I know that. But Les has shown that he's willing to take on big long-term contracts, so why can't the Rockets fans accept it? Sura is a better player than Walt. He's much more versatile than Walt. What's the problem again? Unless you are in Les Alexander's will, contracts and salaries shouldn't mean much to you, since the Rockets won't be under the cap for a long time.
HECK YES !!! Anything to get rid of Walt. The 5 million that expires next year is MOOT, at this point. The Rockets are done building unless it is through a trade or the draft. It is time to let them mature together, and Sura fits in better then WALT. Anything to get Walt out of here. DaDakota
Here's an analysis of Sura from a local Cleveland writer (in a Sporting News team report dated May 25, 2000, a month before he was traded to the Warriors). IMO, based on having seen him with GS last year, it's about 100 percent correct: ----------------------------------------- Bob Sura just put the finishing touches on the best season of his five-year career. The shooting guard averaged a career-high 13.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists. The 6-5, 200-pounder shot 43.7 percent from the field (356-of-815), 36.7 percent from the three-point line (122-of-332) and 69.7 percent from the free-throw line (175-of-251). His 122 three-pointers ranked 11th in the NBA. Before injuring his left big toe February 1, his scoring average was over the 15-point mark. He ended up missing nine games right in the middle of the season and never recovered from the mishap. He remains one of the Cavs' most athletic players and has a quick first step and crossover dribble that allows him to get by many defenders. His mid-range game is lacking, however, so often times it's all or nothing with Sura. He either gets to the basket or hits a three-pointer. When he's on top of his game, he penetrates into the key and distributes the ball to the open perimeter shooters. There were times toward the end of the season when he became very stat-driven and seemed to try to pad his stats. That's when he's at his worst. Despite being in the league five years, he still makes many unforced errors trying to do too much. ----------------------------------------- A couple of comments I would add: I think the reason he becomes "stat-driven" on a losing team is that he has a lot of incentives built into his contract -- one of which is based on his free-throw percentage. I remember hearing rumors that one of the reasons he bailed out toward the end of the year was that he'd gotten over 70% on FTs and didn't want to risk dropping back under that level ... which also explains why he b****ed about the Eminem snippet being played when he was at the FT line. On the plus side, I'd say that his legit first-step/penetration ability makes him a good backup for Mobley, since the Rockets can bring him in without changing their offense. (Similarly, one of the reasons he may be expendable to GS is their desire to play an aggressive trapping defense, which suits all of their other guards but is not Sura's forte.)
Walt Williams has value in his expiring contract, perhaps not to us, but to <b>other teams that are looking to get under the cap</b>. In my opinion, we can get greater value for Walt then a player like Sura who will not see the floor very often.
I agree, a veteran shooter and scorer like Walt with a contract that is running out brings a lot of value. Washington is loaded with big men, that's why I'm surprised that Washington hasn't gone hard for trading White to Houston for Williams, unless Houston doesn't want his contract or something. Walt gives them a veteran shooter and an expiring contract, and you think they would be in a hurry to help their cap space by feeding a playoff-caliber team who is somewhat thin up front with a quality big man. Qho knows.
pippendagimp, you're right. Good call. Another defensive minded backup-quality SG named Bobby who played in Cleveland - I just got them mixed up.
And I agree with you, RocksM, except for the team. Chicago -- and to a lesser extent Cleveland -- is loaded with the big men who would suit the Rockets more than White et al from the Wiz.
Sura would be far more valuable player to the Rocks than the Wizard. He brings lots of things to the table that the Wiz does not. 2 times the rebounding and assists and a really difficult to stop drive to the basket. Just look at how many times he torched us. If nothing else we would put a stop to that. Rice eliminates the need for the Wizard, we could use the rebounding, assists and slashing style that Sura brings to the table.
If Sura isn't wanted by a team as sorry as GS, then why should we? I think if we offer a 2nd rounder and stick to it, the'll take it. Sura isn't a 1 or a 2, he's not consistant, is injury prone, plays no D, and will make 5 mill a year fot 2 years. Thats just too much **** .
Cat, I can't agree with you on the potential Sura-Williams trade. Walt and Rice are virtually identical players, but Rice has fragile feet. If we trade Walt and Rice goes down, we really don't have the same kind of attack. Sura is as off and on a shooter as Walt, only much shorter. Also, I think Torres will surprise us all as a back-up to Mobley. I am not thinking about cap space at all on this one, and I think we could trade Walt a lot quicker than we could Sura. We need center help -- not guard help. Toss Kelly or Nwango (spelling?) to GS. They won't mind.
I never understood the thinking that Walt and Rice are identical players. Outside of an off year last year by Rice, Rice is a far and away better pure scorer then Walt. He is a great perimeter player, and good low post scorer, does a decent job of putting the ball on the floor, and is at least a decent team defender. He is also far more consistent then Walt. Rice's ability to operate in the post sets him apart. The only thing that Rice and Walt have that is common is their perimeter game.
Sura is not as good as Moochie,but is better than Walt.His back injuries and the length of his contract make him a risky player to get but he could be a backup to both Francis and Mobley,and especially important to us if we lose Moochie.
I like Sura's game but we already have a backup two guard that people seem to forget, his name is Steve Francis.
I don't want Steve to be a backup SG, too small to defend SG's, and I want him to be on the bench resting as much as possible.
Well, I don't know if Rudy did it out of necessity but he seemed to like having Steve slide to the 2 whenever Moochie came in, or sometimes even having Mooch, Steve, and Cuttino on the floor at the same time.
btw, just because somebody plays shooting guard on offense doesn't mean they have to cover the opposing SG on defense.
