The 2018-2019 Around the NBA thread

[Mainstreet]

How can he be aggressive when all he has are low draft picks and no one worth anything substantial other than harden (no way), Chris (who is old and expensive), and capella (if you trade him you open another hole in the team)? They don’t have much to trade.

I'm sure Morey will find a way to do something probably involving clearing salaries off the books so the Rockets can be a player in free agency. Moving Eric Gordon, Tucker and Nene might be a starting point. They will likely check the market value of Chris Paul as well.

 

[Mainstreet]

I doubt it. He was likely always going to interview for that Bucks job and was likely always going to take it.

The hope for landing Budenholzer was his Arizona roots. Maybe he would have taken the Bucks job anyway but I thought the Suns had a window of opportunity before he left town if they had given him something comparable to what they gave Monty. As it ends up, the Suns get a prime head coach candidate anyway the following summer.

 

[Finito]

Will Cain just brought up a great point. Lebron for Harden? Who says no. Say I have that same Houston veteran team but I replace Harden with Lebron that’s a title contending team right now. They are tied to that Paul contract and his timeline don’t fit with Harden but it does with Lebron. If I’m Houston I don’t give a damn about the regular season matter fact I lock Paul away in a vault till the playoffs start. By the way the Warriors won’t have KD next year also. If I’m Houston I jump on this

Now if I’m LA, Harden is much younger and I extend my window plus other free agents will be more likely to come play with Harden(you still got a ton of money to spend) because it looks like no one wants to come play with Lebron. Now all of a sudden Lebron is gone, Maverick is gone, Magic is gone all the people the NO front office hate and I can still put together the best package for AD.

Lebron also doesn’t have a no trade clause like he did in Cleveland

LA: Harden, Nene
Houston: Lebron

Works money wise.

Who says no

 

[Cheesebeef]

Will Cain just brought up a great point. Lebron for Harden? Who says no. Say I have that same Houston veteran team but I replace Harden with Lebron that’s a title contending team right now. They are tied to that Paul contract and his timeline don’t fit with Harden but it does with Lebron. If I’m Houston I don’t give a damn about the regular season matter fact I lock Paul away in a vault till the playoffs start. By the way the Warriors won’t have KD next year also. If I’m Houston I jump on this

Now if I’m LA, Harden is much younger and I extend my window plus other free agents will be more likely to come play with Harden(you still got a ton of money to spend) because it looks like no one wants to come play with Lebron. Now all of a sudden Lebron is gone, Maverick is gone, Magic is gone all the people the NO front office hate and I can still put together the best package for AD.

Lebron also doesn’t have a no trade clause like he did in Cleveland

LA: Harden, Nene
Houston: Lebron

Works money wise.

Who says no

that trade makes too much sense to actually happen.

 

[Russ Smith]

I'm sure Morey will find a way to do something probably involving clearing salaries off the books so the Rockets can be a player in free agency. Moving Eric Gordon, Tucker and Nene might be a starting point. They will likely check the market value of Chris Paul as well.

Tucker would be a mistake IMO. He's the kind of guy you need, I don't know his contract maybe he's overpaid but he does all the dirty work. One of the reasons the games in that series were that close is every time the Warriors went small ball, Tucker would punish the hell out of Curry and Klay on the offensive glass.

 

[Chaplin]

Who says no

Lebron

 

[Mainstreet]

If I were the Rockets I would keep Harden and be a player for a signing a star in free agency. They need three stars like Paul, Harden and Durant.

 

[Mainstreet]

Tucker would be a mistake IMO. He's the kind of guy you need, I don't know his contract maybe he's overpaid but he does all the dirty work. One of the reasons the games in that series were that close is every time the Warriors went small ball, Tucker would punish the hell out of Curry and Klay on the offensive glass.

I'm trying to figure out a way for the Rockets to add a third star to get over the hump. Tucker is not a player they would want to let go but they need to clear salary somewhere unless they pursue the trade route rather than free agency.

