92 replies to this topic

[jorgeaam]

Well, I'm pretty sure that everyone in here knows about the Rockets failed efforts to pursue a FA this season (except  for Ariza), so I'll skip that part and just go ahead with my post:

 

Of the few players left in FA, the only "quality" players (which will help the team in some way)  which are left are:

 

Eric Bledsoe 

Greg Monroe 

Ray Allen

Shawn Marion 

Emeka Okafor 

Andray Blatche 

Jameer Nelson 

Aaron Brooks 

Jimmer Freddette

 

Of the group, only Bledsoe and Monroe are restricted free agents, and considering the Suns have all the cap space and willingness to match offers for Bledsoe, Allen's pondering retirement or signing with the Cavs, and my thinking that Aaron Brooks will have some respect for himself and not sign again with the team that traded him last season, the remaining players we could have are:

 

Monroe, Marion, Okafor, Blatche, Nelson, Freddette.

 

Of the above only Monroe figures to be a starter, and we have the salary cap to get him at $15 million (which might be overpaying a little bit for him, but that was what Parsons contract is worth). I think that with SVG running the show at Detroit and having Drummond and J. Smith already in the team they would find it hard to match an offer that high for him (Even though SVG has said Monroe is their priority).

 

But problem is Monroe isn't by any means a stretch-4, he's more of a traditional PF who'll get his points from midrange shots and post ups, so I'm not sure he'll be a great fit in the Rockets system, but he would anyways be an upgrade over Jones.

 

Okafor would be the perfect backup center now that Asik is gone, he's actually a guy who's career per 36 min are 14 and 11, and he would probably come at a cheap price given he spent all of last season recovering from a back injury.

 

Marion is a great defender even though he's 36 years old already, but I think that our chances of getting him are low as he wants to go play for a title right now.

 

Blatche and Nelson would just be nice role players to fortify our bench. I like Freddette because he is a great spot up shooter and would be a great option for Harden to kick out to. But he's undersized and a nightmare defensively, still he would probably come pretty cheap and provide some quality minutes off the bench.

 

[rockets best fan]

not one person on that list interest me outside of Bledsoe. the rest except Monroe are scrubs

[Cooper]

If we had gotten bosh, I would be all in for adding vets like Allen, matrix, okafor, Nelson etc. But now not sure I'd rather see some of the young guys we have or how much they'd want to come anyways.

[thejohnnygold]

Given that we just inked Dorsey and Adrien I don't see us going for Okafor.  If Marion wants to be a bench guy who can fill in as a starter in case Ariza goes down I am ok with that....otherwise, I like our youth.  Of course, that is if Kostas isn't coming--which all accounts point to him being on the roster.

 

It looks like the Rockets are forgoing size for speed and athleticism at the center position.  I'm excited about Dorsey....loved the pick back in the day....hopefully he has returned to the guy he was in college.

[Steven]

The Rockets aren't going to sign anyone else for more then the MLE. They did a three team sign and trade for Ariza, to stay over the cap so that they could keep the MLE.

@JG I hated the Dorsey pick, wanted them to bring back to Houston DeAndre Jordan.

Edited by Steven, 17 July 2014 - 02:57 AM.

[thejohnnygold]

That's right...I forgot that was the Nic Batum trade as well.  We drafted Batum and swapped him for Dorsey....so much hindsight it hurts.

[rocketrick]

The Rockets definitely need to bring in a veteran PG in my opinion. Just not much to pick from in free agency. Perhaps Morey and the Rockets have their eyes on another 3rd string PG like a Kyle Lowry was back in the day on another team. Too bad we still don't have Skip to my Lou to offer back.............

[Dayak]

Any chance to get Dragic back to Houston?

[rocketrick]

Any chance to get Dragic back to Houston?

I sort of expect the Suns will eventually make him available by the Trade Deadline. Dragic is a very good player but I don't think he fits with the Rockets vision of our Big 3 to add to D12 and Harden. Rather they are probably looking at Rondo, Kevin Love, Paul Milsap, those type of players, as our 3rd and final missing piece of the Big 3.

Dragic will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the upcoming season and he'll probably be in the $10+ million per season price range, more than the Rockets can afford.

Edited by rocketrick, 17 July 2014 - 06:51 AM.

[slick shoes]

Given that we just inked Dorsey and Adrien I don't see us going for Okafor.  If Marion wants to be a bench guy who can fill in as a starter in case Ariza goes down I am ok with that....otherwise, I like our youth.  Of course, that is if Kostas isn't coming--which all accounts point to him being on the roster.

 

It looks like the Rockets are forgoing size for speed and athleticism at the center position.  I'm excited about Dorsey....loved the pick back in the day....hopefully he has returned to the guy he was in college.

 

Kostas Papanikolaou (I had to look up the spelling) will not be joining the squad this season apparently. Word on the street is there are complications regarding his potential contract.

[thejohnnygold]

Kostas Papanikolaou (I had to look up the spelling) will not be joining the squad this season apparently. Word on the street is there are complications regarding his potential contract.

 

Yeah, I saw that this morning.  Too bad.

[timetodienow1234567]

That's not a great contract for someone in his situation.

1) it's not a huge raise.
2) his buyout was 1.1 million euros so that deal was pretty crappy.

He will probably wait a few years to when the rookie contract no longer applies and he's no longer under contract by FC Barcelona.

[rocketrick]

That's not a great contract for someone in his situation.

1) it's not a huge raise.
2) his buyout was 1.1 million euros so that deal was pretty crappy.

He will probably wait a few years to when the rookie contract no longer applies and he's no longer under contract by FC Barcelona.

According to ESPN Insider, Papanikolaou's contract buyout for this season is $1.5 million, of which the Rockets could contribute the maximum of $600,000 without it counting against the cap as a signing bonus.

Further, ESPN Insider reported that the contract buyout for next season is significantly less (no figures quoted) and that Papanilolaou would probably stay overseas just 1 more year (this season) before being signed by the Rockets.

Edited by rocketrick, 17 July 2014 - 03:46 PM.

[rockets best fan]

he's still trade bait though

[YaoMan]

Andray Blatche wouldn't be bad to add size in the frontcourt for backing up D Howard if the Rockets can get him cheaply. 10.5pts, 49%fg, 5rebs. and .6 blocks (avg the past 2 seasons) off the bench in 20 minutes of action is actually quality role production.

[Cooper]

Blatche is still looking for pretty big money.

[rockets best fan]

@Cooper

true very true, but if he gets down to a reasonable price I would take a flyer

[YaoMan]

@Cooper

true very true, but if he gets down to a reasonable price I would take a flyer

Definitely. He's no where near the offensive liability that Asik was and his defense, while not as good as Asik, isn't bad...

[bernardo]

Boozer aparentely wanted to play with us but the lakers won the amnesty auction. Poor boozer. Ish smith inked in a 1 year deal, can he be our backup PG? Don't remember what he did last year with phoenix.

[rockets best fan]

@bernardo

WELCOME TO THE FORUM  I watched Ish Smith last year. he has improved since the  last time he was here. he's a decent floor general and his shot started to come around. he is a quality backup. while not flashy he is consistent