1 star thread & everyone thinks the 4 is a problem? Seriously? We have 6 players that can play the 4. 6!!! Most teams would kill for that depth! D-MO Jones G.Smith Howard with Asik @ C Parsons with Garcia @ 3 Casspi Asik & G.Smith were our 1st choice options at C & PF! This pairing is now one of the last options available to use. We only need 1 of 6 of those players listed to have an above average night on any given night. What happens when you heavily invest in a player like Smith (example only) & he is having a bad night or worse injured & there aren't any other decent options for the position? What happens if Howard is injured or struggling? Morey understands the big picture. Asik is staying for a reason!
This... And to add... If Asik is eventually to be traded, the longer Morey holds on to him the more his value will decrease. Even If McHale starts both Howard and Asik, Asik will still only probably average 15-20 minutes if that... More teams are going small and McHale likes to go small too. But I would rather they trade him for a 1st round pick in next year's draft that could end up being more valuable than any stretch 4 the Rockets can get there hands on. And a combination of TJ, D-Mo, Smith would probably be better than guys like Anderson.
I think you're mistaking quantity for quality. We may have combinations that we can put on the floor to play but, as many as there are, we don't have anyone at the moment that can step up consistently. If you're in doubt of that, consider this; we traded our entire PF rotation mid season because they were stop gap measures at best during a non championship run and nobody was been able to cover the position the entire season properly and there's no suggestion that the situation has changed since then. Nobody. As the season progresses, rotations are tightened and the intensity increases and only gets worse during the Playoffs. We cannot afford to play guess which PF to use on a nightly basis or worse, play shoe horn with off position guys like Delfino at the 4 and hope to beat out the top tier teams on a consistent basis. Now consider our opponents at the 4. Would you be OK going up against the likes of Duncan, Randolph, Lee, Griffin, Gasol, Love, Aldridge, Nowitzki, Fareid with a gaping hole at the position? I'm not even going into the E conference PFs. I'm not suggesting that we have to get a dominant player at the position but it cannot be as gaping as we have it ATM. My 1st thoughts after acquiring Howard was not immediately joy but wondering what would happen to Asik and our 4 spot because we have a small time window to keep this improving roster together. Also, I have to agree with one of the previous posters on this thread when he/she mentioned the misappropriation of resources to a single position. Asik, as beloved as he is on our team, is a luxury may not be able to afford. Sure, things can change between now and then but it's hard to imagine that it won't with a glaring hole in our lineup. Even Morey himself said so, the roster is not done yet. It's safe to assume that apart from Harden, Howard, and, to a lesser degree, Parsons, is expendable to balance out the roster.
We have 0 players who can play the 4 at an above average level. Of course we need a 4. Because you have a lot of players who are capable does not mean they are either particularly skilled or well suited. DMo and Jones could develop BEHIND a skilled 4 but they are not there yet.
if we trade him we need to also get back a decent backup center, greg smith isn't good enough yet I don't think.
We do need a PF. We just don't need one in early July since there are no real NBA games to be played until late October. There is plenty of time to sign or trade for the right one at the right price. In all probabilities, the team will find a more proven PF by the start of the season and we'll see what DMo, Jones or Smith can do if they remain.
Totally against keeping Asik past the trade deadline, but otherwise agree with you. We shouldn't be in a rush to trade him anymore. Morey picked up Garcia, Casspi and now possibly J O'Neal. Our needs at other positions are not what they were a week ago. We're good right now so if anyone wants Asik, THEY need to convince US. We already took a discount on T-Rob out of desperation. Keep Asik until someone gets desperate. I'm hoping the Hornets call us and beg for Asik in exchange for Anderson and a future first round pick (or young player). Maybe the Bulls, but quite stupid of them to trade Boozer's backup for Noah's backup. I can see Minny preferring Asik over Pekovic - but would Pekovic accept a deal in the MLE range? We need to get an excellent asset for Asik. I want us to go into next summer armed with the MLE and 1 or 2 highly sought-after assets. Lin on the other hand - we either trade him now or not at all. I don't want the disruption of a new PG in a new system after training camp - unless it's a significant upgrade (which to me means a top 10-15 PG).
1st point about not having anyone able to step up consistently at the 4 is wrong. Parsons with Garcia alternating have shown against elite opposition in the playoffs that they can consistently compete. Howard & Asik wouldn't struggle with consistency either. I'm not mistaking quality with quantity. Having several match up options gives opposition scouting a huge headache. 2nd point the opposition 4 in our conference. Who better than the duo of Asik & Howard to go against Duncan, Gasol, Randolph, Love, Nowitski. Essentially against the teams with the big front court we have a huge advantage on the defensive end & if the opposition requires a different approach then we have that aspect covered as well. I understand your points & they are valid concerns especially with the doubts over Smith, Jones, D-Mo & Casspi ability to step up this year to being consistent but I believe in these group of players. Even if the four mentioned here aren't able to step up in crunch time playoff situations we have other alternatives that can do just that.
Also I forgot my 3rd point. We are better on holding Asik until 2014 FA. Love, Aldridge & other options are much more viable upgrades than what Smith or anyone else this year that is available.
T-Jones and D-Mo both have a lot of potential. I would expect that one of them pans out to be a starting caliber 4 playing in this stacked team. We've also got Parsons and Garcia who can fill in spot minutes at the 4 or even throw in Greg Smith for spot minutes, it wasn't such a big issue playing him alongside Asik.
I don't know if there's any correlation but with Gortat, the Magic went to the Finals and conference finals; without him, first round exit.
I waver back and forth on this issue. I do not want to trade Asik unless we are getting a VERY good player back though. That player doesn't have to be an all star but he better be damn close. The way I see it, players like Ilyasova, Anderson, Granger, and some of the other ideas floated about lately are all interesting possibilities. But if we can't get any of those guys? Then yeah, maybe just holding fast with what we've got is the best plan. Not gonna lie, the prospect of 31 minutes of well rested Dwight + 17 minutes of even better rested Asik is very enticing to me. 48 minutes of MONSTER interior presence. I do not favor the idea of playing Asik and Dwight together, to be honest. I think it would clog up the paint too much and I think we would struggle greatly against stretch 4's. The biggest argument against keeping Asik is still that PF position is a HUGE question mark. None of our PF's last season played at a starting caliber level. Jones, D-Mo, and Smith all have potential, but potential does not equal results, and this team suddenly looks like a contender which doesn't have time to waste developing youngs into legit players. Still, we can cross our fingers and hope one of them comes back having taken a huge step forward and turned himself into a starter level player. IF that happens, standing pat would probably be the best move... especially if it's DMo and he's learned to consistently hit the three ball and not be a pushover on D.
Free TJ?!?!? No seriously, to get consistent play out of one of them, they need to get consistent minutes