 

[Finito]

Lebron

He doesn’t have a say. Like I said he doesn’t have a no trade clause anymore

 

[Finito]

If I were the Rockets I would keep Harden and be a player for a signing a star in free agency. They need three stars like Paul, Harden and Durant.

No way in hell can they do anything like that they don’t have the flexibility or the assets to trade.

 

[Mainstreet]

No way in hell can they do anything like that they don’t have the flexibility or the assets to trade.

As an example, trading Gordon and Capela could get them there if they don't get salary back. Although late, they do have first round picks to sweeten any trades.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Will Cain just brought up a great point. Lebron for Harden? Who says no. Say I have that same Houston veteran team but I replace Harden with Lebron that’s a title contending team right now. They are tied to that Paul contract and his timeline don’t fit with Harden but it does with Lebron. If I’m Houston I don’t give a damn about the regular season matter fact I lock Paul away in a vault till the playoffs start. By the way the Warriors won’t have KD next year also. If I’m Houston I jump on this

Now if I’m LA, Harden is much younger and I extend my window plus other free agents will be more likely to come play with Harden(you still got a ton of money to spend) because it looks like no one wants to come play with Lebron. Now all of a sudden Lebron is gone, Maverick is gone, Magic is gone all the people the NO front office hate and I can still put together the best package for AD.

Lebron also doesn’t have a no trade clause like he did in Cleveland

LA: Harden, Nene
Houston: Lebron

Works money wise.

Who says no

Actually. That makes a LOT of sense for everyone involved.

 

[Hoop Head]

Will Cain just brought up a great point. Lebron for Harden? Who says no. Say I have that same Houston veteran team but I replace Harden with Lebron that’s a title contending team right now. They are tied to that Paul contract and his timeline don’t fit with Harden but it does with Lebron. If I’m Houston I don’t give a damn about the regular season matter fact I lock Paul away in a vault till the playoffs start. By the way the Warriors won’t have KD next year also. If I’m Houston I jump on this

Now if I’m LA, Harden is much younger and I extend my window plus other free agents will be more likely to come play with Harden(you still got a ton of money to spend) because it looks like no one wants to come play with Lebron. Now all of a sudden Lebron is gone, Maverick is gone, Magic is gone all the people the NO front office hate and I can still put together the best package for AD.

Lebron also doesn’t have a no trade clause like he did in Cleveland

LA: Harden, Nene
Houston: Lebron

Works money wise.

Who says no

I would think LA would need to sweeten the pot some. Harden is in his prime and Lebron is on the downside of his career. If the Lakers included their pick or one of their young players, I would do that if I were Houston. Without that little bit extra though, no thanks.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I would think LA would need to sweeten the pot some. Harden is in his prime and Lebron is on the downside of his career. If the Lakers included their pick or one of their young players, I would do that if I were Houston. Without that little bit extra though, no thanks.

I don't think so. The team that is in win-now mode has to give up more, typically.

 

[JCSunsfan]

If Houston really is trying to shake things up--Warren for Gordon works straight up. Gordon is a decent defender I think. He is a good shooter. Could he play alongside Booker? I think those players are about equal in value.

 

[Phrazbit]

The problem with the cap and max contracts is that every reasonably good player thinks he deserves it and is insulted if he does not get it. I sometimes wonder if there was no individual max, but with the same overall cap restrictions, if the big salaries might be less.

It's kind of like little kids with training wheels. When they have the training wheels on their bikes, they lean against them going around the corners. Once you take the wheels off, they have to balance and they start to lean the right way.

I've been arguing this for years. The max contract artificially deflates the value of super star players and inflates the pay of good and up and coming players.

 

[Mainstreet]

If Houston really is trying to shake things up--Warren for Gordon works straight up. Gordon is a decent defender I think. He is a good shooter. Could he play alongside Booker? I think those players are about equal in value.

