[WOJ] Rockets Pursuing Deals with Trade Exception

The Rockets can actually use Lin (and Parsons) now. Look at the last game-- Harden had to do almost all of the dribble penetration/shot creation. The rest of the perimeter guys (Beverley, Ariza, Terry, Daniels) are mostly good for spot up 3s (and the team shoots a ton of them). It was a nice comeback win, but the lack of other penetrators was hurting the team's offense, and it has been all year as McHale mentioned. We end up not getting to the rim as much (aside from Harden's late game heroics) and still turning the ball over a ton and shooting too many contested Js.

Canaan may well be able to take that secondary dribble role, but he got hurt before having really played many games. And so far in that small sample size it looks like he is mostly good for getting his own shots and not as good at creating for teammates. Seems like a natural 3 pt shooter, though.

Maybe Nick Johnson can take that role later, but he is pretty green right now.

The Lin trade may well work out despite costing a pick-- perhaps a team looking to shed salary would dump a player we need into the TPE. I am just saying that this team does need someone other than Harden to make stuff happen off the dribble.

 

One too that hasn't been mentioned is Detroit has 8.3 million in expiring's with Jerebko and Joel Anthony. That's a good way to maximize your outgoing salary you can have at the deadline, and you can get some depth in the meantime. Probably have to give them at least Troy Daniels but its depth now without losing much, and gives you a ton of flexibility at the deadline.

 

Giving away a 2nd rounder in order to use our TPE is an assumption. Yelling it doesn't make it a fact.

Secondly, are you really saying our thin, injury-depleted bench couldn't use the talents of a Wilson Chandler-type player? Would any serviceable veteran be useless player right now? Tarik Black is not a starter and Dorsey is not an NBA rotational player.

Thirdly, whomever Morey gets for the TPE (before 12/19) is REQUIRED salary for matching purposing in landing a valuable 3rd piece by the Feb deadline.

I'd say that hardly qualifies as a useless asset.

 

We aren't going to trade a 2nd for a useless player. If we are trading a 2nd, we should be getting back someone that can add value on the court (Brewer). An overpaid back of the bench guy will come for free.....perhaps even with a pick TO the rockets. Guys that fit that mold are:

1) Tayshaun Prince
2) Jason Richardson
3) Landry Fields
4) Gerald Henderson

I'd watch Toronto pretty closely. They've got several guys on expiring contracts between $5-7 million.

 

Fair enough but it's all hindsight.

With or without Lin (moreso without) the Rockets were going to be amongst the upper echelon of teams. I had them top 4 in the West which would result in a late 1st rounder.

Early 2nd rounders are worth more than late 1st rounders and Morey has mentioned as such because of a multitude of reasons mainly salary and contract flexibility.

Say we get a decent return with the TPE and there is no reason why that TPE player cannot up his trade value here and eventually we could flip him as part of a bigger deal or even for an early 2nd rounder.

 

The first round pick was worth it for the peace on clutchfans that we got in return

 

Agree with Carl. The Rockets are really fortunate to be doing what they are doing now without Parsons, Lin, and especially Asik. If you don't think all three of those players would have had use in this stretch you are kidding yourselves.

Its a bigger testament to James Harden and to a lesser extent D-Mo than anything else.

 

you guys are just nitpicking now

 

It really depends on the team you're trading with. A team like Minnesota doesn't want Lin's salary, even if it's packaged with $3 million cash to net out to $7.6 million. And remember that that $3 million is another limited asset, as we can only include that amount in trades once per year, not per each trade like in the last CBA. So if we included it with Lin in a trade at the deadline, we wouldn't be able to include any cash in trades during the offseason.

I have a feeling most of the team's were dealing with are trying to dump salary, not buy a late first round pick for $7.6 million.

 

Canaan was this good last year. All he needed was minutes to prove it. Period.

 

No it doesn't depend on what team. If we are going to pick up an expiring contract simply to make a big salary deal work down at the deadline, then the players are mostly irrelevant. Teams like Brooklyn and potentially Denver, Detroit, etc. that COULD POSSIBLY want to start over are simply looking to dump salary for whatever assets they can get back....but that doesn't include more salary back. They want expirings, players on rookie contracts, and draft picks. If Lin were here...his main value would be as a salary matching tool.

Oh.....and if we trade for a different expiring contract, somebody like Jason Richardson or Brandon Bass.....Lin has just as much on-court value to a team as those type of guys.

 

From Wikipedia

 

We don't need their Defense.

 

Not to be picky and go off topic, but I think you are misinterpreting Morey here. Morey made a comment that was speaking about THEIR situation and how having a second rounder gave them some added benefit.

