If you were the GM of Houston

Don’t get me wrong, they have a lot of young talent, even a couple guys who you might call "fringe All-Stars" in Kevin Martin and Luis Scola. Even so, it is hard to be excited by this teams current core. I would honestly think they would be up for trading almost anyone on their current roster, with the exceptions of Scola, Lowry, Budinger, Patterson and most likely the newly drafted rookies. I think the Marcus Morris was strong at 14, Motiejunas will be one you have to wait on. Nonetheless, who does this team really build around? Who is the star?

This is why I believe Kevin Martin will be on the trading block. The guy can score in bunches, he averaged 23.5 ppg last year in only 32.5 mpg (34.6 ppg per 48 minutes, 2nd in the league to Kobe). But, I think the major thing with Martin, and one of the reasons he probably saw so little court time last year, is that he can get beat by quicker guards on defense. I know he has height, and I love his ability to get to the line, but I do not think he is a complete player or one that leads a team very far. They have a lot of young talent at the wing, and a couple of guys in Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams who probably could play both ends of the court, as opposed to being a pure scorer.

Still, while they have all of these solid players, I am not sure how many of them you rank in the top 10-15 in their position. Scola, Martin and Lowry are maybes, but how many of their young guys do you see being one of the better players at their position? If they were in the East, than maybe they could battle for a 7 or 8, but you ultimately want to get beyond that point. With the Grizzlies, they have guys like Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, who definitely are in the top 10 at their position, while Rudy Gay is as well when he is healthy. Plus, they have the role players and experience at needed spots. The Rockets just have a lot of youth, and while they have some talented prospects, many of whom were solid value picks, they have not produced the value of any of those three players I named from Memphis.

Kyle Lowry had a great end to last season and looks to be an answer at PG for now. While I do not think he is an All-Star per se, he plays great defense and has an incredibly strong base. His shooting appears to have improved, and it seems like he has played up to, if not past, the deal they signed him for last summer. Scola is a very solid PF, and while he is not incredibly flashy, he competes and has played at a high level. Beyond those two players, I would say a lot of things could be moved around. I think Center is a major position of need now that Yao has retired. I do not think anyone thinks that Hasheem Thabeet is the answer, and Chuck Hayes plays hard, but neither is he.

I think Daryl Morey has done a decent job with what he has been given, but he has to either make some trades to have this team competing or just destroy and rebuild. The best way to build a team is around high level draft picks. Unless you pick a player that plays to the point of a high level draft pick, than you are going to be stuck in purgatory. Morey seems to be at this point, not necessarily due to much more than incredibly bad luck in the injuries of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. If those guys had remained healthy, than the Rockets might have been competing. However, they had not been, for quite a while, and now they are stuck with a team of role players for what was a hopeful contender.

To save his job, I am guessing he will try to unload just about anybody to plug in some of the holes in this team. They do not seem to be in the best cap situation, so I do not think they can do much through free agency. I heard rumblings about them going after Nene. With the current situation in Denver, he may jump ship, but I do not think the Rockets will give him the offer he wants. A couple options for big men could be New Orleans for Emeka Okafor, though I hate his contract, or the Clippers for Chris Kaman, though he is injury prone and has an expiring contract. Nonetheless, this might have the team headed in a direction to possibly get a better place in the draft. If I were Houston, I would try to lock in a high draft pick next year and do anything to trade for one. There are a number of players who could get this team headed in the right direction. Sorry for not coming up with something more conclusive, but this team is in a confusing situation.

I’d trade one of their PFs, but definitely hold onto Motiejunas, his offensive skill will suit Thabeet’s defensive mindset. If I had to trade one I’d go with Luis Scola, simply because there’ll be a team with assets who will trade for him. I’d play Hill at the C to back-up Thabeet, as he seems the most capable of their PFs with his 7ft wingspan, athleticism, and aggression, and let Patterson and Motie fight to be their starter at the 4.

Martin needs to be traded also, I agree. This is the draft class to find that star player, so if they can unload Scola and Martin, they’ll be able to develop their young talent and position themselves for a high draft pick in a stacked class. If they are going to unload Scola/Martin, trade them for draft picks a few years down the track, because the last thing they need is more "young talent". If they can get some veteran role-players to mentor their young ‘uns to boot, then so be it, but Houston needs to escape purgatory, and trading these two is the best way in my opinion.

