Yeah, they would love to unload Alston but I am not really a fan of his. I think he looks for his shot too much.
This is the third or fourth thread I've said this in, but I still would like to have Derek Anderson. He has good character, athleticism, ballhandling and passing ability, plus he's an underrated defender. He gets paid a lot and has a long history of injuries, but I think he'd be worth a gamble. I've always like his game. Also, I'm surprised that no one's really mentioned Kerry Kittles' name. The guys runs the floor, can shoot, and plays tough defense. He's coming off a season-long injury, but he's rebounded from those before.
That guy has mad steal and block numbers. I had him on my fantasy team this season (waiver pickup) and he somewhat made up for what I lost from Kirilenko. Bad free-throw shooter, though. I would like it if we could get him cheap. Good thread, by the way, our two threads are a bit similar, but your thoughts seem much more realistic .
If we could somehow get Bobby Simmons we should be in good shape then we'll only need to go out sign a PG and draft a young PF.
Sarunas Jasikevicius would be an interesting option - he lit up marbury in the olympics - played college ball at maryland before going home, but he's one of the top scorers in Europe and he;s a floor general - not a good defender though, but would kind of be a rich man's Barry (He's #3) - http://www.draftcity.com/viewarticle.php?a=58
I think a move for another draft pick would help with the youth movement. New York, Denver, and Toronto have multiple picks in the first round. Toronto seems likely since they have the 16th pick from Philly and there not a western foe. We all know theyre tring to unload Jalen Rose and Rafer Alston. Perhaps a combination of expiring contracts and/or Howard for Jalen, +16th & 42nd could be accomplished. That would give us 2 first rounders and a second rounder in a draft thats very deep at the 4 and 1. Players I would love in a Rocket uni (No highschoolers, but player with college experience.) Charlie Villenueva, Sean May, Ronny Turiaf, Fransisco Garcia, Jawad Williams, Wayn Simien, and Rashad Mcants. Jalen can play the 1,2, & 3 and could relieve tracy for a few minutes. Plus he's a veteran and Van Gundy wouldn't be forced give rookies heavy minutes. And in the likely hood that he doesnt work out judging from how I saw CD unload the garbage formerly known as Mo Taylor I think he can swing a deal to unload Jalen 2year 31 million contract. As long as Isaah is in New York I;m sure of it. Hell swapping Jalen for Tim Tomas might be doable. As far as free agents. Tyson Chandler and Chris Duhon are my primary targets, but both are RFA. Reggie Evans or Danny Fortson would be nice in an enforcer type role. Can you see that punk ass b**ch Josh Howard pulling any of those punk plays on Yao or Tracy with one of these guys around? Doneyll Marshal is too old, SAR has bad knees, and and Swift is only good for dunking and ocassionaly shot blocking. If i'm not mistaken when he shot blocks he slaps it into the stands like Amare and the new breed of shot blockers. This so irritates me. Dream use to keep the ball in play and let his teammates get it and score. Thats why I love Yao coz he does the same thing. Its Basketball not volleyball. Joe Johnso and Demarr Johnson would be the only perimiter players I'd consider sacraficing our cap room for in 2006. Busts I would take a gamble on if they came really cheap. Tskitisvilli, Desagna Diop, and Kwame Brown. Calling Memphis and Indiana about Artest and Miller would be my foirst priority. I dont like the idea of Jason Kidd for the following reason. If we were 1 player away from winning it all I would do it in a heartbeat. But considering our problems are greater than what 1 really great point gaurd can solve I think it wouldnt make sense to sacrifrice the future for 1 player. Dude's gonna make 22 million in his last year... When he turns 37. Thats Five years from know. So no no and no.
Having been a huge Big East fan, I've seen Warrick play against some of the premier big-man talent to come through college basketball in recent years. He doesn't get very many blocked shots because he plays one of the bottom corners of Boeheim's 2-3 zone. I wish Syracuse played man-to-man so we could get a look how he played that. Nonetheless, he's Darius Miles with a better shot and more low-post moves. Playing him at PF in the NBA would be on par with making Marion a PF this year, as this guy is just flat out sick athletically. He looks to dunk from anywhere in the low post. I think if we can draft him and look to add another forward/swingman we'd be well on our way.
