Morey Stresses Rockets' Roster Remains Work In Progress

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Houston Rockets added Dwight Howard to a talented young team that made the playoffs last season, but their roster remains a work in progress.

"We're not all the way there, we're not a finished team," Daryl Morey said. "We're going to be experimenting. We want to be a great team by mid-April."

Omer Asik is the player on the Rockets' roster most likely to be dealt due to his overlap with Howard and perceived value around the NBA.

Kevin McHale plans on experimenting with playing Howard and Asik together though.

"If it works really well, it'll be a lot. If it looks like crap, it won't be much," McHale said of how much he'll play his two true centers. "We're going to find out and we're going to give it every opportunity to work."

Via Brian Windhorst/ESPN

[6_Rings]

Lin/Asik for Rondo/Green?

[MountainDrew]

Lin/Asik for Rondo/Green?

Why would the celtics do that... Stupid idea.

[6_Rings]

Lin/Asik for Rondo/Green?

Why would the celtics do that... Stupid idea.

last time i checked they were tanking. now give me ur stupid idea.

[MountainDrew]

Lin/Asik for Rondo/Green?

Why would the celtics do that... Stupid idea.

last time i checked they were tanking. now give me ur stupid idea.

So why would a tanking team give up their two best assets for average role players on long term deals? As a tanking team you want prospects/draft picks. They can get way more for Rondo and Green than Jeremy friggin Lin and Asik.

[jakeny88]

asik for ryan anderson

[6_Rings]

long term deals? Rondo, Asik, Lin are coming off the books after next season and Green after that. u must be kiddin' urself if you think Rondo would want to go through the next 2 or 3 years rebuilding. he's just saying the right things right now. Asik and Lin are the best deals for young talent right now that the Celtics can grab to aid the rebuilding.

[BallerTalk]

So why would a tanking team give up their two best assets for average role players on long term deals?

Lin and Asik aren't on long term deals. They each have one year remaining after this season.

asik for ryan anderson

That was rejected even before the recent events in Anderson's personal life.
Many believe Asik can fetch a better return.

[MountainDrew]

long term deals? Rondo, Asik, Lin are coming off the books after next season and Green after that. u must be kiddin' urself if you think Rondo would want to go through the next 2 or 3 years rebuilding. he's just saying the right things right now. Asik and Lin are the best deals for young talent right now that the Celtics can grab to aid the rebuilding.

and those 2 years are the years where the celtics are going to be tanking. Asik and Lin will only hurt them in that process, so there is absolutely no reason for them to take those two players. If I was the celtics I would much rather just get a mid first round pick and a decent prospect than this junk, how would you even know this is "the best deal they can get". 2 year deals isn' t exactly expiring.

[6_Rings]

long term deals? Rondo, Asik, Lin are coming off the books after next season and Green after that. u must be kiddin' urself if you think Rondo would want to go through the next 2 or 3 years rebuilding. he's just saying the right things right now. Asik and Lin are the best deals for young talent right now that the Celtics can grab to aid the rebuilding.

and those 2 years are the years where the celtics are going to be tanking. Asik and Lin will only hurt them in that process, so there is absolutely no reason for them to take those two players. If I was the celtics I would much rather just get a mid first round pick and a decent prospect than this junk, how would you even know this is "the best deal they can get". 2 year deals isn' t exactly expiring.

i disagree. Lin and Asik aren't exactly junk. average now, yes but that mid first round pick can be a bust too u know. roll of dice. and do you think Rondo will re-up after his contract? do you think he'll be the same after the ACL? if the deal i'm proposing will come into fruition it'll be around the trade deadline. so not 2 years but a lot like a year-and-a-half. lol.

[MountainDrew]

long term deals? Rondo, Asik, Lin are coming off the books after next season and Green after that. u must be kiddin' urself if you think Rondo would want to go through the next 2 or 3 years rebuilding. he's just saying the right things right now. Asik and Lin are the best deals for young talent right now that the Celtics can grab to aid the rebuilding.

and those 2 years are the years where the celtics are going to be tanking. Asik and Lin will only hurt them in that process, so there is absolutely no reason for them to take those two players. If I was the celtics I would much rather just get a mid first round pick and a decent prospect than this junk, how would you even know this is "the best deal they can get". 2 year deals isn' t exactly expiring.

i disagree. Lin and Asik aren't exactly junk. average now, yes but that mid first round pick can be a bust too u know. roll of dice. and do you think Rondo will re-up after his contract? do you think he'll be the same after the ACL? if the deal i'm proposing will come into fruition it'll be around the trade deadline. so not 2 years but a lot like a year-and-a-half. lol.

The entire point of tanking is rolling the dice on high potential prospects, Asik and Lin are established players that don't have potential to get better, they would just be nuisances sitting on the celtics' roster for two years without really serving a purpose.

If Rondo isn't the same player as he used to be, I don' t see the rockets being interested in this trade, if he is, I don't see the celtics interested. Rondo's contract situation is completely irrelevant. There's literally no reason for the celtics to take on Asik and Lin, they wouldn't help them in any way.

