Podcast: Rockets Draft, Omer Asik, Eric Gordon and Dwight Howard

Guys, pardon my ignorance...... but how do I upload this onto my Iphone?

 

Spoiler

Dave: 2 weeks ago we did this and a lot has changed. 3 trades and signed a player to an offer sheet and have added 4 new players through the draft. ... About the draft, when you look at this draft, given how the week went, expectations on the Rockets were enormous. Talked to nearly every team in the top ten. On ESPN daily and expectations were huge. What ended up happening, I find myself liking all three picks and feeling disappointment over what actually occurred. ... Rockets felt they needed a deal before the draft. They had a deal with the Kings and knew before the draft it wasn't going to trigger. Kings wanted Robinson. Bobcats to MKG and knew it wasn't going to work out. Nothing was there for them.

Bima: Everyone assumed a deal would be struck for a top ten pick. Everyone assumed Drummond. Was he the guy?

Dave: MKG. That's who they wanted as high as two. That's interesting. That's a SF. Whether they viewed him as their guy or the trade piece for Howard, they wanted MKG. They loved him. A chance had they gotten to five that they would have gotten him. What I was told that the Rockets would have taken any of the top five guys. I only know 4 --Davis, Robinson, MKG and Beal. 5th guy could have been Drummond. Could have been Waiters, could have been Waiters. They were content with five. Les, Morey, those guys , it was a laid back atmosphere when the draft started. They knew the plans were torpedoed and out of luck. Interesting to think MKG could have fallen to five if Robinson went 2. You think Washington goes Beal regardless. Does Cleveland go Barnes or Waiters? Rockets could have gotten a steal at five.

Bima: Listening to Morey after, sounded like he thought picks 2-6 were the next guys they had rated. I'm thinking it might have been Lillard, who I love. He'll be a terrific PG.

Dave: Could have been but seems unlikely to me with Dragic. But with Morey, he will go BPA. Terrence Jones at 18, I will never again think they will consider need at all. ... They took Jeremy Lamb at 12. I was not disappointed but not the guy I wanted. I initially wanted Henson, then Zeller and Lamb was 3rd. I do think Morey was wise here, that's the reason they made the Dalembert trade, they knew whoever slid out of that tier one of SGs, they wanted that player. They knew they could get a big at 16 or 18. That was the right move. If they took Henson, no shot at Lamb. Made a solid pick here.

Bima: I couldn't agree more. Lamb was a guy a lot of mocks had going 8 overall. He slid. He and Ross and Rivers and Waiters were all ranked similarly as far as SGs go. To slide to 12 and get the last top wing on the board with plenty of bigs to spare was great draft strategy.

Dave: He has a few knocks but a lot to like. Won the championship his first year. Excellent mid-range scorer. He shoots well from the FT line. He can shoot the ball. People compare him to Martin. I don't see it at all. I think offensively, he is gifted. He can score. Not as gifted as Martin but athletic. Nice wing span and some defensive potential. A very good pick. Real upside in my view.

Bima: It will take him at least a year to figure it out. Definitely needs to gain some weight. Probably will get pushed around a lot. He is a potential 20 points a game scorer.

Dave: He is skinny. He'll have to put on some weight. Kobe or LeBron posting him up, there will be issues. But I like the pick. A lot of potential. Pick 16, shock to me. Royce White out of Iowa St. As I said, a shock. I thought it was Zeller. Interesting pick to me. White can't shoot FTs. He's turnover prone and a decent defender but got a ways to go. What a unique player though. He has, I don't want to say star potential but...he does. Feel like he has the potential to be something better. A little slow. Not like a Barkley in his prime but reminds you of that. 6'8 260 and can handle the ball, attack the basket. I love the pick.

Bima: Similar reaction to you. I was shocked when I first heard it. I was a big Zeller guy. I was overjoyed when I realized the Sixers were taking Harkless. When I heard White, I was like ohhh it's not Zeller. Within 2 minutes, I was like ok --a guy with top ten talent. The more I see of him, he's enormously talented. LeBron comparisons are unfair. Somewhere between Anthony Mason and Boris Diaw with the Suns when he was at the height of his game.

