Your views on these players..

[Sane]

Hi guys. I'm a Rockets fan and was wondering about your opinions about a number of things. I won't pretend to know too much about your team, and that's really why I'm asking these questions. Utah has plenty of cap space, and the Rockets are seeking additional cap space. I expect our front offices will have a decent relationship since Graham joined your front office.

1) What do you think of Jeremy Lin? I notice your team seems to be quite thin at PG. Lin has 2 years at roughly $8m per season left on his contract. He is roughly:

- An average defender.
- Average passer.
- Below average 3pt shot, though his improvement throughout the season was excellent (shooting almost 40% towards the end).
- His only elite skill is running the PNR. Are the Jazz still heavily reliant on PNR? Lin's effectiveness on the Rockets is hugely diminished because we have Harden, who happens to be one of a limited group of players who are better at the PNR. This leaves fewer opportunities for Lin in the back court. But..
- The guy is an extremely hard worker and just had his first full season with a team. He has bad in the first half of reg season, very good in the second half, and (although he was injured) did not play well in the playoffs. A coach's dream and his improvement as the season went on was promising. Fortunately and unfortunately, the Rockets may be in a position to not have to wait 1-2 years for players to develop.

Is he someone who's salary you guys would be willing to take on? I think given it's a 2 year contract, the Jazz could use another PG, he is elite at what I think is a key part of the Jazz offense, he may be a good fit?

2) Omer Asik really needs less of an introduction. Smart player, great defender down low, elite rebounder, no range on offense, below average FT shooter, extremely raw post game, hard worker, $8m/season for 2 years. I have no doubt the Rockets can move the guy for a great deal on his own, but would an Asik + Lin package be interesting? Would it be more/less interesting with Thomas Robinson (who has only one guaranteed year left) included?

3) How would you feel about Asik + Lin + Robinson + 34th pick this year for a protected future first rounder? That's a lot of salary to take on obviously, so I'm trying to see your perspective on whether those 3 players for 2 years are worth taking on for nothing?

4) If none of this is enticing, is there something which would make Lin an interesting option? For example, a first round pick?

5) Most unlikely of all: Asik + Robinson + Lin + 34th pick 2013 + Royce White + cash to cut Royce White if necessary for a signed and traded Paul Millsap?

Generally the idea is the Rockets want to clear salary. Asik is easy to move. Robinson less so. Lin perhaps slightly less so. I think Asik would be a great addition to Kanter and Favors, no doubt so don't think that really requires much discussion.

I think there's a good opportunity here for the Jazz, since Lindsay must know enough about the Rockets players not to get fooled into anything.

Would love to hear your views, thank you.

[king everything]

I'm not hating on your post, but I'm not wanting the jazz to do anything, anything at all that hurts their flexibility after next season because the free agent crop and draft are both going to be so much stronger.

[Jazzfan12]

Asik is awesome and I think he's one of the best centers in the league so I'd probably take all of those guys for our cap space even though he's a really bad fit with this roster.

[blackham9258]

Cap space is the new lottery pick... meaning it is more valuable at least this year than a lottery pick outside the top 5.

That said I think you will have lots of people willing to take on Asik and he alone would garner a pick or two. If you are trying to off load Lin with it you lose people... that is a contract that you will not be able to move this year period!

If you still had the Dallas and Toronto pick perhaps but since you have nothing to give up its tough to see moving him.

If you are desperate to move cash and had to get rid of Asik/T Rob/White I would do that if we got a future 1st and this years #34 as long as you took back Jeremy Evans.

Then I would hope that some team in the top 10 this year likes T Rob so that we could flip him (maybe to Phoenix) and #14 for #5. Then we draft Len, or Mclemore etc. I think those are the two best in the draft.

But Lin.... he is untradeable this year.

Last thing for you to consider: You don't want to trade anyone until you have a commit from Howard. Spend this next year developing TRob to reestablish his value and sell higher on him. I like TRob and think he still has upside as a long term piece... but his stock couldn't be lower... you should have kept Patterson.

[Joao Saraiva]

I'm not hating on your post, but I'm not wanting the jazz to do anything, anything at all that hurts their flexibility after next season because the free agent crop and draft are both going to be so much stronger.

Dude we're the Utah Jazz. I don't think any great FA will want to sign with us anyway...

Asik is very interesting but I would gamble on Kanter and Favors. Of course if he comes here I wouldn't mind him on the rotation, he's a great player.

Lin is a really bad contract and is he that much of an upgrade over Mo Williams? Sometimes I believe Lin got it. Those games he put with the Knicks are signs that he can be a really good player in the league, and maybe Harden is holding the ball too much and not letting Lin do work.