*Sign and trade Wesley for Marko Jaric from the Clippers *Use MLE on Mobley(player option), as the original poster said, who knows if he wants to come back, or if JVG wants him back, but damn, he's a basketball player, which is something this team needs. A legit 3rd option, and get knock down the 3 and create something out of nothing. Too many times, we saw players lose the handle on a pass, couldn't finish underneath, didn't know what to do on a fast break, and just lacked an overall basketball sense. He's a player, similar to Dallas' Jason Terry *Draft Joey Graham(6'7 225) from OSU.....a 4 year player, more NBA ready than most, physically ready, tough, hard-nosed, well coached in college, good spot up shooter(18 ft), can finish around the rim. Doesn't have the upside as players taken before him, but can be a solid pro. As the #24 pick, asking him to be a backup swing guy would be appropriate. *last remaining hole is a power forward, backup or starter. I think this team needs perimeter help more than a power forward now. We may have to get a power forward next year. If the rockets have any money from the MLE or a veterans exception, then maybe you can sign a backup 4 C: Yao Ming (24) PF: Juwan Howard (32) SF: Tracy McGrady (25) SG: Cuttino Mobley (29) PG: Marko Jaric (26) Bench: Dikembe Mutombo, Mike James, Bob Sura, Joey Graham........try and find a serviceable big man for cheap.
Bobby Simmons is worth $8 per? That's almost what Ginobolli gets paid...I think he would need to prove himself a couple more years. He had one good year and I don't think anyone would pay more than the MLE for him. I do like him though...but I don't know how good he is on D (never watched the Clips much).
You think after we get Jaric in the trade that James and Sura would stick around? I don't think that will happen. Sura knows he has the best opportunity here and he's going to let JVG know about it. I think we should give Sura another chance. The guy was beat up all year. He's going to improve over the offseason w/ surgery and come back stronger than ever.
It's not like Ginobili was all that proven when they signed him to that contract. The previous season, he was a bench player that averaged only 12.8 points a game. This team desperately needs to get younger and there really are no attainable young players out there that have had more than one good season. Among all of the young free agents out there (Swift, Chandler, Kwame Brown, Radmanovic, Simmons), I would say Simmons is probably the most proven of the bunch. I could easily see him developing into a Rashard Lewis type of player.
I think JVG and Tmac have influence on player movement I want someone like Warrick..sounds good. Spanoulis bring him in. Then PF we need another solid one. Wilcox wouldn't be that bad.
NIKE: That was pretty much tongue-in-cheek. What I really meant was , I would like to see him over here before I'm too old. Does our option ever expire?
Who wants to bet that the Rockets go after Kurt Thomas this summer. I actually think it would be a good pick up. He's a decent defender (better that howard), an excellent rebounder and a good outside mid range jump shooter. His biggest drawback would be age and contract. I also think with the new breed of power forwards about to emerge, ala Shawn Marion and Chris Bosh, we would just be slower.
As long as he's playing professional basketball (Euroleagues, etc.), no. Sabonis was drafted by the Blazers in 86, didn't come to the league until 95.
wouldnt' that jsut delay our road to the finals? that's mediocrity ew want greatness..we want the best I like Kurt THomas. He'd be a good backup. But he's old like you said. Compared to the other elite teams..Haslem, Duncan, Garnett, Amare, ..well Twolves not elite this season..Amare & Marion..Dirk..how is Kurt Thomas supposed to keep up? He'd be a good backup..I'd rather get Blount though who is younger. JHoward has been good probably will stay for a few more seasons..but we should get a young guy who will become part of our team. Like maybe Badiane as a backup for our future..and Wilcox as the eventual starting power forward. Or CHANDLER!