Dave: A great thread on Royce White started by Carl Herrera. A lot of guys tempted by. Could be a guy Daryl likes. There is a post by aelliott, before the draft he said, you look at all the prospects and what they can do, and what they've done and said, if there is one guy with star potential, it's Royce White. He's a guy who has lead his team. He's done some damage. He'll be a load. Initially the speed of the game will be an adjustment for him. He'll have to learn a little at the NBA level but got NBA size right now. I'm hoping they don't trade him. I'd like to see him stay.

Bima: The Rockets as constructed today, can't take low ceiling guys and needed to take some risks. Royce's ceiling as high as anyone in the middle of the first. Definitely a risk worth taking. Unfortunately, as the Rockets outflanked the Suns to move up to 12, they may have been outflanked by the Cavs/Mavs with the 17th pick. Cavs pick up Zeller. If you read between the lines, my personal opinion is that they were hoping Zeller would be there at 18 so they could take him. Public perception would certainly be different. At 18, all joking aside about Jones, when Zeller went off the board, if you look at the talent remaining, you had Sullinger and Perry Jones available, both had serious medical flags. No flags for Terrence Jones. When you combine medical issues with talent issues, he was pretty clearly the BPA. This team can't take inferior players. Jones at 18 is good value.

Dave: The reason I wasn't high on Jones, not because he isn't a good player, I'd be ok if you're moving Patterson or Scola out, something. Such a log jam. ... They did want Zeller at 18 but Jones is a guy they're high on. What they end up doing, I don't know. With Jones, Patterson, Motiejunas, Morris, Parsons, Royce White and Jon Leur, to me that was a shock. I wanted Perry Jones or Sullinger there. I had both rated higher at that spot. Daryl made a strong pick, as far as talent, Jones has some upside, is athletic and can run. Some range.

Bima: Duplication is hard to look at when looking at the team currently constructed. The players on the roster today won't be the 15 on the opening night roster. There will be multiple moves made. Some rumors about the Rockets willing to offer tons of...attaching prospects to contracts and throwing as much stuff out there as they can. That's even frustrating some. Making a pick like Jones allows you to trade some of your top prospects, knowing you have other top prospects ready to fill the hole.

Dave: They add another PF, that you won't see until 2014 at the earliest, if at all. A guy who can rebound and do some dirty work. 6'9. I don't know much about him. He might be ok. Not super thick but strong. Active too. As far as post players, maybe you have a poor man Omer Asik.

Bima: I was thrilled the pick. Not gonna pretend to be an expert on Turkish basketball but many considered him a late first round pick and his slip was due to his contract status. No NBA out until 2014 but with the Rockets, they can afford to wait on this kid. ... The Rockets, instead of sitting on that cash, they spent it, got a good prospect to store overseas. Good asset management.

Dave: We won't see him for awhile but gives us something to talk about. Summer League coming up. Looking at this roster, this team will wreck shop. For the Rockets to get Scott Machado, probably tells him he'll have a real opportunity to be a backup and yet another indication that Kyle Lowry will be traded.

Bima: Maybe, maybe not. Machado and his agent may believe there is an opportunity there. If the last several years have taught us anything, the fastest way to get a big contract is be a backup PG for the Rockets. Brooks, Lowry, Dragic, maybe Machado sees himself next in that succession. Definitely a great get though. One of the best PGs in CBB last year. I won't be the least surprised if he makes the 15 man roster. Similar quality player, not necessarily game, to Jeremy Lin before he broke out. A solid 3rd PG that you wouldn't hesitate to have on your roster.

Dave: Right. I should clarify that. I think it's a sign that behind the scenes that there is one PG they'll have here. Not that the Rockets have Machado so they can trade Lowry. That will be an interesting time though. I'm going to try and attend in Vegas. A lot of fans from the board going. I think we'll have a lot going on. Moratorium lifted on the 11th, games start on the 13th. All kinds of execs and coaches there. An active time for the NBA. ANother big item here, a couple, last night, the Rockets and Asik came to terms on a contract--3 years worth 25 million. Initially most thought that was a shock and quite a bit of money for a guy who was a backup. Was he worth it?

