98 replies to this topic

[Mason Khamvilay]

The Houston Rockets continue to plan for an offseason in which they will
pursue a prominent free agent big man.

 

Sources say the Rockets' preference is to sign Dwight Howard, but will pursue
Andrew Bynum and Josh Smith as alternatives.

 

The Rockets have publicly acknowledged that they need a second star to pair
with James Harden.

 

Via Marc Stein/ESPN

 

Yeah, if we get Bynum we definately need to keep Asik lol

[Steven]

File this report under DUHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

[blakecouey]

Wow this is certainly breaking news.  

[Jason]

Why would we want Bynum?! The dude has two busted knees!

[Steven]

On a one year team options based deal, Bynum would be a good deal. Risk/reward is worth it.

[Jason]

On a one year team options based deal, Bynum would be a good deal. Risk/reward is worth it.

He has been injured his entire career! Thanks, but no thanks! Give me J smooth and let's run teams out of the gym!

[Mason Khamvilay]

Will JSmooth's iffy floor spacing be an issue in the half-court though?

[phaketrash]

Will JSmooth's iffy floor spacing be an issue in the half-court though?

 

We'd have him spend practice time practicing nothing by 3's and forego midrange jump shots (really, just won't park him around there as often...he wouldn't have the ball in his hands that much either). Also, we could easily have a lineup of Lin/Harden/Smith/DMo/Asik on the floor, with Parsons coming off the bench. That'd give us decently good floor spacing and take advantage of certain matchups, i.e., draw that 4 out to the perimeter for DMo while Smith is in the low block.

[Mason Khamvilay]

We'd have him spend practice time practicing nothing by 3's and forego midrange jump shots (really, just won't park him around there as often...he wouldn't have the ball in his hands that much either). Also, we could easily have a lineup of Lin/Harden/Smith/DMo/Asik on the floor, with Parsons coming off the bench. That'd give us decently good floor spacing and take advantage of certain matchups, i.e., draw that 4 out to the perimeter for DMo while Smith is in the low block.

Considering how we have so much young talent at the 4 spot already, including Terrence Jones who has the potential to develop into a better version of Josh Smith, I just can't help but wonder if signing JSmooth (to what will probably be at least 12m per year) would be a smart move to make - it just doesn't seem efficient.

[phaketrash]

Considering how we have so much young talent at the 4 spot already, including Terrence Jones who has the potential to develop into a better version of Josh Smith, I just can't help but wonder if signing JSmooth (to what will probably be at least 12m per year) would be a smart move to make - it just doesn't seem efficient.

 

I get ya, but then I have to ask, what would be an efficient move in your opinion? I think it is too much of a gamble to throw away $20M that could get you a good player now in the hopes that our young prospects develop into a good player. Getting the former does not entirely exclude the latter (and hedges our bets/risks), while the latter inevitably wastes the cap :X

[timetodienow1234567]

But how bad is Terrence Jones that he can't get any playing time over Patterson/DMo/TRob/Smith/Delfino/Parsons. All of those guys have more minutes at the 4. I've watched a few d-league games off the internet and have like what I've seen, but I'm worried that maybe I'm overestimating how good he can be.

[thejohnnygold]

I'm all for the development of our young players, but they are still far off from Josh Smith's level...they will be better next year, but still not as good as Smith.  remember, at least on this board, most of us prefer a 1 year test-drive contract for Smith.  That won't hurt our guys' development very much.

[Mason Khamvilay]

I get ya, but then I have to ask, what would be an efficient move in your opinion? I think it is too much of a gamble to throw away $20M that could get you a good player now in the hopes that our young prospects develop into a good player. Getting the former does not entirely exclude the latter (and hedges our bets/risks), while the latter inevitably wastes the cap :X

 

Well, for starters I think we should upgrade Delfino because even though he's having one of his best seasons in a while it could be a fluke, and at 30 years old it's unlikely he will be getting any better. I like JJ Reddick or Corey Brewer coming off the bench for us at the 2 and 3 (8m per year sounds about right).

 

At the 4 spot signing JSmooth to a 4year/48m contract (which is likely to be the minimum of how much he will go for) is a hefty price for someone who won't space the floor very well for us, I don't see him fitting in with our offense as well as people think.

