I absolutely disagree. He can still be a key component to a championship team. If the Rockets could have put Marion on LMA in the play-offs I think we would have gotten out of the 1st round. Marion would have also cut down on Parsons wear and tear as he would Ariza's this coming season. Marion is an absolute stud defender at multiple positions. By the way, we have no young guys ready to take minutes at the 3 except maybe Jeff Adrien. Covington has shown no ability to play at an NBA level yet.
The point is that you play to win the game, and if Marion can help you win the game, while on a reasonable contract that does not away your ability to chase that "third star," then by all means sign him. And yes, Shawn Marion's defensive smarts and versatility can help you out of a first round. In a tight playoff series like the series vs. Portland, one Shawn Marion out there to make a few critical plays can certainly make a difference. In fact, if you are going to need to include one or more among of Jones, DMo, Ariza, etc. in a trade package that lands you a star, it'll be good to have Marion on the roster to take the minutes they would otherwise play. In 2012, the Rockets signed Carlo Delfino during the offseason well before landing Harden when the roster was full of young guys. They didn't let "taking minutes from young guys" prevent them from signing Delfino then, and they will not let this prevent them from signing Marion to a short, reasonable contract now when they actually are trying to get into a position to contend w/ Howard and Harden on the team before playoff starts in 2015.
I don't know if the Rockets are interested in him or not, but if he is after a second ring than he will be better off playing for the Spurs.
Excellent post, Carl. A good argument, whether we get Marion, or not. One could apply your reasoning to any other veteran player Morey might be looking at. The object is to win and contend. I'm a huge fan of developing our young players, but not at the expense of winning. We simply don't know how large our window is to contend with our two superstars. Yao and McGrady made it perfectly clear just how small that window can be.
I completely agree with both you and CH. There is no reason why we should not be able still try and win now while also staying flexible for the future. Marion represents that IMO. The Rockets and Blazers went to OT 3 times in the last series. One extra defensive stop for the Rockets in Regulation would have made all of the difference in the world. The Rockets are in win now mode so give me the vet that can make that one extra defensive stop and get us into the next round. The young guys can develop in RGV.
Matrix makes a lot of sense. Could see the rockets closing games out with bev, harden, ariza, Marion and howard too
I am coming around to this. I was initially against signing him just because of the immense mileage. But if we can start Ariza and just have Marion around for 15-20 mpg as back up 3 or small ball 4, that might be pretty helpful. He's a pretty flexible guy and reasonably efficient despite that scary-looking shot. I think his defense is overrated here (at least speaking statistically, it's not that great anymore), but the locker-room presence and veteran attitude would be great. Meanwhile, he'd be especially motivated to play against Dallas.
I would absolutely agree with this. Marion is not a liability on offense and that lineup would give the Rockets 4 stud defensive players on the floor at the same time. Imagine this line-up at the end of the Portland Game where Lillard hit that damn last second shot. Beverly Nick Johnson Ariza Marion Dwight Good look getting your last second shot off against that 5.
Marion averaged 32 minutes a game and started 76 games last season. And played very well. Giving him 20 minutes a game in a key back up role should be no problem for him.
The advanced stats crowd STILL loves Shawn Marion, and we know Daryl Morey takes advanced stats very seriously. Shawn Marion continues to play at a very high level. The well managed teams are all presumably making two year offers. I think it will come down to Houston, San Antonio, and Phoenix. Marion can play both forward spots. If/when Houston signs him, look for him to come off the bench and play between 24 and 32 minutes/game. By the way: Trevor Ariza + Shawn Marion > Chandler Parsons. Question: How much money can Houston offer Marion right now? I expect him to eventually sign with someone for about two years, $14 mil. MAJOR bargain at this price.
I've been saying we should sign Marion since Cuban dropped that offer sheet on Parsons... but no, we sign Dorsey, Adrien and Ish Smith.... whatever......
In that case, I suspect that the Rockets are among several teams making this exact offer (just a hunch), and that Marion is hoping to find a team willing and able to pay him more than MLE money. What if Houston waived some of the nonguaranteed contracts? How much could they offer then? More than MLE money?
If Marion can't get the $5.3 mil MLE from the #Spurs or #Rockets, he may take the $2.73 mil room exception from the #Mavs, Chi, LAL or Cha. Per Dwain Price
FWIW, I think the Bulls have already promised their Room Exception to Kirk Hinrich. As I mentioned on Twitter, I think the Rockets would offer Marion about $4.5M of the MLE (with the rest of it going to Nick Johnson), with a non-guaranteed second season. Get 'er done, Morey.