Bima: Maybe. Fact is, he is a RFA. If you want to pry a RFA away from his team, you'll have to overpay. I think the Rockets are hoping the player Asik will develop into will be worth that money. Very raw on offense but elite defensive center. 26 years old and maybe one of the ten best defensive players in the league.

Dave: I think it illustrates how Daryl really finds these guys, and I don't want to say Asik is undervalued, Bulls know he is valuable but the shock around the league that this guy would get over 8 million a season on average goes to show that maybe they don't value him enough. If he is a guy who can give you 30 minutes a night and is able to provide that defense, and I agree with you, he is all over the place. Very active. Gets his hands on many shots. If the Rockets are able to get him, he turns 26 on Wednesday, he's young and you got him for 3 years, you got yourself a center now. He has his knocks. In close games, you can't have a guy shooting 45% from the line. That presents a problem. He'll have to work on that. But on defense, elite, especially on PnR.

Bima: He'll add that missing element. Asik is what Rockets fans were hoping Dalembert could be as a defender. People see 8 million number, but look at what starting veteran NBA centers are making, that's pretty close to market value.

Dave: Bulls match?

Bima: Tough one. They're saying all the right things but John Hollinger has an excellent piece. Rockets masterfully structured this contract. ... The way the Rockets did this was fantastic from a strategic standpoint. A 3 yr deal worth 25 million, it will be a little under 8.4 each year. A consistent cap hit in 3 years. No single year will it kill the Rockets cap. The payments will be 5 mil year one, a little more than 5 in year two and then balloon to 15 million in year three and for the Bulls, that's the payment AND cap hit. In 2014/2015, Rose will be making max, Boozer near max and Noah making 8 figures himself and this massive balloon payment to Asik, it will be painful for them to match. They're saying the right things but long story short, I don't see how they can match and look themselves in the mirror and say we're doing the financially responsible thing.

Dave: You look at the draft too, you see how many GMs outright lie about things, and I think the same thing applies in RFA, we are going to match any offer. That's what the Bulls did but the Rockets did it in such a way that if they match, it will be painful for them. ... What does this mean for Dragic and Lee?

Bima: I was trying to crunch the numbers. I kept arriving at the same conclusion that.....the way the offer is set up, you need about 8.37 million in cap room, and if you waive Fortson and Simpson, and then remove Lee's cap hold, you get exactly to 8.37 million. Numbers are telling me, pure speculation on my part, numbers are telling me to make this offer work, they'll need to let Lee walk and renounce Camby to have any cap room. Doesn't mean you can't bring them back but you lose bird rights and lose Lee's RFA rights. To keep in mind, when making an offer sheet that requires you to renounce your rights to some of your FAs, if the other team matches, you can rescind the amounts. If the Rockets renounce Camby, Lee and make the Asik offer and the Bulls match, the Rockets can get the bird rights back to Lee and Camby if they haven't already signed elsewhere. Doesn't mean you for sure lose them but most likely, if the Bulls don't match the offer sheet to Asik, Lee is gone.

Dave: They met with Gordon. We knew they had interest in him. How do they make this work with the Asik signing? Is it possible?

Bima: As a FA signing, no. The Rockets strategy is I think, use the cap room on Asik and then attempt to do a S&T for Gordon. Several rumors that the Rockets are offering the Hornets Martin and a pick among the Rockets top prospects. They really do like Eric Gordon. That's the only way to get him. There may be legs to this. The Hornets, they had Gordon for one year, he missed most of it due to injury. Obviously they're nervous about giving him the max. By the way, we throw around max salary, because Gordon is a 4 year vet, his max is 13 million. Dell Demps likes Kevin Martin before Stern vetoed the trade. We know Demps likes Martin. Rockets are banking on Demps viewing this as positive for the Hornets and possibly a S&T then for Gordon.

Dave: Gordon, I look at him as, good player, love him, undersized. Very good player. Knock on him is injuries. Can hit from 3 pt range, good FT shooter, good scorer. You add him, you got a legit 2 guard. A bit of a risk with that injury situation. If you get him and Asik, how good is that team?

