Oi... a trade thread. I apologize, really. But I just wanted to think out loud about some relatively unspectacular, though largely productive 2-guards that we might do well to think about acquiring this offseason. Of course, there's Bogans. I assume we're keeping him. I have no feel for whether we'll try to re-sign Wesley or not, honestly. So we might just have to sign someone... Greg Buckner, perhaps? The players I'm thinking about more, though, are the ones that aren't free agents. My number one interest? Maurice Evans. Yeah, I was all about acquiring him last offseason, and I'd still love to have him. For anyone who isn't terribly familiar with the man, he's basically a rich man's Keith Bogans. Two years older, but that's not all that old. I also would think at least for a minute about giving Kirk Snyder a shot. Decent shooter, good size. There are worse defenders, though he's not known for defense prowess and rebounding, like Evans. If we could get Snyder cheap, I'd take him. For those guys, I'm not sure what we'd offer. Something small... maybe a future protected #1 and change (because, really, we BETTER be good next year, or we're sunk IMO). Then there're some guys who would be harder to get... Mickael Pietrus and Josh Childress for example, for which we'd no doubt have to offer up Swift and maybe another worthwhile enticement like a future #1. I, for one, would think about it. Thoughts?
Maybe add Morris Peterson to that list -- not sure what Bryan Colangelo has in store for Peterson, especially if the Raptors look for a guard like Brandon Roy in the draft. I'm sure Colangelo is looking to pillage any team that wants him ... I was surprised though to see how well MoPete has been shooting the three ball the past 3 seasons (up to 39.1% this year). Pietrus is an interesting player physically ... would be a good defender for JVG I would think. His three-ball shooting skills are downright Bogans-esque though.
I think we should look at the FA first. Guys like Kareem Rush, James Posey, etc. If not the FA, Golden State has a lot of enticing prospects. Derek Fisher is old and he makes too much money, but he plays JVG defense and can catch and shoot lights out. Mikael Pietrus is an all around young talent who can definitely become something more. I would want to to after Earl Watson, that guy's a great shooter and he's quick. The problem is, outside of T-Mac and Yao, we're kind of stuck with a lot of crap.
I like Snyder a lot. I had season tickets for the Hornets games, so I got to see a lot of him. He might be attainable because he has been in and out of Coach Scott's doghouse lately. I would rather have Rasual Butler but Scott is in love with him. I'm pretty sure he's going to re-sign there. Another wing and another Hornet that we should be interested in is J.R. Smith. I think he will be moved over the summer. He has been in Coach Scott's doghouse all year. The guy has all of the tools to be a very good player. I might consider a swap of our #1 for J.R. It's hard to guage J.R.'s value. I guess if they were going to take Brent Barry for him maybe we could snag him for less.
After Snyder tooled Sura, JVG, and our bench last year, I can't see him coming over. Maybe JR of course..
Straight up, what are the Rocket's tradable assets? I am thinking that they have none. Who wants these guys? Obviously, they are not trading Ming or TMac, but after them, who? Someone that only watches Stro on the highlight reels, maybe. Head or Hayes, someone interested in "potential." Maybe Alston, though I don't know why. Howard, not likely. The Bumble Boys, nope. Not a pretty picture people. The Rockets have stockpiled a pacel of untalented and possibly untradable players.
well someone did take on Mo Taylor. And Moochie. So anything is possible, pending situation and/or idiocy of GM. Head and Swift are tradeable assets. You may think Swift has shown nothing..but he's definitely adapted some. He's not great, but on big-man-starved teams, he's worth something. Especially on teams that want athletic big men (NO, Mil, Pho, NJ, etc.) for their offense. Hayes, on the other hand, is not.
The 2 draft picks, Stro, Head, Moochie TE, Mutumbo and Bowen are expirings, maybe Rafer That's about it. We aren't going to be able to pick up an elite player with that, but we could potentially get one of the guys that we're talking about.
Clutch, I have been touting Mo Pete for over 2 years now. He is exactly the kind of player the Rockets need. A SG with size that can hit the 3pt shot, is willing to take a back seat and is decent defensively. However, I dont see the Raptors moving him at this point. Perhaps a year ago you might have been able to grab him but now I would have to think his stock is much higher these days.
The Knicks benefitted from that trade on a talent basis, MoT is still playing there, VB and Mooch aren't on our team any longer. MoT was a financial decision for us and not a trade that bolstered our roster. We have paltry tradeable assets, so the Rox mgmt needs to think out of the box and take some risks to shake things up around here. I would like to trade Swift for JR Smith who has worn out his welcome in NOK similar to Stro here, if it takes sweetening the deal with next years second, I would do it. We also need to take a risk on guys with blemishes on their reps such as Kareem Rush and Qyntel Woods. Maybe also trade one of our picks this year and a player to move up so we can select Roy or Carney.
A couple of low-profile players I would be interested in are Jarvis Hayes and Kevin Martin. Both are tall (6-7, 6-8), young players that could develop into solid 3rd option players. Hayes has a lot of potential, and may be available since he missed pretty much the entire season due to injury and they already have Caron Butler. Kevin Martin kind of reminds me a bit of Doug Christie/Kerry Kittles. He can shoot the ball. Depending on if they resign Bonzi Wells and what they plan on doing with Francisco Garcia, Martin may be expendable to Sacramento.
Try and watch the Clippers Quentin Ross come playoff time. I saw him lockup Manu Ginobli during the season.
The 3 guys who would be perfect in our system. Luke Walton Shane Battier Mike Dunleavy I would do what it takes, but definitely gotta add one of these as a crucial chemistry guy.
I know I don't want Kareem Rush. He's got nice potential, he just doesn't work. At all. All he wants to do is shoot 3s. Defense? Ha! Indeed, I wouldn't hate on Mo Pete. I'm a little bit concerned about a slight lack of speed for a 2, but a reliable shot would make up for it. Jarvis Hayes I like too. Again, maybe a touch slow for a 2, but he's solid. Ditto on Battier, though I feel like the Grizz won't let him go (especially not for Swift! lol). Posey? Hmmm... I think he would fit, but he's a bit on the pricey side even now, and if he plays really well it'll hurt financially trying to retain him the following season. I'd be happy to see him here though. JR Smith? I think the tools are there, but he seems to have too much of a hot-dog attitude to me. Like he thinks he god's gift, ya know? Plus he's a touch streaky, and doesn't try hard on D. Pass. Kevin Martin? I'd LOVE to have him. But he's a starter on a team that has completely jelled lately, he's only 23, and he's locked up for 3 years at a low salary. The Kings have too many high-salary players to let a gift like Martin go for anything we have, short of this year's #1 and change, which I don't want to do.
If Steve Nash came to play for the Rockets and JVG, he would become another underachieving, undersized point guard who plays lousy defense.
Steve wouldn't get off the bench, No D I'm big on Luol Deng from Chicago, but thats just a pipe dream. I'm still a fan of the proposed Josh Childress/JR SMith for Stro trades. I believe Stro is our best trade bait, meanwhile, based on our new draft position, we grab Shelden Williams to clean some glass for us.
The market sucks this year. I dont expect many changes, even though we need a lot of changes. Shooters arent that big in the market so i would take redick in the draft and then look for a perimeter defender. Is gerald wallace available?