[6_Rings]

and those 2 years are the years where the celtics are going to be tanking. Asik and Lin will only hurt them in that process, so there is absolutely no reason for them to take those two players. If I was the celtics I would much rather just get a mid first round pick and a decent prospect than this junk, how would you even know this is "the best deal they can get". 2 year deals isn' t exactly expiring.

i disagree. Lin and Asik aren't exactly junk. average now, yes but that mid first round pick can be a bust too u know. roll of dice. and do you think Rondo will re-up after his contract? do you think he'll be the same after the ACL? if the deal i'm proposing will come into fruition it'll be around the trade deadline. so not 2 years but a lot like a year-and-a-half. lol.

The entire point of tanking is rolling the dice on high potential prospects, Asik and Lin are established players that don't have potential to get better, they would just be nuisances sitting on the celtics' roster for two years without really serving a purpose.

If Rondo isn't the same player as he used to be, I don' t see the rockets being interested in this trade, if he is, I don't see the celtics interested. Rondo's contract situation is completely irrelevant. There's literally no reason for the celtics to take on Asik and Lin, they wouldn't help them in any way.

for the record, i'm quite surprised to see that Lin is top #13 PG and Asik top #9 C last season. Do you think the whole point of rebuilding is to grab young players that might reach those spots or better?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/byposition?pos=PG

edit: and oh, it's more Rondo will not help the Celtics in any way. if he comes back better, and somehow the ragtag lineup meshes, that'll totally lose them a lot of ping pong balls. and i don't think Lin/Asik has lost all potential to get better. remember they played their first season as starters last season.

[MountainDrew]

i disagree. Lin and Asik aren't exactly junk. average now, yes but that mid first round pick can be a bust too u know. roll of dice. and do you think Rondo will re-up after his contract? do you think he'll be the same after the ACL? if the deal i'm proposing will come into fruition it'll be around the trade deadline. so not 2 years but a lot like a year-and-a-half. lol.

The entire point of tanking is rolling the dice on high potential prospects, Asik and Lin are established players that don't have potential to get better, they would just be nuisances sitting on the celtics' roster for two years without really serving a purpose.

If Rondo isn't the same player as he used to be, I don' t see the rockets being interested in this trade, if he is, I don't see the celtics interested. Rondo's contract situation is completely irrelevant. There's literally no reason for the celtics to take on Asik and Lin, they wouldn't help them in any way.

for the record, i'm quite surprised to see that Lin is top #13 PG and Asik top #9 C last season. Do you think the whole point of rebuilding is to grab young players that might reach those spots or better?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/byposition?pos=PG

edit: and oh, it's more Rondo will not help the Celtics in any way. if he comes back better, and somehow the ragtag lineup meshes, that'll totally lose them a lot of ping pong balls. and i don't think Lin/Asik has lost all potential to get better. remember they played their first season as starters last season.

That list proves absolutely nothing, it just accounts for PPG, and if you truly believe Spencer Hawes was the 7th best center in the league last year, I have nothing more to discuss with you. Rondo is a better player than Lin, and chances are he will miss a part of next season due to injury which will result in more losses. When he returns he will still need to get used to playing with his new teammates and a new coach. Better player and more losses this season.

Do you think the whole point of rebuilding is trading assets for as many average players that wont make a difference in the long term as possible? You please remember that Asik is 27 years old and Lin is really just a terrible player that' s only good for marketing purposes?

[6_Rings]

The entire point of tanking is rolling the dice on high potential prospects, Asik and Lin are established players that don't have potential to get better, they would just be nuisances sitting on the celtics' roster for two years without really serving a purpose.

If Rondo isn't the same player as he used to be, I don' t see the rockets being interested in this trade, if he is, I don't see the celtics interested. Rondo's contract situation is completely irrelevant. There's literally no reason for the celtics to take on Asik and Lin, they wouldn't help them in any way.

for the record, i'm quite surprised to see that Lin is top #13 PG and Asik top #9 C last season. Do you think the whole point of rebuilding is to grab young players that might reach those spots or better?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/byposition?pos=PG

edit: and oh, it's more Rondo will not help the Celtics in any way. if he comes back better, and somehow the ragtag lineup meshes, that'll totally lose them a lot of ping pong balls. and i don't think Lin/Asik has lost all potential to get better. remember they played their first season as starters last season.

That list proves absolutely nothing, it just accounts for PPG, and if you truly believe Spencer Hawes was the 7th best center in the league last year, I have nothing more to discuss with you. Rondo is a better player than Lin, and chances are he will miss a part of next season due to injury which will result in more losses. When he returns he will still need to get used to playing with his new teammates and a new coach. Better player and more losses this season.

