The Dream Shake: FanPosts

Harden and Kelvin Sampson, Hinkie and "moneyball"

2013-05-17T09:37:41Z

I was doing a little casual reading on the 76ers' hiring of Sam Hinkie and came across an article that included this little tidbit about Kelvin Sampson and James Harden that caught me off guard:

"Sampson is unlikely to be back in Houston, because according to the executive, “the players hate him, especially Harden.” That doesn’t sound too good."

Of course, this was referenced from an un-named NBA insider so I would take it in with a grain of salt. In any case, it caught me by surprised because I thought Sampson did a fine job of filling in for McHale. None of the players have ever given any kind of hint that they were dis-satisfied with any of the coaches, so this claim comes as a surprised. I've always liked Sampson and I think he would be hard to replace on if he leaves for a head coaching gig.

If you're interested, the article (see link below) offers a counter to (I guess, my) assumption that Hinkie's hiring means an implementation of "moneyball" to the Sixers' new season, and seems intent to draw suspension to the use of analytics in building team. Personally, I'll be following the Sixers more closely next season, even more so if they do hire Kelvin Sampson, just to see if they try to replicate the Rockets.

http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2013/05/13/nba-moneyball-sixers-sam-hinkie/

(The source of the article isn't exactly a sports blog)

http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2013/05/13/nba-moneyball-sixers-sam-hinkie/

(The source of the article isn't exactly a sports blog)

2013 NBA draft prospectus

2013-05-16T15:46:50Z

via a.espncdn.com

(Chandler Parsons is cool)

Greetings everybody, hope things are going super well for you all! There's not much Rockets news to go around, but I was bored today and looked up who the Rockets could potentially pick up in this year's draft. I went to draftexpress (don't know how reliable the site is, but it looks like a professional website with pretty good videos and analysis). Red Nation has the 34th pick overall (4th pick in the 2nd round) per the website, and they have us picking Lorenzo Brown, a 6ft4 PG out of NC State (a junior). His scouting report didn't appeal to me at all. He seems to have regressed from his previous two years of college. Has good handles apparently, and his size is appealing, but after watching the Rockets' playoff series vs the Thunder, I was thinking that we need a quality back-up center: hopefully from the draft. Even though we played a lot of small ball, we were most effective when we had The Turkey down low to gobble up boards and stuff people ( :) ). When Greg Smith had to come in for Omer, we lost a huge presence inside.

Gorgui Dieng

So, back to the draft. After watching the NCAA tourny, I warmed up to the idea of us picking Gorgui Dieng, the 6th11 center from Louisville. At draftexpress, they have him going at the 17th pick. If he drops to the 34th pick, I'd like us to take a look at him as our future back-up center. (I didn't write much about Dieng because I figured he is more widely known than the other prospect I will discuss down below)

Mike Muscala

via i2.cdn.turner.com

(The Moose)

Another intriguing player is Mike Muscala, a 6ft11 center out of Bucknell. He might be a smart choice for boy genius Morey. His scouting report is very positive, and even though it is just a highlight video (that the report included), Muscala looks to have smooth footwork in the post. I think he could fill the void as the first center off the bench for the Rockets. Draftexpress has him going at the 36th pick: a few picks after the Rockets go. Initially, if you read the report, you'd be surprised by why he's projected to be drafted this late. The biggest detractors for Muscala is that he played with subpar competition at Bucknell, and there are concerns about his lack of lateral quickness as well as his (lack of?) lower body strength. I think he can definitely get stronger through NBA strength regime. As for his other weakness, I think improved positioning combined with his length and motor (he is noted for having high effort) will mitigate that flaw.

If you are reading this, first, thanks, and secondly, it may have seemed like I favored Gorgui Dieng more than Muscala because I wrote about him first, but as I finished writing the Muscala report (if you call it that), I like the Bucknell center much more. He's got many offensive skills: forgot to mention that he's a 79% ft shooter and shot about 7fts/game last season...efficiency Daryl! He plays the post game well (maybe not as good as the Mailman, but boo jazz). Has a good motor and is 6ft11. Can't you just imagine the Yot filled with fans screaming Mooose?

via media-1.web.britannica.com

(What a boss)

So there you have it. I hope you guys enjoyed this little piece I just wrote up. Fire away comments below! I'm a college student on break btw, and this was quite enjoyable!

Peace out,

Henry

via a.espncdn.com

(Chandler Parsons is cool)

Gorgui Dieng

Mike Muscala

via i2.cdn.turner.com

(The Moose)

via media-1.web.britannica.com

(What a boss)

So there you have it. I hope you guys enjoyed this little piece I just wrote up. Fire away comments below! I'm a college student on break btw, and this was quite enjoyable!

Peace out,

Henry

Rockets Decline Garcia Option

2013-05-16T11:19:53Z

According to Mark Berman, reporter at Houston's Fox affiliate KRIV, the Rockets will not pick up Francisco Garcia's team option for the 2013/14 season.

NBA sources: Rockets will not pick up the 2013-14 team option on Francisco Garcia's contract which is worth $6,400,000.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) May 13, 2013

Although the move makes sense on paper - Garcia's 6.4 million dollar option is a little pricey for a club who is trying to free up money - it is a shame to see a player like Garcia, who came into his own during the final push of playoffs, unable to continue that show of growth with the club.

Here's hoping the Rocket's management staff can somehow find a way to have their cake and eat it too. Keep Garcia and have enough money to play with over the summer.

According to Mark Berman, reporter at Houston's Fox affiliate KRIV, the Rockets will not pick up Francisco Garcia's team option for the 2013/14 season.

NBA sources: Rockets will not pick up the 2013-14 team option on Francisco Garcia's contract which is worth $6,400,000.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) May 13, 2013

Here's hoping the Rocket's management staff can somehow find a way to have their cake and eat it too. Keep Garcia and have enough money to play with over the summer.

Will Asik and Lin Be Part of the Rocket's Contender?

2013-05-15T02:20:45Z

Over the past few seasons there have been times when Morey's motives have not been crystal clear and the team compass was spinning like a top. In some of the latest posts on this blog I have seen some Rocket's fans question Morey's decision to go with Lin over retaining Dragic. I truly believe the explanation for this decision can be made in one word: Parsons.

Now, in my own personal opinion a true title contender needs at least a three year window with a solidified roster to have the best shot at hanging one in the rafters. We can look at the Miami's, OKC's and Memphis's of the league and see that is a fair assessment. I think as a fanbase we are hoping to see Morey's final product, including another max level player, take the court at the tip-off of the 2014 season. Whether that player is acquired this offseason or next, I think it is safe to say the soonest our true run at a title can start would be the 2014-1015 season. This will be our last season with Parsons, Asik and Lin under their current deals. So-

First question - What do the TDS commenters see as a fair contract for Parsons going forward if he can improve slightly or at least maintain his level of production?

