What will it realistically take for the Rockets to rid themselves of Anderson?

So...he's not wanted.

If he agrees to restructure his contract sure, but, that needs to happen first (and i don't see it) assuming it can happen, not sure if it should be doable yet since he singned two years ago.

Also, i'm not sure Ryan would get anything close to 15M per year in the market now, he's still a great shooter without a doubt (even though, he has problems in the Toyota Center and may as well have them in other arenas too...which lowers his value in any case), but he has also some glaring weaknesses for today's nba, can't play defense, can't play the 5 in small lineaups and he lacks athleticism. No way tanking/rebuilding teams would pay him 15M per year as today, especially when they have young players to develop or that got already paid in the same spot.

As for Iggy well, he can shoot, pass, play defense and allows the Warriors to play their best lineup, that's why he's still valuable even if a bit overpaid. but yeah, i don't really think you can compare Ryan to Iguodala in any way.

 

I personally believe LBJ is NOT coming to Houston.

1) It isn't Durant to Golden State, but it would smear LeBron's legacy. Leaving Cleveland to go to the team with the NUMBER 1 W-L record for the 2017-18 season would look weak.

2) Do you think this will be Harden's team with LeBron here? Nah. Do you think Harden will concede the top dawg role? Nah

3) The confusion of when announcers say "James" would be funny at first but would get old fast, IMO.

4) LeBron ain't coming to the West. He likes the East. It's more probable LeBron stays East and goes to Philly. The Boston-Philadelphia rivalry would be EPIC.

And PG13 is going to the Lakers.

It would take more than two 1st Rounders from the Rockets to get LeBron. In fact, I don't think Cleveland would want anything Houston would give outside the "untouchables".

Well I did suggest giving one or two future 1st Rounders AND a 2nd Rounder. Bender doesn't have Ryno's range which would give the Suns a different wrinkle to their offense.

 

let him stay, he's our cheer leader now fyi

 

You probably right about Chriss. You think if Rockets also throw in the 2022 1st the Suns would bite?

I think Chriss needs a better development coach to harness his skills. I ain't saying that's MDA, but MDA could get more out of him offensively and he would have more veterans to mentor him. One cam dream, I suppose.

 

i dont think they'd part with any rookie contracts during their rebuild. definitely not for a late FRP when their guys are lotto picks.

the best we can hope for is to trade ryno and a first for a less-bad contract. chandler, carroll, robin lopez, 2 of harkless/leonard/aminu, or koufos/temple.

 

@Bearius Jones

I'm not sure coming here would smear his legacy, not after what Durant did imo, and in the end Lebron is the guy who always said "players should do what's best for them", not sure he cares that much about things other then winning, and if that's true, the best place for him it's Houston, even if i can understand the fascination with the Sixers. As for James well, i think he wants to win too, and like Chris and Lebron he's a smart player, that's why i think they would work well together, just like it happened in Miami, the guys we have are not Westbrook and Melo.

As for Ryan yeah, i don't know if the Cavs will have any interest in a sign & trade, in the end i think they will if that still allows them to get out of the luxury, if Lebron leaves they are forced to rebuild from the ground so, a sign & trade to get a couple of 1st rounder, multiple 2nds and other pieces (maybe Gordon) can't be bad for them, it's still beter than letting him go for nothing, and in fact that's what they did when he went to Miami years ago.

Bender doesn't have Ryan's range, that's true, but no one in the league has in that spot, everyone knows this, and still nobody wanted him last summer so, not sure why i should expect this to change now since he's not even playing. And again, Bender is 20 years old, and they just resigned Warren which is going to play the 4 too since they have Jackson at the 3, there's really no reason for the Suns to trade for Ryan.

 

I don't see why any team would touch him. If he was playing the way he was playing for most of last year he'd be fine and a valuable rotation player. But the dude is just a shell of his former self and now he's just dead weight. It's a shame because he will be a primary reason why we won't be able to significantly upgrade our team this summer.

 

Chances are we have no chance to add another anyway. Lebron is very unlikely to come here and George is probably going to the lakers. So best bet is to turn Ryan into a trade exception and hope for something to fall into the lap later

 

Mafia hitman.

 

DEADWEIGHT

 

I guess the $20 million question is whether or not Ryno's current level of play is due to him sulking and wanting out or is it a more serious problem like a complete loss of confidence. The dude was starting for the team most of the season and their record was pretty damn good at the time. He wasn't exactly lighting it up out there, but he wasn't a complete non-entity either(take the comeback regular season win at Minnesota for example).

If it's the former, the Rockets may be able to find a taker provided they throw in some draft picks. Sometimes a change of scenery really is all a player needs. But if it's the latter, they're likely stuck with that dead weight contract for two more years. Or at minimum one year until it becomes an expiring deal and a little more attractive to a team looking to clear bad contracts of their own.

 

I honestly think it's a complete loss of confidence. At the beginning of the season he had a few good stretches. It really is too bad, especially since we're paying him so much. It's one thing when Ariza who gets paid $8 million a year goes through a slump, but when we're paying the guy $20 million specifically to shoot the damn ball and he's too scared to do that, it's a problem.

 

Ariza in a slump still plays near-elite defense, too.

 

That's where I'm not so sure it's a confidence issue. A scared player hesitates to shoot. Ryno lately doesn't even look at the basket when he receives the ball. He immediately without hesitation passes it back to CP3 or Harden. Hell, he even did this in garbage time the other night in Game 2.

