If the health of Jones was a deal hangup, I sure would like to know the targets. I'll be bummed if we lose one of Donuts and Jones. How bummed would depend on who we got, of course. As I pointed out earlier, keeping both won't keep me up at night, and might even be the best move, long term. We have other assets. They are the best, however, along with the Pelicans pick.
I wish CyberX was a legit insider. BBHolic has been reporting Jones on the trading block for ages now. Spoiler
I love both guys too and I was super stoked when we dumped 2Pat and Marcus Morris to open up playing time for them because those other guys had limited potential and were one dimensional. Unfortunately, the reality in today's NBA is that in order to get a really good player, teams want multiple first round picks or some combination of a young player with upside and picks. We have the NO pick in our back pocket, but that will only get you so much in return and our two best young players are without question DMo and TJ. Thus the sad reality is that they are potentially trade bait. Either of them can likely be had for the right price (whatever value Morey has assigned to them). Being a huge fan of both guys, I'll be sad if we trade either one of them no matter who we get back, but I understand the business. It will be hard watching one of them develop and reaching their potential on another team if or when that happens. Probably more of a when than an if to be honest with you.
Now with Dwight going out for some time, IMO the best way to manufacture wins will be to play fast and furious. They really need to speed up the tempo. Trading D-Mo and/or Jones now just doesn't make sense because along with Smith, they can all switch everything defensively, and run the floor extremely well. Alot of people are going to argue the Rockets now need a 7 foot rim protector and are going to start naming everyone in the league over 7 foot tall like Dalembert, KG, and get mad at Morey for the 1000th time for letting the can't miss prospect Hassan Whiteside slip through his fingers. But I'll be on the forefront saying, yes, it would be great to have a true rim protector for stints here and there, but their primary objective must now be to have versatility, athleticism, and speed on the court more than anything as their wins this back-half of the season are going to come from playing fast and furious..... NOT playing half court smash mouth basketball. Trading one of your bigs in your rotation that fits into that style of play better than most people in the league doesn't really make sense to me.
You don't think TJ, who had a fluke injury and has otherwise been healthy his entire (albeit short) career, can stay on the court for the next 3 weeks? If that's a real concern then the Rockets actually are cursed.
With the deadline right around the corner, I'd expect that if a deal goes down, D-Mo is out. I just don't think 2 weeks is enough time for a team to feel comfortable trading for Jones so soon after his injury. The Rockets, on the other hand, have a pretty good idea about Jones' long-term health in relation to the injury.
Rockets are also waiting to see what the deal is with Dwight... If Dwight is going to be out for a while sources told me Jordan Hill would be a welcomed addition. They went after him this summer as well. Would fillers and the NOP 1st get it done? Possibly... They would all have to be expiring. (Kpap, Terry?) I dont know...
With no certainty of the extent of Howard's injury, wouldn't it be better to keep DMo and Jones? I mean unless we get an upgrade at the PF/C spot but trading one of them would leave DMo/Smith/Dorsey or Jones/Smith/Dorsey as our bigs and I'm not all too optimistic about that.
Please don't give up Terry for Hill. K-Pap is fine since he won't be getting many minutes anyway with T-Jones back and Smith and Brewer already coming off the bench. But a player like Hill is not worth a valuable vet like Terry.
I am not sure if I would deal that NOP first round pick for Jordan Hill. Isn't that the main trade piece for a third "star"?
Yeah, I think Shved/Pap/Knicks 2nd is a bit more realistic or rather what I'd offer and not budge from. Hill wouldn't a long term answer anyways.
That would be nice but still need a PG. Will the organization go after both, a C and PG in the upcoming trading deadline or just one position?
The Rockets liked him, but not at 9 mil per I'm sure. Hill has a team option for next year. If they decline the team option, then it was a pretty big waste of their best trade asset if they don't go deep in the playoffs (Does anyone really think Hill will make that big of a difference). Keep in mind that it was reported the Rockets made the trade for Brewer under the agreement he would waive his player option for next year. So something is going on with the Rockets and 2015/16 cap space. I'm not sure the Rockets would be willing to trade major assets for a player they are likely to waive this Summer anyways. A couple second rounders seems more Moreyesque. Also.. Jordan Hill has been anything but an effective rim protector this year. Blame it on Byron Scott if you want to, but the fact is the Lakers are one of the worst defensive teams in the league mostly due to their horrible rim protection. http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/defense-per-game/sort/avgPointsOpponent Again... does anyone think Jordan Hill is really going to have that much of an impact as a Dwight replacement??
