I would think many GMs are currently beginning to view D-Mo as a probable at least league average starting center in the league. If three things really stand out to us fans, defense, post play and passing you can be sure that the FOs around the league are all over it. Heck, even the TV announcers are recognizing what is outstanding in D-Mo's game. But then there still is that nagging question about how well D-Mo will fit with Howard.
The Rockets aren't desperate. We have a deep team. Canaan will be healthy again and hopefully Dwight, T Jones will be too. We don't need to do ish unless it makes us noticeably better while not screwing over our cap situation.
I would have done that last year. And I'd still do Terrence obviously. But not DMo at this point. DMo has come up a huge step. Terrence has gone nowhere and now he's going backwards because of the injury. Hindsight is always 20/20. I was all for packaging Terrence last year when I knew he was peaking by playing next to Dwight. I think Morey would have moved Terrence if he could've gotten any kind of decent value for him. So, I suspect Terrence really has basically no trade value besides as a throw-in on a bigger deal. And I suspect it's been that way for over a year.
As mentioned this is when you sell high on DMo. I always thought he could be a fairly good starting C but we have Dwight coming back. Just don't think he will have nearly the same impact when Dwight returns. Now if DMo can be a key piece in getting back a Dragic level talent then you pull the trigger.
I mean, he's a better defensive center than Kelly Olynyk. Kidding.. kidding... No seriously though, I think as of last week the guy was actually in the top 10 in defensive rating for NBA bigs. The guy is a much improved defender, is a legit 7 feet tall, and is miles better on the defensive end than he was coming in the league. I actually think the NBA, offensively, he's going to be much more effective playing the 5 in an NBA system than he will be playing the 4 where he's out of the painted area. The only problem is, what team is essentially going to have him be the center in their offensive scheme where he's the big rolling to the rim, posting up in the middle with space, or facilitating from the high post? Probably not too many teams? That's why seeing how he adjusts when Dwight comes back will be pretty key. We all know from watching him play in the D-League and Summer league every year that he's at his best when all of the offense runs through him as the primary big in the middle. If I was building a young team as a GM, I probably wouldn't buy stock on D-Mo as a future building block just yet. I think I'd want to see a little more throughout time. I'm definitively not putting all of my chips on the table with him as a building block though just yet.
Last year, i was one that said that I wouldn't trade Asik and Jones for Milsap like some suggested because I thought it was an overpay. I still think it would have been. Jones was putting up a PER nearly identical to Milsap's last year above 19 and similar stats while being 7 years younger. I felt part of his defensive issues were things better coaching and experience would improve. I would have done it straight up for Jones and filler, but not Asik (our top trade asset) AND Jones. That said, Milsap isn't shutting down LMA in the playoffs last year either at a generously listed 6'8. He was giving it to Asik and Howard too and hitting shots from everywhere.
No question Asik and Jones would have been overpay for Millsap. It's also true that Jones and the Pels pick would be overpay for Millsap now.
Couldn't think of a better place to post this... Morey always does the unpredictable trade. The "I didn't even know he was available" trade. Here's just a quick list of people that Morey could have a high opinion of but that aren't getting a lot of rub from "insiders", media, or rumor mills: Melo - I don't think Jackson is fully on board with Melo. If push comes to shove, does Jackson have enough pull to trade him? Korver - Everyone talks about Horford and Millsap, but Korver is gold on the market right now. Rose - Someone, somewhere will take the risk. Afflalo - Denver "loves him" but has let him go before and they are losing. Aaron Gordon - Showed some promise before the injury. Orlando already has a lot of their PF minutes taken by Harris and Frye. Channing Frye - A kind of poetry if we trade for Dragic and bring in his partner in crime. Those two killed on the high PnR last year. Gerald Green - If PHX decides to stay committed to their 3 PGs, then Green is probably the odd man out. Nik Stauskas - McLemore has emerged. Trade a top 10 picked player within a year of drafting him? They've done it. My favorite idea is trading for Frye if we get Dragic. They already have proven chemistry, and give us a huge weapon to add to our offensive arsenal. I assume trades for both would involve picks, Lin TPE, Terry, and young (mostly non-rotation) players. Playoff Rotation Dragic / Beverley Harden / Dragic Ariza / Papanikolaou Frye / DMo Howard / DMo
