I for one would not be against Eric Gordon being moved. I'm tired of seeing him dribble the ball off his shins. His one main job is to hit 3's and that's been touch and go. Bad, then good, then suck again.
Not needle movers....but if one was looking for potentially undervalued youth pieces to take a shot on...might check out the Kings. PG Mason and PF Skal are two guys that appear out of their rotation.
There might be moves to be made "at the margins" that help the team find some balance in terms of depth. That could lead to a chain reaction with improved play with the guys that are currently here. Sometimes there are players that aren't seeing their true value where they are. That's what Morey saw when he traded for Kyle Lowry when he was in Memphis. Not saying those guys are that. But you have to evaluate everything. Sometimes there aren't obvious answers. You have to look around corners.
Absolutely. But this is definitely not Kyle Lowry. To me, Frank Mason is barely an NBA player. He got minutes on a crappy team last year, more than anything because he does have high bball IQ. Skal would have been one of the guys you mentioned last year. Heck, Chriss is the same type this year. MAYBE he still has a tiny bit of potential upside, but would be a fairly neutral move at best. Skal would go from sitting on the Kings bench to sitting on the Rockets bench. If you have said someone like Antonio Blakeney that'd be a sneaky good add... but don't see why the Bulls would trade him.
I wasn't trying to equate the two in a vacuum. I was merely trying to opine on the thought process of adding undervalued talent at the margins as a way to jump start the team in other areas. Basically there are ways to improve the team through a chain reaction of events. And it isn't alway obvious. (like Butler etc)
I'm not following entirely. The Rockets make some kind of move for one or both of Mason and Skal. What chain reaction of events would follow that would be helpful?? You think that if a GOOD deal comes along that requires MCW in the deal, they are going to pass because at the moment they don't really have another PG to speak of, so that if they were able to first swing a deal for Frank Mason, then they would do that deal? Sorry, just trying to understand....
Frank Mason would be a rotation player here. Yes, he is a good player. Good defender, shooter, handle, passer. The whole package in a small package but the whole package.
Paul, MCW, Melo & Green for Pope, Rondo, Lonzo & Beasley Gets us out of Pauls contract for expiring's + Lonzo. Pope would be a nice fit for us, Rondo and Lonzo would help Harden run the offense in Pauls absence. Most of all, having Rondo, Pope, Beasley & Chriss expiring's contracts would set us up nicely for trades.
Mentioned before that the George Hill non-guaranteed contract was very intriguing, as well as him being better than any other bench PG on the Rockets, but that is gone now. Brandon Knight + lottery protected 1st and 2nd round pick swap for George Hill seems like it wouldn't have been a bad idea since he can shoot, defend and also guard both PG, and decently enough at SG.
Something worth noting: MKG can hit the three pointer now. Charlotte has been using him all over the place (3, 4, occasional small-ball 5). He’s a player that could single-handedly change our defensive culture and help us regain our mojo on that end of the floor. That said, Charlotte probably has little incentive to move him unless they can attach one of their bad contracts.
I will take it a step further... I would rather have Ball in 2 years anyway. Let Paul, Melo & LaBron take on the world in their mid 30’s. Please, do the trade trade. It’s only a matter of time before a steroid investigation takes down LaBron anyway, IMO. He doing some humanly impossible things for a PERSON of his age. Look a picture of him through the years and thing of how one’s body ages and he is putting on muscle mass and keeping his speed and flexibility. The man is human and in his mid 30’s.
Fair point, but I follow the Hornets pretty closely. His game, despite the reduced minutes and role, has actually improved across the board. We’re talking dramatic improvements in BLK%, AST% and TRB%. His +/-‘s have always been outstanding. Now he’s improving in other areas and, yes, seemingly improved the range on his jump shot also. Obviously, he’s going to have to hit the three consistently before he gets regarded as a legit 3&D player, but he’s a hard worker and I think the improved shooting numbers are in line with his progression in the other areas I mentioned.
This is the best deal I can come up with to A) address the depth issue, B) acquire a defensive wing and C) retool on the fly without absorbing massive long-term salary: EG/Chriss/BK + two firsts for MKG/Marvin/Lamb Charlotte probably says no, but they do it to get something to show for three potential free agents. Lamb is unrestricted, while Marvin and MKG both have player options. EG is still a competent player and arguably the best player in the deal. We do it for defense and depth. MKG’s defense is borderline elite, and as I’ve posted above, has shown improvement across the board in other areas. It would be like having a second PJ Tucker. Marvin is a reliable 3&D player. Lamb would fill EG’s role off of the bench. Nets us three rotation worthy players without long-term risk. Potential death lineups: CP3 Harden MKG Marvin Tucker CP3 Harden Lamb MKG Tucker Again, Charlotte probably says no, but this certainly checks off a lot of boxes from our end.
I like the depth it adds. My issue is it still doesn’t address what I believe is one of the many issues facing this team. A knock down 39% or better 3 point shooter at the 3. We shoot so many 3’s that I think this is an area that must must be addressed if we are trading EG. If MKG could become that I would be pleasantly surprised, but surprised none the less. I do think a trade like that would add a lot quality to the roster though. Maybe I’m being greedy.
Not a home run trade, but if the Rockets don't end up getting a great player then they can always try to shed salary for next season. Brooklyn trades: DeMarre Carrol Ed Davis Houston trades: Brandon Knight Nene 2019 first Rockets add two "better" rotation players and also shed Knight and Nene's contracts. Davis will be the new back up C for the season, and will be more reliable than Isaiah and Nene. Carroll will replace House and Clark. At the very least you are getting out of ~$18,000,000 in guaranteed money next season at the cost of a 1st. It won't give us any cap space, but it could help a lot in terms of luxury tax which is important, unfortunately. Of course, I think many of us would rather keep that 1st instead, but just a thought. I think many of us would be ok with it if the Rockets got back actual good players on longer contracts, but it's just an idea on what kind of trade the Rockets could do.
