There are some articles in Detroit's papers saying that Okur is unhappy with his playing time, especially since they got Wallace. It also appears that Wallace wants to stay in Detroit. Given all of that I would definitely consider moving SF and MoT for Okur (resigned to a new deal) and Billups. I think this trade helps both teams. Watching Detroit play NJ, at times they have a difficult time scoring. I definitely think MoT and SF could help with that. Big Ben could more than compensate for MoT's weaknesses. MoT could give them inside scoring off the bench. Billups replaces SF, giving us a good 3pt shooting PG to better compliment Yao, and Okur would fit perfectly with Yao. He is an excellent rebounder and good shooter. In a dream cast type trade I would use the TE to try to pry Darko from them as well. This would help with our lack of draft picks last year and this year, and it would allow Detroit to add an impact FA. I am not sure if this would happen, but Detroits championship window is open now, and a FA such as Dampier may push them over the top, especially against the bigger Western conference team. It would give us a good 3 big man rotation of Yao, Okur, and Darko.
i like Okur. if he would rebound more he'd be really awesome. as it is he's better than MoT... although I like MoT too... Okur is bigger, can shoot threes, and has a dazzling array of moves for a big man, sometimes i chuckle at his drives to the basket, which are often very creative. billups for francis isn't that much of a downgrade in the system we are trying to create. i think he could put up the 17 ppg that Steve put up this year at least. in the end, is the MoT -- Okur upgrade worth the Billups -- Francis downgrade? i think so, but it's not clear cut. this isn't a dream trade in my mind. in my dreams we get TMac or Elton Brand.
Making this trade dosn't really make us any better or any worse we will still pretty much stay the same, so im gona have to pass
Why is everyone so obsessed with Okur? Wallace has more time playing because he's better!! If Okur was such a bada$$ he'd be playing, and they wouldn't have traded for Rasheed. Besides, we don't need another 2nd teir power forward, we have 2 already. And, you want to downgrade to Chauncey Billups because he's a better shooter to compliment Yao, well Francis is a much better shooter than Billups - FG% is .432 to .402. Besides, all those rebounds Yao isn't getting, Francis cleans up not Billups. Another day, another stupid Francis trade thread.
While I feel Okur is a solid player with some decent upside, I dont feel he is a good fit as a PF next to Yao. I feel the best PF for Yao would be one that either was a brute rebounder or a jumping jack athletic, quick player. Okur isn't either of those. We need someone to mask Yao's weaknesses which are lateral quickness and rebounding strength.
As for the trade, unlike other proposed trades that take place here that seem to be lopsided in the Rocket's favor, this seems to be leaning in the Pistons favor. Also, Okur is a restricted free agent, thus meaning the Rockets will probably only have the MLE to offer and if it is matched then so be it. But teams such as Utah could offer more than the Rockets or the Pistons (if Wallace is re-signed) and have a better chance to pick up Okur.
well said..... The first thing I thought when i was reading this trase was... why are you just give player away now... their not that bad... and you can't tell me billups is more a of a point guard then steve is...Hi like Cassel with less talent...
Okur is actually a very good, tough rebounder. People sort of have the Europea/"He's soft" stereotype in their heads, but he was averaging something like 8 boards per game in the first half of the season (though it could be argued that teams worked so hard on boxing out Ben Wallace that it game him open rebounding lanes). I think Okur could be a good fit, but though he can hit threes, he's really more of a post-up player than a jumpshooter, and there just won't be any room for him with the attention that Yao attracts down low.
Why would detroi take MoT, when the have Corliss Williamson as their 6th man. They will be starting sheed and wallace together in the front court, so that makes no room for MoT. I havent watched okur muched, but from what I seen from him he moves pretty slow. Looks like a pretty good center with a good perimter game and that can rebound pretty well, he also seems to be developing a solid post game too. He would be a better fit at PF then cato, but would moves way too slow to guard any of the quicker forwards such as duncan and KG. I rather try to pry away Rasheed from the pistons.
I wasnt so impressed with Okur until Isaw him playing minutes here and ther ein this series. Turns out, he's a decent rebounder, and does shoot a decent percentage when he doesn't play on the perimeter too much. It would be a bonus if our PF could shoot almost 40% from 3pt range while occasionally taking that 3 (maybe 1 per game). That said, I'd be worried about toughness with Yao and Okur up front. Cato would help in that department, but we'd really have to toughen up the rest of rotation as well.
Billups is a better PG "for us" then Francis because his outside shot is far better than SF's. This would help create spacing needed for Yao in the low block. The way I see it, Billups is good at attacking the basket, but his strength is outisde shooting. SF's strength is attacking the basket, and his outside shooting is OK (actually pretty bad this year). I simply think Billups is a better fit as a PG. I think SF is a better overall player, but not the best fit for us. Okur IS an excellent rebounder, in fact I believe he was one of the leaders in rebounds per minute last year. He can score in the post and has a good range on his jumper. In fact he hit a 3 in the 5th game of the series. He is also a good passer. For those that are saying, "If he is so good why are they starting Wallace?" Wallace may be better but not by a lot, and they want to keep Wallace around next year. This will be tough to do if he is sitting for long stretches on the bench. Okur is a restricted FA, even if he gets pissed about PT, they can match any offer to keep him. I see this as getting 2 good productive players for a very good player that doesn't fit with what we want to do, and it allow us to get rid of a bad contract (MoT). If you guys still think the trade is lopsided, then have them throw in Darko in addition to Okur and Billups. That is what I would like to see happen, but I am not sure if Detroit would do it.
Hey! I proposed a similar trade recently with the thread title "Roll the Dice." However, I don't seem to be able to pull it up right now, even though I'm a contributing member. Maybe I need to hit the tip jar again. I proposed Steve + Pike + TE for Darko, Billups, bad contract (either E. Campbell or Corliss), pick. It's a pretty fair deal. Detroit keeps both Okur and Wallace. They get a better point guard with star power and scoring punch. They aren't going to play Darko soon anyway. We get a point that can shoot 3s, a big power forward to pair with Yao, and some depth. If Darko is the goods, we're set for a long time. It's much easier to get fill in role players at the 2 and the 3, and a back up point.
I would only do that deal in the case that Detroit added Darko to the trade (the numbers wouldn't quite work anyway with just Steve and Mo) and ONLY if a team like Miami would take Darko for Caron Butler. Darko has a lot of talent; will he add up to it? Unknown. OR, Steve and Pike for Billups and Okur, Okur in exchange for Rashard Lewis, whom the Sonics don't really need so much, getting the same game from Radmanovic.