That to me is more indicative of a player who's mentally checked out and is completely disengaged. Think T-Mac in the infamous Toronto game or Harden in Game 6 vs the Spurs.

 

Durant went to a team with a HISTORICAL best 73-9 record that won a championship the previous year with a league best 67-15 record. It was a really bad look.

LBJ going to a team with a league best 65-17 record and the 3rd best record, 55-27, the previous year is not a good look. Not nearly as bad...but let's be real. The Rockets have had a better record than the Cavaliers the last 2 years. Maybe smear is too strong a word. LBJ is going to avoid the heat he received from joining Miami. Pun intended.

So the logic seems to be since Durant did it 1st and in bigger fashion it minimizes LeBron doing the same thing on a smaller level. Think about this, if Durant didn't come to the Warriors, CP3 was still traded to Houston, then the Rockets win the championship, would LeBron come to the Rockets? It would be a bizarro version of what Durant did.

Plus, it is WAY easier for the Sixers to add LeBron than the Rockets. In fact, the Sixers with the right moves and luck could add LBJ and Klaw. The Sixers would have a longer contention time range than the Rockets which will help LBJ rings and GOAT chase.

Harden is a smart player. If LBJ is here, JH13 can kiss any future MVP awards good bye. JH13 will become the 2nd option losing HIS team. I'm sure their talents would mesh really well but egos will get in the way. JH13 will use his smarts to make sure his future is the brightest here. Just my opinion.

That's all good IF LeBron doesn't just opt out and go to Philly. Opting out is just the easier and less messier move. Cleveland got their ring. It's time for them to scrap it all and rebuild again if LeBron leaves. The Rockets can't help with their pieces the Cavaliers much if Cavs do start to rebuild.

Bender can play big ball SF, PF, C
Warren can play SG, SF, small ball PF
Jackson can play SG, SF
Anderson can play PF, C
Ayton will play C

They would have enough minutes to go around and all of their centers would be able to shoot the 3 ball.
PG: Payton (28), Ullis (15), Knight (5)
SG: Booker (26), Warren (10), Knight (12)
SF: Jackson (30), Warren (10), Booker (8)
PF: Anderson (26), Bender (12), Warren (10)
C: Ayton (30), Bender (18)
I'm not sure what the Suns are going to do with Dudley or Knight. I just don't see the Suns keeping Chriss.

Thinking about it more, the Suns would probably need to make some other trade or two. Anderson is serviceable on a lesser team than the Rockets. Bender is still going through the growing pains of youngsters in the NBA who haven't figured out their game yet.

 

@Bearius Jones

Yeah, Durant move was bad in that sense, he went to the best team ever after he just got his ass kicked by them in a series with some on court drama too...that's also why it was really bad, there were also rumors about him being already set to join them before the playoffs even started if i remember well (even though i'm not sure i believe this but who knows). Lebron would join a team which had the best record in the league in one season, nothing that special, and maybe not the team that just kicked his ass in the finals. That wouldn't really be the same thing or something close...and in fact i think a lot of people will eventually say something like "well, Durant's fault...at least someone will be able to beat the Warriors..." etc. Lebron is also older now, won a chip with the Cavs, he'll definitely avoid another "the decision" so, overall i just don't see the same kind of drama compared to when he left for Miami.

I agree about the Sixers being in a better position cause they'll have cap space to sign him without losing assets, but in the end it's really up to him and where he wants to be, if he was able to make a sign & trade happen when he left years ago after all the **** he had with Gilbert, i don't see why there should be a problem to make that happen as today. The fact that the Sixers can sign him as a free agent should actually push the Cavs to be open to a sign & trade with us (at least if that doesn't mean staying in the luxury) cause that would mean getting some asset instead of losing him for nothing, but they would also send Lebron to the other conference.

As for James not sure, aside the fact that he's winning the MVP this season, Lebron is going to be 34 soon, should be better for him to play less minutes going forward to extend his career, and that's probably why he recently said he's fine (or literally that he wants) to play more off ball in the future so, being able to share minutes and play off ball here with James and Chris would be perfect all things considered, James would still be the primary ball handler and the player with more minutes on the court.

As for the Suns i don't know, i stick with what i already said, there's no way for me they dump Dudley at 9M just to trade for Anderson at 21M, makes no sense, not that Dudley is a better player, but he's a solid veteran to have on that team and he's way cheaper (expiring in fact). Warren cannot play the 2, he's a 3/4, and Bender is a 4 even though i think they actually tried him at the 3 and 5 but yeah, he's clearly a 4. If they don't trade Chriss they have basically 3 young and cheap PFs with a different skillset at the same cost of Ryan alone, there's literally no reason for them to lower their minutes to garbage time level just to eat Anderson's contract and to play him 30 minutes per game, come on.

 

I thought that his contract being a year shorter would make him easier to move this offseason as opposed to last. But I think he's actually managed to become an even worse contract. It's almost impressive. I actually think that despite his remaining contract being 20 million dollars less than it was last year, teams will actually ask for more to take it on. Unbelievable.

 

He doesn't seem checked out to me. He still fights for rebounds sometimes and he's not blatantly quitting like the Toronto game.

 

2 years....or at best when he is an expiring contract.

DD

 

Part of LeBron's "legacy" (as if he still has anything more to build on it) is to beat the Warriors. If we get beat in 5-6, it would not look weak to join said team that got beat by the greatest team ever pretty easily.

LeBron on Philly = too young of a core, would need another year

LeBron on LA with PG13 = lol 3rd seed

LeBron on Rockets = $$$$$$