vincecarter4pres wrote:I've been keeping this one in my head for awhile, but who's to say they don't totally blow it up and deal Harden?
I hate him as a #1 in the playoffs, he just fades into oblivion too often, but as a #2, or better yet, #3? LOVE him.
And he's an underrated defender. He's not a stopper or anything like that, but he is a solid, slightly above average defender and he has a game that is and will continue to age well, he's still going to be a stud for 2+ seasons and probably will have a gradual multi-season wind down, not a sudden drop off a cliff.
So going by what Harden said post-game (that they need one more piece), and the news that Houston intend to keep Morey, my guess is that they'll give it an attempt for one more year. Now Westbrook is not a tradeable contract at all right now, and especially with their picks gone in the CP3 trade, their options are very limited. Eric Gordon's contract is tradeable but a negative asset as well at that salary. Danuel House is a nice player on a cheap deal, but the recent bubble incident will make teams keep distance from him. And regardless, House's salary is too small to get a player on a large salary. That leaves Covington and PJ Tucker as their positive value assets. PJ Tucker is 35, an expiring contract next season, and he realistically won't get them much because of that, while his on court value is of great importance to them. That means Covington may be their only genuine opportunity to get a good piece.
Now I've been of the opinion that RoCo is Morey's dream player (outside of a superstar), and Morey may never trade him because of how well he fits their system/philosophy. But with no options left, RoCo might be Morey's only chance to try to improve the roster, and this could present an opportunity to us to make an offer for RoCo. So I've been thinking about this trade idea...
Three variants on the same trade return (for us):
Its not a three team trade, but I added the third team trade here because I wanted to show the overall idea. The first one I think makes the most sense for all 3 teams. Rockets revert back on the idea of trading Capela for RoCo, by getting a much younger, cheaper version of him in Allen. In addition, and I think this is a rare scenario where Taurean Prince actually makes a lot of sense for the team getting him. With Prince, Rockets get a 6'7" guy who fits their archetype, and while he's obviously not RoCo, he is someone who can be molded into a typical Rockets 3&D wing. You might disagree with that view but I really do believe that Rockets are the best fit for someone like Prince. Rockets also get another cheap, young 3&D 6'10" guy in Kurucs, who should fit them really well. I threw McLemore in as filler for us, even though he did have a really good reg season for Rockets, I see him as a system player, so that bit of the trade is flexible for me. Rockets also get a 2022 lotto protected 1st from us, which I think is good value for them given their picks situation. Pelicans get the return for Jrue that I've talked about multiple times in this thread.
In the second trade scenario, Rockets are getting Levert instead, if their mindset is that they need another scorer as their missing piece. With Levert, they can get one, and he's someone who fits well into their philosophy in terms of physical attributes. As for skillset, I think Levert would coexist fine with Harden, but I'm not sure about the fit with Westbrook. But then again, its hard for most guards out there to fit well with Westbrook. I also thought about Dinwiddie to Houston instead, but I felt that Levert would be more appealing for them, especially with the secured contract. Rockets also get Kurucs here as a sweetener in addition to the first. Pelicans get Allen, Prince, Temple, 1st for Jrue here, which I think isn't the return I'd want if I'm Pelicans but that's why this scenario is listed as one of the options. Allen while a valuable piece on the same level as Levert, Dinwiddie (if not more), I think Pelicans would feel its redundant with Hayes already on the roster. A 4th team can get involved for Allen.
In the third scenario, Rockets have the same return as 2nd scenario, but Pelicans get Dinwiddie, Prince along with the first instead. This is if Pelicans prefer Dinwiddie over our other players. Now finally looking at the return that we get, I think Jrue + Covington would be perfect complementary pieces to KD & Kyrie, and would give us an amazing balanced starting lineup with offense/defense. I think a big move like this would make us title favorites. Again, this is more for fun than anything. Despite all the reasoning, I doubt Morey trades Covington, and even if he does, there will be plenty of suitors. It's the same story for Jrue Holiday in terms of having many teams interested, but I think he is the easier player to acquire. Anyway, again, don't take it too seriously yall, but let me know your thoughts lol