Lee has proven he can start on a successful playoff team, but Williams has the potential to be more than a role player if he is ever given the chance to be comfortable, so I say insert T-Will into the starting lineup alongside Lowry, Budinger, Motie and Thabeet, and see where that young core will take you with one year of relatively free reign. They will lose a lot of games, but a full season of scrutiny will give Morey some idea of who to stick with, because he’s got too many players who are essentially even in skill/potential at this stage.

Their draft board would look like this if I were the GM;

1. Andre Drummond
2. Harrison Barnes
3. Quincy Miller
4. Kidd-Gilchrist
5. Brad Beal

I know this ignores Sully, Davis and McAdoo, but none of them are Cs, and they are stacked at the PF as has been mentioned. Budinger is nice and all, but the SF is probably their weakest, and they already have a proven playoff performer in Courtney Lee to pair with Barnes, Miller or Gilchrist on the wing if they decide to focus on the SF position.

trade martin and scola for expiring contract/picks/young players and hope to land drummond or someone else in this stacked draft…

then package a few of these young guys and get an all-star caliber talent.

 A team that starts Thabeet is bound to suck, they need a startingcentre, maybe trade Scola and Dragic for someone. 

I honestly couldn’t think of anything better than Scola and Dragic for Bynum, but if Bynum can stay healthy that deal would certainly work out for the Rockets, although the Lakers will prolly not agree

 Thabeet is not a legitimate NBA rotation player.  I think Jordan Hill likely will start for them if they don’t trade for or sign another center.  

Houston has been in a tough spot lately as they haven’t been a legitimate contender the last few years, but they have done well enough to avoid getting many talented young players, though they have drafted well for the most part (though I thought they made a big mistake by taking Marcus Morris, who I doubt will become better than Patrick Patterson).  This may be the year that they bottom out and get a high lottery pick now that they no longer have Rick Adelman as coach, but if McHale is able to get they team to be an elite offensive team like they were last year, they could easily sneak in as the eighth seed in the west.

Houston’s biggest need is a legitimate center to anchor their defense.  The center wouldn’t have to score much, as Houston has proven to be an excellent offensive team without a great offensive center.  The problem is, not of Houston’s centers are great at either end of the floor. 

Simply put, the Rockets need to make a blockbuster trade. Like 3 or 4 for 1 type deal. Not sure if they have the ammo to get Howard or CP3 but this team has the pieces to put an offer on the table.

I would trade Hills weak a$$ for a draft pick or just cut him if no one wants him. I would go after a starting center because HT isnt ready jus yet. I like Flynn but KL took Brooks spot and you cant count out Gragic cause was Nashs back-up and learned a lot, so anyone had to go it would be Flynn. I think they need a good starting 5 than they should be ok for now and i think CB too but not as a starter he’ll be a great spark off the bench

I wouldn’t mind seeing Patrick Patterson in a Pacers jersey, even if he picked and ate his booger at Kentucky.

I agree they’re gonna have to get worse to get better. Moving Scola & Martin(with a few young pieces) to improve in certain areas and maybe even get a borderline star in the process could go a long way for them.

Maybe something like Martin & Thabeet for Okafor. If anyone could get something out of Thabeet it’s CP3…he could get an easy 6-8 a game just off pick & roll lobs. I know the Hornets are in cost cutting mode with being owned by the league right now, so shedding Emeka’s long term salary would be appealing…and Martin’s scoring ability would definitely improve NO’s team and take a lot of pressure off Paul.

Then they should use Scola and some combination of (Budinger, Hill/Patterson, T-Will) to upgrade the 3 spot(someone like Granger or Iguodala).

I’m not really enamored with anyone on their roster. They have a lot of young guys, but all are mid to late first round picks so the odds of one turning into a franchise player are next to nil. By the time they do develop, Martin and Scola will be in their twilight years. So I would start by trading Martin and Scola for picks or young talent. Suck it up next year, and grab a high pick in what could be a legendary draft. 

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=3epecs7 + Portland gives up second rounders or minor pieces

Houston get an expiring Centre that fills in for a year in Camby

Nola get a player to build around. Scola’s contract is 4 years but the total is the same as Okafor’s. David West and Carl Landry are UFA so they are both gone so Nola needs a PF.

Wheather Oden goes or stays this is a nice pick up for Portland.

First things first, throw Thabeet back in the NBDL where he belongs