Seriously - the money difference isn't that great, especially if he opts out again, LA has zero depth unlike Houston where's he's fighting 2-3 guys for PT every night, they're also a good team. It's entirely understandable.
Bosh pretty clearly took more money and the opportunity to stay home with his family over organizational soundness and a chance to win. (offering huge dollars for Bosh is probably an example as ot why Miami is less sound). If Houston is a common denominator, the numerator is way way different.
Again, we gave him 20-25 minutes and I don't think he's gonna see that behind Blake at PF, unless they repeat the disastrous mistake of playing him at the 3
We gave him 20 minutes with an injured Motiejunas and with a rookie Capella. Behind Howard and whoever the starter is, Smith has to fight for frontcourt minutes with Motiejunas/Jones Capela Potentially, later on in the season with: Dekker/Harrell Situationally, in small ball lineups with Brewer/Ariza Here's what he has to compete with on the current Clippers Roster: Cole Aldrich (hahahaha)... That's it. There's rumors that they'll get back: Big Baby Davis ....and arguably, in small ball lineups, Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson, etc. Nobody else. That's it. THey have literally ONE back up big man on their current roster, one who wasn't good enough to play on the Rockets years ago, and who would be waived in the present day. Their other potential option, Big Baby, isn't good enough to play for the current Rockets either. Smith is the #3 big man in LA and it's not even close. In Houston, he's arguably #3 or even #2, but on some days, he could be #4, #5, #6 or DNP-CD. Blake Griffin isn't going to play 43 minutes a game in the regular season, that's ridiculous, and even if he did there's ample time for Smith in a completely bereft of depth team like the Clipppers.
Just curious... Did Cyber or Codman ever give behind the scenes info on Smoove and how this went down?
I think Josh did get his feeling hurt a little bit. According to the chronicle, Josh was no longer willing to wait for a larger offer from the Rockets, and he was concerned about getting consistent playing time with the Rockets. I can see why the Rockets and Smith couldn't strike a deal. I think Smith probably thought his play last year should have earned him an attractive offer and starters minutes from the Rockets. Morey just didn't see it that way. With the drafting of Dekker and Harrell, and the return of DMo, the front court is more crowded than ever. It just didn't work out. I'm not too upset about losing Josh. With Josh you always had to take the good with the bad. I'm hoping that our young guys step up and the front line is better than ever. It could happen.
I think it boils down to the Rockets not being able to guarantee him playing time every night versus being guaranteed as the first big off of the bench and getting quality minutes in LA. Morey is not going to sell low on T.Jones, so that leaves us with a glut at PF if Smith stays. I think Moreyball inherently causes mistrust among players in and outside of the organization, though. This offseason is the first in his tenure that we've kept the majority of a team together. I think Morey is shooting for the moon here, trying to land a 3rd star, and I don't blame him. The West is so tough now that our current roster is a long-shot to win it all, even with two superstars. Morey has alluded to the three star model in the past and was part of the Celtics staff that did it, so I don't think we're going to see him go "all-in" until that happens.
I'm more worried that he makes the Clippers finally credible when Griffin sits. He's a better fit there in the sense that he can do a lot of the things Griffin does in terms of facing up and initiating the offense (with the glaring weakness being his short/medium jumper that Griffin relies on). When he came on the floor for the Rockets he presented a different wrinkle, which sometimes other teams (Dallas, eg) had trouble adjusting to, but at teh same time, the Rockets had trouble with it as well.
Agreed - I expect to see the TJ that started last season. I'm more concerned about DMo right now - we have no idea where he will be after surgery. Losing Smith really stings primarily from a flexibility And second creator POV. Getting that second guard is now paramount but who can we afford to part with?
We were able to give him 20-25 minutes with significant injuries to Howard/Jones/Dmo and Clint not playing. We hope those guys are healthy this year. He will be the first big off the bench there and get his minutes. Big Baby was their first big last year.
We'll just get him back mid season when he gets bought out again for not fitting in well with the team concept.
He did not leave because of our 3 point strategy for sure but the overall picture free agents have from the Rockets is a franchise that has not won big in decades. McHale is not going to magically making us a Top 2 team by himself. The 3 pt shooting did not help us winning a championship. They know what Morey is doing and that he is searching the market for value and not prioritizing any players other than Harden maybe. While the Clips have not won it all either but they have a coach that has won it with the Celtics, they got an enthuastic owner in Ballmer, a more discret Cuban type who won't rest to make the team better......and and and And he saw a franchise that went far to get back DeAndre Jordan who has already said to sign with the Mavs. So yeah you tell me, Dog!