Second question - If Asik continues to improve, what kind of money will he command?

I believe Morey dropped as many fishing lines in the talent pool as he could last offseason. He kept the deals for Asik and Lin to three years so that they would not interfere with Parson's extension once the second Superstar's max deal is added to the mix. What does this all mean? I think it means Morey will choose - Asik or Lin when it comes time to extend everyone. My prediction is that Asik is the choice and we let Lin walk and use his money to extend or match an offer sheet on Parsons. A guy on the radio said "..with Harden, another superstar, and an improved Asik and Parsons.. Lin can be a PG on a championship team." I won't argue with that but I do believe the same could be said for Patrick Beverley and at a much cheaper price. The way I see it, Lin isn't "done" yet, but I think he has until his contract is up to prove more valuable than Asik or too valuable to lose. I have my doubts he does either, but I hope he emerges as an all star caliber talent (what I call a "good problem" come extension time).

Ok, so now I will hit you with my own plan and feel free to call me an idiot. We should go hard after Pau and his giant expiring deal. LA is desperate to dish him and we have the cap space they covet. If I understood Tisbee's post the other day we can send a player (such as Garcia) and 8 million in cap space (in the form of a TPE) to LA for Pau. The goal would be to make the move while retaining Thomas Robinson. Trading for Pau has the following effects- Rim/Paint defense- improved, vet presence/leadership- improved, Stretch 4 shooting- improved, rebounding - improved, cap space- improved/unaffected, trade deadline ammo- improved.

Once we have Pau's deal we have a million options.

Option one- Give Minnesota TRob, Pau's deal and all the picks they want for Kevn Love at the deadline after Minny is looking to fall short of the playoff's again and Love starts to bitch and moan.

Option two - Somehow do something similar for LMA (although I see this as the least likely)

Option three - Keep Pau, have a 50+ win season with a very formidable front court combo of Asik and Gasol. This team would most likely go to the second round, gain more playoff experience and all the while developing TRob to possibly step into the starting role. Once the season ends and Pau expires, we can pursue any of the top tier free agents (maybe steal ZBo? Maybe Lebron comes over after winning a few in Miami and Wade retires), extend Parsons and Asik and keep moving right along.

Ok, whatcha thinkin fellas??

First question - What do the TDS commenters see as a fair contract for Parsons going forward if he can improve slightly or at least maintain his level of production?

Second question - If Asik continues to improve, what kind of money will he command?

Once we have Pau's deal we have a million options.

Option two - Somehow do something similar for LMA (although I see this as the least likely)

Ok, whatcha thinkin fellas??

Free Agent Wish List

2013-05-14T16:43:41Z

If, like me, your season ends when the Rockets quit playing, these are pretty dull times basketball wise. Yes I know that the playoffs are going full blast but apart from catching snippets of games here and there my interest is minimal. Mostly my attention is on what happens after June is over, free agency begins.

I know there is a large faction out there that will not be happy if a certain guy named Howard does not decide to don Rocket red. Personally I am a believer in not trying to fix what ain't broke and out current center seems to be one of the best parts of our roster. That whole discussion fails my "is the juice worth the squeeze" test.

For the sake of argument, lets take what has come out of pretty much everyone involved and say we will stick with free agent signings as opposed to trades. If that in fact is the case, let's hear who you would like us to sign and why. To keep it simple, let's say that pretty much any FA out there can be accommodated salary wise and thus acquired by Morey. For the sake of clarity, please stick to guys that are available this year, here is a list for those who are not sure of who that is.

The Plan revealed by a drunk-dialing Morey

2013-05-12T19:49:39Z

Evidently my cell phone is a digit off Harden's LA phone number.

Because last night I answered the phone and heard this:

"Great good-bye party Sam,Good luck in Philly. Sure you don't want Royce as a parting gift...yeah I've had a little too much champagne,but my wife's driving so it's okay..."

I was kinda stunned and said,"Um,ah,hello" and Morey in a drunken voice interrupted...

"James,James,it's me Darryl. Look,roll off the stripper and listen up. I got it done! D-O-N-E! Done,done,done! (Little maniacal laughter) When you run into Dwight at the club you can tell him,just don't tell anyone else. You gotta pinky swear on this.

"Before the Draft I'm picking up Garcia's option. I'm trading Robinson to Orlando for their 2014 Denver First. I'm bringing over Aldemir on one of my patented $800,000/4 yr deals. Then,(almost a girlish giggle)I'm making what everyone is to believe is my big move. Suckers!

"Asik,Motie,the Denver 2014 First,my 2015 First to Portland,Garcia and Anderson to the Lakers and we get Aldridge,while LA sends Blake and Duhon to Portland. Portland buys out Duhon and now has $15mil in Cap room and goes hard for Josh Smith. LA does it because the silly fockers think they're cock-blocking me get Howard. (Really scary maniacal laughter) They actually believe that I'd have a Cap of $45mil and no way to sign Howard. Thank you Jesus for Jimmy Buss!

"12:01AM July 1 I'm trading Lin to Toronto for Lowry. Then the second the League approves the trade I'm buying that pudgy little hothead out for $1mil. I'm gonna build a statue to that magnificent b******. First he got me Harden,now he's gonna get me Dwight. (More maniacal laughter)

"I'll be sitting at 8 players and w/the less than 12 player roster holds about $37mil in Salary Cap. we sign Dwight for $20mil,releases another Roster Hold and I sign Carlos back on another 2 yr $3mil/yr deal and do another Second Rd special,maybe on Rice Jr. I bring back Douglas w/the $2.5 Cap MLE. After all I can find a back-up PG when I take a dump,getting one is no problem. You,Aldridge and Dwight,I'll have vets lining up to sign with us for the Vet Minimum.

"Ah,the wife is giving me the Stare-of-Death,I gotta wrap this up. Have fun in LA,just try and stay in some kinda shape and tell Dwight we got it covered. See you at the pree conference when we sign Dwight. Bye."

There you have it,the Plan. Yeah I spent all morning trying to decide whether to share it,but I figure what the heck,no one's gonna read this in LA.

Evidently my cell phone is a digit off Harden's LA phone number.

Because last night I answered the phone and heard this:

"Great good-bye party Sam,Good luck in Philly. Sure you don't want Royce as a parting gift...yeah I've had a little too much champagne,but my wife's driving so it's okay..."

I was kinda stunned and said,"Um,ah,hello" and Morey in a drunken voice interrupted...

There you have it,the Plan. Yeah I spent all morning trying to decide whether to share it,but I figure what the heck,no one's gonna read this in LA.

