Now that the series is over the Rockets have a few questions to ponder.
Do they run it back with the same roster and hope they can get to the Finals with a healthy Chris Paul?
OR
Do they go out and pursue Lebron James with reckless abandon while sacrificing some of their bench depth that helped them to 65 wins in the regular season?
I'm sure they'll swing for the fences. Haven't checked the numbers but I think they'd probably have to let Capela walk if they get Lebron. Not sure though. And Chris Paul is going to be a free agent. He'll probably look for a five year max contract but he's going to be fuckin old by the end of it. Can you convince him to take a 2 or 3 year and maybe sacrifice a little money? Who knows. Maybe free agency won't break their way and they'll be a lot worse next year. Interested to see how this turns out
If they were to make the run for Lebron it would present a few difficult decisions for the franchise to make. To their benefit they should know ahead of time if there is any interest from Lebron's camp since he and Chris Paul are close. Here are some of the issues they would run into:
Ryan Anderson has a terrible contract ($20 & $21 million next two years) that they have not been successful at offloading even when offering two 1st round picks in the past for the team who takes him. This move alone may ruin any opportunity alone to go after Lebron and keep a competitive roster around him outside of Paul and Harden.
Will they match whatever offer is made for Clint Capella? Many executives believe he will get a max contract offer from some needy team like the Phoenix Suns.
Eric Gordon will have to be traded removing some valuable depth from their rotation.
Do they resign an injury prone Chris Paul who is only getting older to a max deal.
So what is the right path? Go after the best player in the world regardless of what impact it will have to your current depth and roster OR run it back with the same team that will now have deep playoff experience and hope they can remain healthy.
Yea the Anderson contract is a bitch. They'll need some GM wizardy to do anything with that! I don't think they'll offer Capela enough money he'll end up floundering on a lottery team like Phoenix. I always favor the patience strategy. I think they should try and keep the band together and run it back. Interested to see how Morey approaches it