Lillard may very well be worth it, too. I see Lillard as Aaron Brooks WITH SOME SIZE. Imagine if Brooks was 3 inches taller with a stronger build. Lillard's not a "big" PG by NBA standards, but he's got the size to succeed at the next level. If the Rockets are truly entertaining trading Lowry, then I'd be willing to trade up to take Lillard. Especially after that workout yesterday, there is no way Lillard falls to #14.
You consider Lee and K-Mart a good 2 spot? Parsons+Bud a good 3? We will probably only have Dragic OR Lowry next season with no great backup. At 4 we have "Mr. no D and athleticsm" Scola, a disappointing Pat and Morris, who showed nothing. We'll get Moti next season, but no one knows if he'll pan out good in his first year with the team. I see holes everywhere in this roster.
Your point is well taken, if not agreed with totally. Get a BigDog to lead and a coach to put the pieces in the right places and this roster is fine. Get a second Big Dog and the roster becomes profound. You just cannot shop for the BigDogs at the Rescues...
I believe that you are using the word "hole" when you actually mean "no near all star performer". Holes are what teams like the Bobcats have. Not having either Dragic or Lowry next year means you start a near all star PG and you have to find a serviceable backup. Why would you ever consider that a hole is totally beyond me. Parsons and Bud mean that you have an almost elite level wing defender who can contribute in a variety of ways, backed up by a tall spot up 3 point shooter. Together the make about 2 million next year. That is not a hole. It is a luxury. I could continue but every "hole" you see is filled by quality NBA starters. I will admit that the center position does need work, but Camby/Dally worked satisfactorily last year. So tell me WTF is up with that?
If you think having a 9th or 8th seed roster is okay then there's no need to argue with you. If you think having Bud is a luxury...okay. He's a spot up shooter that has a bad 3pt%, is one-dimensional, can't handle the ball and plays no defense. I never heard that you have a great position just because the players there only make 2mil together. If that's your definition of greatness then I don't know what to say. I also don't see your "quality starter" at PF, tell me if it's Scola or Pat because then I have to burst out into laughter. You didn't even talk about the SG spot, know that I was right or delusional and think K-Mart and Lee are contender material? This roster is not capable of winning anything, that's why I'm talking about holes. Tell me how you contend for a conference or NBA title when you start K-Mart/Lee, Scola and Camby/Dalembert. You obviously found a winning formula, otherwise you wouldn't have replied to me in such an arrogant tone. And get out with the aggressive "WTF", this is not the way to address to anyone.
You are completely missing the point or have a very different definition of a "hole" (as JTR said). Yes this roster isn't a contender and yes this roster is a 8-9 seed (I'd argue 7-9). But this roster is so deep and flexible (cap wise) that we can afford to make big deals for one or more of those upper echelon players (Howard, DWill and then Josh Smith, Gasol etc.) or use it on a higher draft pick. We can sign 2 max players and still not become a team riddled with bad contracts and/or spare parts. Ah you must be confusing Scola the Center with Scola the PF. First of all, Lee played on a contender and was given heavy minutes under Stan Van Gundy for christ sakes. Secondly, dude, basketball isn't played in a vacuum. I'm pretty sure the Bulls would have loved to have Martin, even before Rose going down. And I'm pretty sure the Bulls would do their best to minimize Martin's lack of D through matchup and defensive schemes, since bball isn't played in a vacuum... I'm pretty sure you aren't understanding the discussion, as no one is suggesting this roster is a contender but we have deep roster with many options going forward.
Thank you for saving me the effort. You cannot have a star at every position. Average and above average NBA starting players are going to fill 6 or more roster spots on a well constructed NBA contender. But I will apologize for the WTF.
1. Your cap space point is completely useless, no max player or star will sign with this team. You are delusional if you think we can sign Dwight or Deron. Signing Smith won't improve us to a point of contending. 2. Scola is a natural PF and had to play C because we used a small line-up or had no other choice. He wouldn't play as C with any serious NBA team, he gets eaten by opposing bigs. 3. I don't get the vacuum point, K-Mart is still as one-dimensional as it gets, he will always hurt your team on D, team passing. When he has off nights where his shots don't fall he's a useless scrub. 4. Lee played heavy minutes for a contender because their roster wasn't deep and they had no real alternatives. We also saw how it turned out. 5. I understand the discussion, what you don't see is that all our cap space is useless and we are not going forward if front office don't change it's mentality. We are "fake" deep, guys like Bud, Pat, Scola are not what we want in the future if they don't improve dramatically. Thank you.
Please see my above comment. The one where I apologized for the WTF. Cap space is incredibly important in the NBA, more so than ever before. I really believe that the Rockets have a great shot at TRADING for 2 great pieces- Josh Smith and Gasol. A large part of that is being able to offer relief. The Lakers, as currently construction, are in real danger of having an $80 million luxury tax bill in the very near future. This coming season Atlanta has just 6 players signed for $61 million. The NBA is a business for many owners. I don't believe that any of them (maybe barring Allen) are willing to take a $50 to $100 million dollar loss in a single season. And of course, the cap, excess of quality players, and draft picks could be used to add draft choices or move up in this years draft.
I get what you are saying but Bud did shoot 40.2% while attempting almost four 3's a game (3.8 attempts). I wouldn't call that bad at all.
He only played 58 games so I don't know if it's a sign for the future yet. Last season he played 78 games and shot 32.5%, the season before 36.9%(not bad, but not great if you're supposed to be the 3pt specialist).
Yung-T, I'm sorry for being abrasive but that's the mood I am today, I think the cause of your all or nothing problem would be that you are playing too much 2k12 if you are going to continue to talk like that, nobody has a team full of all-stars which is the point you seem to be missing. This team is one star away from the second round, two away from serious contention. -Scola is an above average PF. -Martin is an above average SG (If he recovers from his down year) -Cap-space flexibility goes well beyond signing free agents. -Bud is more than a one dimensional (he can get to the rim and finish respectably) mediocre shooter (he is inconsistent but not mediocre) and bad defender (he has improved and is average at worst). Plus, shooting 37% is pretty darn good, as in fire away if you are open. Chase has the sweetest shooting form on the team, what he averaged this year should be more the norm and what he averaged his second year should be the aberration. The only hole I see in this team is the lack of a superstar. A hole is what Miami has at center, what the Lakers had at PG, etc.
Man you just don't get it. The Rockets have a lot of options going forward, even if you think they are delusional. We can sign two max players and build a big two OR sign lesser players and build a 3 OR cash in our chips and go young. Obviously all these things don't have to happen at once but over a year or two in a optimistic and slightly realistic scenario. 2. Yes. Scola isn't a C. If Scola had just played PF all year do you think he would have played the same? 3. There are certainly teams willingly to get Martin for the right price. It's obvious he had a terrible year as you go from an uber, efficient offensive year to a suck year. He's in his prime and as one dimensional as he is, he would be a great 3rd or possibly even 2nd scoring option on a playoff team. The truth in Martin's game lies somewhere between this year and last year. 4. Ok? How'd that turn out? You mean how the magic lost the game because a rookie missed an alley op? 5. What the heck do you mean by mentality? What is the FO doing if not putting the most competitive team out there it can through S&T, free agency, and draft? Just because you don't agree with Les's insistence on staying competitive while building a contender. And just because it hasn't gotten us anywhere, doesn't mean they don't have a winning mentality or any of the sort. Hopefully, they cash in their chips regardless and get us going somewhere.
a disppointing morris who never played. practice is starting to mean jack **** these days to sports fans.