Who really deserves Executive of the Year, Daryl Morey or Masai Ujiri?

2013-05-10T22:25:50Z

Every year the NBA gives out it's meaningless awards for Most Improved Player, Sixth Man, Coach of the Year, etc. one award however to me actually means something, which is the Executive of the Year award. It's an award that honors the best front office person of the year, an award that I dream to win one day. Throughout this season, RedNation has been waiting for Morey to win Executive of the Year (a long overdue honor for one of the best GMs in the game) and this year was the year he would finally win it. After years of out smarting the draft, finding hidden gems, fleecing other teams via trades, and using loopholes to his advantage, he would finally be mentioned with the Pat Rileys and Danny Ainges of the world.

Then the complete unexpected happened, Masai Ujiri won the Executive of the Year, our own beloved Daryl Morey who didn't even finish second, he finished TIED FOR THIRD. Gary Sacks, the GM for the Clippers finished ahead of Daryl. The same guy who runs the team which will lose the best player the team has ever had in its history this summer because he failed to extend him. Unlike Mr. Sacks, Daryl actually has his best player locked up for the next 5 years, and can possibly lock up Chris Paul for 4 as well. R.C. Buford (Spurs) and Pat Riley (Heat) tied Daryl in first place votes with 4. What did they accomplish this year? Signing Ray Allen? Daryl's 13 year old daughter could tell you that's a no brainer move to make. As for the Spurs, I can't tell you what big moves they've made this year, because they haven't made any. Maybe cutting Stephen Jackson and signing Tracy Mcgrady was worthy of 4 first place votes. Now, I'm usually not one for harping on these awards, but to me there wasn't one which was more clear-cut other than Lebron taking home the MVP. To say that I think this is a joke of a result, is a severe understatement.

Now that I've got a tiny bit of what I feel off my chest, I'm going to look at all the positive and negative moves Ujiri and Morey have made starting from after the Heat won the championship last year.

Ujiri's Good Moves:

Traded to Orlando: Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, 2013 Second Round Pick, and a protected 2014 First Round Pick

Acquired from Orlando: Andre Iguodala

First of all, props to Ujiri for strong arming himself into the Dwight deal, and getting a good return for it. However, I go back and forth looking at this trade, because Iguodala is a very good player, he is an elite defender, and he has unbelievable athleticism. He however does lack a consistent jumpshot, but asking for him to have one would just be greedy. Ujiri signed Afflalo to a 5 year up to 43M contract, which is a fair contract for a slightly above average starting shooting guard, but the slight increase in price for the upgrade to Iguodala makes this trade worth it. Al Harrington is who we think he is, a fringe rotation guy who most likely wouldn't of had a meaningful impact on this year's Nuggets. The second round draft pick is most likely after the 45th pick, which makes it worth little to nothing, it's merely a throw in. The first round pick is protected, so it will be in the second half of the first round, where teams can still find good players, especially in a draft which is as deep as 2014, but there's only a chance of that happening given that this pick will most likely be in the 20s.

I mentioned earlier I go back and forth on this trade, yes Ujiri did successfully dump nearly 50M in salary, but it could potentially be for a rental of Iguodala for a year. Iguodala could get a better offer from another team (Houston possibly) and make like a gold miner and rush to a place with a possible brighter future for him. If that happens, we would most likely look back at this trade and think "Wow, what a good deal, until Iguodala left, and the Nuggets were stuck with nothing for a good young player and a first round pick". That's only a possibility though, if Ujiri is in that situation again, he makes that trade each and every time, and it was a very good one.

Drafted Evan Fournier with the 20th overall pick

Other than Damian Lillard, Evan Fournier is the steal of the 2012 draft in my books. He's regarded as one of the best young guards in the league with lots of untapped potential, and watching him play you can see it. Look at the players drafted after and before him, Royce White (more on him later), Fab Melo, Jeremy Lamb, Austin Rivers, Terrence Ross, John Henson, John Jenkins, and Jarred Cunningham. At this point, would you take any of them over Evan? Only one I'd think about would be Lamb, but it'd be a tough argument to make. I just talked myself into: Evan Fournier Draft Pick of the Year.

Extended Andre Miller to a 3 year 14.6M contract.

Some people will say that Andre gets paid too much, he's too old, he can't play defense, ect. but with all that he remains to be one of the best backup point guards in the league today. He is a veteran who is an offensive genius, he manages the game like very little point guards can, he is always at least 2 steps ahead of the defense, and probably has the best post game on the Nuggets. The beauty behind this signing is that, Andre doesn't seem like he will drop off that much over the three years, Ujiri knew what he was getting with Miller, a point guard who has poise and makes sure the offense won't miss a beat when the second unit comes in. A skill needed when the starter is Ty Lawson who can play out of control at times. He might be overpaid a little, but it's worth it to have a reliable back up point guard on a contending playoff team for the next 3 years. This is a smart move by a smart GM. However, the good moves end here.

Ujiri's Bad Moves:

Extended Javale Mcgee to a 4 year 44M contract.

I get it, Javale has tons of "potential" due to his unbelievable athleticism, and given the right situation he could prosper into an impact center. However, you don't sign a guy no matter what the potential 11M a year for him to play 18 minutes a game. That's a quarter and a half, or 3/8s of a basketball game, for a guy who is getting paid ridiculous money. Outside of Andre Iguodala, he's the HIGHEST PAID PLAYER on the team. You do not pay a backup center 11M a year, and for 4 years at that. This contract could haunt the Nuggets for the next 3 years while he's on the team, and probably will be the difference between getting annually knocked out in the first round and competing in the conference finals. That seems harsh, but it's the truth, we've seen what can happen to teams who are stuck with large contracts, to watch their championship hopes float away because of them. Look at Orlando (Rashard), Kenyon Martin in Denver, and almost all the Knicks signings of the last decade. Bad contracts added to bad players usually don't match, and that is what Ujiri has seemed to got himself into with this one.

Signed Anthony Randolph to a 3 year 6M contract.

I'll make this one quick, because there's not much to say about Mr. Randolph, other than that he played only 8 minutes a game during the season, and 6 in the playoffs. He averaged 5 points and a rebound. He's a non factor, and he gets paid almost 4 times as much a year as say James Anderson. Every million matters, believe it or don't believe it, but this is about 1.5M spent of unnecessary money, especially when there are players who can give you 8 minutes a game and the same numbers as he does for 500K a year.

Conclusion Ujiri:

As seen, Ujiri made some very smart moves which definitely made his team better, but certain moves he made as well could appear to be a huge burden on their future. The Nuggets although young, are in win-now mode, and don't seem to have as bright a future as other teams do.