Gordon is not much of a distributor but I think it would be pretty dynamic backcourt. He would probably be a slightly improved version of Tyler Johnson.

I think @1Sun would have some input.

 

[Hoop Head]

If Houston really is trying to shake things up--Warren for Gordon works straight up. Gordon is a decent defender I think. He is a good shooter. Could he play alongside Booker? I think those players are about equal in value.

I know that was 2 regimes back but the Suns did have interest in Gordon before and he had interest in coming here, back when he were also awful. I know his role would be different now than it would have been back then but he'd make a really good 6th man. I don't know if starting him alongside Booker would work or not.

TJ would help Houston add size with Warren though. Playing CP3, Harden, and Gordon at the same time makes them really small. Warren being able to hit 3's now should make him a solid forward for a D'Antoni team. I would think he'd excel with Paul and Harden feeding him in the halfcourt also when things slow down.

 

[BC867]

Maybe he wants to blow the team up (besides harden ) and reload with new players

They would also have to get rid of D'Antoni. He is not the coach to develop new players.

As we know from experience.

 

[1Sun]

Gordon is not much of a distributor but I think it would be pretty dynamic backcourt. He would probably be a slightly improved version of Tyler Johnson.

I think @1Sun would have some input.

Indeed I do. Some might recall that the Suns offered Gordon a max contract when he was a restricted free agent, and it was matched. I was relieved then, as I believe he is a one-dimensional player. He is a volume scorer, and an inefficient one at that, and nothing more. He is a slightly better scorer than Tyler Johnson, and a slightly worse defender. He is every bit the ball hog and poor shot selector that Johnson is. And he is over the hill and losing his athleticism. He doesn't move the needle at all, and he doesn't give the Suns the facilitating, distributing guard they need next to Booker.

In two words, no way.

 

[Mainstreet]

Indeed I do. Some might recall that the Suns offered Gordon a max contract when he was a restricted free agent, and it was matched. I was relieved then, as I believe he is a one-dimensional player. He is a volume scorer, and an inefficient one at that, and nothing more. He is a slightly better scorer than Tyler Johnson, and a slightly worse defender. He is every bit the ball hog and poor shot selector that Johnson is. And he is over the hill and losing his athleticism. He doesn't move the needle at all, and he doesn't give the Suns the facilitating, distributing guard they need next to Booker.

In two words, no way.

The Suns dodged a bullet on that one. Still it's good to brainstorm and see what works. The Suns might be better off using Warren in a different trade.

If the Suns can add a veteran point guard I'd be thrilled to have Tyler Johnson backing up both guard positions.

 

[Chaplin]

He doesn’t have a say. Like I said he doesn’t have a no trade clause anymore

Not that simple. LeBron came to LA for LA, not for the Lakers. And you think he would actually want to leave there? This is his retirement home.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Will Cain just brought up a great point. Lebron for Harden? Who says no. Say I have that same Houston veteran team but I replace Harden with Lebron that’s a title contending team right now. They are tied to that Paul contract and his timeline don’t fit with Harden but it does with Lebron. If I’m Houston I don’t give a damn about the regular season matter fact I lock Paul away in a vault till the playoffs start. By the way the Warriors won’t have KD next year also. If I’m Houston I jump on this

Now if I’m LA, Harden is much younger and I extend my window plus other free agents will be more likely to come play with Harden(you still got a ton of money to spend) because it looks like no one wants to come play with Lebron. Now all of a sudden Lebron is gone, Maverick is gone, Magic is gone all the people the NO front office hate and I can still put together the best package for AD.

Lebron also doesn’t have a no trade clause like he did in Cleveland

LA: Harden, Nene
Houston: Lebron

Works money wise.

Who says no

That is interesting.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Not that simple. LeBron came to LA for LA, not for the Lakers. And you think he would actually want to leave there? This is his retirement home.

What’s he going to do, retire?

 

[Chaplin]

What’s he going to do, retire?

Um, what? What do you mean? Other then baiting?