We have cap space though, so either with or not with the team post deadline, we can sign him to a reasonable deal.
Assuming that Dragic was open to staying and was willing to be a long-term backup (barring a Lowry trade for a star), then this is a distinct possibility. However, if you're Daryl Morey, do you risk that Dragic takes this position (one that he could not possibly take under AFTER he had tested his value on the open market this summer) and risk losing him for nothing (still the singlemost likely alternative), especially when you expect to have enough cap room to sign Dragic back as a free agent if you really want to keep him? If Dragic can get a four-year, $23 million deal on the open market (especially under the new CBA), then it means that he's getting paid to start for another team. Why would he want to stay in Houston to be Lowry's backup for at least another two years. Remember, Kyle signed his deal with CLEVELAND to be their starter; but because he was a restricted free agent, the Rockets matched his offer sheet with the Cavs. The Rockets don't have that luxury with Dragic, who is unrestricted.
Almost certainly no. Morey's been quoted from this year's Sloan conference as saying that signing players in free agency basically means that you're paying more for that player than everyone else. Our MO has always been cap flexibility, and would only sign players that really serve to put us into contention. Dragic's not that kind of player. He's good, and I like having him, but he's also not terribly difficult to replace.
I wonder if Dragic has a future as a 30+mpg player as a Rocket with or without Lowry on the roster, making the prospect of signing him to a MLE-ish deal (about what he gets on the open market in my estimation) attractive to both Dragic and the team. I mean, Lowry can get traded either now or after the season, And more likely, Martin can get traded, freeing up minutes for Dragic at either the 1 or the 2. The difference between this situation and Battier is that Battier was aging whilebDragic is still young.
While that's possible, I don't think Dragic can sustain 30 minutes if we keep Lowry. They don't really have complementary skills, in my opinion, and we still have Lee to step up as a SG/combo guard in the case that we do move Martin, who should/would probably get more minutes than Dragic. We also have Llull potentially coming over next season -- no idea the odds on that -- but I would suspect that if we do succeed in bringing him over to the NBA that we are higher on Llull than Dragic.
The reason for that is the upgrade from AB to Dragic. AB was playing like Jonny Flynn last year and Adelman kept giving him minutes.
The team and starting unit just played much better. Pick your reason if you want because there are multiple reasons. Chase had some really terrific games and opposing defenses could not just ignor him like they had been doing to Shane. The players were more relaxed because the deadline was passed. KMart was more sure of his role as the top scorer with the exit of AB. Kyle was really growing into the role as starter and the Dragon played much much better than AB had been playing all season.
Actually, the starting unit with Battier and the starting unit with Budinger performed at pretty much exactly the same level: 1.17 points per possession on offense, 1.07 points per possession on D. http://www.82games.com/1011/1011HOU2.HTM The Rockets were more than just fine offensively with Battier overall, too, averaging 1.138 points per possession with him on the court. So, "opposing team ignoring Shane" either didn't happen or didn't have a significant effect on the offensive efficiency of the Rockets.
Yeah, Aaron was never the same after that ankle injury, and we stuck with him, showcasing/hoping he would play his way back. It was messy on and off the court at the end. Getting Dragic for a broken down Aaron was a coupe for Daryl.
Cant beleive the Cavs are a game behind the Knicks. All we need is Melo to stay healthy for rest of the season and not miss any games.
Milwakee just tied with NY on games won. Do they have best small ball lineup in the league? Jennings, Udrih, Delfino, and Dunleavy. All can play PG, off the ball, and hit the threeball. If the Knicks lose their records are tied for 8th.
After the Cavs win tomorrow night vs Toronto the Knicks will be the 10th seed. Linsanity died when Teen Wolf (Melo) returned from injury.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Knicks lose AGAIN. If season ended today, they're out of playoffs & draft pick going to Houston is in the NINTH lottery position.</p>— ClutchFans.net (@clutchfans) <a href="https://twitter.com/clutchfans/status/179398668753969152" data-datetime="2012-03-13T02:49:10+00:00">March 13, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Rockets have to hope Knicks don't *completely* crash. If New York wins the lottery (or ends up anywhere in top 5), they keep the pick.</p>— ClutchFans.net (@clutchfans) <a href="https://twitter.com/clutchfans/status/179399207449411584" data-datetime="2012-03-13T02:51:18+00:00">March 13, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Exactly. +pray Stern doesn't pull frozen envelope. RT @<a href="https://twitter.com/HouCounterplot">HouCounterplot</a> So we want NYK to suck, just not as much as CHA, WAS, SAC, NOH or DET?</p>— ClutchFans.net (@clutchfans) <a href="https://twitter.com/clutchfans/status/179401129287876608" data-datetime="2012-03-13T02:58:56+00:00">March 13, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
knicks goes down and down but not lower than 5 teams, and Rockets fail to get 8th seed, then we have 2 1st round picks And trade them for higher one and finally we get a SUPERSTAR
