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[Chron] Lewis' Deal has Rockets Looking in Other Directions

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by mogrod, Jul 3, 2007.

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  1. mogrod

    mogrod Member

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    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4939905.html


    By JONATHAN FEIGEN
    Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle



    Having danced briefly with Rashard Lewis only to lose him to the Orlando Magic, the Rockets might be ready to sit this one out.

    Unless free agent demands change dramatically and unexpectedly, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said the Rockets are more likely concentrate on finding frontcourt help in the trade market rather than free agent market.

    He does not expect to offer his full mid-level exception to any free agent.

    "I don't think it changes anything," Morey said of Lewis accepting a max-contract offer from the Orlando Magic. "We pursued Rashard in case there was a chance, but we never planned on it.

    "Now we're more likely to look to making any changes through trades than free agency. There are some free agents out there that at the right price we would look to add to the team."

    Armed only with the mid-level salary cap exception, expected to start at about $5.5 million for the first year, Morey said it is unlikely the Rockets would offer his full exception to any free agent.

    The top forward free agents (Darko Milicic, Anderson Varejao, Gerald Wallace and Andres Nocioni) are expected to draw offers much larger than mid-level exceptions, are restricted free agents or both.

    "We don't plan to unless guys over that come into that range," he said. "The free agents who are talking about going over mid-level, if those guys fall into our range, which we don't anticipate that happening, we would look at that."

    Although he said there are no deals with other teams in place and ready to be announced when the current moratorium ends July 11, Morey said there is no urgency to make roster changes.

    "I just think we have some confidence," he said. "We need to get our roster correct by April, not July 3. We need to get ourselves set up for the playoffs next year."

    Morey has, however, spoken with many agents, including forward Mikki Moore's representative, Mark Bartelstein. But Bartelstein said talks with the Rockets were preliminary.

    Morey has also spoken with the agents for Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo and forward Chuck Hayes, and said he plans to meet with Bill Duffy, one of Hayes' agents, on Friday in Las Vegas.

    The Rockets have 14 players under contract and expect to add Hayes, Mutombo and rookies Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry.

    The group includes guard Vassilis Spanoulis, whom the Rockets still want to have back, but he has refused to commit to returning from Greece for next season.

    "He right now is definitely enjoying Greece," Morey said. "He has never made a formal demand. The direction he's thinking is not toward the Rockets."

    Spanoulis, however, is one season into a three-year contract and cannot sign with another FIBA team unless the Rockets released him, something Morey said the Rockets do not plan to do.

    "He's a player we think can help us," Morey said. "We've invested millions of dollars in salary ($1.8 million) and scouting on him. We want him to be part of the team."

    They wanted to say to the same of Lewis, the summer's most coveted free agent and first priority of the Rockets' pursuit of roster help, but he agreed to a maximum contract with the Magic, his agent Tony Dutt said on Tuesday.

    Lewis would sign a contract worth as much as $90 million over five years, depending on the salary cap figures to be released July 11, Dutt said. But he added that the Magic would work on a sign-and-trade deal with the SuperSonics that would allow Lewis to sign a six-year deal.

    The Magic are also expected to try to keep free agent forward Milicic, but that would not require that they move other contracts to create salary cap room.

    "The Rockets did have serious interest," Dutt said. "We had a very good conversation with Daryl (Morey, the Rockets general manager) and he was very happy for Rashard. He was very sincere about that.

    "Rashard being the top free agent, we had to get this done so everything else could get started."

    But now that the race can begin, the Rockets seem headed in another direction.

    ---------------------------

    Man, I hope this in not a long offseason wondering when they will make a deal.
     
    #1 mogrod, Jul 3, 2007
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2007
  2. ubigred

    ubigred Member

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    Wow...that doesn't sound really optimistic.

    I hate the "wait and see" approach
     
    #2 ubigred, Jul 3, 2007
  3. H-TownBBall

    H-TownBBall Member

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    I would bet on it being wait and see until July 11th. I fully expect at least one trade to be announced that day. Morey is right not to expect one of the top free agents to fall to the MLE, but realistically at least one of them will. At that point he will decide if we actually want any of them. It sounds like he may want to hold onto at least one trading chip until around the trade deadline. If I had to guess, that would be Sura's expiring contract. However, I would think that would have more value to teams now because they can buy it out for 1 million after a trade and have more money to sign free agents.
     
    #3 H-TownBBall, Jul 4, 2007
  4. saleem

    saleem Member

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    Nobody likes it but the reality is getting a good PF is very hard. RFA's can be matched easily and some of them are looking for too much money for the Rockets. A sign and trade is tough because no one wants our role players.
     
    #4 saleem, Jul 4, 2007
  5. H-TownBBall

    H-TownBBall Member

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    Also, I wonder if Morey not wanting to offer the full MLE to anyone means he might be signing Amir Johnson to an offer sheet for less than the MLE (maybe 3.5M). Now would be the time to try it because I believe they can make us wait 11 days before they have to decide to match it (he is an restricted free agent). I don't really see how they could match it considering McDyess didn't opt out, Billups wants to start at around 12M, and they still have a few roster spots to fill.
     
