The problem is that when you have most of your money tied up in a few players, you have to fill out the team with a bunch of scrubs. Miami had the same issue when the super friends joined up. They had three really good players and then a bunch of low paid filler. And if I remember correctly, the super friends took less than max money. They won some rings, but it was a constant struggle to surround those star players with quality role players. Look. Harden and Paul wanted max money, and so this is what happens if you can't find the perfect mix of role players to fill out the team. I really don't put blame on Morey, his hands are tied to a certain extent. This team belongs to Harden and Paul. Harden and Paul created this team when they signed those huge contracts. Morey is known for wanting to build a team with multiple elite players. But, it doesn't work so well when the elite players are over 30yrs old. Those old guys may still play very well, but they cost more and they tend to break down.
But his contract won't do wonders either when the team cannot even get to the WCF. It's all on a Butler caliber player or nothing.
It's difficult not to consider the future. When you are getting your ass absolutely handed to you in the present. And he will only get older and more expensive.
I think the issue is unstable origanization with trade rumors flying on getting butler plus the fight. Those things has lingering effect on the team. CP3 and teammates are having trust issue as Rondo pointed out about bad teammate. EG has the edge and interest as he is rumored to be included in Butler package.
Yes. Yes. And Yes. Totally agree. It’s the Three Kings syndrome. Or for this bust of a season - the ThreeAmigos” TheSage
My beef with Paul is that if he genuinely wanted to win, he would have taken less money. So other non-scrubby players could be obtained. He’s a fat cat now. Best motivation is still the motivation to earn more money. Not after-the-fact of already getting guaranteed money.
Chris Paul has noticeably declined, but he'll be alright when Harden comes back I think. He just can't lead a team by himself at this point.
I don’t want to waste 4 picks to try to make a run at the 6 seed with this team. It won’t be worth it.
There was a big drop off last year when the trio of Harden, CP3, and Capela weren't healthy at the same time. When they were all 3 healthy, our record was ridiculously good and we were about to take out GS. We are seeing that again this year, only much worse. The Rockets suck right now for sure but let's see how good/bad we really are when we have our top 3 players on the court together before we freak out too much. As long as this doesn't turn into some Yao/Tmac thing where everyone takes turns on the injury list, we will be good. Not good enough to beat GS, but good enough to contend for 2nd place.
No. Paul is a hall of famer. He hasn't lost it. And he's always made big money. So his contract hasn't made him a bad player. The problem contract is Capela. Guys think he's on a value deal. He's not. The league is chock full of bigs and there's guys like WCS and Nerlens making 2-5 million who can do Capela's job better than him. They're longer, faster, quicker, more skilled, and have way more stamina. And so now Capela looks like just another big man.....which is what he is. And we couldn't keep or trade for other guys because we paid him! But we're gonna have to cater to him and make sure he posts big numbers so we can pretend he's an asset and hopefully convince some other team that he's better value than some other $10-20 million salaried players they currently have so that they'll want Capela. We cannot keep Capela on the roster and compete for championships. He makes way too much money for his contributions to winning and limits both our cap and trade flexibility and our style of play. Other teams are now racing past us. And Capela is largely at fault because he can't haul his carcass back down the court in transition fast enough and he gets gassed after one or two quick back-and-fourth possessions. Capela is on a bad contract now, believe it or not. Gotta move him quickly before that thing turns into a whirlpool sucking assets into the lottery abyss. In the meantime, we gotta play him, toss the ball up to him, and make sure he gets his boards, while we endure the huge gap in our transition and switching defense and lose some games to teams we are better than. Dec. 15 can't come soon enough. And we really just need to skip the season to between Dec. 15 and the trade deadline. Because we are either the 1995 version or 2016 version of Rocket teams and the trade(s) we make or don't make will determine which version we become.
Hindsight is a terrible thing... Thing is, we all thought that if CP3 played game 7 and was healthy that we'd be in the NBA Finals and have an NBA Championship. We all thought that. CP3 was paid because of that. Just like Lebron got his contract based on his play. Neither showed much sign of aging. I think CP3 will play better, the Laker game tells me he still has it in him. I'm not sure he can lead a team by himself consistently night after night so Harden needs to come back.
https://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i-w600/donald-never-go-full-r****d-2.jpg Stop it man , just stop it …. Thon Maker just went full Ashleym. (damn I cant find that image).
LOL . . . .. . . YOu been waiting for this Now is you time .. . . . Enjoy your big I TOLD YOU SO MOMENT You deserve it Rocket River
Exactly... You can tell the hustle isn't there compared to last year when he hustles every possession. He only does his part if the part falls in front of him.. dude got his new contract & forgot he has to play... I'm a capela fan, but that pile of dung on his hair is affecting his look & hustle..