 

I think we might be able to sign David West to a much cheaper contract (maybe 8m per year), he spaces the floor and runs extremely hard making him a clear fit in our offense ( shoots 47% from 16-23 feet, so even though the Rockets don't like taking many shots in that range guys like West should be the exception). According to 82games.com his impact on both ends of the floor is suprisingly huge http://www.82games.c...IND11.HTM#onoff

 

At the back-up guard spot we could really use the savvy smarts of an experienced leader like Billups for a measley 2m. I think the intangibles he brings will be invaluable to the development of Lin, Beverley and even a superstar like James Harden who has had some issues with taking care of the ball.

 

Also, it wouldn't hurt to get a better back-up center. The fact we're #1 in half-court defense when Asik is on the floor, and last when he's off the floor clearly speaks for itself. I suggest Darko Milicic who's one of the underrated defenders in this league, he shouldn't cost us more than 1-2m.

 

As you can see, all these guys I mentioned are free agents this summer http://www.hoopsworl...ba-free-agents/

[phaketrash]

Well, for starters I think we should upgrade Delfino because even though he's having one of his best seasons in a while it could be a fluke, and at 30 years old it's unlikely he will be getting any better. I like JJ Reddick or Corey Brewer coming off the bench for us at the 2 and 3 (8m per year sounds about right).

 

At the 4 spot signing JSmooth to a 4year/48m contract (which is likely to be the minimum of how much he will go for) is a hefty price for someone who won't space the floor very well for us, I don't see him fitting in with our offense as well as people think.

 

I think we might be able to sign David West to a much cheaper contract (maybe 8m per year), the fact he spaces the floor  and runs the floor extremely hard making him a clear fit in our offense ( shoots 47% from 16-23 feet, so even though the Rockets don't like taking many shots in that range guys like West should be the exception). According to 82games.com his impact on both ends of the floor is suprisingly huge http://www.82games.c...IND11.HTM#onoff

 

At the back-up guard spot we could really use the savvy smarts of an experienced leader like Billups for a measley 2m. I think the intangibles he brings will be invaluable to the development of Lin, Beverley and even a superstar like James Harden who has had some issues with taking care of the ball.

 

Also, it wouldn't hurt to get a better back-up center. The fact we're #1 in half-court defense when Asik is on the floor, and last when he's off the floor clearly speaks for itself. I suggest Darko Milicic who's one of the underrated defenders in this league, he shouldn't cost us more than 1-2m.

 

As you can see, all these guys I mentioned are free agents this summer http://www.hoopsworl...ba-free-agents/

 

I would love JJ Redick for our team, but I don't know if I'd pay him $5-6M more when we have Delfino. Yes, he's an upgrade over Delfino, but a $6M upgrade? Maybe...

 

If JSmoove will agree to a ~$50M/4 yr deal, I'd like to think it would be a good move. He doesn't space the floor super well, but I'm not sure we need any more floor spacing. Our offense really isn't the problem lol. JSmoove shores up our defense a lot. We'd also be able to put him on there with a backup C and not see our defense plummet to #29 as it does now w/ Asik on the bench. Also, Smith can RUN. He can impact both ends of the floor as well. He would be great on the break with this team and I think fits into our offensive system seamlessly. Of course, the main reason I would get Smith is for his defensive prowess -- his offense is a plus and another option in the paint that has to be respected by opponents (unless he drifts to midrange ). Someone who fits into our offense easily, synergizes with our team most likely, can be enough of an offense threat that you can't just leave him open in the paint, AND shores up our defensive liabilities/makes Asik sitting more valid? I'd definitely consider that.

 

David West probably would not agree to a short term deal though right? I'd imagine he'd be wary, at his age, of signing a 1 yr deal, even if there is a team option to it for yr 2. If he eats up $8M a yr for multiple years...I mean, not sure why I'd want someone that much older on the books for that long for that amount. In that case, I really would rather have our young prospects have the minutes. If you think West's running makes him fit in our offense, whew, JSmoove will put him to shame We gain some floor spacing w/ West, sure, but he's just too old for what he'd want...and again, I really don't think we need more floor spacing on our team. Our offense is not the biggest concern.

 

I'd love to get Billups for $2M, but I don't think that'll happen. Remember he was contemplating retiring 2 yrs ago? I don't see him leaving LAC. He either retires or stays at LAC for another yr then retires.

