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I like Rush as a shooter. I believe I mentioned him in my original post- he's not a defender, and I get the vibe he's not curable when I watch him. He just doesn't have really good defensive instincts. He's also not the athlete he looks like he should be. If we're taking a Bobcat shooter, I'd go for Kapono first. Portland will give you Anderson for Spoon+Norris/Baker in a heartbeat. Anderson doesn't have a future in Portland. I'd be very cautious about taking an injury riddled guard with a 2 year contract for expiring contracts, though. Anderson turns 31 in the offseason, not exactly a spring chicken. They'd probably give you a pick, too. Taking Anderson would probably get you pretty close to taking Randolph or Miles off their hands (or SAR via S/T). Given their cap situation, player turmoil, multiple free agents (SAR, NVE, Stoud) that would make a little sense in Houston, and Steve Patterson's ties to Houston, Portland may be a team to keep a very close eye on...Randolph+Anderson matches up very conveniently with our expiring contracts mix. I'm iffy on Randolph for defensive and quickness reasons. I see Marshall as a fallback option. He doesn't improve team speed, is a marginal rebounding improvement, and doesn't seem to have much in between game. 60% of his FGAs were 3PAs! He got to the line only 1.4 times a game. I think if you get him, we run into the problem we had earlier, with 2 borderline starting PFs. For reference, the power forwards available next year could include any of the RFAs this year who agree to the tender offer (like Swift did). All of the PFs from Yao's draft class will be restricted if they don't sign extensions this offseason (Amare -yeah, right-, Chris Wilcox, Nene, etc.), Cato and Battie, and Steven Hunter. Not exactly a great class. But like I iterated many times earlier in the season- we're not going to have cap space even if we sit on 19 mill in expiring contracts. Odds are, Yao signs his extension this offseason. Even if he doesn't, he'll hit the cap at the max as an unrenounced free agent. Basically, TMac+Yao will go for about 28-30 million. If we keep Sura and James, that's another 7.5 million. Juwan Howard is another ~6.5 mill. You're already up to 42 million. We'll play out your scenario. We'll trade Weatherspoon+ for Derek Anderson and sign Marshall+maybe Rush to the MLE. Anderson makes over 9 mill, and Marshall+ will make around 5 mill. There's 56 million right there, plus whatever Mutombo and Barry make, and before potentially resigning Wesley, plus picks. I wouldn't hold my breath on the salary cap being in the $75 million neighborhood. This summer is a really solid PF crop in both the draft and free agency (and maybe even trade), with players of all types and we should take advantage of it. Doctor Robert- Thanks. My CBA knowledge is stored mainly upstairs, though I reference the CBA text (www.nbpa.com/cba/cba.html iirc ). I'm hoping they don't make too many changes. I use Patricia Bender's site and hoopshype for contract information, though I'm generally able to retain ballpark figures for most players. I disagree on a couple notes- JVG teams generally aren't great offensive rebounders because he stresses transition D- it's because Steve would go crash the boards on offense that his man would leak out and get breaks on us. I was more concerned with our defensive rebounding, which had as much to do with our lack of athleticism forcing us out of position as anything. I agree with having a good help defender at the 4 would do wonders for Yao- Padgett down low attempting to challenge shots was just a lost cause. I also think JVG likes TMac at the 3- he doesn't have to chase the quicker 2s. Our problem was we had to force McGrady to the 4 on defense in this series...putting Padgett on an athletic 3 like Howard was torturous. tcab- Re: Artest- in an instant. Mutombo is a FA, though. Our best package probably looks like Wesley, James, Weatherspoon, and maybe this year's #1 and a future #1 (or 2) for Artest and Croshere. The thought of that is scary. We'd still have the MLE to land a 4, bring in Spanoulis as the backup PG and maybe even convince NVE to fill the scorer off the bench role for the vet's min. THAT is a team. Sura and Artest probably would give the Bad Boy's Pistons are scare.
I think you are correct about JVG liking McGrady at the 3, although it limits our defense some. Having a 2-3 at the small forward position rather than a 3-4 limits our flexibility on defense.... and there you have our primary problem with Dallas. I just REALLY prefer having guys play their natural position (holdover from Rudy T philosophy). JVG just doesn't mind heavy double teaming and playing guys out of position. I want teams to adjust to us. Not the other way around. I was thinking that it is easier to replace one small forward than it is to replace a shooting guard and a power forward. Even if it wasn't Hakim Warrick through the draft, I would rather put all our eggs in one basket with a fantastic small forward who could really make the team into a much more flexible unit.... but I don't know the East at all, so that player may not exist.
Well, since he can't feed his family on less that $17 million a year, I don't see how we can afford him.
I never understood this obsession with Stromile Swift. His own teammates in Memphis called him soft. Remember that article when Jason Williams said, "Somebody'd better check on Stro" after their team bus hit a bump on the road. I'll see if I can dig it up...
