I love this trade but then what do we do at the PF position? Jones doesn't have the best endurance to shoulder the load
If that trade were to go through, it would make Beverley expendable. You might be able to flip him for one of the Bucks' many forwards.
It's early, but we can probably start contemplating who is staying, who is going, what is working, and what is not working. 1) James Harden is an MVP candidate and will get all of the minutes he can handle. He is best paired with a "threes and D" "point guard" rather than the prototypical passing, ballhandling "floor general." Harden is going nowhere. 2) Dwight Howard is a flawed but ultimately pretty dominant C. He is going nowhere. 3) Trevor Ariza was better than Chandler Parsons last season and again this season, and is a signicantly better fit for this team. He is going nowhere. 4) Terrence Jones is an excellent young player with few peers at the "power forward" position. Plus, he is dirt cheap. I highly doubt he is going anywhere. 5) Jason Terry has been infinitely more productive than anticipated but his expiring contract remains a key trade chip. After he is traded, we can expect Troy Daniels to inherit Terry's spot/role in the rotation. 6) The two-headed PG monster of Patrick Beverley-Isaiah Canaan has been excellent although it would be nice if Beverley could stay healthy. We need to consider the possibility that we are not going to upgrade at the PG spot via trade and are basically set at this position for the foreseeable future. 7) Kostas Papanikolaou is a very nice backup F but perhaps this is a spot where an upgrade might make sense. Nice player but if you can package him with Terry and a draft pick then you can probably get someone noticeably better. 8) Donatas Motiejunas has no business in a contending team's rotation and needs to be traded. Tarik Black appears overmatched thus far and should be getting rotated to and from the developmental league along with the other two overmatched rookies, Clint Capela and Nick Johnson. Joey Dorsey is also overmatched but this may have more to do with an injury rather than incompetence/inexperience. 9) Francisco Garcia is deep/emergency depth, nothing more. 10) Thus, the most obvious area of need is backup C. Here are some guys who can likely be acquired via the Jeremy Lin TPE or a Terry + draft pick (not necessarily the Pelicans pick, either) package OR perhaps even a Motiejunas + draft pick (+ Clint Capela?) package: - DeAndre Jordan - Brook Lopez - Greg Monroe - Larry Sanders - John Henson - Gorgui Dieng - Mason Plumlee - Rudy Gobert - Chris Andersen - Jordan Hill - Tyler Zeller - Kelly Olynyk - Ed Davis Certain players' asking price will presumably be cost prohibitive, or the players may not even be particulary available. Others are simply way too expensive to be a backup C. Still others may still be viewed as players with "upside" and thus cost prohibitive. The most likely targets, then, are: - Greg Monroe - John Henson - Chris Andersen - Jordan Hill - Ed Davis Hill and Davis will be made available as soon as the Lakers organization recognizes that the team is hopeless, which should happen by late December. Milwaukee will presumably view Henson as a mere backup and may jump at the chance to trade him for a Motiejunas-Capela-draft pick package. Miami will make Andersen available if/when they decide they are a non-factor this season (meaning he may never become available). Who knows what to make of Monroe although my guess is that Detroit will trade him for Terry + the Pelicans pickin a heartbeat. My preferred targets, then, are Monroe and Henson.
please please bring Dragic back so we can observe him putting up mediocore stat lines playing next to Harden. Then everyone can STFU and stop drooling over him every time he scores 15 points in a game
Dragic to Houston Javale McGee, Wilson Chandler to Phoenix K-Pap, D-Mo, Gerald Green, Houston 2015 1st rounder to Denver.
If Camby can still play, would sign him right now and waive Dorsey and send Black to D-League. Okafor is another option later in the season. But backup 5 is THE biggest problem on this team right now. Adriens is a better defensive 4 than either TJ or D-Mo but he lacks Jones' offense and D-Mo's position flex (4/5). Canaan has been a pleasant surprise as a starting 1 and I was worried about him as a backup. And Garcia is a waste of a roster spot. If they love his lockerroom presence so much, make him a coach. Rockets roster as currently constructed only lacks depth at one or two critical spots. This is a helluva team people.
Garcia is insurance. Overseas, it's 1 game per week. Pap's bound to hit the rookie wall sometime this season.
Horford would be an amazing pick up (His name even fits the H-Town tagline). Would he even be feasible? Atlanta would have to take a complete nosedive and I don't see them giving up on a playoff berth West seemed upset that the season was practically lost this year for the Pacers. Any chance we could pick him up? What would Indiana want? His contract ends as Durant becomes a free agent. He provides toughness, veteran experience and height to challenge Aldridge, Griffin and Ibaka.
Not trading terry unless it's for a beast. Terry is clutch. He's the kind of player you want in right games.
Media keeps saying it but regardless he would be a huge pick up for this team. However being realistic, rockets should stand pat and see what players are available in the new year. I'm sure there will be salty veterans who will be available to sign through buy outs.
I'm talking about the time being. See what's available in January. There's gonna be buyouts abound. The most glaring need is an inside presence once Dwight hits the bench. Think players like O'Neal, Okefore, Camby may be available to sign out right.
I didn't know if this deserved it's own thread but...what's going on with Denver? From what I understand, they have too many players who deserve minutes and an undefined rotation. Do they need to offload some players? How do you fix Denver? Is there anyone there that the Rockets could get?
Why trade, what Emeka Okafor doing? Isn't he a free agent? He could play both big position. As long as we manage his mins I think he could help this team a lot
JJ Hickson coming off the bench could fit this team pretty well and I don't think that it would take much to get him.