Report: Rockets pitch to Melo: contention, Dwight, and technology

I agree. And if they get rid of Gibson in top of all that- how good is that team really? A lineup of Noah-Melo and 4
60 games of Derrick Rose isn't that great of a team. Even if Rose is 100% back and doesn't get re-injured.

 

The Bulls are only willing to go so far to get Anthony as well. Also, Gibson is involved in recruiting Anthony, so that tells me they are not going to deal him.

Essentially the Bulls are saying: 16 million a year, take it or leave it...

Do you really think it is likely that Anthony will take a 6-8 million dollar a year pay cut to play in Chicago?

 

My answer is no, that number is too much. If the rockets can offer him for $18M, Melo would be the rockets or returns to NY for $22M.

 

More like the Bulls are trying to get Melo to demand a sign and trade with NY.

 

The Houston Rockets have been very active on the free agent market over the past few summers, with general manager Daryl Morey regularly opening up enough cap room to land one or two players at max-level salaries. Although the Rockets didn't succeed in a major way until nabbing Dwight Howard last summer, they're big players once again with New York Knicks All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony set to visit Houston on the first day of free agency. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has details of their prospective pitch:

The thrust of the presentation will be about the Rockets’ contention that Anthony, a 6-8 forward, would be joining a contender. According to an individual familiar with the plans, they would cite their roster, expected to include every starter off a 54-win team.

They will describe how Anthony, 30, would be used. They will use many of the same representatives — owner Leslie Alexander, CEO Tad Brown, general manager Daryl Morey, coach Kevin McHale, former player Clyde Drexler, trainer Keith Jones and James Harden — as those who landed Howard. Howard will also be a part of the presentation, replacing free agent Chandler Parsons on the welcoming committee.

But the Rockets will hope to use home-court advantage as they could not last season. Howard’s meetings were set up in Los Angeles, with the Rockets contingent making their appeal at a hotel dinner. On Wednesday, Anthony is scheduled to be at Toyota Center where the Rockets plan to pull out all the recruiting stops the $7 million upgrade to the basketball facilities allow. [...]

Anthony planned to begin his tour in Chicago. When he gets to Houston (with a trip to Dallas scheduled for later Wednesday), the Rockets hope to make his visit memorable. As much as the Rockets will emphasize the more sober facts and figures related to team building, they plan to use their extensive collection of gadgetry, from the video boards and sound system in the locker room to the new weight room, video room and player’s lounge in ways they could not last summer when recruiting Howard.
As noted by Feigen in this article, this pitch isn't especially different from how the Rockets sold Howard. In that case, there's something off about their logic. Anthony would add considerable firepower to Houston, but he doesn't necessarily turn them into an instant title contender. In reviewing this news, Matt Moore of Eye on Basketball correctlly pointed out that the Rockets, already one of the best offensive teams in the NBA, need superior defense to get to a championship level, which isn't exactly Anthony's best area. For that matter, the Rockets' plan for future with Melo appears to include small forward and pending restricted free agent Chandler Parsons, who might be tough to keep without some major moves and/or a considerable luxury tax hit.

In other words, the Rockets are not selling Melo on what the future could legitimately look like so much as what it would appear as in a frictionless world. As the Miami Heat have learned, a collection of superior talent doesn't guarantee eternal championships, both because it requires a ton of hard work and trial-and-error to get just one and because excellent players often get significantly worse as they age. A team of James Harden, Dwight Howard, Chandler Parsons, Carmelo Anthony, and a random friend might sound like it could win every game 140-95, but they would have to decide on an offensive hierarchy, their roles, and defensive rotations, to say nothing of executing well.

Every person in a free-agent pitch and negotiation knows these things to be true, but for some reason this process tends to shunt reason to the periphery. It's about convincing the free agent, not making a logical argument that he's best fit for this particular team. Whether the Rockets provide an accurate picture of their future is beside the point — the goal is to make themselves attractive to Melo. It's part of the business of basketball, but it'd be wrong to act like it has much to do with the realities of what happens on the court.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/details-of-houston-rockets--free-agent-pitch-to-carmelo-anthony-emerge-031450837.html

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Dwight Howard Will Attend Melo Meeting: Rockets Dwight Howard will attend Carmelo Anthony’s meeting in Houston... <a href="http://t.co/ZnH8vqYplY">http://t.co/ZnH8vqYplY</a></p>&mdash; Basketball Insiders (@BBallInsiders) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBallInsiders/statuses/484031194758017024">July 1, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>James Harden will also attend the Houston Rockets meeting with Carmelo Anthony. Chandler Parsons was Invited. (via ESPN)</p>&mdash; NBA Flash News (@NBAFLASHNEWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAFLASHNEWS/statuses/484031349154914304">July 1, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I can see how most on here and in the media thinks adding Melo is not going to help out our defense but it actually might in an indirect sense.

He's not going to stop the Griffins, Aldridges, Loves, and Duncans of the world but he has the ability to make them work just as hard on the defensive end--something they didn't have to do last year when Jones or Asik starting at the 4. THAT in itself adds real value.

 

Wait, so it's not against league rules for a free agent to recruit on behalf of a team he's not officially signed with?

 

No Olajuwon this time? Is he out of the country? I know he trained with Carmelo a few years back

[youtube]QF8Q5bwCLyE[/youtube]

 

There don't seem to be much in the way of rules regarding recruiting by players, but Parsons probably tanks his restricted free agency value if he accepts the invitation, so I doubt he will.

 

So much for them not recruiting . . . .. .

Rocket River

 

that is exactly my line of thinking. Not only that, but Melo is a better defender than Jones to begin with so while the defensive upgrade may not be significant, it will still be an upgrade.

 

That's what I was thinking..He's saying no matter what, Lin is gone.

 

Does it matter, though? Melo is a free agent. Parsons is a free agent. For all we know the Rockets are wining & dining them as a duo and Parsons isn't doing any recruiting, he's just being recruited.

 

Plus Wade recruited Lebron and Bosh when none of them were under contract to form their big 3.

 

Delete

 

Ah, that's right. I was just worried that the NBA would come down hard with some BS collusion accusation on the Rockets.

 

I think they were just saying the official party line while Melo was still a Knick.

 

so Howard, Harden, Parsons, Drexler will be there?

 

Don't forget to introduce Carmelo Anthony to Patrick Beverly's boxing trainer. I know they both use boxing to get into basketball shape.