Thanks for clearing me up on Rush and the PF free agent situation next year, NIKEstrand. I forgot about having to re-sign Yao. I don't like Randolph on this team at all. I think he is exactly the opposite of what we need at PF. A S&T for Shareef and Anderson/Miles is definitely intriguing though. Miles is too much of a nut for that to happen, I think. Shareef isn't my favorite guy for the PF spot, but he would do I suppose. That's probably more likely than Swift...I think he's about to get overpaid bigtime. Ron Artest would be an absolute dream, despite his problems. However, I don't think the Rockets have even a remote shot at landing him (though similar things were said about Mcgrady last year). Boozer is a good fit on this team, but I doubt we'd have enough to offer for him either. Other than Artest, I still think I'd take Mobley in a S&T over that Portland deal or anything else. We really weren't bad with Juwan at PF, and as long as we can find a servicable starter through the draft in the next two years I think we're okay. Mobley helps our athleticism problems (he can run the floor), gives us another ball handler, improves the defense, gives us another scorer...he just adds a lot that we need. I think my priorities would look like this: 1 - Mobley 2 - PF for the future 3 - Athletic Swingman (backup type guy) 4 - PG for the future
We all know what kind of D Artest brings, but what is his offensive game like? Can he hit a spot-up three? Is he a dribble penetration guy? Or does he just get his points on broken plays and put-backs? Either way, I like him. He is a serious shut-down defender. Part of the reason the Bulls got away with subpar defensive talent off the bench and at the center position is because Pip and MJ never allowed dribble penetration from their man. If we could get Jaric, Artest and T-Mac to hold down the perimeter, then we could play man D and not give up so many offensive boards.
"I think my priorities would look like this: 1 - Mobley 2 - PF for the future 3 - Athletic Swingman (backup type guy) 4 - PG for the future" 1- Sign Mobley for MLE 2- Call Utah and inquire about Boozer and see if they're interested in any expiring contracts....Wesley and Spoon 3- Draft Jawad Williams from UNC(6-8 220) 4- Bring that Spannoulis dude from Europe C: Yao Ming PF: Carlos Boozer SF: Tracy McGrady SG: Cuttino Mobley PG: Mike James Bench: Dikembe Mutombo, Juwan Howard, Jawad Williams, Vassilis Spannoulis, Bob Sura
I think Randolph has a deadly midrange jumper. That's his primary offesnive weapon. Not great on deffense, like you wrote, though, and bad attitude.
Hey NIKEstrad, I know he's older than dirt, but what about signing Dale Davis in free agency? He helps us two ways, in that he can play PF & gives us some additional depth at center, just in case Yao continues to have foul trouble. He should come fairly cheap. How about Brevin Knight & Gary Payton as FA PG options?
First of all, getting Cat back on this squad would have me grinning from ear-to-ear. he was becoming my favorite Rocket that year under JVG. He bought into what JVG was doing earlier than anyone and turned himself into one hell of a defender (Kobe-stopper, anyone?). Plus, IIRC, he was pretty good at looking for Yao in the post. But if we don't get Cat and, assuming we can get a viable veteran PF (Boozer would be great, Tyson would be great, Donyell would be fine), I'd actually address athleticism in the backcourt in the draft. Two names I see slipping down to us who would help tremendously: Francisco Garcia and Kennedy Winston Personally, I think they're better prospects than the PFs who will be available late (Simien/Turiaf -- I think Warrick will be gone by the time we pick). It seems to me that you get athletic swingmen who can contribute late in the draft much more often than you get solid 4s, and these two kids, IMHO, are almost can't-miss. Garcia is a lights-out shooter who would open up the floor and bring size to our backcourt. Plus, he was clutch in the tourney. Kennedy Winston carried that Bama squad late last season, and he's got athleticism oozing out of his pores. With him and T-Mac on the break, "it's over." His D is supposedly not up to par, but he's athletic enough that I think JVG could mold him into a top-notch defender. I just see those two kids as being able to help tremendously, and I think there's more available via FA and trade at the 4 spot than in the backcourt.
That's a great idea...even better than spending most or all of the MLE on Donyell Marshall IMO. I've always been a big fan of Dale Davis, and the guy can still play his game.
I think you should do what you can to get Artest. Trade anybody but Yao and TMac. I think the expiring contracts, being in a different conference and throwing in Mike James, or a pick make Houston a pretty good trade proposition for Indiana. Of course, Artest has more baggage than Zsa Zsa Gabor on vacation, but his overwhelming talent makes him worth the risk. Go for greatness. Having McGrady and Artest on the wings and Yao and Mutumbo in the middle makes them a decent power forward away from having a shut-down, championship-level defense. Outside of that, I wouldn't back up the truck to get any of the free agents available. I would make some minor depth building moves, draft the best athelete available and look to make a big trade later in the year.
"It seems to me that you get athletic swingmen who can contribute late in the draft much more often than you get solid 4s" Definitely, i'd be curious to look at the past 5-7 nba drafts and see how many big men drafted late really pan out. There's no reason you can't find solid perimeter player in the later first round. I mean, look at the mavericks, they basically stole Josh Howard. With the obsession with high school kids and foreign players with huge upside, a four year starter and ACC player of the year Josh Howard slid to the mavericks. Howard doesn't have the upside some others do, but that guy is gonna be a solid starter and rotation guy for the next 10 years. With the rockets drafting #24, i would definitely look at a perimeter player, preferably a college senior who might be more NBA ready.
I can promise you CD and JVG are going to be making the decisions. Whatever unhappiness there was at the beginning of the season with personnel decisions, it has long since passed for Les. It is really a pointless argument to make at this time.
And another thing. Take a look at Sammy Dalembert. He was on the verge of a break out year this year, but Jim O'Brien screwed up his development with his bizarre substitution problems. I saw about 6-7 Sixers games in person this year, and Sammy has a lot of the skills we need. Very active around the boards, very athletic, good shotblocker. he just averaged almost 13 boards a game in the first round against Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, McDyess and Prince. Not bad. (I would like to see him hit the 15-18 footer more reliably, though.) Plus, he's so annoyed at O'Brien that he and his agent were playing coy in the papers the day after they got eliminated about whether or not he wanted to come back. The only thing is that I think he's a restricted free agent, and Billy King has said all year that Dalembert, Korver, and Iguodala will be re-signed at all costs. The kid is 23.