Morey's Good Moves:

Traded to Oklahoma City: Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, Bobcats 2013 second round pick, Top-20 protected first round pick from the Dallas Mavericks, and a 1-3, 15+ protected first round pick from the Toronto Raptors.

Acquired from Oklahoma City: James Harden, Daquan Cook, Cole Aldrich, and Lazar Hayward.

The trade all Rocket fans and Morey had been waiting for finally happened, we finally acquired a superstar. A superstar we've been waiting on since the times of Yao and Mcgrady. The icing on the cake, he's staying here. Within the first couple days he was in Houston, Harden signed an extension, inking that he will stay in Houston for the next 5 years. They did something that OKC failed to do and are reaping the benefits. Harden now in his star role is a top scorer in the league, a top passing shooting guard, and an above average rebounder for his position. He is a bonafide superstar, no ifs ands or buts about it. I'm going to stop raving about Harden, because we all know how good he is, the real story of this trade is in what the Rockets gave up and didn't get in return.

The Rockets gave up their best player Kevin Martin, an offensive minded shooting guard whose flawed game fully relies on whether he is getting fouls or hitting the 3 pointer. Kevin is due to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and would've left Houston if he were still with the team, given him being public with his negative feelings for management.

As well leaving Houston for Oklahoma, was the quickly beloved Jeremy Lamb selected 12th overall via the Bucks pick (more on that trade later). Lamb has tons of untapped potential, but this year he has failed to secure a spot on the Thunder roster, and has been used as trade bait multiple times during the season, while not playing a meaningful minute this season.

The picks appear to be valuable assets for a young team, but realistically only the Toronto pick will really yield any fruit for either team. The Toronto pick is predicted to be around the 10th overall range, not a bad pick, but not what a team should get in return for a budding mega-star. The Mavericks pick, given their situation, they might not see for the next 3-5 years, and the Bobcats second round is valuable given that it's early in the second round, but if Jeremy Lamb (12th overall) can't play meaningful minutes with the Thunder, what says a second round pick can.

Morey was able to move 2 picks which don't have much value, a player who was on his way out of Houston anyway, a young shooting guard with starter potential, and a late lottery pick for one of the best up and coming shooting guards right now. One thing however about this trade is that Morey was able to do two things 1) Keep Chandler Parsons whose contract makes him an ideal fit anywhere, and 2) Didn't take on Kendrick Perkin's contract which has already been a hamper to the Thunder in not being able to give Harden the money he wants. Morey made a killing in this trade, and changed the future for a franchise stuck in-between mediocrity and the playoffs for the best.

Signed Omer Asik to a 3 year 25M contract.

When I heard that Daryl was making Omer Asik his top target in Free Agency, I thought he was crazy. This is a guy who had (has?) no offensive game, never had more than 10 rebounds in a game, and had conditioning issues. Put those things together, and Omer Asik shouldn't be and shouldn't ever be a starting center in the NBA. Luckily, I'm not the General Manager and Daryl is. He knew ever since Asik entered the draft what he could do on the basketball court, and that showed this year when he led the league in total rebounds along with showcasing his defensive genius. He still has a lot to work on offensively and needs to work on his conditioning. Only two teams really knew what Asik could do, the Bulls and the Rockets. Daryl used the Poison Pill Provision to sign away Omer Asik from Chicago, and hasn't looked back since. Omer has to be the biggest steal of free agency this last summer. He has a bright future ahead of him in the league, and congratulations to Morey for knowing that the whole time.

Signed Carlos Delfino to a 2 year 6M contract (Team Option Year 2).

Daryl waited until near the end of free agency to sign Delfino, and proves to be the strategy teams should take when trying to acquire a three point shooting wing. It's not that Delfino is a real steal (which he is) for the money, it's that many other General Managers insist on paying guys who do the same thing more, and earlier in free agency. For example Kyle Korver (due ~5M this year). Other General Managers insist on getting them early and overpaying, Morey insisted on waiting and getting a steal. Fun Fact: Carlos Delfino leads NBA history in three pointers attempted per 36 minutes. He fits into Morey's plan and he has a great contract. This is a quality signing by Morey.

Signed Patrick Beverley to a 4 year 2M unguaranteed (my spelling sucks) contract (Team Options all years)

Morey took a flier on a young point guard from Russia, who ended up starting and leading the Rockets to two playoff wins. How many undrafted rookie PGs do you know that have done that? It never happens, but Morey had faith in him and knew what he could do. He plays defense until the whistle is blown (and sometimes after), shoots decently, and never runs out of energy. He is all you want in a young backup PG, and shows to be another steal for Morey.

Traded to Sacramento: Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, Toney Douglas

Acquired from Sacramento: Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt

During the draft, Morey was trying hard to trade for a high pick to select Thomas Robinson. Allegedly he was offering 2 or 3 of his first round picks to move up. It never happened. Fast forward about half a year later, and Morey gets his hands on Thomas Robinson after something happened behind the scenes who nobody except Sacramento's people and Morey know about. Morey turned a 14th overall pick, a fringe NBA player, and a backup PG into a top 5 pick with ridiculous upside, a veteran who helped lead this team to where they got this season, and a D-league player.

Patrick Patterson is who we think he is, he's an average power forward in the league who can do a little bit of everything, but he's not Thomas Robinson. Thomas Robinson is still a project, but he has other worldly potential. Morey believes he has All-Star potential, and he just might get there if he improves the way Morey thinks he will. That's well worth the risk of giving up Patrick Patterson. He definitely has a better chance than Twill.

The assumed "throw in" of Francisco Garcia was overlooked by most, but as the season drew to the end, he was playing meaningful minutes. His towel waving, three point hitting, 94 feet defense playing self was the veteran influence this young team needed. That alone has made a huge impact on this team, and now he wants to come back and return to Houston. He loves it here and he's loyal, that's worth a lot in this league. Mark this down as another steal for Daryl Morey.

Somehow was able to retain max cap room for this summer.

The Rockets are able to offer Dwight Howard or whichever free agent this summer a max contract (~20.5M), all that is necessary is to drop most ungaurenteed contracts, and trade away a rookie. Teams would kill to be in the position the Rockets are in if they were at the cap, add into the situation that they can max out another superstar, there's no team with a brighter future than Houston.

Other notable good moves:

Traded to Milwaukee: Samuel Dalembert, 14th overall selection,

Acquired from Milwaukee: 12th overall pick (Jeremy Lamb), Shaun Livingston, Jon Leuer, Jon Brockman

None of the acquired pieces are still on the roster, but the pick which turned into Jeremy Lamb played a huge role in making the Harden trade happen.