 

Backup center is a crucial signing I expect to see from Morey -- maybe someone good on defense. Getting JSmoove makes this slightly less of a priority, or rather, the defensive prowess of the backup 5 drops a bit. Wonder if DMo could run that spot w/ JSmoove at the 4? More likely TRob and JSmoove, w/ Lin or Harden running the point alongside Delfino and Parsons, to maximize floor spacing still. Hmm, just throwing things out there.

[Mason Khamvilay]

Our offense isn't a problem because we have floor spacing, Harden loves to kick it out to the corner when the defenses collapse on him in the paint. With JSmooth being that guy in the corner, I don't think defenses will be very honest.

[rockets best fan]

Well, for starters I think we should upgrade Delfino because even though he's having one of his best seasons in a while it could be a fluke, and at 30 years old it's unlikely he will be getting any better. I like JJ Reddick or Corey Brewer coming off the bench for us at the 2 and 3 (8m per year sounds about right).

 

At the 4 spot signing JSmooth to a 4year/48m contract (which is likely to be the minimum of how much he will go for) is a hefty price for someone who won't space the floor very well for us, I don't see him fitting in with our offense as well as people think.

 

I think we might be able to sign David West to a much cheaper contract (maybe 8m per year), he spaces the floor and runs extremely hard making him a clear fit in our offense ( shoots 47% from 16-23 feet, so even though the Rockets don't like taking many shots in that range guys like West should be the exception). According to 82games.com his impact on both ends of the floor is suprisingly huge http://www.82games.c...IND11.HTM#onoff

 

At the back-up guard spot we could really use the savvy smarts of an experienced leader like Billups for a measley 2m. I think the intangibles he brings will be invaluable to the development of Lin, Beverley and even a superstar like James Harden who has had some issues with taking care of the ball.

 

Also, it wouldn't hurt to get a better back-up center. The fact we're #1 in half-court defense when Asik is on the floor, and last when he's off the floor clearly speaks for itself. I suggest Darko Milicic who's one of the underrated defenders in this league, he shouldn't cost us more than 1-2m.

 

As you can see, all these guys I mentioned are free agents this summer http://www.hoopsworl...ba-free-agents/

see we can agree on stuff. I like this plan. delfino needs to be replaced with an upgrade. j-smith cost to much considering we have high end talent at that position. I agree with you if we are going to do something at that spot david west is a better option. we also do need to look at the backup center and backup point guard spots for upgrades.

[phaketrash]

Our offense isn't a problem because we have floor spacing, Harden loves to kick it out to the corner when the defenses collapse on him in the paint. With JSmooth being that guy in the corner, I don't think defenses will be very honest.

 

Who do we have right now in the corner that shoots the 3 better than JSmoove? We already traded away 2Pat, and Smith has a higher 3P% than DMo does, so Lin/Harden/Parsons/Smith/Asik would not make our floor spacing worse, technically, if JSmoove spends some time in the corner.

 

Even if it did decrease our offensive output a bit, I think that is worth it for the raise in our defense. If we say, drop a tad in offense but gain twice as much in defense, wouldn't that be worth it?

[timetodienow1234567]

I don't think we'd drop ANY in offense. If we got him, we'd have a full offseason where he would work on his 3 pointers and cut out his jumpers. I actually think our offense would improve with him IF he didn't hang onto the ball too long.

[Mason Khamvilay]

I had a feeling you would say that, but I was hoping you realized how often McHale plays either Parsons or Delfino at the 4.

[phaketrash]

see we can agree on stuff. I like this plan. delfino needs to be replaced with an upgrade. j-smith cost to much considering we have high end talent at that position. I agree with you if we are going to do something at that spot david west is a better option. we also do need to look at the backup center and backup point guard spots for upgrades.

 

Sorry, I'm a bit confused. Are we all talking about a 1 yr deal w/ David West or something? We're not talking long-term contract are we? I don't want to be tied down for multiple years to someone who is on the level of JSmoove but who is 32/33 yrs old and does not shoot the 3 at all. Seeing as how we space the floor w/ 3 pt shooters, why would West be better? I know he's good from midrange, but I thought HOU philosophy was no midrange shots (unless you know, we get LMA haha), or to minimize it. Seems to go against what Morey/McHale is building toward.

 

If David West on 1 yr deal, I like the idea. I just don't think he'd go for it at his current age (even w/ a 2 yr team option).