Strategic Advantages of Acquiring Paul Millsap Mid-Season

It's too early to make a decision on a trade of this nature. Why? Because we're overachieving at the moment and not really in a position to make any real noise in the playoffs should our current path (beat up on decent-to-mediocre teams, get blasted by elite teams) continue.

Unless we start scoring some credibility points against the elite teams, we would probably be best suited standing pat and trying to see if something sticks among our underutilized bench players at the 4.

Compound that with the fact that the NBA is shifting in a direction where the 3/4 spots are becoming interchangeable. So many teams are playing small ball now and so many 3's are getting minutes down the stretch at 4. We see it with Parsons. Acquiring a traditional PF isn't entirely necessary, by any means.

 

Aldridge is the missing piece and he fits in perfectly with our offense. Paul Millsap is good but he is a bit overblown due to the system he is playing in.

 

Can we agree that Josh Smith--who has been in the mix for DPOY honors for for 4 years running and made an all-defensive team in 2010--is a massively better defender than either of Millsap or Aldridge?

I hope we can agree to that. I think it's factual. If we know he's a better player on one end of the court, and our expectations would be that any power forward the Rockets obtain wouldn't be a first scoring option on the other end of the court anyway, then I don't see where the debate stems from. I bet the Rockets would be super happy with semi-consistent 17 point, 9 rebound, 2 steal, 3 block nights from that guy. (Assumption: Even his defensive numbers might inflate a bit due to the Rockets' pace of play.) That's the kind of production at both ends of the floor that no other available player could give them.

The downside? Josh Smith's price tag could scare away most prospective buyers. I don't think he ends up with a max deal, but near max is not outside the realm of possibility. Some crappy other team with cap space might do it.

 

Good lord, I've thought this for years. Like I said, my only beef with Josh Smith is that teams will leave him open to help, and he'll always be stupid enough to jack up that 20 footer. It's awesome to see him do it against the Rockets, never want to see him do it as a Rocket. Every other aspect of his game is nothing short of awesome. Both on defense and on offense.

His max as a veteran is VERY high. No one will pay him the max. I think his price tag is Nene level, probably 4yr/$55-60mil type depending on Atlanta's bid(since they can give him the 5th year). The Rockets have the cap room, so that's not the issue. But the question is how much does he affect our floor spacing, and whether he can maintain his production as an "old" 28yr old next year.

 

I've always seen smith as more of a 3 than a 4. I don't think he'd be able to help us out that much. We need more of a 4.

 

I think Derrick Williams would fit this team perfectly as a stretch 4 that can attack off the dribble.

 

Been a while, knote!

That said, what does Derrick Williams bring to the table that Marcus Morris can't do? Sorry, just not impressed by Williams in what I've seen so far.

 

That sounds about right. My hunch is Smith ends up at 13-15 mil / year too, possibly a bit more if he makes the all-star team this season and gets greater exposure that way. And really, we should be talking about that as though it's a certainty. He was snubbed last year. The East didn't even have the best Atlanta Hawk, let alone the best players in the Conference, but I feel he gets in this year.

 

Perhaps. But the Rockets coaches and front office think otherwise, because they've both talked about and used a variety of small lineups. And in the end, its them making the decision and not us.

 

Believe it or not, Josh Smith has played shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center for the Hawks in the past all with varying degrees of success.

Last season, he played 20% of his minutes at center (Horford was injured) and notched a whopping 22.5 PER/48 in that scenario, though the Hawks were still most successful with Pachulia out on the floor as well.

He is the single-most versatile free agent in the 2013 off-season.

 

Thinking Like Daryl Morey as the Trade Deadline Approaches

I thought this was an interesting article about acquiring Paul Millsap

THE DREAM SHAKE

THINKING LIKE DARYL MOREY AS THE TRADE DEADLINE APPROACHES
by: Mike Kerns

http://www.thedreamshake.com/2013/1...-daryl-morey-as-the-trade-deadline-approaches

 

Since the new CBA takes away the SnT advantages it is a diminished reason for acquiring Milsap now.

The Harden move did not make the Rox a legitimate play-off contender; but it did. Because of his talent? Or because of his attitude? Or just because? And the answer is YES. So, maybe Milsap extends this season's run by a series. Or two. I don't know.

After 35 games I am SMH cause I just don't know whether to believe my eyes, my heart, or the roster's reality (which just well may be better than I ever believed in October).

 

Millsap is a better fit for the Rockets than Love or Aldridge because of his 3 point shooting also a better finisher in transition. They can't have two low post players with Love or Aldridge and Asik/Smith on the floor and have lanes for Harden and Lin to attack the basket, that defender has to be cleared out

 

What do you think it would take to get Millsap?

 

Couldn't this have just been folded into the thread we had yesterday on Paul Millsap? That's a lot of words for "the Rockets should give up their search for a second star and should just settle for a power forward averaging 14 and 7 on higher usage than he would get in Houston, who plays no better defense than an average player at his position, who would also be the Rockets' oldest starter at 28 years old, and who would command a contract that would take him into his early 30s as his skills and already meager athleticism diminished even further."

 

Maybe something like...

Terrance Jones & Patrick Patterson for Paul Millsap

Jazz get young talent and cap relief.

 

Thanks for the info. I didn't know the new CBA takes away the SnT advantages. Appreciate that.

 

I believe the consensus is that they need to upgrade their PG position. I don't think Morey will let go of Lin and TD alone is not attractive enough so we might need a 3 team trade to make this happen.

 

We've got players we haven't even utilized yet; with rookie contracts. I don't think the owner is in a "Championship Now" mode and is pretty happy being a young, attractive, up and comer. We need to play Patterson, Morris, Jones, Smith, Asik and Motie to gain experience and see where their upside is. Plus run and gun is getting it done, I wouldn't want anyone that would slow us down.

 

What was even the justification in the OP, besides "Morey Jedi Powers." Millsap "sets picks better." "Spreads the floor better?" Better than whom? This is all very shaky stuff.

Are you kidding me, comparing Millsap's three point "shooting" to Kevin Love's? And he's a better "finisher in transition" than Love and Aldridge now too?

What is this.

What is this here.

I don't even...