contrary to what the morey acolytes claim, this isn't a riskless move. I wouldn't want that guy near young players. on the court, I'm not sure it works as nicely as some think, either. harden has thrived playing pg, essentially. I'm sure opposing teams would prefer he (or lawson) work off the ball, where he's historically less effective.
I agree, but when you weigh cost to opportunity, it's worth the risk for them. A) they've attracted no one but Dwight who hasn't been worth the money. B) since they've attracted no one they were faced with the certainty of going into the season with no major upgrades and thus little chance at the Finals. C) having two ball handlers isn't necessarily a bad thing if they're willing to work together. For instance I think Kobe and Paul would have worked brilliantly (and yes I understand they're of a far different caliber than Lawson/Harden just using an example). D) I mean what do they have to lose? If they get just another 3-4 wins out of this it was worth it. Heck if they break even it was worth it. The only way this isn't worth it for them is if the locker room implodes... which is an honest possibility! So hey for me it's a win-win. Houston maaaaybe gets better and we keep Lawson away from our high character young'ns.
Lawson has had his issues but the lack of drive to win that Swaggy shows on an hourly basis is just as caustic to winning IMHO. Lou Williams isn't a choir boy either. His off the court double team beating is fairly well known. I don't see how Lawson is any more of a detriment than them other than the arrests. Addiction is containable. Being a fun loving guy riding out the string isn't necessarily. I'm glad the front office is looking for talent where ever it is. Lawson wasn't a final answer in my opinion but a buffer from the massive pressure that is coming to young Russell. A smart move actually to get someone who can start in front of him.
there are precious few examples of addiction being containable in an nba atmosphere. I agree they should get a starter, but not that one. there's a reason a double/double machine pg was traded for nothing, and it's not because morey's smarter than everyone. and comparing him and nick young...man, that's a reach to me. forcing your team to cancel shootarounds because you can't/won't make them is certainly evidence of a lack of drive to win. this is a major character issue. but morey got him, so it's genius, and the lakers "missed out".
I think it's worth it for them. they have to win, and they're not luring that third star anytime soon, so they hail mary-ed it. I don't get why anyone would be upset about not getting him, though, and I went further to say that the lakers' even tepid interest concerned me. and if he does turn it around in Houston, I'm not sure that meant he would in la. if you buy the narrative that he checked out because Denver wasn't good (I don't), la this year wouldn't have been a good spot. as for two ballhandlers: first, kobe's never been used like harden (save maybe briefly in the rudy three era), and we didn't see him and paul. we DID see wade and LeBron, which didn't work until one of them capitulated utterly. the whole "my turn, your turn" thing has never worked, so one or both of them will have to play in a way that they've basically never played. could happen, but the idea that it's some sort of certainty is funny to me. odds are actually against it.
I think it's a certainty great players figure it out. Wade figured out what he had to do and he did it so the team could be successful. I don't think Harden and Lawson fit that bill necessarily though and I'm sure Dwight is ecstatic about possibly even fewer touches.
How many games before Dwight starts crying about his touches? Not sure how effective Harden/Lawson is off ball. Ideally they fit well since it gives them another creator so they don't have to rely on Harden every possession.
Crockets are history when it comes to having a real shot at winning a title ... Bosh ended their chances when he used them as leverage to get his big contract with Miami
Lawson is a good move for Houston, but yea, they still aren't contenders. They got really lucky getting to the WCF last year. Also, would Lawson even work in the starting lineup? Even though Harden improved defensively last year, Lawson/Harden backcourt has to be one of the worst defensive backcourts in the league. Then, there's the issue of sharing the ball. Harden/Lawson/Dwight? Last year, Dwight said that he no longer cares about getting "his" and only cares about winning. This sounds good, but I don't believe that for a second. Obviously, you can't worry about getting touches when you're sitting out for half the season. When the season actually starts and he's having games with only 5 attempts or games where his only attempts are putbacks, he'll be whining. I can see Lawson coming off the bench. McHale benched Josh Smith and Lin too because neither really fit in the starting lineup.
You assume that all addiction is public knowledge. My larger point is that we have bad influences both on our team and the city itself is a poor environment for younger people with a lot of money and free time. I actually think from the perspective of having a team gel a guy like Young is far more damaging than a guy who has a known problem. Young's playing out the string for as many paydays as he can get. Basketball is his source of income to support what he really is interested in. Younger guys go through that stage and some never escape it.... those are the ones that never develop fully and rarely if ever end up champions. Given the two, addiction is containable in the sense there is treatment, tests and consequences. A guy who has no value of the game isn't. Think Howard and "fun" for example. With Young it's cute with Howard it was a reason to justify his shunning of the franchise. Not having Howard here is a very good thing and largely because of his attitude.
Lawson has a chip on his shoulder -'prove em wrong. Young is all about style points and unfortunately doesn't seem to work on his game and is not maximizing his opportunity and God given skills.
Is this a joke? A power forward that plays absolutely zero defense, can't do anything even close to average on the floor and shoots 33% from the field (overall, not just on 3s) is decent? He is hot garbage.
I respectfully disagree. He's still young, from what we know works hard on his game and showed some positive signs. He looked much better playing at his natural position than when he was asked to play SF. I am confident he will be a decent backup some day, in the right system. His shooting should be fine (especially from long distance), he also can drive to the hoop some when given the opportunity. IMHO, at least on offense, he will be able to do some things on the above average level
He was asked to play out of position, defend small forwards and played on a horrible, injury depleted team. His numbers are not going to be good. mOn the right team, he can come off the bench and play limited minuted at the 4, which is what he really is.
Yeah Kelly does some things really well. He's a surprisingly decent shot blocker, a smart player, and he can space the floor. He's been asked to play out of position for a year and he looked awful while doing it. He's a Power Forward plain and simple. He's easily worth a 2nd rounder, especially considering his cost. The problem is his value is at an all-time low because we insisted on making him a SF last season which may have just killed his career.
Even though he works hard, it hasn't translated on the NBA level. On open 3pt shots, he still only shoots about 33.6%. That's poor, and your position shouldn't impact your percentage on open shots significantly. Even last year, he only shot about 34.3% on open 3pt shots, and he played almost exclusively at PF.
I was under the impression he played quite some time as SF too, must have been be wrong then.You are right that his position should not impact his 3pt% much, and I may be totally wrong as regards his potential, but I still expect him to improve significantly compared to what he showed last season. He's still pretty young and that work he puts in should pay dividends some day
or I assume that once it's common public knowledge that it's reached the point where it's not likely to be remedied? in other words, the hypothetical data points don't really matter here. still don't see how young is more destructive than a guy who has literally forced his team to restructure their practice schedule around his hangovers. and I dislike howard as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to pretend like his odd attitude outweighs his on-court benefit. harden gets all the credit in Houston (and morey, which is laughable), but howard's the guy who showed up and turned them from a fringe playoff team into a top 4 team in the conference.