Traded to Toronto: Kyle Lowry

Acquired from Toronto: 2013 protected first round pick, Gary Forbes

Daryl moved Kyle Lowry to Toronto after expressing that he didn't want to play under Kevin Mchale in a public manner. In return, Morey got another piece which he used to make the Harden trade happen. Well worth it, since Lowry was on his way out already.

Amnestied Luis Scola

A sad moment for most Rockets fans, but a move which had to happen to open up minutes for the young power forwards, and clear up cap space for this summer.

Morey's Bad Moves:

Selected Royce White with the 16th overall pick.

I'll keep this short, because I'm sure we're all tired of hearing about him. Here's my thought: If he never suits up in a Rocket uniform, his selection will go down as one of the worst in NBA history. There I said it! Let's move on.

Signed Jeremy Lin to a 3 year 25M contract / Failed to extend Goran Dragic due to a player option.

I bundled these two together for a reason, and I already know this is going to stir some people the wrong way. Let me make my argument. So far, Goran Dragic has outperformed Jeremy Lin immensely. Goran leads Lin in points, rebounds, assists, FG%, and turns the ball over less. They get paid roughly the same amount, and for Morey not to bite on Dragic who is the better player between the two was a bad move. Dragic learned to be a point guard behind the best pick and roll point guard ever, who played in arguably the fastest offensive system ever in the NBA. Goran was essentially born to the Rockets point guard, yet Morey failed to extend his contract. This still bothers me, not because Lin is bad (he's not), but because he's just not as good. Every small upgrade matters in this league, and missing out on Dragic and having Lin instead could make a difference in the future.

Traded to Phoenix: Marcus Morris

Acquired from Phoenix: 2013 2nd round pick

I understand the need to free up a roster spot, and minutes for Thomas Robinson who came in at the same time, but to get rid of the 14th overall selection after only a year and a half doesn't make sense to me. Especially when it's only for a second round pick. I don't care how brilliant Morey is with second round picks, Phoenix won this trade, they essentially traded the 32nd pick for the 14th, only a year removed between them. Marcus Morris was playing decently also! He was hitting the corner three and was doing good in his shared minutes with Patrick Patterson. Good for Phoenix for getting this guy, bad for Morey for giving him up for less than he's worth.

Cut Courtney Fortson from the squad.

I'm still upset about this and no matter how much I love Morey, I'll never forgive him for this. Fortson is stuck in Venezuela right now. I didn't know they knew what basketball was in Venezuela. He doesn't deserve this. This is all your fault Morey. /this is only slightly sarcastic and joking

Conclusion Morey:

Morey pulled off the unheard of, he essentially flip flopped an average NBA roster into the youngest team with the brightest future in the league while retaining max cap space. It took a lot of moves, lots of failed plans, and lots of luck, but it worked out in the end. Morey has balls guys, this whole year has shown it.

Final Assessment Ujiri vs Morey.

Let it be said first, I think Ujiri did a very good job this year with his team. They had a ridiculous home record, were favorites coming into the playoffs, and was a model for efficient basketball. However, most of the team was already in place (due to Ujiri's great General Managing), and only some moves were needed to be made. Ujiri showed he wasn't afraid to make a deal when he entered the Dwightstakes, but that trade could hamper the future for his team. As well, the Javale Mcgee and Anthony Randolph signings can have serious repercussions in the next years, keeping the Nuggets from contending where they could. Hopefully the good find in Evan Fournier and extending of Andre Miller make up for those signings, but in the end they probably won't. This year might be the best the Nuggets will be for a while and that's a big reason why Ujiri doesn't deserve the award.

Daryl Morey made move after move, and came out of nowhere with his trades and signings. The result in the end? One of the youngest teams in NBA history and a Sun-bright future. Very few general managers can do what Morey did this year, and even fewer have the balls to do it. He put his reputation on the line with this rapid rebuild, it could've easily failed and he would probably be unemployed right now. It didn't though, he traded for James Harden, Thomas Robinson, signed Omer Asik, somehow kept Chandler Parsons, and retained maximum cap room for free agency. He did make some bad moves though, Royce White, not extending Dragic, but those moves won't have the negative effect on the Rockets that the Javale Mcgee contract will have on the Nuggets. Morey beautifully balanced risk and reward, which speaks to his brilliance. What Morey did this year, not only deserves for him to win executive of the year this year, but should be mentioned with the great years that Danny Ainge had when he brought the big-3 together, and when Pat Riley brought Bosh and Lebron to Miami. He figuratively landed on the moon for the first time, he set a new precedent for rebuilding teams around the league by pulling off the impossible. This is why he should win Executive of the Year.

Thank you for reading.

Ujiri's Good Moves:

Traded to Orlando: Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, 2013 Second Round Pick, and a protected 2014 First Round Pick

Acquired from Orlando: Andre Iguodala

Drafted Evan Fournier with the 20th overall pick

Extended Andre Miller to a 3 year 14.6M contract.

Ujiri's Bad Moves:

Extended Javale Mcgee to a 4 year 44M contract.

Signed Anthony Randolph to a 3 year 6M contract.

Conclusion Ujiri:

Morey's Good Moves:

Acquired from Oklahoma City: James Harden, Daquan Cook, Cole Aldrich, and Lazar Hayward.

Signed Omer Asik to a 3 year 25M contract.

Signed Carlos Delfino to a 2 year 6M contract (Team Option Year 2).

Signed Patrick Beverley to a 4 year 2M unguaranteed (my spelling sucks) contract (Team Options all years)

Traded to Sacramento: Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, Toney Douglas

Acquired from Sacramento: Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt

Somehow was able to retain max cap room for this summer.

Other notable good moves:

Traded to Milwaukee: Samuel Dalembert, 14th overall selection,

Acquired from Milwaukee: 12th overall pick (Jeremy Lamb), Shaun Livingston, Jon Leuer, Jon Brockman

None of the acquired pieces are still on the roster, but the pick which turned into Jeremy Lamb played a huge role in making the Harden trade happen.

Traded to Toronto: Kyle Lowry

Acquired from Toronto: 2013 protected first round pick, Gary Forbes

Amnestied Luis Scola

A sad moment for most Rockets fans, but a move which had to happen to open up minutes for the young power forwards, and clear up cap space for this summer.

Morey's Bad Moves:

Selected Royce White with the 16th overall pick.

Signed Jeremy Lin to a 3 year 25M contract / Failed to extend Goran Dragic due to a player option.

Traded to Phoenix: Marcus Morris

Acquired from Phoenix: 2013 2nd round pick

Cut Courtney Fortson from the squad.

Conclusion Morey:

Final Assessment Ujiri vs Morey.

Thank you for reading.

