Zach Lowe: Rockets inquired about JR Smith, also talked to the Heat

Stay classy Rockets.

 

Wow, 2 Johnsons? The Johnson jokes would be hard to take. I haven't read the rest of this thread but I assume Carl Herrera has already commented about this.

 

J.R. is the crazier version of Gerald Green.

I prefer our own CF poster @J.R., who is a robot.

 

3 Johnsons: There's also Joe Johnson

 

This is interesting. Didn't realize JR had a partial guarantee of $3.8 Mil Guarantee next year. Also, George Hill only has a $1 Mil partial guarantee next year. Could be an interesting trade partner but they have absolutely no use for Ryan Anderson. Most teams don't but Cleveland might be the worst fit of anyone especially if they are trying to cut costs.

The team that does seem to make the most since is the Miami Heat. If we are serious about adding depth then trading Anderson, Nanu, Nene, Zhou Qi (or some other players for salary matching purposes). This would lower Miami's tax bill pretty significantly I believe as they have the highest payroll in the league this year right now from what I can tell (145 Mil). Anyways, not sure it makes since for the Rockets to take on Tyler Johnson's massive contract but getting both Tyler and James Johnson for our spare parts would add a ton of much needed depth and would most likely be a talent coup for basically the spare parts on our roster. I still have faith in Nene and hope we can keep him somehow but we may need to use his salary to match in a deal like this.

 

the heat know james and tyler johnson have value on the trade market. they will shop for the best offer. i'm not sure if the rockets will have that. i'm sure ryno is not enough to get it done without adding a pick and a young player like melton. i also don't think we will be interested in taking on BOTH johnsons. we might be in talks for both in an either james OR tyler sort of discussion.

right now we are waiting for the heat to figure out what trade they will make. once that shoe falls, we can move on to option 2a and 2b, marvin williams and kent bazemore. the fit isn't as good as james johnson, but the price is sure to be lower. i think we ultimately end up with one of these guys since james johnson is a stretch with riley leading negotiations.

 

Melo and JR Smith.....No.

 

JR Smith.

Why don't we revive Royce White while we're at it?

 

Nice sneak joke, the 2nd one.

 

Not even close to the same thing.

 

Pass.

The Heat have reportedly been unable to find a trade market for Hassan Whiteside or Tyler Johnson this summer. Miami would like to get these guys off the books in order to open up cap space for free agency in 2019, but Whiteside's attitude and effort issues have diminished his value and Johnson has an unfavorable contract with roughly $38.4 million owed to him over the next two years. The Heat have also made Dion Waiters available, but his trade value isn't great either coming off two injury-riddled seasons.

 

The Heat really have some of the worst value contracts in the league. Not sure what Riley has been doing these past couple of years but some of the contracts he has given out are atrocious.

 

#striveformediocrity

Spoiler

Whiteside was visiting or maybe gonna sign with Dallas, re-signed him.

Hassan Whiteside
2018-19: $25,434,263
2019-20: $27,093,018 (Player Option)

Johnson got a huge offer from the Nets, Heat matched.

Tyler Johnson
2018-19: $19,245,370
2019-20: $19,245,370 (Player Option)

Traded two firsts for Goran, re-signed him.

Goran Dragic
2018-19: $18,109,175
2019-20: $19,217,900 (Player Option)

James Johnson
2018-19: $14,651,700
2019-20: $15,349,400
2020-21: $16,047,100 (Player Option)

Kelly Olynyk
2018-19: $12,537,527
2019-20: $13,067,885
2020-21: $13,598,243 (Player Option)

Dion Waiters
2018-19: $11,550,000
2019-20: $12,100,000
2020-21: $12,650,000

 

No to Tyler Johnson.

 

The only logic here is that Morey & Co. are now 100% confident Ryno will be unplayable this year, and they'll be seeing highly diminished returns. So getting a wing or two, even in small roles, would make sense.

JR is basically Gerald Green without repping H-Town for a living. I don't see the need for both guys on this roster, and don't want him playing any type of major role.

Johnson & Johnson would fit the mold of bench guys who can give you 5 to 10 minutes if you need them to, but aren't moving the needle.

Bazemore makes the most sense as an actual rotation wing who can play the LMM minutes.

If the Rockets are serious about making these types of deals that means to me that Ryno is now considered unplayable which is a shame. True stretch 4's used to have some value around the league, now they don't mean anything around the league because you can just play a wing at the 4, and have better defense.

 

I guess we could refer to one as Big Johnson and the other as Little Johnson to clear up an confusion.

 

Anything but JR Smith

 

pun intended?

 

I will riot in the streets outside of Daryl Morey's house if he signs JR Smith

 

Indeed, seen too many CH posts.