Then you shouldn't have posted this: .... as a lesson to be gleaned from Smith's move to LA. So you're being silly because you're creating a false association here. . But you're also being silly because you're just plain wrong. The "die by the 3" criticism is particularly wrong headed when the last 4 teams in the playoffs, who also happened to be the best teams in the regular season, were #1, 2, 4, and 5 in 3 point FGM (wiht the Clippers being the 3rd).
He'll play 34/35 minutes just like he did this past year - same with DeAndre. Spencer Hawes and Big Baby were their backups this year and they played about 10-12 minutes each (Hawes MPG may appears to be higher because he got a minutes boost when Blake was out part of last year). I think 20 minutes is a generous estimate for his PT with the Clippers. I'm sure Doc said, "we don't want to play Blake and DJ 34/35 minutes a game but we do it because Baby and Hawes weren't good enough"....but I have a hard time seeing Doc cutting Blake or DJ's minutes enough to give Smith 20+ minutes playing time off the bench. I see something like 15 minutes for the most part - any more and either Blake or DJ are hurt, or someone is getting their feelings hurt. You have 3 emotional bigs on your roster who all think they are the missing piece - someone is going to get their feelings hurt at some point.
My thoughts on Josh Smith after thinking about it some last night.... I enjoyed Josh Smith on the Rockets overall (even though he could be maddening at times). And I loved seeing him prove his doubters in the media wrong. I will not boo Josh when he returns to Houston as a Clipper. Josh was absolutely vital to the Rockets getting to the WCF. Thank you Josh Smith! The two areas that I feel were most key for what Josh Smith brought to the Rockets were: 1) Defense at the PF position. Even though the effectiveness came and went, it was still better than Tjones & Dmo. When the Rockets have to play Blake Griffin or LMA, they needed Josh. 2) Josh's ball handling, shot creation in the 2nd unit. And was particularly good in the 4/5 PNR. ----- The above said, if Morey has a plan to get a "secondary shot creator" to help Harden, then perhaps #2 on the list above gets marginalized to the point that the NEED for Josh is lessened. This is key. As to #1, maybe DMo continues to improve or maybe Harrell surprises here. Rockets could also go out and get a Vet like Hayes or someone else. I think the Rockets are OK with Josh leaving because of their overall team plan, but that said, they probably EXPECTED he would stay considering the landscape of the NBA and considering Josh's positive stint with the Rockets last year. ----- Josh choosing the Clippers for 1.5M (versus the Rockets at 2.5M) is interesting. I think the key is what NOOK said, and I agree with....which is I bet Doc Rivers promised Josh Smith MAJOR MINUTES at the SF spot (along with the customary backup PF minutes). With Matt Barnes gone there is a hole there. And I don't think Pierce will start and I don't think they are counting on Stevenson all that much. I bet Josh Smith is the Clippers starting SF. It is that ROLE (and minutes) on the Clippers that is appealing to Smith. He just made a lateral move with a bigger role.
Wrong. I do not think any other teams have emphasized 3s or high quality shots in the paint and no long 2s. Especially not implement it into an NBA playbook in the regular season and the playoffs While doing the same thing in the postseason while other teams have studied your team and can react. As for those teams shooting high quality games are shooting in the flow of the game. The Rockets have a history of mixing in bricks from Ariza, heat checks from Harden and others And advice calling someone stupid and silly in your first argument ever with them is a huge negative. Makes you sound entitled. Maybe that is your thing. Carry on then. I do not have to post anything that you like to hear or read. Feel free to ignore. I am not creating any associations whether right or false for you, if you cannot think outside the box, that is on you. The issue with having a linear playbook and a linear way of playing has been discussed throughout this board over and over again.
So the only team that had the right strategy last season was the Warriors? By your logic, the only thing valid is everything the Warriors did because they won the title. ...by the way, the Warriors shot a lot of 3s just like the Rockets. Morey has said it before - if you can hold another team to 2s, and you pick up the pace and shoot lots of 3s, you will eventually win. I would argue the reason Houston was a 2 seed despite TONS of injuries and made it to the WCF despite no one at any point thinking they were good enough is because of their 3pt strategy. We didn't even shoot the 3 very well but we shot them at a record clip and guess what - Houston was the most unexpected winner last year.