Glen Rice Jr

2013-05-10T15:23:00Z

Do we have his rights first considering he played for our D-League Affiliate? Or is he just like any other draft-eligible player? I would love to sign this guy and see what he can do. Better than any rookie we could get at the end of the 1st/early 2nd IMO.

From ESPN:

Analysis: We put Rice in our top 30 several months ago after he started getting more minutes in the D-League and broke loose. It wasn't a fluke. Rice led the Rio Grande Vipers to the D-League championship, scoring 25 PPG in the finals. He's a bit of a tweener, but he has NBA athleticism, can really shoot the basketball and is an excellent rebounder for his size. Most importantly, in the D-League he excelled at a high level among elite college players and former NBA rotation guys. He could help the Bucks right away next season.

From ESPN:

Poll

Is Glen Rice Jr a Rocket next year?

McHale 9th place for COY?

2013-05-08T22:42:37Z

Is it just me, or did the voters completely miss the boat on this one? Since the award is a regular season award, I can't argue against George Karl too much. He took a team with a bunch of nice role players and made them the 3 seed in the West, but how is McHale all the way down at 9th?? This coach took a team with more turnover than a lot of teams couldnt even imagine and made them a serious threat to every team in the NBA in any given night, and ultimately made the youngest team in the league play consistantly enough to make the 8 seed in a tough West. To me, that deserves a top 5 finish easily.

People who hate on Lin should check out his numbers

2013-05-07T18:50:08Z

No one really expected Lin to be what he was in those 25 games he started in NY with 18.2 pts / 7.7 ast / 3.7 rebs / 4.7 TO / 34% 3pt / 2 stl. If that was the case he would have received a max contract like DWill who posted very similar numbers this season but his contract will pay him an average of almost $20M/yr, Lin will make $8.5M/yr. And just as one last example CP3 posted 16.9 pts / 9.7 ast / 3.7 reb / 2.3 TO / 32.8 3pt / 2.4 stl, making almost $18M.

Lin started the season hurt and you could tell his game was off. Once he started looking healthy again after the all-star break, he posted numbers of 14.9 pts / 5.9 ast / 2.2 reb / 2.8 TO / 37.5% 3pt / 1.1 stl. Those numbers are very similar to Mike Conley who makes the same money on average. The only difference, this was Lin's first full season and Mike Conley's 5th full season.

I'm not a Lin fanatic but I don't think he deserves the bashing people give him. $8.5 is a fair price for him and I think he has lived up to this contract so far. I think next year he will be even better once he get more comfortable with his role. I thin having Lin and Beverly is such a good thing for the Rockets, the coach can pick what he needs from his PG depending on how the game is going. Kudos to Morey for finding PB and getting him on the cheap.

Poll

Do you think Lin has under-performed his contract so far?

An attempt to understand the CBA and it's implication for the Rockets off season.

2013-05-07T06:05:34Z

If you ever took a serious look into the current NBA CBA rules, chances are your reaction would be somewhere along the line of OMGWTFBBQ . yeah, it's that complex. So it shouldn't be a surprise the NBA teams are essentially paying lawyer to figure out what this whole thing mean, as fans, we aren't going to be able to go that far, but this post is meant to be a general outlook of the primary implication of the CBA in regards to the Rockets off season.

As I am by no means an expert, feel free to correct any thing I may have misunderstood.

1. What is the cap and what does it mean?

The Cap is the main limit a team faces when signing / trading players. there are some ways to get around it to some extend, but generally speaking it is the biggest reference point. the cap have remained at around 58 million for several years now, However it would probably go up a little for next season, supposedly pushing up to around the 60 million range.

a. Cap and FA: in general theory, teams can NOT sign a FA to a contract that pushes them over the cap, not even by 1 dollar. there are a few general exceptions, most notably bird rights (teams resigning their own players) , and mid level exception (signing a guy for league average money) or bi annual exception (signing a guy for around 2 million) or league minimum signings.

b. where is the Rockets at on the cap? The Rockets as of today have 54 million committed to next season, leaving them with only 4-6 million to work with depending on where the next cap is set at, however, this is assuming they pick up all their current options, if they decline Garcia (6.4) Delfino (3) and Brooks (2.5) that roughly puts them at 42 commited, thus having around 16-18 M to work with.

2.What is the maximum salary you can offer to a FA?

This part is complicated, because there are multiple sets of rule at work here, in THEORY, players under 10 years of service time, such as Howard and Paul, can only be offered 30% of the cap, which is $16,402,500 this year, however, if I understand correctly, this does not apply to those 2 player, because there is another provision that states that if a player's current salary x 1.05 is higher than that figure, than that number is the max salary you can offer .

Since Paul and Howard both are obviously making more than 16M this year already, it seems this part applies to them, which means that their max offer for next year is around 18 and 20 M respectively. add in a provision that allows for increase by year , you come up with a roughly 4/87 offer for Howard, and something more like 4/ 78 ish. I'm not entirely sure if the cap count is based on first year or average though.

However, as you can probably already see, this means that even though the Rockets have cap space, signing even one of these two guys will require some work, as barring a much larger cap increase than expected, we would fall just short of being able to offer them the max without other moves.

The obvious is to trade away the player they're replacing, aka Lin or Asik depending on if Paul or Howard signs, however the trick here is that you must be able to trade them first, then offer those guys contracts, and in the last few years alone there have been multiple cases where the team did their end only to have the (supposedly verbally committed player) bail. if that happens, especially in the case of Asik, we basically torpedoed our next season for nothing.

3. What about sign and trade?

Yeah... what about it? you might want to read this part of the CBA... or die trying anyway, since this part makes most other areas look easily understandable in comparison.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q89

This part is complex as hell, but the general gist seem to suggest that you'll see a lot less S&T going forward, if at all, because the restrictions on it now is immense. that it's probably only worth trying for smaller salary guys. which kind of defeats the point.

One must keep in mind that if the Lakers don't amnesty anyone of their big 3 or Metta, they're over the hard cap before even resigning Howard, which essentially bar them from making a S&T , or hell, even do anything other than sign minimum salary guys (they can't even sign mid level exception players.). so it seems baring some huge headline grabbing moves like amnesty Kobe AND trading Gasol, the Lakers bench will look hilarious next season. as in, it'll probably look like the Vipers bench. (hell it might BE the Viper's bench)

Conclusion.

I would love to see other guys who know more of this subject to chim in, but from what I'm seeing here, the road to Howard of Paul, while not closed, is pretty difficult unless those players come out clear that they'll sign with Houston over anyone else. (because we're not the only once with cap space, or even close to the team with the most space.) While i'm sure Morey will very seriously investigate that path, one probably shouldn't see it as anything more than a outside shot at happening, like maybe 20% chance. Howard especially is worrisome, as he's well known to not make up his mind. so to hinge our season on verbal committeemen from Howard, and first trading Asik away, to make room, seems way too risky to me at least.

