I've noticed in various trade threads that the presumed untouchables are McGrady, Yao, and Battier. You do get the occassional proposal to trade McGrady because of his back trouble. But, never Battier. Should he really be untouchable? If we had a shot at a real franchise player -- like Garnett, or maybe Kirilenko or Gasol (who are supposedly available now) -- would you really balk at trading Battier?
I love Battier, and preferably i wouldn't trade him. However if Garnett becomes available for battier i would not mind losing battier. So basically I do not want him traded unless it is for a real superstar.
If you make it an extreme, of course not. No one is truly 100% untouchable in this league. Would you turn down a Battier for LeBron swap? That said, it would have to be one heck of a once-in-a-lifetime deal to make moving him worthwhile. He's a guy I'd cling on to. Evan
Battier was not the thrid scoring option we thought. Heck, Howard and Alston are ahead of him in that reguard. BTW you always make the trade to get the better player.
Only if it's for someone you would consider a bonafide superstar. Garnett comes to mind. The problem is that if a team is trading a superstar, then they are rebuilding and someone like Battier would be useless to them. So basically Battier won't be traded unless it's for the number one pick in the draft IMO, and STILL I don't think JVG would sign off on that. Fact of the matter is, Bonzi will look MUCH MUCH better when all our scoring options are ready to go. When Yao, T-Mac and Bonzi are healthy he is the most valuable.
I just wanted to add that one player who may not be considered a bonafide superstar by everyone who I would trade Battier for is Chauncey Billups. Billups at PG, T-Mac on the perimeter and Yao inside is unstopeable even if the other two players on the court are Ryan Bowen and Scott Padgett. He is by far the best PG the ROckets could get and I will be pissed if we don't make a HARD run at him this summer, even if it means he gets a max deal. Some players' skills are magnified on certain teams. Billups teamed up with Yao and McGrady is definitely worth a max contract.
I think the value of Battier on this particular team is very high in what he does. Of course no one is untouchable. But with Battier, my guess is the Rockets would turn down a lot of deals that some on the boards would jump on in a second. I think the Rockets value Battier even more now than ever. Forget salary matching for a second. Rashard Lewis for Battier Corey Maggettee for Battier Jason Richardson for Battier Luol Deng for Battier Caron Butler for Battier Ricky Davis for Battier Richard Jefferson for Battier I don't think the Rockets would do any of those deals with the thought that this is a Yao/Tmac team and Battier compliments them well on both offense AND defense.
That's what I would have thought, but 2/3rds of the BBS don't think so. He helps the team function better as a unit, but swapping him for Garnett would allow you to simply overpower the opposition with talent. And, Garnett's not too shabby at team-play either. Even for a lesser player, like Kirilenko, I'd still do that. Chemistry is valuable, but Battier isn't the only path to achieving it. It's an interesting point, Ehsan, that any team trading away their star won't need Battier. But, I think Battier could play the Andre Miller role -- the one valuable, salary-equalizing vet that could complement a package of expiring contracts, promising rookies and draft picks. Of course, we're not long in expiring contracts, promising rookies and draft picks, but in theory.... In general, I think the core of this team is still just McGrady and Yao. If, by some alignment of the stars, we get a favorable deal for Battier, we take that. Untouchables are guys you've built your philosophy around. If we traded Yao, for example, we'll soon be trading away the rest of the team as well, since they were brought in to complement Yao. Nothing was changed to complement Battier. Battier complements Yao and McGrady.
It's funny... if the Rockets swapped the #8 pick and Stromile Swift for Andrei Kirilenko on Draft Day, it would have been 100% jubilation ... but given how many threes we shoot and Battier's efficiency from long range (while AK47 is not a three-point shooter), somehow Battier just seems like the better fit for JVG -- though Kirilenko is a defensive freak. Not saying I wouldn't do that necessarily, but Battier just seems like the least of the Rockets' problems.
Battier is our Demeco Ryans - the MLB who keeps the unit cohesive, calls out plays, reads the offense. Not the biggest or fastest guy out there, but understands everthing, is smart, and involved in morep lays than one would think possible. Kirilinko would be more like Mario Williams - an athletic freak, way more talented overall, who has the potential to wreak havoc against the offense but generally has tunnel vision and is not concerned with cohesiveness. Injuries are a factor. Yeah, I just wasted a few minutes talking about the Texans.
battier might be the best fit sf for a team of yao/tmac is yao/melo/tmac better than yao/battier/tmac ?
Shane Battier is a great compliment to Yao and Tracy. He is the 3rd building block on this team. Trading him would be stupid. If we can get healthy and get average play from the PG & PF positions, this team is a contender.
I voted yes. My argument is based on this: Since the boss doesn't want to pay the luxury tax, we will never be able to have 3 superstars having max contract in our team. So no matter Garnett or Melon or whoever is willing to come, I don't think this team can afford to have him. Battier is a perfect fit. He dosn't take over many shots, he does great diffense, he shoots at high percentage.
Battier makes the whole team better. He fits better with this team than possibly any other player in the league. The only way you trade Battier is if you decide to go in a different direction. So Battier only goes if T-Mac or Yao goes.
Shane is a low profile, relatively cheap, team-glue guy. You can't trade him for super stars like Garnett, Gasol, whatever; Nor can you trade him for no-name guys such as: oh I forgot the names; If you want to trade him for someone his type, what would be the point?
No, he's not untouchable. The bigger issue is how he fits with Yao and TMac, which is huge. He's glue for the team. What do you lose by bringing in better talent, if it doesn't fit together. So, for an AK, who is having serious attitude problems being a TEAM player, no, you probably wouldn't give up Battier. For LeBron, KG, Nash, Duncan, Paul, Oden, maybe Kidd, yes you would, because you are getting a TEAM player, who could play with other stars, and not lose the glue of the team.
You have to give a more realistic trade as an example the only one here that is tradable is ak47. there is not way we can trade for a franchise player and not give one up. Magette or players like that are more realistic.
