Per 36's aren't exactly a testamate to how good a player actually is. I'm actually from LA and have seen Tarik play quite a bit (live as well) and from the time he's been away from the Rockets he's basically improved on the things we knew he could do pretty well which is rebound, defend at a solid rate and finish close to the rim. I'm not against the signing, I just feel like someone of his caliber would've been around for the BAE all FA and into the season.
Houston is $246K below the luxury tax line and $7.5M below the hard cap based on the $3.3M Tarik Black contract. Barring a trade the Rockets will likely stay beneath the tax once the season starts.
I bet Morey is banking on players that are bought would want to sign with the Rox for the minimum just for a chance to win a championship. I don't think it's a bad gamble. Look at us last year, we had more money than other teams during buy out season, yet Bogut chose to go to a contender.
I don't understand getting worked up about using the BAE here. For a "traditional" third string signing, sure. But you have Nene coming off an injury and you're going into the year knowing *for sure* he's going to miss a big chunk of games. That 3rd center role is one you 100% absolutely have to fill with a quality backup before the season begins. ETA: I recall someone posting earlier this summer that the FO was optimistic Onuaku would develop into that guy. If they were still holding out for that, I'm sure summer league dashed those hopes and necessitated finding a more finished project.
Outstanding post. absolutely dead on! if we are trying to win this year, signing Black for $3.2 to back up Nene is a wise use of money. At least we know that we have quality depth at the 5. Remember, Black started like 20 games for LA this year. I think he actually won the job through defense, not gotten though injury. He's more than capable of filling this role...and we did need to add another 5. I also always appreciated his effort when he played for Houston; a high motor guy. I hope that's still the case.
Right, but you can't be a legitimate contender and have Zhou Qi be your fourth best forward on the roster. The way D'Antoni's offense works, Nene, Capela and Black are all pretty much exclusively centers. Assuming they add a fourth guard (which they will) and they have Anderson or Melo at the 4, that leaves Anderson/Melo, Ariza and Tucker as the only guys capable of playing significant time at the 3 or 4 on the roster. Even with D'Antoni's tight 8-9 man rotations, that's still a really slim margin for injury or foul trouble. Their forward options last season were also extremely limiting. The more versatility you have in your rotations, the better off you'll be in the postseason. Plus, they have to fill out the 12-man roster with somebody. They might as well add a quality veteran forward who can address an area where depth could be a problem rather than add another guard or center that they don't really need.
I was hoping they would keep the BAE available for a buyout. Specifically a Carmelo Anthony buyout. Maybe the Rockets are confident they will get the trade done? Or maybe they think he would sign for the minimum if bought out?
This kind of risk is why I couldn't be a GM. Because if you (1) wait around for a Melo buyout that may or may not come, (2) wind up going int the season with a shitty 3rd center who will *have* to get rotation minutes out of necessity, and (3) Knicks hold onto Melo -- the pitchforks would be out.
Wasn't the Oliver signing about adding depth at the 4? He's a 4, and he's good enough to play 3rd string NBA minutes. So let's say we do get Melo; what's wrong with this? 5-spot: Capela/Nene/Black 4-spot: Melo/Ariza/Oliver 3-spot: Ariza/Tucker/Troy Williams 2-spot: Harden/Gordon/GUARD 1-spot: CP3/Harden/Taylor D-League: Joe Chee/Hartenstein
Solid enough signing, they had to have someone behind Capela and Nene and Granny Shot is just flat out awful.
Difference between min and BAE is $1.1M not including taxes, I think as a GM I'd easily gamble on thinking that a veteran would sign with a championship contenders if money is not a huge difference. No sense in holding on to the BAE if Tarik was willing to take this.
His opportunistic play reminds me a whole lot of the Chuck wagon. Granted both do so in different ways. They both position themselves very well.
Do not be surprised if Tarik Black ends up being the most effective center on the team. Do not be surprised.
When you start duplicating names at different spots that's not real depth. Like always there will be injury issues throughout the year. The Rockets still need a quality backup PF, not a rookie, and another guard.
I hear what you are saying, but why can't Ariza and Oliver be the back up 4's? I'm sure we all feel good about Tucker manning the 3.
I hear a waaaambulance throughout this thread. Black is a beast and guess what? When he gets in shape by playing MDA's offense, he's gonna slim down a bit and play possessed. Wesley Snipes knows what's up, don't get it twisted
Who said anything about those teams? Your point is the NBA has changed? What Small teams have won a championship recently other than the Miami Heat with LeBron James and DWade and Bosh and co? Not much else you need to do when you have the 2nd greatest player ever in his prime and the 3rd greatest SG ever still under 30 years old. I assume you think the Warriors are small ball? Make no mistake. The Warriors have size. Just because they shoot 3's and play like us doesn't mean they are small ball like us. ZaZa is 6'11 270, McGee is 7ft 270 with a really long wingspan. Draymond may not be tall, but he's got long arms and a very strong and solid build for someone so mobile. KD is basically a 7ft SF with arms for days. Klay is a 6'7 SG and Curry is a 6'3 PG. Livingston is a 6'7 backup PG and Iggy is a 6'6 backup 2 and 3 but really strong and athletic. West is 6'9 and strong. Their young bench guys have good height for their positions as well. The Warriors are taller and more athletic than those 3 teams you mentioned other than DRob and Duncan tandem, but the rest of those Spurs were smaller. Ewing was the only legit big on the Knicks, Oak and Mason etc were 6'8 or under but very strong built like Draymond and their backcourt were all under 6'3. Grizzlies were short to avg height other than Marc. Rockets have 2 6'10 Centers, NeNe is strong but Capela still has a ways to go. A 6'9 backup C/PF. A 6'10 PF that might as well be 5'10, a 6'7 skinny SF, a 6'5 but strong SG and a 5'11-6ft pg with a 6'3 6th man and a 6'6 all around defender in Tucker which i assume will log a ton of minutes at PF. Not only do we lack height, we lack length/reach which plays just as an important part on D and rebounding as height. San Antonio is also much bigger and longer. Even if we somehow made it past the Warriors and Spurs, we'd be severely undersized against Cleveland also. Size matters a lot in a 7 game series today just as it did in any other era. So again. What recent championship team was as small as our current team?