I'd absolutely love to have Mobley back. Sure, he may make some dumb decisions with the ball, but he's a threat on offense and a very good defender, and he's taller/longer/more athletic than Wesley. Other than that, I don't want to see too much more action in trades or big money free agents (other than using the MLE). I think more athleticism should be the goal. Obviously our three positions of concern are PG, SG, and PF. PG I think we will be fine next year with Sura and James, as long as Sura gets healthy. Don't forget how vital he was to the team during our key winning streaks. He does not need to be let go or traded, unless it is an outstanding deal for a young PG for the future. Jaric isn't bad, but I wouldn't want to see us use trade bait or spend money on him. Daniels is probably going to get a pretty fat contract somewhere. Just say no to Stoudemire or Van Exel. Ward should be bought out. SG Like I said, I'd love to see Mobley back. He's the ideal guy for us....he can create offense better than anyone on the team besides Tracy. He can shoot. He plays defense. Knows the system and organization. It may be a longshot, but who knows what will happen with Sacramento this offseason. We probably don't have the money to outbid anybody for him, but maybe we could work a sign and trade. Another guy out there I like is Kareem Rush. May be a bit of a streaky shooter, but so is Wesley. Rush is fairly athletic, don't know much about his defense. The SG free agent class this year is pretty deep, so maybe he would be somewhat cheap (part of the MLE). Just say no to Sprewell. If neither of those works out, I'd stay away from spending on free agents or trading...let Wesley finish out his contract, and pick up some athleticism cheap or in the draft. Re-sign Barry. Perhaps we could swing a deal of Weatherspoon for Derek Anderson, since Anderson seems to be out of favor with Portland. If not, find another cheap backup at SF...someone that is a good defender first, and a fairly decent scorer. PF Obviously we need some depth. I think we'll be fine with Juwan Howard starting another season. I'd hate to see big money spent on Swift or Abdur-Rahim. Chandler would be great, but I don't see Chicago letting him go...and even if they do we are a longshot. In all reality we are a longshot for all three of these guys. Baker needs to be bought out to clear roster space. Other than that, Donyell Marshall I think would be good for the short term. Try and get him for part of the MLE. I'd hate to go into the season with Badiane and Weatherspoon as our backups. Badiane definitely deserves a shot, but he shouldn't be relied upon. ------ Keep in mind that after next year the contracts of Moochie, Wesley, Baker, and Weatherspoon are up (IIRC). I think that would be the ideal time to go after a PF, though I'm not sure what next years FA class will look like. The big downside to trading Wesley or Sura is the team chemistry effect. I know Sura is a big part of this team, and Wesley likes it here too. Obviously business decisions must be made, but I'd hate to see both of our starting guards shipped off. The main objective should be to get more athletic without disrupting chemistry too much, and not spending more than the MLE. Overall, I'd like to see one of these two teams next year: Team A PG: Sura / James SG: Mobley / Barry SF: Mcgrady / Anderson / Padgett or Bowen PF: Howard / *Draft Pick* / Badiane C: Yao / Mutumbo IR: Moochie, Spanoulis Team B PG: Sura / James SG: Wesley / Barry SF: Mcgrady / Anderson / Padgett or Bowen PF: Howard / Marshall C: Yao / Mutumbo IR: Rookie PF, Spanoulis, Badiane
I consider our main need to be: Offensive Rebounding Help defense for Yao Athleticism Getting a point guard would be great for adding a few easy baskets every game to our numbers, but I think that should easily be #4 or #5 on our list. I certainly would never sacrifice Barry or Howard to try for a point guard upgrade. Warrick sounds like the kind of guy who could fill all three of the needs I list above in one person. How good are his ballhandling skills? Would a Yao/Howard/Warrick starting frontcourt be turnover prone in today's NBA? An added benefit is that Tracy could spend half or more of his minutes at shooting guard, which would probably result in him being less fatigued at the end of the year. Our backcourt gets stronger and more athletic as well. Out of all the role players, including Padgett, Bowen, Weatherspoon, Wesley, Barry, James, Sura, and Mutombo..... over the course of the Dallas series ONLY Barry, Mutombo, and James proved to be playoff quality - mismatch creating players. Everyone else had good and bad times but did not show use anything that is indespensable. Of course we can't really say anything about Sura because of his illness last week. Desired additions: Warrick Rebounding PF backup to Howard Mike Miller, Shane