No Problems Here, Houston
The Rockets pulled the blockbuster trade of the season (?) right before its opening week and tipped their franchise hopes around.
Enter Mr. James Harden. Who then proceeded to pour in a couple of stat stuffing games for good measure and show the world that he can be that superstar.
So finally, Houston have their star. After an offseason of paying Jeremy Lin (with quiet murmurings against GM Daryl Morey) and Omer Asik (not so quiet murmurings), I’m of the opinion that the Houston Rockets are a star PF away from being a contender in the West.
You’ve got Jeremy Lin: a young, rising star, who at the moment floats between a pass-first and scoring PG. Harden at the 2, who’s your star and crunch time guy. An excellent defender in Omer Asik who has potential to develop an opportunistic offensive game.
Oh and their ages? 24, 23, 26.
Which leaves the PF (and to a lesser extent SF) spot to fill with future year’s crop of free agents. Josh Smith is available after this season. How about a LaMarcus Aldridge returning to Texas?
Who would you plug into Houston’s starting lineup to make them elite? And as an aside, was this Morey’s plan all along, or did he just get lucky?
Courtside Notes 
naturalbornanalysts 10:40 pm on November 15, 2012 Permalink |
Agreed that Houston pulled a move for the ages, picking up Harden and Lin in the off season.. arguably two of the most marketable stars (imagine if we combined them into a furious asian man with a mohawk and giant beard).
Larmarcus is locked up for another couple of years, so they would have to trade for him which makes life a little tougher for Morey.
I really think they do target a PF as they seem to have a nice series of young SF that can play the role. Im a massive fan of Parsons, and I think in a year or two Terrence Jones will be a significant contributor for that team.
So i had a quick look at the possible Unrestricted Free Agent targets as far as Power Forwards:
Josh Smith
David West
Paul Millsap
Elton Brand
Lamar Odom
JJ Hickson
Jason Maxiell
Earl Clark
Restricted:
Boris Diaw
Derrick Favours
Carl Landry
Houston’s obvious choices are Josh Smith and Paul Millsap, both can bring a lot to the table. My leaning is Millsap, because of the scoring and shot making ability. Although he is undersized. However is he worth a max deal? Or do you take a flyer at David West, who is a proven veteran for 2 years at maybe $7-10M a year until you can take a max offer to Aldridge and form your big three around Lin, Harden and Aldridge. With an athletic SF in Jones or a 3point all rounder in Parsons, and Asik plugging holes in the middle of the court?
jk41 7:09 am on November 19, 2012 Permalink |
For some reason I thought Paul Millsap was way older than Smith, but he’s actually the same age (27)! Just plays an old man game I suppose. I think Millsap being undersized could be okay given he has Asik behind him, and it hasn’t hurt his numbers too much as all the fantasy geeks know all too well. Although all that said, I’m not too happy giving him a max deal. He’s not a star, more a piece, which is the edge I’d give to Josh Smith.
I don’t like West. He’s 32 and hasn’t looked the same since his better days with the Hornets before his knee injury. Waiting for Aldridge could be be risky as well, because a lot can happen in the time while you’re waiting, and before you know it you end up with Carlos Boozer instead of LeBron James (but I digress…).
Of all the other names you have up there I’m not liking many of them over Smith. I think it’s time to put in the call to Mr. Morey.
JK
naturalbornanalysts 10:47 pm on November 19, 2012 Permalink
Just to play devil’s advocate…. what makes Josh Smith’s situation with two good players (Joe Johnson and Al Horford) in Atlanta, any different to having 1 1/2 stars in Harden and Lin? He still hasnt proven he can be that guy that tips a team over the edge? Are we trusting a max deal to him? What does he offer? We already have shot blocking and rebounding with Asik and Patterson. He is a horrible outside shooter, which seems to be both Lin and Hardens MO…drive kick…drive kick…
Im not 100% convinced, but I dont have a better option.
jk41 2:48 am on November 20, 2012 Permalink
I think Lin and Harden both being creators makes a pretty big difference. Not sure how many lobs JJ threw up to JSmoove, but I’m guessing it wasn’t all that many since he was too busy jacking up threes.
He’s in his prime, 27. And they can let him go offensively in a faster paced system which you can run with Lin and Harden. You definitely already have shot blocking and boards with Asik and Patterson, but you can never have enough of that!
His jumpshot sucks big time, but like we saw from your list, who else is out there? He just seems right for this team to really start getting them knocking on the door for top 4 of the West.
So I think you have to roll the dice with him. You know you’re getting a guy who has the potential to shoot you out of a game, but also to win it by stuffing the stat sheet. Other option is to wait for other free agents (LaMarcus etc.) but you never know what might happen. Especially with Portland and big men!
naturalbornanalysts 11:56 pm on November 20, 2012 Permalink
Ok you have convinced me. So we are calling Morey now?
Oh and what happened to Kevin McHale? The rookies i think conspired to kidnap him so they could get some minutes.
jk41 8:38 am on November 21, 2012 Permalink
Yeah, I’ll whatsapp him now, haha.
I think it was just random cos they were getting blown out. Like Phil Jackson says: “You win with men“.