IMHO the Rockets do not need much from the PF position, so I do not see Morey taking on a $5.7 million cap hit through the 2014-2015 season.
As currently constructed, here's what i think the lineup coach Mchale would field in to close out games.
More like the anti-Darko. Not that I am that familiar with Darko's game, but if memory serves, I think his saving grace was defense, while being terrible on offense. Dmo being the opposite. No way I trust Terrence Jones on a team looking to contend. Guy looks like a deer in headlights. Athletic and active, with some individual skills, but does not know how to play basketball. Dmo, for all his faults, at least looks like he knows what he's doing out there, on offense. If I were a betting man, which I am, I'd bet that TJones is once again out of the rotation this year. AND, if you give me the right odds, I'd say by the end of the season, either Casspi or Covington will be the starting PF.(takers?)
So, re: the Italy game.. Did you watch the game? Because if you did I'd doubt you'd argue that D-Mo played well. Now, D-Mo did play better than Kleiza, however that's not saying much since Kleiza was god awful and K. Lavrinovic had played all of one minute, so it came down to either Valanciunas and D-Mo being in there at the end. Valanciunas hadn't done much himself and Kazlauskas likes to spread out opposing teams and with Italy having no good post players, playing D-Mo alongside D-Lav made a lot of sense, since they could pull Italy's center Cousin, who's one of the better Euro defenders, away from the basket by going 5 out. D-Mo simply was LTU's best option, however I think we both have watched enough basketball to understand that someone being the option to close a game does not equal that player having a good game. D-Mo wasn't terrible, but good? No sir. Same here. I didn't like the D-Mo pick when the Rockets drafted him, however I thought he showed considerable improvement when switching Euro teams, so I became a D-Mo believer, if you will. His upside certainly is/was intriguing, however at a certain point you've got to show me signs of actually realizing your potential by displaying real improvement, something I simply have not seen from D-Mo this last year. Oh, and he may not be quite 7 feet, but Josh McRobberts.(?) Because it's unrealistic to expect him to be a positive contributer this year and he's unlikely to improve (much) by playing in the D-League or sitting on the bench. Now, I didn't say the Rockets should trade him "ASAP". Just some time before his value keeps dropping by racking up DNP-CD's or not producing (which, being realistic, is more likely than not) when getting PT. And no, I would not look to trade D-Mo for a second rounder and no, I do not care for BJ Young. Or Casspi. Or Brewer. Or Reggie Williams. Or Greg Smith, even. I would however include D-Mo in all trade offers where the other team considers him late 1st/early second round pick value. I'd be fine with him not producing and waiting it out, hoping he'd turn out if the Rockets had not gotten Dwight, but, to me, betting on potential went out of the window when the Rockets signed Dwight. With him on the team and you potential being able to contend, you want guys who you know you can trust. Guy you know will produce. D-Mo is not that guy right now and I don't see him developing into that guy on this team.
Who cares about the cap hit? The team won't have any cap room as currently constructed until 2015 anyway. Also Patterson doesn't make $5.7M.
Eh, to each his own. I thought the 2 buckets in the 4th came at a crucial time, making up for whatever bad plays before. He also gets some credit for being part of the unit that blew the game open. He may have been the best of all the bad options, but even still, he certainly wasn't hurting the team out there, at least not in the fourth. Anyways, its only one game. There are a few signs of hope for Dmo, besides the 4 things I mentioned: 1. He actually showed enough in practice to earn a starting spot 2. For the first couple of games he started, the team actually looked really good with him out there Unfortunately, after going from not playing at all for most of the season to starting, he burnt out eventually, and lost his starting spot and then his place in the rotation entirely when he couldn't make a 3 to save his life. I think he's shown enough where there is the potential to be a positive contributor. But I do agree that if we are looking to be a title contender, Dmo cannot be trusted to be playing major minutes. I think how it is going to play out is that Dmo will be the starting PF in the beginning of the season. But along the way, a more consistent defender and 3pt shooter is going to take his spot. Our PF next to Dwight may not have to shoot 40% on 3s, but on wide open uncontested 3s he needs to hit 45%+, ESPECIALLY if you aren't a plus defender either. That's probably not Dmo. I don't think its out of the realm of possibility that Covington comes along out of nowhere and eventually starts. 7'2 wing span, 43% 3pt shooter in college, 2 steals 2 blocks guy, poor man's Marion/Horry. Has that Parsons/Chuck Hayes feel. On second thought I'll reserve judgement after watch him play a few games this time around.
As far as the PF position goes, D-Mo is nowhere close to starting. The people you should be looking at are Jones and Smith. I give a slight edge to Smith because he is already familiar with everything and has shown that he can hold down the position. If i were a betting man, i would still put all of my chips on Jones starting for the bulk of the season. He is just the perfect fit next to Howard.
How so? He hasn't really demonstrated range. I'm sort of leaning towards whoever can hit a corner three starting at PF, but we'll probably go small a lot with Garcia/others coming in and playing the 4. DMo and TJones both *should* be able to hit jumpers but they haven't proven it at the NBA level yet.
Wut? It says that I am a betting man in the very quote you are replying to. Here, I'll bet you that TJones aka "poor man's Dwight" will be out of the NBA in 3 years, and if I'm right then you aren't allowed to ever start a thread again. Oh wait. I already won.
I wonder if "Lesser Howard" Jones will last longer in a Rockets uniform than our franchise player Marcus Morris did.
The post move he made was nice, but I don't see how two good plays make up for various prior bad plays. Also, at least one of the two baskets he made can be as much attributed to good coaching than D-Mo making the play. Both of D-Mo's baskets were a result of LTU's post quick-hitter set, which pretty much guarantees good, deep post position, so any half decent player that's either strong and/or somewhat skilled should be able to score there. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/b2v5_uTkttE?list=PLXWsHGeAyQD6WWPVo7T_dHmcA0k3yqDtw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Not to me, he doesn't. Not unless he actually positive impact the game, which I did not see him do, other than the two buckets he made late. Yeah. Let's just agree to disagree. It doesn't really matter anyhow.
That's fine if you just don't see him as a contributor this year, but if you're looking at the end of your bench is it better to have a guy with the potential that D-Mo has as a skilled 7 footer that could "potentially" be a factor at a position of need, or a washed up veteran/rookie D-leaguer? I guess its all about preference. IMO, I think its worth the low risk gamble to keep him on the roster for the next year or so. They dont need the cap-space, and the last few roster spots aren't going to franchise cornerstone pieces anyways. If a deal comes around for a true starting caliber PF or true 6th man than I'm more than fine with including D-Mo or Jones in the deal if needed. However, I don't think that as a stand-alone asset D-Mo commands anything more than a 2nd rounder or another young player who probably wont help them win at all this year. So at this point what would be the point of even talking about trading him? Most NBA bigs have a make-or-break 3rd year. Year 2 hasn't even started yet. I think he deserves another season in their system before they etch his name on a tombstone. Seriously how many skilled 7 footers have come through the Rockets system in the past ten years??.... Isn't it fair to at least take advantage of House money when you got it in your pocket???
Who is going to start? The answer is easy. It is whoever can play at least below average defense and hit 35% from the corner. Now who will meet those requirements is something that only the future can decide. If neither TJ nor D-Mo do, I expect an extra large dose of Parsons at the PF spot.
