Yet another Kevin Love hand injury could create an opportunity (UPDATE: Love re-fractures hand)

Smith is not a good defender. Yes he blocks shots, but lacks fundamentals and is a poor offensive player. Further, he will probably age poorly.

They would want Asik to replace Pek (his deal is up soon) or to trade to a third team.

Love is waaaay better than Smith at basketball and his game will probably age well. However, Minnesota is not going to deal him to Houston. Adelman would **** the bed if Morey got Love. Further, with Kahn you never know howhe values other players. Parsons, Asik, Patterson and a #1 may seem like a great offer, but with Kahn he may prefer another package.

 

Sure it would. However, I believe Love's offense and rebounding more then make up for his defense. Compare their stats over the last few years, Smith isnt on the same planet as Love in terms of scoring or rebounding.

And scoring or rebounding may not be our weakness, but im a firm believer in covering your weaknesses by excelling above and beyond in your strenghts.

 

Did I say Love is a better defender than Love?

The difference is that Love is an elite rebounder, can score in the paint, from outside, run the floor, space the floor and scored 25 points a game.....

Smith? Well he blocks shots when he isnt out of positions or leaving the land open.

 

Yeah I think the idea of getting smith and using him as a possible centerpiece in a trade down the road for someone on Kevin Love's level is a pretty good idea. Especially if getting him wouldn't break up a core with pretty good chemistry and lots of upside. I mean, lets face it, we still don't know where Parson's ceiling is, we don't know what Asik will ultimately end up as. They've both shown flashes of dominance. Smith may not be everything we always wanted and more, but he's a proven commodity in his prime and could bolster us defensively. If given the choice I would take Love over him every day of the week. But the thought of parting with parsons, asik, and young talent to get him seems a little much considering he may become a free agent in the next two years. Getting Smith would only make this a more attractive destination for stars in free-agency, and make us one of the best trade partners in pro-basketball. Also, I still contend that Love won't become available for trade anytime in the near future.

 

Lets look closer at Josh Smith.

He scores 17 points a game........ on 16 shots...... very poor.

He is a 54% free throw shooter..... so he cannot be involved in offensive sets at the end of the game.

He gets 8 rebounds a game...... mediocre for a PF.... essentially the same rate Luis Scola had on the Rockets.

He does get a fair number of blocks and steals...... but he gambles and is a poor defender....

 

That might have been the case in previous seasons, but last season and this season, Horford/Smith have been a great defensive tandem, putting the Hawks rank 7th in defense. Smith's help defense is much improved and his shot-blocking ability shouldn't be discounted.

Agreed that Love is much better than Smith, but giving up Asik would absolutely destroy our half-court defense to a degree where Love + random center would be maddeningly ineffective at protecting the paint. Love would be amazing but as you say there's little likelihood of getting him via trade. Out of those available, Smith is the best option.

 

Now appears to be the time to strike, it seems like Love has had a streak of bad luck and hasn't really earned the "injury-prone" label that he's getting. Dude is a legit Top 10 player and he's still young. If the Rockets can find a way to pair him with Harden I think they've got to do it, even if it means taking away the cap flexibility that Morey so loves.

I think the Rockets have the pieces to make it happen and should pull the trigger on a deal like this:

Rockets get:

Kevin Love
Kirilenko

Timberwolves get:

Asik
Delfino
Patterson
Douglas
Morris
1st available 1st round pick

The Timberwolves get a solid center and get out from under AKs contract, two young players who can contribute & grow, 2 veterans with potentially expiring contracts (Delfino's 2nd year is a team option) and a pick.

They'll have $5 million extra to spend next year if they don't pick up Delfino, in addition to Pekovic's expiring $5 million and the money they save from this deal should allow them to be big players in free agency.

The Rockets get a legit superstar to pair with Harden & Lin and take a flyer on AK in the hope he can revive his career in Houston.

The Rockets next year would look like this

Love/Smith
T.Jones/Motiejunas
Parsons/AK
Harden/Anderson
Lin/Machado

This lineup would leave the Rockets with some flexibility at the 3/4 with Parsons and AK both able to contribute. Sign a backup for the guard spot and another big man for depth and the Rockets are in a good position to compete.