I'm pretty sure Melo has a no-trade clause. So things could get interesting there if Melo really has decided he doesn't want to play the triangle. But I suspect that rumor is a little overblown. Can't imagine Melo backtracking this quick on the triangle after committing to it by signing that huge contract, knowing that is the system he was going to play in. Can't see Atlanta moving Korver. They are hot and heavy in the playoff chase. And he's a huge piece of what they are doing. At this point, he's irreplaceable for them. Can't see Morey getting caught up in Derrick Rose....not without knowing he's got the inside scoop on Rose's health situation. But could see Morey getting all his records and getting an opinion on Rose and then making a huge play for him if he likes the medical record well enough. Can definitely see Afflalo getting moved. However, I don't know how much he helps us here right now on an expiring contract. Maybe something like Afflalo and Arthur for Kostas/Dorsey might make some sense. But no more significant assets than that for Afflalo. After all, I think Denver got Afflalo for a couple second rounders. Can't see Orlando selling off on Aaron Gordon this early for anything short of the Pels pick. He's a young, raw rookie. Wouldn't play here much. And he has a huge bust potential. Don't see that one. Gerald Green is on an expiring deal and I think he is fix'n to get payed, big time. He'll probably get a 4/32 to 4/40 offer this summer. We wouldn't likely match. And he plays a position where we've got Harden and Ariza dominating the minutes. Don't see acquiring him except for junk and PHX has no motive to move him for junk. Nik Stauskas - Can't see Sac moving Stauskas for anything less than a multi-player deal for a superstar. He's shown great game early. He's probably going to wind up on Thompson's level as a shooter. Now........Channing Frye. I thought it was a curious signing by Orlando when they signed him under the guise of needing a teacher for all their kiddos. Still doesn't make sense to me for them to sign him unless they flip him for a pick and/or a youngster. I really, really like the idea of adding Channing Frye to our big man rotation....especially now with DMo playing so well. Think about that one. Dwight/DMo/Frye.....You've basically got 3 almost 7-footers with great D, great post skills, great rebounding, and great floor spacing when you need it. So, Frye is one of those under the table trades that makes a lot of sense. But......only after we've acquired one more guy, that elusive extra playmaker/ball handler/passer, so we don't have to worry about keeping cap space. Then if we got that guy..(Rubio/Dragic/Rondo)...then I'd say go get Frye and go to war. But......don't trade DMo nor the lottery pick for Frye. Trade a guy like Jones and perhaps Canaan and take Frye into the TPE. Which means we may have to wait until the summer to make that sort of trade really work to our advantage when Frye's salary comes down enough to fit into the TPE. However if a double trade with PHX bringing in Goran along with Frye were available....and we didn't have to give up the Pels pick or DMo to get those 2 deals done.....I'm all in.
Wojo Bomb: Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA 2m2 minutes ago Yahoo Sources: Houston aggressively pursuing deals to use $8.4M trade exception before December 19. http://yhoo.it/1yznkYE
I'd say the odds are he might not have totally peaked but his ceiling isn't much higher. Terrence has the same 3 strikes he had last year. 1. He can't shoot a basketball. That hasn't changed. Same shooter he was last year and the year before and the year before that. Very hesitant. Super slow release. Teams stand there and hope he shoots it. Because the league now knows.....Terrence cannot shoot a basketball. 2. Terrence cannot defend power bigs. In the West the playoff teams are dominated by dual bigs with the power forward being a power player or a 7-foot Dirk who has post skills and can dominate Terrence whenever he wants. Terrence cannot defend the PFs in the WC. He's a huge piece of meat for them to chew on. 3. Terrence's basketball iq is very low. He's just not quick to figure things out and he's not quick on his feet during a game. Hes' got the duh dur thing going on. He's simply not basketball smart. 3 strikes....you're out. And now he's got a health issue. Could Terrence somehow get better in his 4th NBA campaign?? Yeah....sure. But how much? Improving his jump shot shooting percentage from 32%, which is what he shot on all jump shots outside of the lower blocks, to say 38% is an improvement. In fact it's a significant improvement. But it's still not enough improvement to make him a usable indispensable piece to an NBA team. So..he may not have peaked but his ceiling is low and has gotten lower over the last year.
