Dr Huge Pecs wrote:arasu wrote:Dr Huge Pecs wrote:
Ummmm yeah...why would ATL trade a more valuable player for a guy at a position they don't need coming off injury?
Sun's won this deal and rockets will get no takers for knight or chriss. Bad move rockets...ATL will get more for bazemore next year when he's expiring. Why flip him for 2 years of a hurt point? They just got Lin on an expiring deal and drafted a lotto point guard.
Rockets just dig their grave deeper. Sun's got an overpriced but valuable player for.... Garbage time fodder????
ATL is in no hurry to trade baze so y'all can stop holding your breath.
Terrible off season for rockets continues. Will be beaten by Lakers in semis..... probably.
I agree that the Hawks have no need of Knight, and that they might find a better fitting deal for Bazemore, but the rest of your post is nonsense.
Well my main point was that ATL. Is not going to deal baze for these ... question marks...deep deep rotation players...since the money is more or less the same.
As For Houston's terrible off season...that is the least controversial statement of the summer. 40mil per to Paul for 4 years????losing ariza and mbuta ...butchered spelling....and the cherry on top...melo.
But wait they got a possible 12 minutes per game from 2 question marks from a terrible team in exchange for a starting stretch 4...all to save a little money.
I hate the Lakers and would root for Houston to beat them...but they have a good chance to beat houston. That said...I should take back the semis bit. Utah or new Orleans will be there and both could probably take the lakers...and now Houston.
Terrible is definitely a controversial statement. A healthy Paul may have put the Rockets in the Finals. Letting him leave would have been 'terrible'. Ariza is in his age 33 season, coming off a very poor playoff run. Mbah a Moute had a nice regular season, followed by a total disappearing act in the playoffs. Anderson was benched midway through the season, and his role shrunk continuously, managing just 1.7 PPG in the playoffs. Anderson's defense has been getting worse every year he has been in the league. As bad as Carmelo's defense was last season, Anderson's was even worse. The Rockets were trending down with the players they lost, so claiming that losing those guys is "terrible" is a gross exaggeration.
The additions of 'Melo, Chriss, and Ennis could easily fill the void left by Ariza, Mbah a Moute, and Anderson. D'Antoni has had an effect on players he has coached. Ariza, Mbah a Moute, and Anderson all increased their per 36 minute three point volume in their first year with D'Antoni, 20%, 80%, and 30% respectively. We could point to many other players he has coached over the years as well. 'Melo, Chriss, and Ennis are likely to increase their three point volume significantly as well, and since the latter two are younger, there is a very good chance that they will have breakout production. Not only does Chriss have a ton of stretch 4/5 potential, he also can do some of the things Capela does at the 5. He can move his feet on the perimeter well for a big and he can protect the paint. With a more defined defensive role, his fouls are likely to drop, allowing him to play more than "12 minutes per game". Capela's foul rate dropped significantly under D'Antoni. His per 36 minute fouls dropped every year he has been in the league (5.6, 4.6, 4.2, 3.3). Chriss' foul rate dropped from 5.4 to 4.8 in his first two years, at a younger age than Capela. If D'Antoni can have a similar influence in that area, Chriss' fouls will drop, and his role will expand. Knight is a career 36% shooter from three and, if healthy, he could be a good fit with the Rockets' offense. Since Paul is injury prone, having an experienced adequate backup like Knight could help them win some games. If healthy, he has more value to the team than Anderson would have. There's a lot of "ifs" here, but if they don't pan out, the Rockets aren't that much worse off than if they'd brought back the same guys.
