Reality check (for some): Ryno would NOT have played a minute if here. He would therefore NOT have helped with spacing (not on the floor), not with rebounding (not on the floor). If he ever was on the floor, every team would have pick switched him and then proceed to blow past him on defence. This is the reason he didn't play at the end of last year. He is unplayable. He kind of sux for PHX as well.... it has been all about breaking down his contract and Melton was the price paid. If he ends up at all star level, well played Phoenix. I doubt he is more than a useful backup PG at NBA level.
You can't really judge the trade just yet. Let's see what we get for (or out of) Knight and Chriss first.
And that's why Anderson was traded away for an opened bag of potato chips while MCW was signed and joined the roster. Wake up man, you're missing the bleeding obvious. Anderson was a ball and chain contract, no value, no possibility of playing. MCW was someone they took a flyer on - they gave him a shot and it didn't work out. He's a minimum contract, so no need to dump him. Anderson had to be broken down into different pieces to (a) see if those pieces could produce anything, and (b) make those pieces easier to unload going forward.
It appears that way to me. Rockets were probably wanting to wait until the trading deadline and not act on desperation; but the record may dictate different. This was suppose to be a contending team kicking most team’s backsides. This has been a complete embarrassment of a season that needs to be rectified quick or face the consequences of ridicule galore. Shades of the Oilers losing to Buffalo in the playoffs while having a tremendous lead at halftime. I don’t think the Oilers ever really came back from that. They had to relocate to Tennessee. Chriss and/or B Knight can be traded right now.....so what’s the holdup on a trade? The summer free agents need to wait until Dec 15th. This means the team may need filler material such as the contract of Melo/MCW. Or separate deals involving the fillers. I will be shocked if the Rockets do nothing this weekend to early part of next week. I believe the Rockets solved much of their problems by picking up the Pace. The other issues will tend to fix themselves by doing this change. Problem is we lost Ennis. Injuries and suspensions have cost this team for the greater part of this season.....and now again. Capela is the only real shot blocker (if Gary Clark sits) and lack of height is an issue. More wings can help improve the situation. IMHO.
Cut salary by a couple million …. reduced lux tax and creeped closer to getting out of the tax. When they dump knight and a draft pick for 10m less in salary … and get out of the tax you'll see the big picture - Tilman's not trying to win championships , he's about making money..
The trade was about breaking up one nasty contract into smaller chunks that are easier to move later on. Let’s wait to see what Morey does before automatically assuming that we’re in cost-cutting mode. Some viable trades that improve the team while keeping us flexible financially: Knight + lotto protected 1st for KCP (LAL) Chriss + 2nd for Holiday (CHI) Holiday and KCP are both expiring deals but are legit rotation pieces. If we made these deals, would you still complain that all we care about is luxury tax? I know flexibility is the last thing you want to hear after a slow start like this, but Morey is a master at fielding a competitive team while managing to salary constraints. While these constraints are frustrating, the repeated tax is so onerous that you have to keep it in consideration when making moves. Spending blindly doesn’t make you more committed to winning - it can help you now but hamstrings your ability to make moves in the near future.
n Yes , those moves are not good - A short term band aid that doesn't make you a contender and compromises long term flexibility just to get under the tax. Like I said , IF I'm attaching first round picks to Knight's contract , I want someone with bird rights in return because of the fact that we are up against the cap and that player is just going to walk at the end of the season because we have no means to keep him otherwise and we are worse off than where we started when Ariza & Luc walked & Ryno was traded - Holes in your roster with nothing but minimum deals to fill them - minus the first round pick while CP3 and Harden are a year older. RFA or Bird Rights or NO DEAL..
Even without bird rights, you can still sign KCP for 120% of his current salary, or $14 MM. That is plenty enough to retain him. Do you want to re-sign him for more than $14 MM per year? If so, you and I disagree on his worth. If not, then we already have the ability to re-sign him at a # palatable to both sides, bird rights or not.
Just wanted to remind everyone that Melton is currently 13th in the league in RPM. Positive in ORPM and DRPM.
Wow, I had completely forgotten about Melton. Another in a series of bad moves in the last couple of years.
Fans shouldn't fret over Melton, you gotta trade value to get value. Those LTS the trade ultimately helped create were invaluable.
fwiw: these numbers also coincide with Memphis ending the Caboclo experiment....shooting 16% from 3. ouch @basketballholic Since Dec 1st, Memphis is: 11-5 in games Caboclo got less than 10 minutes. 7-3 in games Caboclo got a DNP-CD for the season, Memphis is: 6-15 when Caboclo plays. 2-6 when plays more than 10 minutes.
Melton is a very good and unique player. - very high level defender already at the age of 21 - better rebounder then Westbrook this year, at only 6'2 - solid efficiency with a TS% of 57, finishing around the rim at a higher % then WB - solid passer, has over a 2-1 assist to turnover ratio at over 6 assists per 36. - Ranked 13 in RPM, BPM of 2.2 (on the Grizz) He's a legit player, could be really really good in future, I have no idea why the Suns gave him away. Jevon Carter was also an interesting rookie coming in the league, but clearly Melton has shown much more upside and overall skills.