Bima: I honestly don't know. Right now, the roster, even if you count Asik and Gordon, it's a work in progress. Beautiful thing is, we're talking about possible Asik and Gordon additions, you can bring in these 2 new additions and still have the possibility of a Howard trade. The way the roster is assembled, people booed during the draft, but this is a collection of assets that the Rockets are in a position to make these multiple moves. This is why Morey is still pursuing Dwight, even though Dwight is doing everything to turn off all possible suitors besides Brooklyn. There are so many things this team can do even with an Asik and Gordon move. To view it as a finished product, you can't even do that.

Dave: One thing not being discussed enough is the writing on the wall for Lee. Drafted Jeremy Lamb and they're pursuing Gordon. Does this price the Rockets out of getting Lee?

Bima: bring in Gordon and keeping Lamb, that probably spells the end. He's one of my favorite players but at the same time, the Rockets have to upgrade at any position. Gordon is a better player than him and Lamb has the potential to be better than Lee and with the money Lee will command, I don't know if it makes sense to keep him around. If Asik and Gordon fall through and you can get Courtney on a reasonable deal, I always been saying until 24 hours ago, no way Lee leaves because the Rockets will match but you have to see some of these offers some RFAs are getting, it's possible Courtney prices himself out of the market for the Rockets, given where they are right now in the pecking order of the league.

Dave: On draft night, we've known for awhile they were going after Dwight. What they were doing that night was all geared towards Dwight Howard. It didn't work out to move up. I don't know what they needed. I don't think Orlando told them they needed to get this or that. I don't think there was going to be a Dwight trade on draft night but the Rockets were trying to load up for that trade. That was made clear. I'm speculating, if Chicago doesn't match that offer, do you want to do that, bring in a 19 million dollar center and your backup is a 8 million dollar guy?

Bima: That's all the more beauty to this Gilbert Arenas treatment for Asik. Even though he's counting 8.4 mil towards the cap, you're only paying 5 million in year one. The actual salary hit will be 5 million. By the time you're trading for Dwight, you're already over the cap. Cap room is irrelevant here. ... I could envision where they bring in Howard and Asik. You could have Asik back up Howard for the one year and if Howard walks, so be it. You still have Asik. If you can keep Howard, that's a game changer right there. You can also trade Asik next year and get something of value for him.

Dave: It shouldn't kill it but here I was looking at it as, can Chicago really pay 20+ million for 2 centers but here the Rockets would be paying 24 million. The Howard situation, if they were to get him, would be wide open. Funny to me, I've gone on Orlando radio, they were like what can Houston give, they couldn't see from Orlando perspective, anything on Houston's roster that is appealing but now, Houston is going to win this based on pieces alone. If LA comes in with Bynum, depends on how they view Bynum. He's a load down low but he's already a max guy. I think Houston offers flexibility and tons of players to offer. If it comes down to it, Houston will be in the thick of things like at the trade deadline.

Bima: Agree completely. There is a line you have to straddle between preserving cap flexibilty vs dumping salary to having cap room. If the Rockets took the approach of slashing salary, this plan wouldn't work with just cap room. ... Straddling that line really will help the Rockets if it plans out. If they trade for Howard, it's because they straddled that line where as if they dumped everyone for max cap room, not sure they could pull it off.

Dave: If the Bulls match, what do you think the chance of Noah going on the block? I would say slim but I could say for a fact Morey loves Noah. Rockets love his talents and what he could provide here.

Bima: Noah a guy who makes quite a bit of money. 12 mil a year for next 4 years. Quite a lot of money in Noah. Great defensive player. More polished than Asik. I could see them making a play like that. I would not put that past them. Trying to peg what they're going to do, impossible.

 

Dude the intro to your podcast is UNBEAT-ABLE

 

That damn guitar....

 

The difference is Morey has never had a #2 pick in any draft. MKG is way more gifted than any player Morey has ever had the opportunity to draft.

 

I agree Morey is a good gm, but wouldnt have been smart to tank( especially in a short lockout season)

 

Great Podcast, bring up great points and in depth trade analysis for those fans who dont understand how these possible sign and trades work.

Also share similar thoughts re the draft, was prepared for Morey to pick on need (Zeller) but once the White pick was made and it set in I was very happy with the pick, ditto with Jones.

