Omer Asik coming back ready to play basketball would pretty much be like having the Calvary come back this year (assuming he's mentally checked in). Also even a minor trade for a halfway decent wing player coming off the bench would do wonders. I think its pretty obvious now that Garcia & Casspi aren't going to be getting the easy wide-open shots everyone thought they would be getting this Summer when they were signed and resigned. They need someone coming off the bench that can do a little bit more than only hit wide open shots. Ohh... and bargain players WILL BE available for next to nothing. So while Morey say's there is no Calvary coming... I sort of halfway agree that yeah... we aren't getting LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love or anything like maybe some of the top players like Howard and Harden might have been campaigning for this Summer to join them this year, but there is NO DOUBT in my mind that there will be at least one if not more small moves made at the deadline to bring in much, much better players off the bench. Patrick Patterson, Andre Miller, CJ Miles, Ridnour, C. Butler, Mike Miller, and anyone on the Lakers other than Kobe I'd look out for to be potentially let go for peanuts or waived and picked up by Morey at or around the deadline. There are players that can come in and really help give the bench a huge boost, but the core group, I do doubt that there is much that Morey can do to bring in a truly huge impact player unless an Asik deal materializes into something decent.... which I doubt happens now that Morey couldn't get a deal that he could flip into something good at the deadline. More than likely that deal would only involve future assets. Still, there is no doubt in my mind that Morey will upgrade the team at the deadline even just slightly.
Morey is the same guy that I quoted in "dmorey on 790"thread a month ago saying "it's my job to upgrade the team & I will continue to do that."
Morey stated that a high scoring, high turnover PG usually turn out to be exceptional players. This was last year.
Naturally he'll make some sort of trade. That's a given. His players do need to suck it up, because, as Morey himself has pointed out time and again, and which was reinforced just two weeks ago, it is only at the trade deadline when teams really feel ready to deal. Are we tanking or are we after the playoffs? Do we strengthen or jettison? And so whatever deal occurs might not happen until the trade deadline. Again. And that's..........a lot of potential losses away.
Look if someone hired me to be their CPA and I ended up not being able to 1040 tax return, it shouldn't be a shock to anyone when I get let go. -Ronnie Brewer- Hasn't been able to be that defensive stopper one would have hoped for -Garcia hasn't been able to be a consistent three point shooter & perimeter defender -Casspi hasn't really been the stretch 4 that they had hoped he would be -Covington hasn't made the case for pressing Garcia & Casspi for minutes -D-Mo hasn't been a consistent backup 4/5 in the minutes given -Greg Smith can't stay healthy & when healthy cannot protect the paint So it really should come as a shock to anyone when Morey upgrades potentially up to SIX players come the trade deadline going into this Summer. You can argue that they haven't been given much of a chance, but the truth of the matter is this, they were hired to do a job and haven't done it up to this point. The notion that Morey wont make improvements to the roster at the deadline is pretty ludicrous... especially coming from his mouth (which he often does the opposite of what he says it comes to trades). Upgrades are coming at some point this season either currently on the roster, through trades, or waiving and picking up free agent upgrades.
It's going to feel like a trade happened when bev, asik, smith come back We will see a big improvement because of our depth. Bev - his hustle & D can get other players to play harder on D because they see him giving his all. Asik- can stop certain players, give Howard rest, rebounds & rim protection when Howard's out smith- even tho he fouls often, he sets SOLID screens for our guards, always looking to catch & finish, can rebound box out good when he gets it going.
Thou speaketh the truth; but the Asik situation is a cancer that could have been avoided if dealt with early, and will still be addressed. I don't see Asik playing again on the Rockets, although I'd like his pouting self to get out there and up his value, if nothing else. The team is being reeeeeeeeeeeeeeal coy on Asik. And where is the guy, anyway? Asik and Obama together in a bunker somewhere, the former waiting for the trade deadline to come out, the latter waiting for 2016?
your patience is wearing thin with the guy who brought us Harden and Howard in back-to-back offseasons?
Unless he gets a 1st rounder with little protection, I'd be good with no major moves. Just need to get every one healthy. Now if something came up with a chance at LMA or Love, then go for it, but that is not going to happen.
Yeah, only ever heard "frog and scorpion". "Turtle and scorpion" makes no sense as the turtle would be protected from the sting - that's the point of the shell. Anyways, I'll never be able to think about Harden again without thinking of this parable. McHale "let's make sure the ball doesn't get sticky after this time out". Harden: "You bet." ... McHale: "Harden, why did you ISO?!" Harden: "You knew I was a scorpion when you sent me in there."
Everyone of those guys is minimum salary players except for DMo who is on a cheap rookie contract. The preseason gave us false hopes for some of these guys but the reality is we got what we paid for. Casspi is playing better than he has in years. Smith looks better this year when healthy. DMo has improved. But that's what happens when you have to clear salary to sign Howard. The bigger disappointments are Omer and injuries.
The frog makes no sense, as there's no way a frog could carry a scorpion on it's back. Thread successfully derailed.
Many of those guys, Garcia and Casspi in particular might have their game pick up substantially if/when we solve our offensive spacing problems. When we succeed most is when we space the floor effectively causing the opponent to have to cover more ground than they can in order to guard their man AND play help defense. When things are working properly, you make the opponent choose between one poison or the other. The way things are working presently, we are not making them choose. Getting Howard going (getting the ball to him when and where he needs it) is key here. Once the inside/out game is working, open looks at the 3 point line will be more numerous and Casspi and Garcia will flourish. Whats happening instead is forcing Garcia/Casspi to create their own shot which isn't their strength. And of course their effectiveness is limited by this.
And Morey said that he didn't get much of a break during the holidays but no one should worried about Morey having to work hard. Well, given his job, what could be keeping him working so hard at this time of the year except for a trade?
Right I mean expectations are usually at some point align with reality. The reality is they were minimum signings after the cap clearing for Dwight. It happens. These guys aren't Rodman, Kukoc, and Ron Harper. However, the Rockets are getting to a point now (depending on if they are done looking for another big fish or not) where they are going to start planning to surround Harden/Howard/Parsons with the right pieces to make this car run the way it should. I would be willing to bet that they will make moves to these surrounding pieces pretty soon despite what Morey said about the "Calvary" not coming. My point was just in the most simple manner possible. If these guys can't perform what is needed of them to help the team, Morey isn't just going to keep them on the squad for good hospitality. To your point, the return of Asik & the return of Lin to the bench could change their roles to where life is easier for say someone like Garcia to get wide open shots, but for now, it looks like they will need people who can do much more than that to truly help this team win. Hopefully I'm wrong and this team gets healthy enough to push these back into either vet min roles or development roles.