Battier, James Posey, or Caron Butler For a lineup that might look something like: C-Yao PF-Howard SF-Warrick SG-McGrady PG-James Bench-Mutombo, 'Rebounder', Miller, Barry, Sura Non-playoff roster-Wesley ------------------ I agree with you Nikstrad about Yao's future. I am very confident that he is going to continue improving, and after watching this year, I believe his inconsistencies are largely due to how he is used night to night. I believe that Yao will always have to be delivered the ball in the right position for him to be successful, which is fine. He probably shoots 85% when the ball is delivered to him correctly, and 40% when it is not. I think that puts him as a top 10 NBA player. BUT, Yao will always have to be "protected" from the quick one-on-one players. He will probably get stronger, but he will never get faster or more coordinated. I wouldn't hold your breathe if you want Yao to become an agile weak-side shot blocker who swoopes in from nowhere to erase defensive mistakes. Someone else will have to do that job (like Cato last year). Look at Shaquille. I have ALWAYS believed that his defense sucked. He doesn't even try to do the things Yao tries. The only difference between the two of them in this regards is that Yao doesn't get the officials benefit of the doubt, and he always mixes in one or two stupid fouls a game.... which is all it takes to cripple your time on the court. ---------------- Also, I don't think the Rockets can consider playing a Marion type PF... not for big minutes anyway. I think Yao needs the backup help defensively. Having Yao Means: -He can defend Shaq, and other large centers/power forwards -He can't defend Josh Howard, or other fast players We'll see which style of basketball wins the championship this year, but I am happy living and dying with a big, slow center for now. My hope is that Yao can add enough strength to score on double teams without having the ball slapped away next year. I think the Rockets would take a huge step forward if that were the case. He certainly realizes after the Dallas series what it is REALLY like to be in the playoffs. That should provide him with a lot of motivation this summer to get stronger. ------------------ Great thread NIKEstrad. Incredibly thorough. Do you write this stuff down over the course of the season or do you store it upstairs? Although I read them here, I just can't retain salaries, terms, contracts, etc.
Great thread NIKE. My biggest fear is that Les simply allows the expiring contracts to expire rather than cashing them in for players. I think it's unrealistic to assume that we will trade for a high dollar player in addition to signing someone with the full MLE. We would be an absolute juggernaut, but probably not fiscally possible considering the luxury tax when you have one of the poorest owners in pro sports (not a knock on Les, he simply can't afford an $80mill payroll like Pau Allen or Mark Cuban). When they made the McGrady deal last summer, they knew going in that they would need to revamp the roster of the following years. It's only through some shrewd work that Dawson was able to net some solid vets to fill out his roster with basically nothing. Here's to hoping Les allows him to really get to work. Like Rick Bucher said recently, Houston should be a hotspot for players around the league. Something about the aura of Tracy McGrady - the emotion, the pullup 3's in transition, the leg stocking (which inexplicably was a red one in the playoffs whereas he had worn a white one on the road all season ). 1. Ron Artest - this would be my first target. would you be willing to part with mutombo, wesley, mike james, and a #1 for him? that even wouldn't be nearly enough but is the best package we can offer them. 2 expiring contracts which can also help in the immediate present, as well as James. 2. Carlos Boozer - his name never even came to my mind. very overpaid and very overrated. but very dependable and definitely will be shopped. reminds me of otis thorpe. this would be my next target. 3. Stromile Swift - It's interesting because about 2 months ago he was out of our price range. Now that he's probably played (or not played in his case) down to MLE value, 2 Amare posters later, I'm not so sure I want him anymore. 4. Antoine Walker - This one is interesting because I actually had a nightmare that we signed Antoine Walker for the MLE. There are probably few players in the entire league I hate more than 'toine but for some reason the idea intrigues me. 5. SAR - i get the feeling we end up getting him at the end of the summer. will not get more than the MLE. very talented scorer. good in the low post. 6. Memphis - Yes I think Mike Miller or James Posey can be had if you take Jason Williams with it. I would probably do it too if it was Miller. 7. Marko Jaric - Marko Jaric is slow and he sucks.