What he was getting at was they were going to be needing to maximize their cap space in July and 2nd rounders don't count against the cap like 1st rounders do.

However... of course teams would much rather draft earlier rather than later. I don't think there is a GM in the world that would say I want rather have a 2nd rounder than a first rounder. Even Morey in that situation would probably have rather had a 1st rounder that he could have had more freedom to play with months before. It just so happened that in their situation there was some added benefit in drafting early in the 2nd round.

As for your second point?

If that TPE player was that valuable, they probably wouldn't be trading him to the Rockets for what Morey is going to be offering. They would probably be fielding higher offers in the first place. I wouldn't bank on that TPE player having anything in value that outweighs his value in combination with Terry as a way to shed salary as an expiring. I have to think that's Morey's mindset in getting a player with the TPE. Get a player that has value combined with Terry as a large expiring.

 

Parsons, sure. His offensive talents would be welcomed, especially after the grind we've been going through without Dwight and Jones.

Ariza is quite limited in creating offense for others, but his defense and ball instincts have been outstanding. His shot has also been iffy lately, but he's made BIG buckets in late game situations.

 

Heavens to Betsie.

Gerald Henderson has a player option for next year. We don't want Henderson unless Cody Zeller or possibly Vonleh or some other asset comes with him.

Landry Fields and Jason Richardson would be even more USELESS on this team than Lin would be.

And Tayshaun Prince??? Look he can still play. It is totally unrealistic to think that Memphis, one of our chief rivals and a team we're trying to get home court advantage over in the playoffs.....is going to hand Prince off to us for ..... nothing!


geepers

 

Richie,

Morey has announced he wants to acquire a player with the TPE. Nothing has happened. He's still looking for the best deal. But....odds are very high that Morey is going to have to give up at least a second rounder to get a deal done using the TPE.

Tell me I was wrong if it doesn't happen. The odds are 90% in my favor right now.


Let me slooooooow it down for you. USELESS was mean as on-court useless. People don't want Lin because he's USELESS to them. That's because they don't like his on-court game. Lin has the SAME VALUE as an expiring contract as JRich or other expiring contracts.

And I frankly don't believe he's useless on court myself. We could've used Lin on court when Canaan and Bev went down. We needed that second playmaker.

As for your comment about Wilson Chandler....sure he's got SOME on-court value. So what. What about for this team? Would he see major minutes? Would he beat out Kostas?? He's for sure not beating out Ariza. So that means you're playing him at the 4. Sure, he'd have some value there. But now we're nitpicking. Lin would have had value as a playmaker when Bev/Canaan went down and we're running out Terry as the playmaker with the second unit.

 

Thanks for conceding my point.

The only way to grow an asset is by proving its NBA worth (on an NBA court) for potential buyers to examine. Canaan would still be out of the rotation and stuck behind Lin/Bev if nothing was done. You can't just demand value in return because you claim "Canaan was this good last year . . . all he needs is the minutes to prove it."

Therefore, a now known undervalued, NBA asset (Canaan @ rookie scale) + TPE >>> depreciating asset (Lin) + LATE 1st RD pick (guaranteed contract).

We're talking basketball asset management here.

Not global marketing partnerships with vendors (i.e. assets) in Asia.

 

Not true. Lin played ahead of Canaan last year because they wanted to trade Lin last year. But they couldn't get it done. Obviously they found out after the season that they could trade Lin for as little as one first round pick. That means the closer to the trade deadline we get this year the easier it would have been to merge Lin's salary into a bigger deal for a high-salaried star.

But Lin as an expiring would not have been handed the backup point guard role this year. Since he was a salary dump in the off season, Morey knew there was no market for him nor would there be a market for him other than as an expiring contract.

Canaan would have most likely been given the same minutes he's received. And Lin would've played when both Bev/Canaan went down. We just wouldn't have Black on the roster. That's all.

 

Would like to point Pat Beverley's improvement at playmaking. He's really penetrating well, getting into the paint without losing the ball... He really looks like an improved offensive player overall.

Also notice that T-Jones is another guy who can put the ball on the floor from outside, Rockets are not only lacking his finishing ability but also this.

Add Kostas, add Canaan, who was playing really well, -and of course DH- and I think we could be fine. Of course it would be great to have another veteran playmaker off the bench, but that's not cheap.
Maybe we can get a big man shooter (not necessarily 3pt shooter) at a cheaper price, it would help the team's offense a lot. Staying out the paint while Howard, Dmo post up; playing pick & pop with James... it would be interesting and I think it is available (Bass).