I love the idea of Beas and Green... but aren't both of them more small-ball 4's? Are either actually quick enough laterally to switch onto guards?
Ariza is a tough loss defensively. There is no question. BUT, if Morey's game plan is to put together a sustainable team to beat the Warriors, (and the Rockets had means to re-sign Ariza and didn't) perhaps that says something. We don't know for sure right now. Perhaps the Rockets can fill the SF spot with a player much better offensively than Ariza, (and likley worse defensively) but it ends up being a net positive in the long run.
Spoiler: Unrestricted FA's Unrestricted free agents Point Guards Aaron Brooks (33) Bobby Brown (34) Lorenzo Brown (28) Jose Calderon (37) Isaiah Canaan (27) Michael Carter-Williams (27) Alex Caruso (24) Mario Chalmers (32) Seth Curry (28) Malcolm Delaney (29) Larry Drew II (28) Tyler Ennis (24) Kay Felder (23) Raymond Felton (34) Tim Frazier (28) Jonathan Gibson (31) Jarrett Jack (35) Demetrius Jackson (24) Shane Larkin (26) Ty Lawson (31) Shelvin Mack (28) Josh Magette (29) Shabazz Napier (27) Jameer Nelson (36) Tony Parker (36) Gary Payton II (26) Rajon Rondo (32) Ramon Sessions (32) Isaiah Taylor (24) Isaiah Thomas (29) Tyler Ulis (22) Briante Weber (26) Joe Young (26) Shooting Guards Arron Afflalo (33) Tony Allen (35) Avery Bradley (28) Ian Clark (27) Pat Connaughton (25) Charles Cooke (24) Jamal Crawford (38) Jordan Crawford (30) Wayne Ellington (31) Tyreke Evans (29) Marcus Georges-Hunt (25) Devin Harris (35) Aaron Harrison (24) Andre Ingram (33) Damion Lee (26) J.J. Redick (34) Jason Terry (41) Rashad Vaughn (22) Dwyane Wade (36) Small Forwards Jamel Artis (25) Corey Brewer (32) Bruno Caboclo (23) Vince Carter (41) James Ennis (28) Treveon Graham (25) Jeff Green (32) Danuel House (25) Josh Huestis (27) Richard Jefferson (38) Joe Johnson (37) Luc Mbah a Moute (32) Shabazz Muhammad (26) Quincy Pondexter (30) James Webb (25) Andrew White (25) Nick Young (33) Power Forwards Quincy Acy (28) Luke Babbitt (29) Michael Beasley (29) Trevor Booker (31) Tyler Cavanaugh (24) Dante Cunningham (31) Derrick Favors (27) Channing Frye (35) Amile Jefferson (25) Amir Johnson (31) Brice Johnson (24) Omari Johnson (29) Kevon Looney (22) Chris McCullough (23) Jordan Mickey (24) Dirk Nowitzki (40) Johnny O’Bryant (25) Alec Peters (23) Willie Reed (28) Mike Scott (30) Mirza Teletovic (33) Anthony Tolliver (33) Noah Vonleh (23) Travis Wear (28) David West (38) Damien Wilkins (38) Brandan Wright (31) Centers Cole Aldrich (30) Tarik Black (27) Thomas Bryant (21) DeMarcus Cousins (28) Udonis Haslem (38) Alex Len (25) Brook Lopez (30) Greg Monroe (28) Nerlens Noel (24) Lucas Nogueira (26) Kyle O’Quinn (28) Jahlil Okafor (23) Zaza Pachulia (34) Spoiler: Restricted FA's Restricted Free Agents Point Guards Dante Exum (23) Yogi Ferrell (25) Raul Neto (26) Marcus Smart (24) Shooting Guards Bryn Forbes (25) Rodney Hood (26) Zach LaVine (23) Patrick McCaw (23) David Nwaba (25) Small Forwards Kyle Anderson (25) Davis Bertans (26) Power Forwards Nemanja Bjelica (30) Montrezl Harrell (24) Jabari Parker (23) Julius Randle (24) Centers Clint Capela (24) Jusuf Nurkic (24)
Not a name that would jump out at you but I wouldn't mind us taking a look at Treveon Graham, formerly of the Hornets. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/grahatr01.html He's a pretty solid defender and he shot a bit better % from 3 than Trevor. Not saying that will hold up as he was only at 1.5 attempts attempts per game with only playing 16 minutes per game through 63 games. Trevor shot 7 attempts per game by comparison. But he would be a good start to build back up our wing depth.
I'm just going to throw this out there: 1 year $15 million is a lot of money, but it's not crippling, especially for a starter. If Morey and the team thought Ariza was vital to our success next year or irreplaceable I struggle to believe they couldn't have offered that or some sort of deal that would have satisfied Ariza. I know the luxury tax implications, but quite honestly if we are at the point already where we can't have a starting wing at $15 million then we need to give up as fans and the Rockets are wasting time. The luxury tax sucks and it's especially frustrating as @J.R. pointed out that we had one great season and we are already old, locked into a roster and facing luxury tax. However, Tilman has said he would pay the luxury tax and that he wants to win a title. If we really let Ariza go simply because we didn't want to pay tax on him then I'll lose faith that this team can compete for a title again. Alternatively, perhaps Morey does have plans to replace Ariza and thinks the team can be better.
Not sure about Graham really but the small sample size makes it impossible to evaluate percentages. He'd be a case where the stats can't tell you enough probably, would need to really deep dive.
Which was exactly why I laid out the parameters behind his numbers. Again this is just for wing depth improvement... not to throw him into our starting 5 and replace Ariza's production or minutes. Kevon Looney could be another option... but he'll most likely attract better offers from other teams.
EXACTLY! this is what I was saying. It is possible that the Rockets reviewed their season and playoffs, saw things that worked and didn't work and saw a path forward that could be better. So, I am willing to sit back and wait and see what Morey does. And we might not see the full genesis of it all until the team is ON THE COURT in October.
Trez is restricted and apparently West likes him (Morey liked him too fwiw), unless you'll somehow overpay i don't think you have a chance to get him.
I like James Ennis, but not as a starter or for using part of MLE. Seems like a good 4 in our system.
