I wanted to address this point. Kevin Durant draws fouls trying to SCORE the ball. Kevin Martin draws fouls on purpose, and then hopes to toss it up there to go in. There is a vast difference in the two, and the referees notice it too...... KD will continue to get calls in the 4th quarter because he is focused on scoring the ball, while the players like Kmart and Kyle will not get those calls late because the refs can see they are trying to cheat the system.... It is human nature to favor those playing the game the right way, and not those trying to skirt the rules in their favor. A vast vast difference in OKC philosophy and Houstons... DD
That's the bbs for you. It's been the same way for the last decade, literally. Everyone is jumping the gun on both Ish Smith and Lowry based on a couple of showings. Watch, a year from now, there will be threads blaming Ish for losses because he still hasn't miraculously cured his problems on shooting and defense. As for the original subject, I still doubt that Morey regrets the contract he gave Lowry and doubt he wants to move him at all. I don't expect he'll go anywhere unless we're trading for a significant piece.
You may be right, but would you consider Courtney Lee a significant piece? Or would you consider Kyle Lowry a significant piece? Because both were traded for financial reasons when cheaper players were avaiable. I really want Morey to make a significant addition to the team, I just don't believe it is likely to happen. DD
We didnt dump either of those guys. Dumping is basically getting a mulligan on a bad contract by trading for an expiring. We traded both of those guys for better players who were getting paid less. You find a better player who is paid less by all means make the trade, but dumping Lowry for expirings seems pretty dumb.
I have to agree with you here. I drives me nuts seeing guys shooting to get fouled instead of shooting to score. The Battier attempt was particularly bad. Get the ball in the basket, and let the refs worry about the fouls. Of course, Durant has an advantage in that he can get the ball in the basket a lot easier, fouls or no fouls.
I'm still here. First 2 games: 0-2 with Brooks and without Lowry Next 2 games: 0-2 with both Brooks/Lowry (Lowry's first 2 games, still dinged) Game 5: Lowry out, Brooks gets hurt, plays 17 minutes 0-1 Game 6: Both guys out, Ish is PG 1-0 against a patsy Minny team Next 5 games: Lowry becomes main PG, Brooks out 2-3 If both guys are healthy, we are likely 1-1 or 2-0 coming out of the gates. We lost by a bucket to LA, we lost by two buckets to GS. Lowry likely gets us one of those Ws. Next two games both guys played, although Lowry was obviously not himself. Both losses. Next game Lowry is out, Brooks gets hurt. We lose to SA by 3. I believe if Brooks doesn't get hurt, we take that game. I also believe if Lowry would have been able to play some minutes we win that game. The last 5 games with Lowry playing extended minutes we are 2-3. The two wins are against Indy (mild surprise) and the Knicks (blowout). The 3 losses were against Washington (disappoint), Chicago (very good team), and OKC (very good). If Brooks were playing I suspect we beat Chicago at home and possibly Washington on the road. Bottom line is with both guys healthy, we are likely 6-5 or 7-4 and we're talking about making trades to be championship contenders. Reality is neither guy is a top 10 point guard. Your opinion is Brooks is a starting point guard in the NBA. My opinion is Brooks would be a terrific 6th man on a championship contender. Your opinion is Brooks offense outweighs Lowry's defense. My opinion is Lowry's defense outweighs Brooks' offense because Brooks is not efficient enough with his shots. The bottom line is.....with both guys healthy, we get exposed in the playoffs against the upper echelon teams. The bottom line is if either one of them is unhealthy or not playing well, we struggle against regular teams. We need an upgrade at the point.....as much as I like both guys.
True, but how much of that is on our players attention being on drawing a foul and not on focusing on the basket? I understand sometimes it is smart to do it, but Kevin does it all the time, and it costs us in the 4th quarter. I would prefer they focus on SCORING the ball and let the fouls come when they come...sure take some opportunistic shots at drawing fouls, but if that is your overall strategy as a player, it is not very effective. You have to be focused on the basket, not on the guy that is defensing you.... I don't think the point is our problem.....I think we need help at the rim first, at SF 2nd, and health 3rd. The rest of your post is accurate, IMO..if healthy we would be at least .500 DD
Ariza was not traded for a better player. That's ridiculous. Ariza was a high-minute starter on our squad last year, and is a significant player on a hot NO squad now. Courtney Lee is getting back-up minutes on a bad team, and performing poorly at it to boot. That was a dump if ever I saw one.
This is a great idea. I heard that Mustafa Shakura is doing great on the Vipers. We should package Kevin Martin in that deal too for double(or is it triple) the savings. As a matter of fact, remember those 3s Patrick Patterson hit in the summerleague? That is EXACTLY what this team needs right now. We should go for the hat trick and bundle Scola with those other two terrible contracts. No D Martin, No D Scola and No O Lowry. Get 'em all off my team! We have cheap alternatives lined up.
Only a demented mind would still think that Lee is a better player than Ariza. Senility may be another explanation, right DD?
Well you can keep your nut because Lowry is not turning into Andre Miller. Brooks and Lowry are a great tandem to complement a playmaking small forward like McGrady, which was of course the original plan. So the problem is not the PGs, but the missing playmaking wing.
I will admit that Ish has a higher ceiling of improving than lowry. Ish has a better shot overall and is a better passer. Lowry is tougher on defense but Ish is not necessarily a push over. Now, I wouldnt trade lowry for an expiring contract. We have over 30 million coming off the books next season. We need picks or another player if you plan on sending Lowry packing. To be frank Lowry wanted to start, he said he was ready a felt he could start on any team in the NBA. So he asked for this and now he got it,unfortunatley he has not lived up to his words or the bill(contract) as of lately.........Talk is cheap......IT IS WRITTEN.
^I agree.... Like I have been saying for the longest , until we get a legit wing this madness will continue. We should be tyalking about how we are going to get rid of Battier instead of Lowry. Battier is on the decline and everytime he drives to the basket you know he is not going to make the shot and all you can hope for is that he gets fouled.Then he will go to the line and go 1/2.........ship his butt out first and let the rest of them fall in place as they may....IT IS WRITTEN.
Well, I'll give Morey the choice, either: (1) admit you traded Ariza to dump salary or (2) admit that you are terrible at evaluating talent. Personally, I think he realized that Ariza's age and length of contract wasn't going to jive with the need to rebuild necessitated by Yao's ill-health, so he recaptured what value he could for Ariza. Having said that, I'll take my own advice and bide my time. Maybe Lee will still acquit himself as he gets more comfortable on the team and gets more experience, and the Rockets play enough games to provide a statistically-viable sample. EDIT: And, responding to the thread title, I think the Ariza trade is a demonstration that 'dealing for expirings' is far too pessimistic a stance on Lowry. Teams will be interested in picking him up and giving back something of value.
I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't a "dump" from the Rockets' standpoint. They HONESTLY felt/feel that Courtney Lee is a better basketball player than Trevor Ariza. Whether you agree with that assessment or not is up to you. Certainly, Ariza has outplayed Lee so far this season. But keep in mind that Ariza has the benefit of playing alongside Chris Paul. If you put Lee in that situation, I bet he'd be having a better season than Ariza on the Rockets so far this year. You can call the Ariza/Lee trade a "bad decision" by the Rockets' front office. But it was NOT a salary dump.
Good post, except Melo plays terrible D. He's never in position, and gets beat at an alarming rate considering how talented he is.