I'd take the gamble on Lin... I don't think we'll hit any great FA anyway, and if we're going to have a bad contract on our team I'd rather have a guy that is still a doubt about his potential like Lin and a great value at the asian market in case he succeeds.

[Inigo Montoya]

i don't see why the jazz should take on lin and asik's contracts, especially when their 3rd year is so large. we'd be bailing the rockets out not only immediately, but two years down the line as well, all for two players who aren't difference makers and won't make the jazz more than a 1st round team - which is what the rockets are, and the most the jazz could become with those players. as as for royce white - i wouldn't touch him. i love his game and talent, but he proved to be more trouble than he's worth and didn't see the floor, and i don't see that changing. i'd take robinson though. but i wouldn't give up much for him.

[king everything]

I'm not hating on your post, but I'm not wanting the jazz to do anything, anything at all that hurts their flexibility after next season because the free agent crop and draft are both going to be so much stronger.

Dude we're the Utah Jazz. I don't think any great FA will want to sign with us anyway...

Asik is very interesting but I would gamble on Kanter and Favors. Of course if he comes here I wouldn't mind him on the rotation, he's a great player.

Lin is a really bad contract and is he that much of an upgrade over Mo Williams? Sometimes I believe Lin got it. Those games he put with the Knicks are signs that he can be a really good player in the league, and maybe Harden is holding the ball too much and not letting Lin do work.

I'd take the gamble on Lin... I don't think we'll hit any great FA anyway, and if we're going to have a bad contract on our team I'd rather have a guy that is still a doubt about his potential like Lin and a great value at the asian market in case he succeeds.

Money talks and we are in position to have a boatload. I think with the right moves, we could have a period like when we signed boozer/okur and drafted Williams next off season- though we did that in two years as opposed to one. We play the young guys this year, hope for a high pick like Parker or wiggins, then throw the promise of the core 4+ the future star draft pick and the boatload of money at a couple younger free agents looking to make a name and hope for the best.

[Cappsy11]

Sorry apart from Harden there is no Rocket player I would want on the Jazz. bad contract Lin and was able to fluke a few good games to get it. I would much rather the Jazz offer money to Teague, Ellis, Calderen, Evans or even Jennings (RFA) than Lin. Or worse case bring Mo back.

[StocktonShorts]

I would much rather the Jazz offer money to Teague, Ellis, Calderen, Evans or even Jennings (RFA) than Lin. Or worse case bring Mo back.

- Teague will cost too much to pry away from Atlanta
- Monta Ellis isn't a point guard.
- Jose Calderon would be fine at a reasonable (less than $10M) 2-3 year deal.
- Tyreke Evans would be a horrible fit on this team, and he's not a PG (in fact I'm not sure he has a position)
- Brandon Jennings wants way more money than he's worth.
- Jeremy Lin is overpaid but could potentially be a good fit on this team.

Even though it reeks a bit of pu-pu platter I would do the deal as proposed: a frontcourt rotation of Favors, Asik, Kanter and Thomas Robinson is really intriguing (if raw). While the Jazz lose a lot of cap space with this trade all of their assets would be easy to trade if necessary.

[StocktonShorts]

i don't see why the jazz should take on lin and asik's contracts, especially when their 3rd year is so large.

Despite the end-year balloon the cap hit is evenly spread out over the life of the contract, if that's what the Jazz are worried about.

[BringtheD]

Asik is a mediocre center at best and he is way over rated. His effort isn't there on every play, he's just an average starting center. His potential puts him behind Favors and Kanter.
I actually like Lin ever since I saw him in the summer league, he would've made a good back up to Dwill, but I think he also falls behind who the Jazz already have but the gap is alot closer with him and mo than it is with asik and fav, kanter.
TRob is a relative unknown to me. I've probably watched him play for about 5 minutes, he seemed aggressive and raw, and he didn't do anything that made me think he was worth a #5 pick.

I wouldn't do this trade because at best it makes the jazz a perennial 8 seed, at worst the Jazz bench gets warmed by guys making over 8 mill a year.

[Jazzfan12]

i don't see why the jazz should take on lin and asik's contracts, especially when their 3rd year is so large. we'd be bailing the rockets out not only immediately, but two years down the line as well, all for two players who aren't difference makers and won't make the jazz more than a 1st round team - which is what the rockets are, and the most the jazz could become with those players. as as for royce white - i wouldn't touch him. i love his game and talent, but he proved to be more trouble than he's worth and didn't see the floor, and i don't see that changing. i'd take robinson though. but i wouldn't give up much for him.