Do you think the whole point of rebuilding is trading assets for as many average players that wont make a difference in the long term as possible? You please remember that Asik is 27 years old and Lin is really just a terrible player that' s only good for marketing purposes?

well i jsut quickly googled the stats that's why i'm surprised.lol anyways nobody is saying Lin is better than Rondo. the point here is that Rondo is very tradeable if he comes back strong after his injury. the Celtics are looking for ping pong balls. both have similar contract length and Lin is cheaper. and you get Asik to boot. Rondo might leave when his contract is up with the Celtics probably getting nothing in return. Anyhoo... Since we'll just go on see-sawing around my proposal.. lol. and i'm not saying it's the best deal. so what will be ur proposal? Celtics stand pat? and trade him for an aging vet along with a mid level lottery pick?

[MountainDrew]

for the record, i'm quite surprised to see that Lin is top #13 PG and Asik top #9 C last season. Do you think the whole point of rebuilding is to grab young players that might reach those spots or better?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/byposition?pos=PG

edit: and oh, it's more Rondo will not help the Celtics in any way. if he comes back better, and somehow the ragtag lineup meshes, that'll totally lose them a lot of ping pong balls. and i don't think Lin/Asik has lost all potential to get better. remember they played their first season as starters last season.

That list proves absolutely nothing, it just accounts for PPG, and if you truly believe Spencer Hawes was the 7th best center in the league last year, I have nothing more to discuss with you. Rondo is a better player than Lin, and chances are he will miss a part of next season due to injury which will result in more losses. When he returns he will still need to get used to playing with his new teammates and a new coach. Better player and more losses this season.

Do you think the whole point of rebuilding is trading assets for as many average players that wont make a difference in the long term as possible? You please remember that Asik is 27 years old and Lin is really just a terrible player that' s only good for marketing purposes?

well i jsut quickly googled the stats that's why i'm surprised.lol anyways nobody is saying Lin is better than Rondo. the point here is that Rondo is very tradeable if he comes back strong after his injury. the Celtics are looking for ping pong balls. both have similar contract length and Lin is cheaper. and you get Asik to boot. Rondo might leave when his contract is up with the Celtics probably getting nothing in return. Anyhoo... Since we'll just go on see-sawing around my proposal.. lol. and i'm not saying it's the best deal. so what will be ur proposal? Celtics stand pat? and trade him for an aging vet along with a mid level lottery pick?

It's hard to really find a good trade for Rondo at this point. A trade for Greg Monroe made a lot of sense before they acquired Jennings. If I was the celtics I would just stand pat and hope a better trade opportunity presents itself, because I really can't name a team that would genuinly be interested in Rondo at his point. I wouldn't trade him (and Green) just for the sake of trading him, but honestly, I don't really know what direction Ainge wants to go in. If I would trade him I would hope for some picks and a high-upside prospect, which admittedly isn't that impressive either, but at least you have a clear direction as a franchise, because right now, I have no idea what the celtics are trying to do.

[inquisitive]

Rondo wouldn't be a good fit for Houston...unless the Rockets plan on moving him later on for KLove or something.

[Xerxes_Tetra]

Asik+stuff for Granger might be interesting.

Asik for Anderson (NOH)+Stiemsa might be interesting.

Asik+Lin for Rondo might be their best option.

[DEEP3CL]

Morey : ""We're not all the way there, we're not a finished team,"

Translation :

Lower the expectations, we still lack the elements to be an outright elite contender.

Morey: "We're going to be experimenting. We want to be a great team by mid-April."

Translation :

We're going to struggle some ( hell even the Heat did out the box 3 years ago), Houston will be no different.

[BlackFalconGSW]

Lin, D-Mo to Bucks
Asik, Udoh +1st to Celtics
Rondo, Ilyasova to Houston

[truthiness]

Asik+stuff for Granger might be interesting.

Asik for Anderson (NOH)+Stiemsa might be interesting.

Asik+Lin for Rondo might be their best option.

1. So Asik can back-up Hibbert instead of Howard ?
I am sure he'll be delighted.

The Rockets will need some D on the wings, and I am not sure if Granger can provide that.
But if the Rockets want Granger, they probably need to look at a 3-way trade, to get Asik to a team where he can start. He's good enough to start in the NBA.

2. Anderson would look good next to Dwight, but Asik is worth (IMO) more than just Anderson.

3. Only if Rondo suddenly grows a 3p shot (cause developing one takes time). Otherwise, with Rondo's shooting, the spacing would be horrible, and opposing teams would be able to crowd Dwight in the paint.

The proven path to success with Dwight is to surround him with good shooters.
What Orlando missed was better playmaking, which Harden and Lin might be able to offer. I am not sure yet if they'll be better than Hedo and Jameer.

Morey : ""We're not all the way there, we're not a finished team,"

Translation :

Lower the expectations, we still lack the elements to be an outright elite contender.

Morey: "We're going to be experimenting. We want to be a great team by mid-April."

Translation :

We're going to struggle some ( hell even the Heat did out the box 3 years ago), Houston will be no different.

Look at you, (spurned/dumped) girlfriend, posting in every Dwight/Rockets related thread.
Better switch that avatar and fully embrace being a Rockets fan, since you follow them so much. Especially since the Lakers are missing the playoffs this season. And the next.