As a follow-up to my post about replacing Jones I wanted to bring this to the discussion. I used Earl Clark as an example of a player who is available as a possible cheap replacement. I just ran across this snippet from Rotoworld.com:
The Nets will waive Earl Clark.
He wants to pursue a deal overseas and the Nets will accommodate him. Clark was at Summer League with the Nets and wasn't impressive even against the inferior talent, so he wouldn't have made a big impact anyway. Aug 3 - 9:08 PM
Perhaps I should choose better when I pick a player to replace Jones.
According to RealGM, there are some players out there I think qualify for this hypothetical: Jeff Adrien and Jason Maxiell (who may play in China this season). Both are under-sized, but we know what they bring to the table.
I don't want people to think I dislike Jones--that is not true at all. I think he is awesome. I believe he has a slight mental problem in that his mind thinks he is a finesse player when he should be focused on using that big body of his to destroy people. (I've made this assertion before comparing him to UT's Henry Melton a 6'4"/280 running back who wanted to run like Barry Sanders instead of Earl Campbell). Can he figure it out? I don't know. It's my biggest concern with him, and I (like many others) truly believe Chuck Hayes was brought in to fix him. If Chuck can't do it then I think Morey will not make a substantial offer for him nor fight for him if another team does.
If Chuck does fix him then this conversation changes. Does anyone remember Eddie Jones? You should. He played from '94-'08 and could be seen doing things like this in just about every game:
(...wait for it....)
...and in his better games you would see this...
Now, Jones was a 6'6" SG/SF. My comparison is that our Jones can be the same kind of player for us. Eddie played best when surrounded by talent that he could feed off of and complimented them well. He played strong, athletic defense and on offense he was able to attack defenses when they were pre-occupied with other guys and knock down outside shots when needed....and dunks....lots and lots of dunks.
Eddies Jones was never a "star" player. Yet, he was a great player. He did play in 3 all-star games over his career ('97, '98, '00). He was crucial to his team's success. Terrence can be that guy for us at the PF position. Draymond Green (sorry, but it fits) is that guy for GS.
Unfortunately, right now Terrence is not that player. He's close. Really close. If he can get that little bit better on offense (which I think he can and will) and figure out how to use his obviously strong lower body on defense (Come on, Chuckwagon...) and do it consistently then Jones would be worth every bit of $15M per year.
Consistency and defense--two things that come with experience. Terrence Jones has played 128 NBA (regular season) games in 3 years for a total of 3243 minutes (James Harden played 2981 last season). So, in reality, Jones has just over 1 season's worth of NBA game experience. I have to remind myself of this when judging his progress. He suffers from "rookie" stuff. Up to now, that is pretty much what he has been--a rookie.
Terrence Jones may very well break out this season and unleash a flurry of awesome that makes reporters and bandwagon fans forget all about the likes of Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, and every other NBA flavor of the month. I would like nothing better.
Having said all of that, it still comes down to economics: supply and demand. Motiejunas is a rare commodity and if he can improve a little on both ends of the floor (as he should) he'll be a top 5 player at his position. Read that again. A top 5 PF in a league saturated with top-flight PF's.
I'm serious. You're talking Davis, Aldridge, Griffin, Cousins, and....who? Kevin Love? No thanks. I'll take D-Mo. Paul Millsap? No thanks. Nene, Favors, Ibaka, Nowitzki, Randolph, Fareid, Duncan, Garnett, Bosh, and whoever else you can think of. All of these guys lack something: youth, size, defense, offense...something. D-Mo has it all and is getting better. Obviously, prime Bosh or Dirk or Garnett, etc. trump this, but that's not the case. Over the next 4-5 years, D-Mo (assuming health and marginal improvement) will be a dominant PF in this league. If Houston won't let him blossom here playing with Harden and Co. he will go elsewhere. He's too good.
I imagine I sound delusional to a lot of you (all of you?). The reality is Terrence Jones, even at his peak, would not qualify as a top 5 PF because he is a peripheral player. He has to be surrounded by talent to thrive. It's just who he is. Motiejunas will be good enough to be a #1 option for a playoff caliber team. That's who he is.
Jones is a great role player to have. D-Mo is no role player. I believe this season will bear that out. Each will do very well, and it will become obvious who they are as players.
This is the future of Rockets basketball.
If Thompson received $19M/yr he would become the 13th highest paid player in the league ahead of Blake Griffin, Westbrook, Wall, George, Cousins, Harden, etc. This has to be a joke, right?
