no one is doubting his defense, of the fact that he would be a great fit for the team with the fastest pace in the league... however, people hate how inefficient he is on offense. i would argue that even with his blemishes, he'd be the second best player on the team, and improve our team. would he improve us enough to justify a max contract? if he pans out, then yes, and if he doesn't, then morey has an all-star level player that he could dangle to land a bigger fish.
Incorrect. Plenty of us, myself included, are doubting that he would be a great fit for this team, or for any team that is interested in things like efficiency, and shot selection, and team chemistry, and winning, and cap flexibility. Also, if he does not pan out, then Morey will NOT have "an all-star level player that he could dangle to land a bigger fish." Instead, Morey would have pretty much the opposite of that: a massive, horrible, albatross of a contract that nobody will want. He'll have Amare Stoudemire, or Carlos Boozer, or Joe Johnson, in other words. And Morey understands this, which is why Houston will not be the team that stupidly gives Smith a massive contract.
Lin & cole aldrich for josh smith rental. I know it won't happen but would you pull the trigger? I would and it gives us a do over on the PG situation.
They are slightly over the salary cap and currently the #8 seed. Trading Ilyasova wouldn't be the worst idea but I would expect them to ask for a lot in return or to try to pair him with Gooden's terrible contract.
Oy vey. So many things wrong here. A player tied up for 3 years v 1 year. Not getting rid of ANY power forwards. Getting a player who has already reached his ceiling. And, worst of all, essentially forcing the Rockets the hand out a massive contract to Smith, otherwise they will look like massive idiots giving away Lin for nothing. And speaking of the do over at the PG position, who will fill it? Chris Paul? Please. I'm not BimaThug, but I doubt you'll have any money left over to sign a player with the same upside as Lin after handing out a max contract to Smith. Have fun rolling with Beverly & Douglas for 82 games a year. At least Lin has the potential to bust out with a 25/10 game on any given night, regardless of how few and far between they are.
This last point is pretty big to me. If there is a shot at adding both Smith and Howard you do it and you don't look back IMO. A smith rental would be just that, we'd trade for Smith (not gut our team for him of course) and have him here for the rest of the season. When the FA hits and if Howard is a FA (which he will be) I think you automatically become the favorite to land him and hell maybe Smith would take a small pay cut to play along with his BFF AND also play for a team he's reportedly wanted to play for. I think the Smith rental is definitely worth it as long as we are not gutting our team for it.
I said rental. Of course you don't give smith the max. Id sign Eric Bledsoe to an offer sheet and hope clips don't match.
Don't forget that there'd be a pretty big cap hold on Josh Smith, which means that you aren't going to have anything close to the amount of max cap space to sign Dwight Howard to the max, and that's if you can get Howard to leave $30+ mil on the table by walking away from the Lakers, which he isn't going to do. This whole "So and so is friends with so and so, they really want to play together" thing gets old. Dwight Howard wants to make as much money as possible. Josh Smith wants to make as much money as possible. Dwight Howard does not make as much money as possible, not even close, if he walks away from L.A. to sign with Houston. And Josh Smith does not make as much money as possible, not even close, if he takes a pay cut in order for the team to sign Howard. And never mention that these are two of the most unstable players in the league. What a nightmare!
Smith fits this team perfectly on defense. He is exactly what we need on D and that part of the game is our biggest weakness. He fits this team perfectly in his running style. And he compliments Asik as a pretty good rebounder. I do believe shot selection can be coached. And I do believe he would greatly thrive on this team (with Harden being the man and lots of shooters around him). The only way he becomes an untradeable asset is, if he is already on the decline or gets hurt. His play since he has gotten in the league easily warrants a 12 million per year contract - his play the last couple of season maybe even a bigger contract. Now being in a run and gun offense, having the defense concentrate on Harden and having to guard the outside shooters and having Asik besides him -that should improve his game and his numbers, and thus his perceived value.
Eric Bledsoe is not a restricted free agent until the summer of 2014. Neither is Rodney Stuckey, for that matter.
It shouldn't get old because that's how the NBA works today. These players try to connect and play together, we see this over and over again whether it is Amare and Melo, or Miami's big three who all took less to play together. While you are right that _______ wants to make most money as possible, it is always just not that simple. If a player is unhappy somewhere then said player will most likely leave. Which is why most people thought Morey was risking a lot going after Dwight and hoping that the extra money would keep him somewhere he clearly did not want to go. This is why it's pretty much known that Dwight tried to play with Deron and or Paul and these players will do all they can to play together. If Dwight was really just all about the money he would still be in Orlando right now because they had practically given him that team at the time...but it's not all about the money all the time, it's about where players want to live and it's about who they want to play with and if they want to be on a team they think can win.
If Dwight wants to play with Smith that badly, how come Atlanta was never a contender for a Dwight trade at all during this past year?
I've read multiple instances and much more conjecture that Howard really isn't that fond of his hometown for whatever reason. Maybe at the tail end of his career he'd want to play there, though.
Watch any Hawks games? See Josh get annoyed and ATL play 4 on 5 D then a jacked up 3 or worse, long 2? The guy has talent. From the shoulders down. The guy is worth $millions (o-u-c-h), but a max deal? 4/40 makes me shudder. 4/70ish? Noooooooo. Does J-Smooth guarantee you Dwight? Nada guarantees anything Dwight. Oh, and next summer he gets his labrum surgery? Guess I'm happier with PatPat than the thought of JoshMaxx!
In order to allow for both Smith and Howard under the cap without taking too big of paycuts, the Rockets MUST let either Asik or Lin go for no monetary return. Howard's "max" is larger than the typical max you see RFAs like Harden gets. Just to fit him under the cap would require the Rockets let go just about everyone except for Asik, Harden, Lin, and those on rookie contracts. Fitting both without either taking enormous paycut would likely require a faciliated trade of both Lin and Asik, with minimal monetary returns. That said, IF there's some backroom wink-wink deal in place, trading for Josh Smith would make a lot more sense, as the Rockets can give him a 5yr extension, allowing for the initial salary to be lower than a 4yr deal.
If Josh Smith can actually jack up 3s all the time on the perimeter, he'd be a much better player. The problem is that he DOESN'T shoot 3s. It's utterly ridiculous that he has shot 179 long 2s(16ft to 3pt line) at 29% clip and 105 3s at a 32% clip. Also equally maddening is his 50% at the FT line, which is ludicrous since he's not a 7 foot stiff with no range. Warts and all, I still like him as a FA signing, pending price. But no way would I give up any prospects for him.
I like the idea of the Rockets going after Josh Smith, they have Motiejunas coming up as a 4 and stretch 5 and Smith can play both forward spots and is a really good defender. I think he's the best fit for the team among current FA's. It's arguable if he's worth a max deal to a lot of teams, but I argue that he is worth it to the Rockets.
But, that is his strength. If Patterson improves his rebounding on a consistant basis,we won't need Ilyasova. I do like him though.
