demand these days, well, with an uptempo offense and all. Not a guy who you throw it to, then let him either score or draw a double team etc.

 

A #8 or #9 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft could land you guys like Perry Jones, Quincy Miller, Jeremy Lamb and even Jared Sullinger. Two of which were in contention for the #1 pick in 2011, had they not opted out of the draft.

I'll take any of the guys I listed instead of a first round beat down, with a low NY knicks pick. But that's just me...

 

OK I may be young and stupid but why wouldn't we go get Nene no matter how much money it took and then trade for Iggy? Scola, DMo (that would hurt a lot - his stock has risen dramatically in the last 2 months with his Euro league play) and whatever draft picks/foddder it takes?

That roster would be strong and deep. Without a super star but with no real weaknesses. It might not bring a championship but probably a high seed. And no one would want to see us in the playoffs!

 

Let's look at a few of last year's playoff teams. Denver, Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Portland, and possibly OKC and Orlando are all teams that would seem to fit the model you're proposing for the Rockets: pretty good teams in cities that are pretty nice and don't actively repel players the way Utah, Indiana, or Cleveland do. If Howard or Paul were to join one of them, they would become first-tier contenders. But those places aren't seriously in the conversation for where Paul and Howard will end up, either as FAs or SnTs, and I don't see why we would be, either. Stars want to play with other stars in flashy destination cities - that's going to be the norm going forward.

The best model for us would be OKC or San Antonio - they overcame their undesirable cities by drafting a critical mass of talent whose contracts kept them there long enough that they gelled and will probably stay together.

I don't think we'll be bad enough for a top-3 pick, either. I think that even if we trade Martin and Scola, there's too much talent on this roster for us to be that bad. But with the depth of this draft, a pick in the 8-range is all we need. I'm confident with the 8 we can get a premium prospect, and even if we can't, I think that between the young talent on our roster, the Knicks pick, and whatever we get for Martin and Scola, we should have enough loot to move up if necessary.

We have a rare opportunity to get exactly the kind of premium asset we need - a build-around player or a high-value prospect to be the centerpiece of a trade for an established star like Derrick Favors was. The simple, sad fact is that stars will not come to or stay in Houston without some kind of contractual compulsion. If we can sign Nene at a reasonable cost, we may still be able to put together the kind of blockbuster trades that would unite Paul and Howard here, but if we strike out, I think we need to blow it up.

 

Both do fill the low post scoring need the Rockets have but Jefferson is an undersized PF. He's really 6-8 1/4 and a poor defender.

As we've seen with Chuck. No matter how great a defender a guy is at C he still needs length to stop opposition guards from doing layup drills.

Nene would be the better fit as he covers needs at both ends of the court although he's still considered an undersized C at 6-11.

 

Of the guys you mention, only Jones strikes me as a potential star. Of course, if he progresses in his sophomore year as hoped, he'll be off the board no later than #5. IMHO, Sullinger is just a wider-bodied version of Patrick Patterson and won't be more than a "good starter" in the NBA. Miller would be nice, but I don't see him as a potential star (I may be wrong on him, though). Lamb just doesn't strike me as all that.

I think anyone who falls out of the top 5 picks (yes, even in a potentially deep 2012 draft) will not be the caliber of star the Rockets need to rebuild and that the Rockets could instead package the Knicks' pick with other consideration in order to move up a few spots to select a comparably talented player (or slight downgrade).

The depth of talent in 2012 will likely not be at the star level but rather at the "Patrick Patterson/Marcus Morris level". In other words, there should be more mid- to late lottery level talent than in other years. If anything, this helps the Rockets more with respect to the Knicks pick than their own, as they may get a mid-lotto talent as late as #17 or #18. Unfortunately, I don't see any "top-3 talent" going as deep as #8.

And for those thinking that the Rockets could just trade, say, #8 (tanking Rockets pick) and #18 (healthy Knicks pick) to get a future superstar, I doubt that would convince the holder of that higher pick to make a deal. Teams with the opportunity to draft a future superstar don't trade down very often. Also, most of the teams drafting in the top 5 already have several good young not-quite-star players and aren't interested in trading one great pick for multiple "less great" picks.

I really don't mean to be such a downer, guys. I'm just calling it as I see it. And the way I see it, it just makes more sense for the Rockets to WIN this season. Don't worry, though. They will most likely either get a lottery-level talent with the Knicks pick or a significant roster upgrade via any trade using that Knicks pick.

 

Excellent analysis, even if I don't agree with 100% of it.

I see (1) the quantity of good (not great) young players on the Rockets' roster, (2) the depth of the draft as it affect the Knicks' pick and (3) the lack of need for adding two more good (but not great) players to the roster as opposed to one more, and that adds up to tell me that the team should try to win this season, go all-in for a home run trade (which might still include signing a major 2011 free agent to open up other trade scenarios) and 2012 free agency having a good reputation as a winning team. If they completely strike out, then feel free to dump veterans and start over in 2012-13.

 

This has been a very depressing off-season thus far. The near trade for Pau (fire Stern), the Grizzles offer matched for Marc (which was expected), Chuck moving on to the Kings, and still no center(don't want to overpay for Nene or Dalembert). The team says it's goal is to make the playoffs, but I just don't see it happening. Now I'm all for seeing which of the 2009 draft busts breaks through like they said, which I'm pulling for Jordan Hill personally. After seeing Morey try to ship out Martin and Scola already, I hope he does for some picks or young talent. This is a year for everyone to show that they belong because I feel plenty moves at the deadline and off-season next year. A guy I'd love to see in a Rockets jersey in Andre Drummond and I say go all in for him and keep up with both Montiejunas and Llull and hope to see in Houston next year :grin:. Houston is going to be the West's team to watch in 2012.