[TWEET]488441622527750145[/TWEET] Wow, did not see that one coming. Great job Morey. Looks like he's gonna target yet ANOTHER big FA next couple of years.
So Morey basically turned Lin, Asik, and Parsons into Ariza and cap space. Cap space that allows big free agents to use Houston as leverage before settling on signing guys like Ariza. Sounds brilliant.
They just signed Ariza, why would they match Parsons? I think Ariza at 8 mil for 4 yrs is better than Parsons at 15 mil/yr with a player option. Now Morey has more money to pick up another quality player too. Morey is making the best if the fact Melo and Bosh picked other teams. There are some PFs out there to be had and Rockets are right back In fight for home court. I think Morey's biggest mistake was to jump too quickly to clear cap space. Got to believe they could have got somebody for Lin who is an expiring contract and serviceable. Also could have held on to Lin as a back up PG.
Who is their backup point guard? Who is their backup center? They were the 4th best team last year, and they could have easily let guys like Parsons, Jones, and Harden continue to improve. Instead they tried to swing for the fences and completely blew up their bench. Do you think they will be a better team next season? Or even as good as they were in 2013-2014?
I think they will be as good as last year. Asik really didn't play much last regular season. They have money to get a back up PG and I think Dwight will become more of a presence this coming up yr. Parsons is probably better than Ariza, but Ariza is a solid SF. I see them about as good as Ptd and the two battling for playoff positioning
Except not really cap space, because they have none now and if they held on to Lin and Asik, their deals expire at the end of the coming season. Don't forget the best part: they could've had Parsons this season for a pittance but THEY decided to opt him out early.
The value is better, but you can't really pay twice as much and expect twice the production. The difference between an average starter and a near all-star often costs more than it theoretically should. Not to say Parsons isn't overpaid, he definitely is, but it's still a downgrade from Parsons to Ariza. Still, the bigger point is they could have had Parsons for 1 million next season. I mean, if they are going to let him go anyways, that would have been the better path to take. Calculated risk gone horribly wrong. Obviously Morey isn't done. The Rockets still lack a good point guard, a good power forward, a good backup center, and some good backup wings. They have about 10 million dollars left to spend, probably on short term contracts. Troy Daniels will probably be resigned. I heard Mo Williams is still available. All the good power forwards in FA are gone already but maybe they can get Ilyasova/Anderson or someone with the trade exception they got from the Trevor Ariza S/T. One thing I think that will work against Morey for the rest of his career is that no free agent is going to take a discount, even a minimal one, to sign with the Rockets. I mean, why the hell would you when you're more than likely going to be moved a year or two after signing your contract? Treating every player as assets has it's downsides too.
I love your take on this, ToB! Morey went for the homerun. He was a little premature with the trades, but he made the effort. I think Ariza makes them a better team than Parsons.
Parsons is pretty clearly the better player, and he's four years younger than Ariza. He could still improve. Ariza is what he is. He's 29 and he isn't going to improve. http://www.basketball-reference.com...m=0&p1=arizatr01&y1=2014&p2=parsoch01&y2=2014 And if you look at his numbers, sure he had a great year last season, but his last few seasons really weren't very impressive. Contract year Ariza?
Chandler is good on offense and terrible on defense. Houston needs help with defense and Ariza will help with that while providing some 3-pt shooting.
And they have some financial flexibility during the next 2 seasons with Ariza's 8 mil per season vs Parsons' 15 mil per season.
Sure, but Chandler was their third option on offense. Beverley is streaky at best, and Jones is still young and unpolished. They relied on Parsons to be that third guy, and he stepped up. He averaged 16 ppg last season. Ariza has never averaged over 14 ppg, and he's only done that twice. Now their second unit doesn't have Lin, who averaged 12.5 off their bench. They better pull some serious scorers in because they just lost 34.9 ppg with Asik, Lin, and Parsons.
