Everybody talking about Jamision but I feel Joe Smith may be a better fit for the Rockets, plus we get to keep Walt. He has a better face to the basket game and also can log some time at the four spot if needed. Thing is do we have any cap space or exceptions to give him. I Would hate to see him end up in Dallas there team is becoming scary! http://www.sportstalk.com/nba/rumors/index.shtml ------------------ ballplayer [This message has been edited by ballplayer (edited September 11, 2000).] [This message has been edited by ballplayer (edited September 11, 2000).] [This message has been edited by ballplayer (edited September 11, 2000).]
yeah, Joe Smith would be good to put on the Rockets practice squad. Maybe if he played well enough, he could even make it onto the IR. sign him up! ------------------ I am so exasperated that I could expectorate.
There going to have to change the schedule for Dallas and determine when and where and who the Dallas 1 and the Dallas 2 team can play. Seriously though, Cuban is trying to sign every player with a name, good or not. This guy is a billionaire and is exciting but there is a salary cap and he has 16 players on the team right now and I'm pretty sure he is over the cap so does he think Joe Smith is gonna go to him for the exception, very unlikely. He went to Minnesota for the minimum and developed some seniority there, he won't start all over at the bottom with the exception. ------------------
Doesn't Joe Smith has Chicago ties? ------------------ http://www.nba.com/theater/video/taylor_m_dunk_120299.mov
Rocketteen, "This guy is a billionaire and is exciting but there is a salary cap and he has 16 players on the team right now..." The salary cap is very arbitrary and it is no coincidence that the Faker$, Failblazers, and Knicks are among the highest payrolls in the NBA and made their respective conference finals. Mark Cuban for all of his admirable energy is like a kid in a toy store. Ohhh.. one of those and....one of those...and oh gosh, I REALLY want that one. This coming season is the first for the "Luxury Tax", but I am doubtful if there will be much impact on owners like Cuban and Paul Allen. As for Joe Smith....he's not going to sign for what we will offer and IMHO definitely NOT worth the effort nor the big bucks. Joe Smith will not guarantee the Rocks a playoff spot and is very much over rated. ------------------ GATER
Gater: while I agree that Smith was once overrated, now I think that the reverse is true. Smith isn't an all-star, but he's perfectly capable of 15 and 8... I'm really not sure Mo Taylor's much better. He's certainly a useful player, not a "scrub," and could help any team. I'd wager the Lakers are going to make a pitch for him. ------------------ Shandon Anderson rocks. The lottery sucks. Playoffs 2001.
Haven, Mo vs Joe would be a good discussion as Smith's career numbers have been on a downward trend each year while Mo's have improved. Are you telling me that you would persue Joe Smith to START over Mo AND pay him at least twice as much? I agree, the Faker$ will show definite interest, but they have no regard for the salary cap. I guess the bigger market and deeper pockets win again. ------------------ GATER
The Lakers are one of the teams most conscious of the luxury tax. In fact, Jerry Buss was leading the charge to have Shaq's monster contract grandfathered so as not to have it calculated into the luxury tax equation. Big market or not, Buss is one of the tightest owners in the league. ------------------
RocketExpert, You asked if Joe Smith had ties to Chi-town. The answer is no. He is from Norfolk, Va. He and Allen Iverson were AAU teammates back in the day. I think Joe would be a good fit here but that would mean the end of KT as he would would definitely take those back up minutes at the 4 and some a the 5 as well. But I thought he just resigned with the T-Wolves because of KG. I don't know if I'ld believe that story. It doesn't make any sense to me. This guy takes a pay cut to stay with your team and then you want to trade him. Hmm, We'll see what transpires. ------------------
I just read the story. Didn't know that. I still can't see him with Dallas.(don't want to see him with D-Town) Hopefully Steve and Cat can do more recruiting like they did with big Mo. ------------------
If Dallas wants Smith, it's for the same reason as they wanted Laettner -- to keep him away from the Lakers. I posted my take on Smith on a thread in the NBA forum: http://bbs.clutchcity.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/001064.html ------------------
He is a career 14.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg player not real bad for 5 years in the league and not really being the focus of a teams offense. He was like the 3rd or 4th option in the T-wolves offense. I like his game better than KT's but that's my opinion. ------------------ ballplayer
Dallas is stack at the pf and sf position anyway with Dirk Norwitski, G.Trent, C. Lattener, and we cannot forget Finley. But Cuban does have the loot, but I think even if he would pick him up, it would be to trade him. just like swopa said Keep him away from the Lakers ------------------ ballplayer [This message has been edited by ballplayer (edited September 11, 2000).]