As I am by no means an expert, feel free to correct any thing I may have misunderstood.

1. What is the cap and what does it mean?

2.What is the maximum salary you can offer to a FA?

3. What about sign and trade?

Yeah... what about it? you might want to read this part of the CBA... or die trying anyway, since this part makes most other areas look easily understandable in comparison.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q89

Conclusion.

The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

2013-05-07T01:17:56Z

By Associated Press, Updated: Monday, May 6, 7:13 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City’s Derek Fisher was fined $5,000 by the NBA on Monday for flopping in Game 5 of the Thunder’s first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.

Fisher’s fine was the result of a play in the second quarter when both he and teammate Kevin Martin fell backward onto the floor to take a charge against Houston center Omer Asik.

Asik was called for an offensive foul on the play.

Interior Defense - Howard vs Asik (Something from Sloan)

2013-05-06T14:14:34Z

Hi Everyone,

With the current debate raging within Rockets fandom about Howard vs Asik, I figured it might be of some slight interest to recap a paper I had read from this year's MIT Sloan conference. While I know that most of the debate around these parts is about the difference between the offensive impacts of both, this paper presents a refreshing view of the defensive side of the story too. It's a take on measuring defensive effectiveness of interior defenders. Its quite a well written paper authored by Mr Kirk Goldberry from Harvard and Mr Eric Weiss from Sports Aptitude. [Sorry I havent properly cited the paper]

Here's the link.

For those who want a quick explanatory summary, please allow me to try and present my understanding of the core concepts in it.

Firstly the paper rightly claims that offensive impact is easier to measure via stats but defensive impact needs us to dig deeper than what just defensive rebounds/steals/blocks and other plain stats tell us. I guess we all knew that.

The second point is that we can divide shots taken in the NBA into 3 zones(long range/mid range/close range). Again we Rocket fans have long known the relative strengths of the long and close range shots while decrying the inefficiencies of the mid range jumpers. It then suggests that offensive players should be analysed by looking at not just their accuracy across these 3 ranges but also how they distribute their shot attempts across these 3 ranges. Again, this is a concept we hang our hats upon many a time when we talk of say Harden vs Josh Smith (The paper tends to use Josh Smith at various points to illustrate inefficient shooting, so there's that for JSmoove proponents this offseason)

For example

Average NBA offensive performance

Close / Mid / Long

35% / 41% / 24% -- Shot distribution of avg NBA player [35% from close, 41% from mid, 24%from long]

53% / 39% / 36% - Accuracy of avg NBA player from close, mid and long ranges

KD on the other hand is

Shot Distribtion 27/46/27 Accuracy 65/44/37

And JSmoove is

Shot Distribtion 45/43/12 Accuracy 61/37/30 [Surprisingly drives to the basket more than avg but as we have all seen, takes too many mid range jumpers and is bad at both mid and long range shots]

Anywhoo, this was just to set up the next part about how important are interior defenses, since as we can see the close range shots are pretty high percentage shots and also (apparently) the source of a higher number of offensive rebounds.

So now that we have broken down how offenses operate, a good inside defender can do one of two things. He can A)force the shooters to take less number of close range shots or B) make the shoter much mroe inefficient on the shots he does take in the close range. This forms the basis of our first comparison between messrs Howard and Asik. However, for this kind of comparison we should only take the shots which occur when such defender is close to the basket. This is of course a proxy for when the action is close to the rim rather than say on a fast break or when the offensive action is more perimeter oriented. Also not fair to judge interior defenders when they arent even there!

On average, in such situations players tend to shoot 58% of their shots in the close range, making these shots at a clip of 49.7%

Firstly looking at case A Howard comes in first in the league. This means that when Howard is present within 5 feet of the basket, opposing players simply choose not to go to the basket(only 48% of the time are close range shots taken). The percentage of shots they take distinctly shifts towards the mid range and long range. This is of course a testament to his reputation and intimidation as much as to his ability. The Big O ranks number 33 and doesnt really alter the shot distribution much in such situations. People stll take 58% of their shots in the close range against him.

Now looking at case B, Howard comes in 10th by reducing the fg% in close range to 45% whereas The Big O comes in slightly worse than average at 51%(number 33)

Now what follows is a little critique of my own. Of course the problem with the study is that it doesnt take into account how the defense of your teammates affects your own performance on defense. So it doesnt normalise across the fct that Omer is probably helping off his man a lot more and trying to make up for others defensive lapses as well. Also that O is Houstons only big man on the floor usually. Plus the fact remains that these numbers are nto normalised per 36 minutes or anything and the data is only gathered from Arenas with the tracking camera thingies. But overall it is still a fresh way to look at defense and I thought it would be cool to share it with you guys. Check out the paper its got other cool stuff too.

Hope you enjoyed my modest attempt at paraphrasing this paper. I just found it super interesting to know what kind of things they talk about at Sloan. They dont seem to be as geeky as we think but they do think quite deeply about the game indeed.

Hi Everyone,

Here's the link.

For those who want a quick explanatory summary, please allow me to try and present my understanding of the core concepts in it.

For example

Average NBA offensive performance

Close / Mid / Long

35% / 41% / 24% -- Shot distribution of avg NBA player [35% from close, 41% from mid, 24%from long]

53% / 39% / 36% - Accuracy of avg NBA player from close, mid and long ranges

KD on the other hand is

Shot Distribtion 27/46/27 Accuracy 65/44/37

And JSmoove is

Shot Distribtion 45/43/12 Accuracy 61/37/30 [Surprisingly drives to the basket more than avg but as we have all seen, takes too many mid range jumpers and is bad at both mid and long range shots]

On average, in such situations players tend to shoot 58% of their shots in the close range, making these shots at a clip of 49.7%

Now looking at case B, Howard comes in 10th by reducing the fg% in close range to 45% whereas The Big O comes in slightly worse than average at 51%(number 33)

The Best PF Available For The Rockets 2013

2013-05-06T07:16:45Z

via bballpants.files.wordpress.com

Here's the chart i made. You can refer to it later. All you have to know right now is what my thresholds were.

I took 3 years of mid-range data, grabbed all the above-average mid-range shooters and made a few thresholds.

1. They had to shoot over 40% in one of these years.

2. They had to shoot over 4 shots in at least 2 of these years.

The reason the rankings need to be normalized is because the Mid Range Attempts for each player vary wildly. A Player that attempted 3 shots would have a higher ranking than a person who attempted 6 shots despite having the same FG%. So I normalized it.