 

I really don't think Love is available yet. There's still a lot of time on his contract. No need for the T-Wolves to make a move on him right now. They'll try to work things out before trading him. Plenty of time left on the contract. Why make a decision on an asset when you don't need to? No risk of losing Love when you still hold so much time remaining on his contract. A lot can change between now and when the contract expires and forces a decision.

 

Not sure he is as big a gambler as you make out. Moreover, he does have the highest +/-'s of anyone on his team, by a fairly meaningful margin, too.

http://www.82games.com/1213/1213ATL.HTM

Moreover, next to Asik, even with some gambling, it could work. It would all play into the Rockets current "culture"... fast paced, gambling defense, lots of steals and blocks.

Not sure how well that works in the playoffs, but it could get you a 3-6 seed consistently and then who knows.

 

Not sure why the TWolves do this. AK is not a bad contract. Asik is akin to Pekovic... only difference being Asik may ultimately be cheaper since his improved play came after signing his contract. Everything else sucks.

The Wolves will get better offers if they shop him

 

Love and Asik on the same floor.. the other team would never get a rebound. I don't like Love though personally.. esp after his attitude after he stepped on Scola's head.

 

Add some pressure and traps and that's basically Miami Heat play style.

 

offering Parsons, Asik, Patterson and a #1 for love, are you nut? you are offering $1 for something that is worth 50c

 

Great idea - - Minny has all the extra roster slots, a need for a 5th 1, and just maybe would get better offers from two dozen or so teams, including Houston.

Minny is not selling low; Rox do not match up well as trade partners.

And Josh Smith? Anyone check Hawks' cap holds for next summer? He is not going anywhere. And not coming here? Good.

 

Hadn't thought about that. It's true, but then the Heat are much better defensively on the perimeter. Lebron and Wade are excellent perimeter defenders. When they do gamble, if they have to quickly correct for it, they can.

But the Rockets would have a more effective frontcourt version at the 4/5 defensively, and Parsons is no slouch.

That's why I said, it'd be an extremely fun team to watch that could be very effective. If you think the current Rockets squad could already finish anywhere form 6-8 seed, simply add Josh Smith and hope Greg Smith/DMo/Terrence Jones progress, then you clearly are moving up... like I said, 3-6

But still, at the top, your still short on firepower:

Westbrook > Lin
Durant > Harden
Ibaka > Josh Smith

I can be generous and say Harden >= Westbrook (though not comparable positions), but you're still short, and have a weaker bench. At best, you have the 2nd best player on the court, and then the 5th best player. The Thunder still have the best player and the 3rd and 4th best players.

Whereas, even if you lose Asik AND Parsons, with Love, I could argue:

Harden >= Westbrook
Durant >>>> Lin
Love > Ibaka

You wouldn't have the best player on the court, but you'd have the 2nd and 3rd best.

 

I agree with both ends to be honest.

A balanced team could get you a ring also, see the Pistons.

Honestly, I'd be really thrilled to get Love. That is the second superstar we are looking for. Not to mention, Morey is great at acquiring great role players through the draft and free agency. Who would have thought Delfino would be this important to the team?

On the other hand, I'd also be happy with Josh Smith. A front court of Asik, Smith, and Parsons sound very sound. And I could see us try to go to the Pistons route except we actually have a superstar in Harden.

Either way, Morey set us up nicely for the future IMO.

 

This is not the low point in Love's trade value, despite the injuries. The low point will come as he nears free agency and starts threatening to only sign extensions with certain teams. Minnesota will lose leverage and only a few teams will be in the bidding war. I hope we are one of them.

 

Getting Love would be outstanding, if he's healthy, but I'm another guy who doesn't see Minnie doing it. Not now, anyway. And if we did somehow manage to get Love, I would want to keep Asik. Love, Asik, and Harden are a contending team, IMO. Morey has shown that he can fill in the missing pieces. I just don't see it happening, despite Love clearly being unhappy there, and the fans in the Frozen North possibly getting ticked off at the guy. Of course, I would never have guessed that we'd get James Harden, either.

 

I would never trade Osik for LOVE, he's too important for the defense of this team. Without Osik, i envision this team to be very weak and give up a lot of points inside.

 

This.

I'm still not convinced Love is a superstar. And you're telling me giving up a legit 7 foot shot-altering, rebounding machine center (how many of those are in the league exactly) AND a 24 year old top-10 SF is better than getting a huge defensive upgrade in the PF position straight up?