    #5 H-TownBBall, Jul 4, 2007
  6. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    I think we will have our PF, I am kind of hoping for a PF by committee situation....

    Either PJ Brown or Webber as our Vet.....and Amir Johnson as our up and coming player.

    DD
     
    #6 DaDakota, Jul 4, 2007
  7. glynch

    glynch Member

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    #7 glynch, Jul 4, 2007
  8. saleem

    saleem Member

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    The Pistons can make us wait for 7 days before deciding to match an offer sheet.
     
    #8 saleem, Jul 4, 2007
  9. glynch

    glynch Member

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    Are you just wishing, or is there some sort of reason to name these guys?
     
    #9 glynch, Jul 4, 2007
  10. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    Those are the guys I think fit a High Post/Low Post offense.........at least the Vets.......

    And I have been watching Amir in the NBDL for a while now.......IMO he is better than any PF the Rockets have had in a while...

    DD
     
    #10 DaDakota, Jul 4, 2007
  11. RedRowdy111

    RedRowdy111 Member

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    Darko could take the MLE now since the only teams that could offer him more are the Bobcats, Grizzlies, and the Bucks. From what I read, since Orlando made him unrestricted they cannot use him in a sign and trade...he must be bought. We have the most playing time to offer, along with the MLE...hmmmm...
     
    #11 RedRowdy111, Jul 4, 2007
  12. AkeemTheDreem86

    AkeemTheDreem86 Member

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    I like his game too, but do you really think he's ready to take on the starting role? I love Chuck, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather see us go after a starter and have Chuck come off the bench for energy with James. And how do you see him differ from Stro?
     
    #12 AkeemTheDreem86, Jul 4, 2007
  13. saleem

    saleem Member

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    A vet for the LLE and Amir Johnson for part or the entire MLE is a practical idea which might work out. P.J. is older than Webber but I prefer him because he is a more physical type of PF.
     
    #13 saleem, Jul 4, 2007
  14. WhoMikeJames

    WhoMikeJames Member

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    Morey should start naming people we are targeting just to get fans pumped up. All the Rockets news recently has been borrringgg.
     
    #14 WhoMikeJames, Jul 4, 2007
  15. H-TownBBall

    H-TownBBall Member

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    Well potentially he could be the same player as Stro, but he pretty much lit up the D-League and grew from 6'9" to 6'11" since being drafted. I would say that growth and him coming straight from high school and then improving greatly in the D-League are the main differences. Stro never showed anything over a long period of time at any level. This guy showed it in the D-League at least.
     
    #15 H-TownBBall, Jul 4, 2007
  16. declan32001

    declan32001 Member

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    Which backs up Feigen's assertion that we were never that interested in Darko to begin with. I doubt Darko can get an MLE-type contract in Europe, but who the hell knows what the 22 year old wants to do.

    Everything's just posturing at this point, but I think we'd better brace ourselves for some serious moneyball hair splitting.

    Capologists rejoice.
     
    #16 declan32001, Jul 4, 2007
  17. Mehdi

    Mehdi Rookie

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    way to put me in a down mood morey...
     
    #17 Mehdi, Jul 4, 2007
  18. Yetti

    Yetti Member

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    Feigen is more the mouth piece of the Rockets than of the Chronicle many times during the year his articles seem to prepare the fans to think one way or another. Not hard reporting, he tries to take the lead in misdirecting and also hushing the enthusiastic fans who scream for one player or another. Les doesn't like fan pressure. Unlike what he was quoted as saying sometime ago that he would go the whole way if just the right player came along.
    Well I am telling you all now is the time to bring pressure on the Rockets and in particular Les and Morey. If they are serious on getting us a decent Power Forward they must be prepared to PAY for him!!
    The last Feigen Article sounds like we should not expect the Rockets to spend anything over half of their MLS on a single free Agent. Again it sould just like all the years gone by- second and third rate scrubs or over the hill players on the cheap. Each year they keep on repeating! - God only knows how on earth we ever built a championship team!
    All the talk about Lewis was to pick us up and mislead us away from our misery.
    At first I thought that Morey was being clever and really trying to get Darko but even that is possibly in it'self another misdirection. :p
    The games people play, the lies people talk!!!!
     
    #18 Yetti, Jul 4, 2007
  19. AkeemTheDreem86

    AkeemTheDreem86 Member

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    I guess what I'm getting at is work ethic/attitude/B-Ball IQ. Is he another athletic apathetic ignoramous?
     
    #19 AkeemTheDreem86, Jul 4, 2007
  20. saleem

    saleem Member

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    He has also looked good in the limited games that he played in the NBA. One of them was a 20 point, 12 rebound,3 steals performance against Boston in April.
    He also had 6 blocks in a game against Philly in April as well.
     
    #20 saleem, Jul 4, 2007
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