 

Great Podcast keep em coming

 

Noah!

 

Clutch, Bima!

Dorsey, "best defensive big in country", prototype of future of Cs in NBA.
Patterson, 6th pick on Rockets board
Morris, "Ron Artest kind of defender"

White?, "top five talent"

Do you guys remain that high, confident on White?

If Morey is relatively quiet about the guy or the majority on the board dislikes them. Those guys always prove people to be wrong.

Landry, Parsons

Jones?

 

Thanks a lot J.R. Tried to rep you but needa spread some reputation around before doing so. Much appreciated!

So sounds like Lee is a goner if Bulls don't match.

 

http://www.clutchfans.net/2012_07_02_podcast.mp3

 

Simply a great job, guys, and echoing others, loved the intro. J.R. did a great recap, but if members have a chance, they should listen to it live. Lots of little things in there, emphasis, etc., that J.R. just can't convey.

After hearing this, you two have convinced me that Courtney Lee is soon to be history, baring either a major move, or the failure of one or both of the two big moves "in train" with Asik and Gordon. Loved how Bima spelled out how we could still get Howard, if that's still in play. Getting Asik and/or Gordon doesn't prevent that at all.

Tons of stuff in here. The 52 minutes zoomed by!

 

Jones has quite some upside....it is just ppl don't like PFs that are under 6'10

 

You can add brooks to that list as well.

 

Morey's talent is finding quality players with late draft picks.

 

You know, grea pOdcast, good summarizing, informative, but I agree with you. With all the logic y'all are using and cap knowledge, etc. you are forgetting to be a fan.

Thus far, the offseason is a total failure. Nima you were advocating making the playoffs to specifically have fewer draft picks. Instead we trade for more. And I certainly understand why, as you do, but none of it ultimately makes sense, unless they land a bigger fish... Which is t a great probability. They drafted 3 more PFs? Really. They offer a guy $8 million a year average because he's a solid defender on an otherwise awesome defensive team in his 14 mpg?

I mean, I have been steadfast in my support of DM, and not caring that he treats players like assets, but when you got guys sending twitter messages to hoopshype you really do start losing some credibility with your own players and free agents.

It can't possibly be good gm'ing to try and trade everyone and everything to anyone who will take anything?

The reason they don't seem to have a legitimate plan is because their plan is cross your fingers and hope something happens. Dwight, josh smith, Eric Gordon - try me all, may e one will work.... I guess.

Not to be a Debbie downer on your solid podcast, but there was a lot of neutrality or positivity. Sure, I think Lamb has potential, white is unique and Terrence jones played for Kentucky?? But that does t make any of it make sense. Zeller was on the board at 16. He's pretty boring pick, but DM more or less indicated Dallas screwed him at 17 already. Can't for the life of me figure out why white was such an obvious pick to take ahead of Zeller, who had lotto potential. White had as far down as mid 20s in some mocks. Pick Zeller at 16. White would have been there at 18. Isn't that obvious?

 

Fairly certain -- and someone correct me if I'm wrong here -- it's been confirmed the Mavs were looking to grab White with the #17. My guess is we knew that and made the choice to go with the upside.

To be honest, I'm just glad we finally came out of a draft having made a couple of high risk/high reward picks rather than playing it safe.

 

Maks me wonder if a Cats deal could be orchestrated?

Also inside pod makes me wonder if a Noah deal could be fashioned out of Asik offer?

 

Oh ****..
Adding CH and ironing out the sound quality would elevate this podcast to new heights. IMO it'd have all of the fire power needed to break the list of best sports podcasts out now if not basketball 'casts alone.

I don't listen to many sports podcasts, and I know every team has its great thoroughbred know-it-all-&-stay-on-top-of-it fans, but I don't think those same fans are the ones that run the fan site, forums and podcasts. These guys know the Rockets inside out from personnel, economics, insider info, strategy, etc.

I feel like I'm hearing a podcast ran by a team owner and GM rather two loud mouthed fan boys.

Add Carl's humor and insight, we'd have a perfect balance of knowledge and personality with erry episode.... And DD could be thrown in every now and then to take the Bayless role of the podcast LOL

Fantastic job, guys. Please keep it up.