Hahahahahahahaha! Sorry. The thought of Dallas getting players for the sole reason to "keep them away from the Lakers" is just hilarious to me. Yeah, I can see Portland using this tactic (Dale Davis). But Dallas? Shouldn't they take care of some business like, I don't know, making the playoffs, before they are concerned with what pieces the Lakers add? IMO, they were better off with Ceballos. ------------------
Yes, Gater, I do know that the salary cap is very "arbitrary", as u put it but, there are only 3 ways to go over it and still get players. One, to sign your own player after his bird rights are due and u can sign him to anything u want to depending on his tenure in the NBA. Two, in a trade and if u are already over the cap u can only trade/recieve +/- 15% of the salaries traded. Three, if u sign that player to an exception but u only get the exception(s) if u are already over the cap. So with that known, and with Dallas having 16 players under contract and several being high priced, Bradley, Nash, Finley, Laettner, etc, the only way Billionaire Cuban is going to obtain Joe Smith is if he trades for him which is unlikely considering Smith might not have a contract to be traded if it is voided by the league or the more likely scenario, Smith signing for one of the exceptions. As I had said, Smith had already signed with Minnesota for an exception when he first got to Minnesota. He did that to look for a pay day down the road. I mean, he turned down some huge offer by Golden State to sign with Minnesota so he was looking to cash in and it would have worked except they put their "wink wink" in writing and it was discovered. So, Cuban has no cap space and lots of money he can't spend on Joe Smith unless he is signed for 3 years and resigns him after his bird rights are up with Dallas. The Bulls, I believe are the only ones with cap space left but they are more than covered at power forward and I don't see them adding Smith at small forward considering they have Artest and the big guy from Iowa State; name escapes me. So it is unlikely he signs there. Since Smith signed for the minimum, he was hoping for major security after his term with the exception so he probably does not want to take the exception again for another 3 years when he should have been getting his money. Like the old cliche goes, he is stuck between a rock and a hard place. But, he may just suck it up and sign for the exception with a championship contender and I believe the Lakers have not used their 2.25 mil exception. But we'll see, Joe Smith is a nice complementary player and is hardly a large piece to a championship puzzle, even if he was drafted #1. ------------------
If Joe Smith does bolt the twin cities and plays in a different uni next year, I could see both the Knicks and Heat go after him. NY has been looking for a suitable PF to either start or split minutes with LJ, and Joe will definatley survive, and probably flourish in the smaller East. If that three-way involving Ewing/Grant/Rice goes down then the Knicks will be in an even greater need for a big man. As for Miami, I would be suprised if they're not looking for some frontcourt depth after losing Brown, Gatling, Weatherspoon and Thorpe and getting back just B.Grant (and Mason). AC Green was mentioned, as he would be a good fit having played for Riles before, plus fresh off a championship season. But Smith could definatley help any team. I could see the Pistons pursuing him as well. Azim da Dream ------------------ We don't live for the destination. We live for the journey. http://www.clutchtown.com
Remember, this is Cuban, and he thinks big. And he's not just interested in keeping the Lakers from getting players for the sake of being able to match up better -- he's admitted that he wants to get Shaq so upset by their lack of improvement that he forces his way out (or at least disrupts the team's chemistry). ballplayer, Smith WAS the focus of the GS offense for the last two years he was there (other players derisively referred to it as the "Spree and Joe Show"), which is when he put up his best numbers. Take out those two years, and his average is more like 11 ppg. ------------------
You are right Swopa that is the case but he produce during those years also 15ppg,9rpg as a rookie and 19ppg, 9rpg. I think he just wanted to be in a situation were he could win some ballgames which is not a bad thing. I think he just sacrificed shots and minutes for the sake of winning. Who can fault him for that. Actually I commend him for that. Keep in mind though that one year he was traded and had to adapt. Then went to Min were he started to see his offensive point production role decrease because of K.G.'s dominant presents, but he has always been a solid rebounder and shotblocker. I don't think anybody can doubt his ability. If I were a GM I'd Take him and be happy! ------------------ ballplayer [This message has been edited by ballplayer (edited September 11, 2000).] [This message has been edited by ballplayer (edited September 11, 2000).]
I can doubt his ability all I want, because I saw his lame butt for two years with the Warriors. If you'll look closely, Smith's last two years in Golden State (Jan. 1996-Feb. 1998) show increased point totals, but also sharply decreased FG% and wins. It's not a coincidence that the smaller a role Smith plays, the better his team does -- it's not "sacrifice" so much as an acknowledgement that he's not good enough to win games for anyone. Sadly, Deja.com's archives aren't what they used to be, but one of my prouder Internet moments was being (to the best of my knowledge) the first Warrior fan in any online forum to urge the trading of Joe Smith. By the end of his rookie year it was clear to me he'd never be a franchise player, and in the early part of his second season I realized that GS would never get any better until he was gone. As backup power forwards go, though, I admit he's pretty good. ------------------
My sentiments exactly Cassell. I cracked up when I read that Swopa Im not ridiculing or second guessing u. But if thats what Dallas is doing... ------------------ Fun Police Says: 1. Stupid threads are not FUN! 2. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure are not FUN! 3. Stupid BBS names are not FUN! 4. Conduct yourself in a FUN way! The Fun Police are Watching. Vote for the Rockets & Have FUN or be Assimilated.