What? Asik is a top 10 defender in the NBA and the best rebounder in the NBA. How is not a difference maker?

[king everything]

A couple of you are underating asik. I still wanna stick to the cap space and pick strategy, but asik is not below average or deficient in any key ways. Maybe he would be in the days shaq and Ewing and Hakeem were patrolling the paint- but not now. Which is also why kanter has a chance to be special.

[pickIBL]

Thing is the Jazz don't have that game changer. So basically we are talking about acquiring all these secondary and complimentary pieces (and their salaries) without having the primary piece. As much as I like Favors... today I can't say he is that. A young healthy Deron was. The problem with this deal is it makes it harder for Utah to get that primary guy in free agency or the draft. Maybe wiggins and parker are gone... but maybe Exum is around in 14 and you can snag him. Then get your secondary guys.

[Cappsy11]

I would much rather the Jazz offer money to Teague, Ellis, Calderen, Evans or even Jennings (RFA) than Lin. Or worse case bring Mo back.

- Teague will cost too much to pry away from Atlanta
- Monta Ellis isn't a point guard.
- Jose Calderon would be fine at a reasonable (less than $10M) 2-3 year deal.
- Tyreke Evans would be a horrible fit on this team, and he's not a PG (in fact I'm not sure he has a position)
- Brandon Jennings wants way more money than he's worth.
- Jeremy Lin is overpaid but could potentially be a good fit on this team.

Even though it reeks a bit of pu-pu platter I would do the deal as proposed: a frontcourt rotation of Favors, Asik, Kanter and Thomas Robinson is really intriguing (if raw). While the Jazz lose a lot of cap space with this trade all of their assets would be easy to trade if necessary.

Well if we get technical here last time I check all these have played some type of point guard. Mo Williams and Burks played point this year and I think there is a guy called LBJ who plays a bit of point too every now and then. The Jazz are going to have to pay some sort of money to get a good point guard through via free agency (exclude up coming draft). As for Asik and Robinson that rotation would be horrible, I think I would rather have Jefferson re-signed. Lin is overated and over paid. At least the others can be overpaid but can play a little.

[Sane]

Thanks for the excellent comments guys.

I see your point about preserving cap space. Houston is not a big market either and on a regular basis, is not very attractive to FA's either. It took a lot of heartache and trading away good veterans to get to this summer where we've actually built something big FA's might consider.

I think the Jazz are not too different. Next year's FA class is great, but I wonder which FA's you guys are looking at? If the Lakers have cap space as they expect, then I don't see Houston or Utah being able to nab someone next year since in my humble opinion almost none, if not none, of those players look like they will bolt. Things can change dramatically over a year though, you're right.

On Asik I have to disagree with the couple of posters who are claiming he is not there on every play and is a mediocre player. I know, the Rockets know, and I'm certain now your front office knows that Omer Asik is one of the hardest working, most coachable players in the entire league. The guy does not complain and just goes to work, spending serious time trying to improve his game. We saw some of that late last season when he started putting up points, improving at the pick n roll and even hit a couple of 15ft jumpers nicely. He is at least a top 5 rebounder in the league, and has been so on a per-minute basis his entire NBA career. He bumped up his FT% by 10%. On defense, the normally horrendous Rockets were as good at halfcourt defense with Asik on the floor as the best defensive halfcourt team in the league. The guy is a top 5-10 C in this average generation of big men, and a steal at $16m over two years. The Rockets would not even consider an offer this offseason if it weren't for our once in a lifetime chance of possibly landing a top guy like Howard or Paul.

About Lin, I see what you're saying. Someone else mentioned it, but I'll repeat: Lin makes $8.3m per season for two years. There's no balloon cap hit, although there is a balloon payment in his final year - most owners don't care about that, perhaps you guys believe the Jazz would be conscious of doing that? I don't know enough to determine if they would.

Lin - like Asik - is a really hard worker and a coachable player. I stress that he is an elite PnR player and the stats back that up both in NY and HOU. The problem is when he came to HOU, we did not expect Harden. Then we luckily landed Harden, and Lin's utility to the team decreased. So the guy decided not to pout (although his fans really did) and improved his spot up shooting, 3pt shooting, ft shooting and passing. A quick look at his game log will show that. His chances of becoming a star are slim. His chances of becoming an All Star are better than slim because of his fandom (doesn't hurt to have the exposure of an All Star I guess). His chances of becoming a superstar are near 0. I kind of get the feeling that he would be a perfect fit here but still not sure if the Jazz rely on the PnR more heavily than other teams - if so, this could be an excellent fit. I agree with you that he's overpaid, but I'm sure our owner and GM knew he's overpaid from a basketball standpoint. Allegedly, he makes that money up with his highly marketable background.