-------------The JUICY PART--------------

1. Brand and West are the best of the bunch. Their production has dropped significantly but they are still much better. Bass might actually be still improving in this area. Judging by this bracket, Elton Brand might be a better buy since even a drop next year still sees him as better than the rest.

2. Kevin Garnett is a historically great volume shooter. And has been historically.

3. Jason Smith and Marc Gasol are the same types of shooter. They actually don't shoot enough Mid Range Shots to be significantly predictable. They might be good one year and terrible the next. the variance between 4 and 5 shots taken per game is SIGNIFICANT. Those that take 5 shots and over are much more predictable.Namely, I wouldn't trade for Jason Smith and expect him to hit those Mid-Range shots for you.

4. Dirk is the probably one of the best mid range shooters in the game. The 1.00 variance means he takes a lot and he hits a lot. He is slightly worse than KG.

5. The next group is Henderson, Durant, and Bosh. Henderson is a SG, I know but he takes a bunch of midrange shots. I felt i had to include him as a second string comparison.

6. melo, bryant, lbj, jefferson, lma are terrible at the long 2. In the case of bryant, he's been bad at the long 2 for some time quite a while. When the two adjusted numbers are as close together as it is with Melo, it's really not an injury season that plagues Melo. It's just a volume shooting at a low percentage. He's def. shot worse than his peers injury or no injury. LMA and Jefferson have a bit of variance which indicate injury but even in their best form they weren't spectacular.

Duncan and Horford really fell off the map. They used to be considerably much better. This indicates a permanent drop in mid-range production.

Boozer is just terrible. He's all over the place.

---------------

In conclusion, if you want someone to space the floor, it's West, Brand and Brandon Bass.

The NBA geek has their 3 stats lined up for you to choose.

West and Brand are old but even on their worst days, they've been better than Bass on his best. But Bass is 25 years old and he'll have more effective minutes in him.

West will be more expensive and it can be argued that Brand is actually BETTER than him.

The best scenario would be to grab Brand and Bass for 1 year + 1 year team option.

*******(how to calculate)*******************

www.nba.com/stats

filter to midrange shots. I did a lot of this manually. I can hold a lot of information in my head and just write down all the outliers. Copy down 20 or so people who take a lot of shots and have a >40% fg rate.

Raw Ranking is calculated by taking the Mid Range FG% and dividing it by FGA. It's basically FGM/FGA^2. You basically get smaller FG% number to work with.

Next is to create a Bracket Raw Ranking. Guys that take 10 shots with 40% accuracy would be 40/10 or 4.00 Raw Rank.

So if you have a 5.00 Raw Rank taking 10 shots, you would minus it by 4 and get a 1.00 Ranking which is pretty good (Kevin Garnett good).

One of the problems with NBA stats is that they do not do it by a per 48 minute basis. That might skew the results a bit.

via bballpants.files.wordpress.com

Here's the chart i made. You can refer to it later. All you have to know right now is what my thresholds were.

I took 3 years of mid-range data, grabbed all the above-average mid-range shooters and made a few thresholds.

1. They had to shoot over 40% in one of these years.

2. They had to shoot over 4 shots in at least 2 of these years.

-------------The JUICY PART--------------

2. Kevin Garnett is a historically great volume shooter. And has been historically.

4. Dirk is the probably one of the best mid range shooters in the game. The 1.00 variance means he takes a lot and he hits a lot. He is slightly worse than KG.

5. The next group is Henderson, Durant, and Bosh. Henderson is a SG, I know but he takes a bunch of midrange shots. I felt i had to include him as a second string comparison.

Duncan and Horford really fell off the map. They used to be considerably much better. This indicates a permanent drop in mid-range production.

Boozer is just terrible. He's all over the place.

---------------

In conclusion, if you want someone to space the floor, it's West, Brand and Brandon Bass.

The NBA geek has their 3 stats lined up for you to choose.

West and Brand are old but even on their worst days, they've been better than Bass on his best. But Bass is 25 years old and he'll have more effective minutes in him.

West will be more expensive and it can be argued that Brand is actually BETTER than him.

The best scenario would be to grab Brand and Bass for 1 year + 1 year team option.

*******(how to calculate)*******************

www.nba.com/stats

Raw Ranking is calculated by taking the Mid Range FG% and dividing it by FGA. It's basically FGM/FGA^2. You basically get smaller FG% number to work with.

Next is to create a Bracket Raw Ranking. Guys that take 10 shots with 40% accuracy would be 40/10 or 4.00 Raw Rank.

So if you have a 5.00 Raw Rank taking 10 shots, you would minus it by 4 and get a 1.00 Ranking which is pretty good (Kevin Garnett good).

One of the problems with NBA stats is that they do not do it by a per 48 minute basis. That might skew the results a bit.

The Rocket Size Head Case

2013-05-05T20:28:27Z

Now that this season is over, the only thing left is to figure out how to improve.

The biggest need is the 4

Either we grab someone to babysit the 4 (and let the players we have fight for that position) or we grab someone to hang on to the 4 spot for years to come (Let them become a great role player). Let’s take a look:

Josh Smith

A great stats guy. (17.0 ppg, 7.5 rbs, 3.5 ast) He can upgrade a defense immediately and in the era of NBA, he is a great 4. He is big, strong and athletic. He jacks a lot of shots and believes he can shoot the three (.285 career avg) He leaves you with some great plays but he will definitely leave you with a “What is he doing… No NO!!! HELL NO! DON’T SHOOT THAT! He has so much upside but he can also bring a team down with his erratic shooting.

David West

With numbers of 16/6/1, David West also carries that toughness, which is a great intangible . It is a trait that essential for teams. (I.E. Kevin Garnett) He plays great ball and is a great leader. Being a strong vocal leader can go long ways especially with a team that does not have a clear cut identity (the rockets do not have that yet.) Also using him with Beverly could be interesting.

Paul Milsap and Al Jefferson

I will tie these two together just because it’s the Jazz and it would be so much sweeter if one came to the Rockets and then demolishes Utah…

Paul Milsap averages 14.6/7.1/2.6 with 30 mins and Al Jefferson avg 17.8/9.2/2.1 with 33 mins. Both good post players and could help clog the paint and grab some boards to help out Asik but here is it gets interesting. Both are 28 but Al Jefferson is more productive. The Pick and Roll combination would work greatly for the Rockets and let shoot the three much more. Also Jefferson has a great jump shot that will keep defenders on him.

Carl Landry (has a player option), Dejuan Blair (taking a chance on him), long shots but it could be interesting.

Also our bench

Garcia is the only one who could be a potential free agent SO… How can we upgrade the bench

We need someone who can bring the ball down and also initiate an offense. But I would know where to begin with that.