What might make him more interesting is that he's relatively young (like your core players) and still very inexperienced. He is still visibly improving. Remember he just had his first full season of regular minutes on a team. It is probably too small a sample size, but the second half of the season really showed he is capable of and willing to adapt.

Anyways don't want to harp on this too much. Really appreciate the comments guys. As a Rockets fan I think you guys should use your cap space to acquire players under contract and draft picks. IMO that is the best way for everyone other than the Lakers and Knicks. Obviously, you guys will receive attractive offers, and probably more attractive than these. I just wanted to gauge Jazz fans' opinions of how they value their cap space and roster needs to predict whether a UTA-HOU trade is possible this summer.

I think it's very possible. I could see a package of Lin + Robinson + 34th pick for nothing in exchange happening. That's a smaller cap burden than if you add Asik too, gives the Jazz some young talent, and doesn't really hinder cap flexibility going forward. Is there anyone outside the top 10 this year who's a better prospect right now than Thomas Robinson? I don't believe so. Could work out nicely for both teams. Alernatively I can see Asik + Robinson for your #21 pick (where we then turn around and trade Lin + #21 + #34 for as little salary as possible). It's a shame we might have to lose some good guys this way - they are very good prospects - but it's just what the circumstances may end up dictating. A medium market team like the Rockets can't afford to ignore the slight possibility that superstar want to play here.

P.S. Fully aware no one wants Royce. His inclusion was combined with cash for the Jazz to cut him. If Rockets cut him straight up he still counts against the cap - a luxury the Jazz may be able to afford, but not the Rockets right now apparently.

Thanks again!

[Bullet]

Don't know about Portland's cap sit, but if we get Asik via salary dump, we could ship him to the Blazers for #10 and player/s to match salary (Hickson s&t?). #10 + # 14 (or 21?) might move you up a few spots in the draft for McCollum or even Burke.

Lin, on the oher hand, is a good character guy who fits the culture, but might not be the best fit on the court. So I'll pass on him.

[The59Sound]

Omer Asik is a badass who goes hard every play. I'm all about that guy. But I have trouble seeing where he fits in here. Asik is worth $8 million, but do the Jazz want a third big that makes that kind of cash to play behind Favors and Kanter?

Jeremy Lin, I just want nothing to do with. Seems like a great kid with a great work ethic, but I just don't think he has the tools and his contract is a bitter pill (both the cap hit and real money hit). As fans, we generally think of owners as playing with Monopoly money, since roster moves have no implications for our own lives, but this is one of those rare moments where I empathize: giving a $15 million check to Jeremy Lin for a year's work will be an awful feeling for someone.

[erudite23]

Love Asik, though the fit is obviously not great. I'd take him right now if the price wasn't too steep.


As for the proposed deal....I kinda like it. Lin isn't a great player, but he might fit in nicely to what we do. He's a big PG who can run the PnR and creates plays on defense with his quick hands. If he was a better shooter I would say hell yes. And the 34th pick is a really good asset. By the time 46 rolls around, a lot of our targets will be gone. At 34 you can grab and stash an international guy or take a high upside guy who slides and let him develop free of the pressure of being tabbed a '1st round pick.' I'd like to explore our options first, obviously, but this might not be too bad of an idea.

[Inigo Montoya]

i don't see why the jazz should take on lin and asik's contracts, especially when their 3rd year is so large.

Despite the end-year balloon the cap hit is evenly spread out over the life of the contract, if that's what the Jazz are worried about.

i know that, but i find it hard to imagine the millers will be thrilled to pay 30M in one year to only two players, even if the actual cap hit will be 8M for each. when we then factor in all the additional roster salaries and general expenses, i just don't see it happening.

i don't see why the jazz should take on lin and asik's contracts, especially when their 3rd year is so large. we'd be bailing the rockets out not only immediately, but two years down the line as well, all for two players who aren't difference makers and won't make the jazz more than a 1st round team - which is what the rockets are, and the most the jazz could become with those players. as as for royce white - i wouldn't touch him. i love his game and talent, but he proved to be more trouble than he's worth and didn't see the floor, and i don't see that changing. i'd take robinson though. but i wouldn't give up much for him.

What? Asik is a top 10 defender in the NBA and the best rebounder in the NBA. How is not a difference maker?

you already have a top defender in favors. how much of a difference will asik make when he's relegated to the bench behind him and kanter? will he be worth his contract then? if was worth 8M as a bench player who gets 15-20 minutes per game, he'd still be in chicago.