Could the Rocks land Jalen Rose?

[Azim da Dream]

Watching this guy play, it is obvious he will never be a contender for the 6th man award ever again. Right now, he is on a flat-out tear. He has always been known to be a solid all-round player who can defend, pass, handle the ball, who is an overall team player, but this year he has elevated his offensive game to a whole new level. He is exactly the type of player the Rockets need. Instead of investing in a lottery pick like Kenyon Martin (sorry Francis3), why wait 2-3 years before he fully develops when you can have a 26-year old like Rose who has proven he belongs in this league and who has played in meaningful, play-off games before? I wathched him match-up against the "invincible" Vince Carter and it was agreed by all that Rose got the better of him. He shut Carter up with only 4 1st half points and finished on the offensive end with a career high 32 points. He got game.

My question is this, since he is a free agent at the end of the season, is there any way the Rocks have the cap room to sign him and what kind of rights do the Pacers have on him? Obviously, if the Pacers would have any say in keeping him, he would stay in Indy, but Houston should do everything their power to land this guy. I understand his availibility and accesibility depends greatly on who the Rocks dump in the off-season to clear room and what moves the other teams do. I know for a fact several teams have Rose right up their with McGrady on their wish list. Rose may be 6 years older than TMac, but he carries the intangible asset of valuable experience on a winning team, and still has his best years ahead of him.

Potential Line-up for next season.

C - Dream/Cato
PF - K.Thomas/Rogers
SF - Rose/Draft Pick/Bull
SG - S.Anderson/Cat
PG - Francis/Drew

Azim da Dream

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No guts, no glory, no brain, same story.

[This message has been edited by Azim da Dream (edited February 25, 2000).]

[DaneB]

This would definitely be awesome, but I seriously doubt the Pacers would let him slip through their fingers. They will do everything in their power to keep him in Indiana.

[BobFinn*]

Rose would be a welcome addition and a perfect fit for the Rockets. I get the feeling he will not return to the pacers after Larry leaves. I, like you Az, would love to have a veteran who has been through the wars of the NBA instead of an unproven rookie (Martin).

[Francis3]

jalen rose will sign with Detriot.

[popeye]

Azim my friend, you have hit on something there!!! But it would take some $$$$ to get him. I agree with my irish jabber wabber that he will likely leave when Larry goes fishing in Florida.

BTW how many games a yeaer do you get to see in Canada Center(... sorry,"Centre")?

[Azim da Dream]

I agree, it would take some serious dough to land a Rose in Houston. But what about the possibility of signing him to a one-year contract with the 'promise' of a huge contract extension the year later when Dream would retire? I'm not sure how rare those types of deals are in this day and age, but it would be a worthy effort.

With that said, there a lot of teams that could use Jalen to push them over the top or brighten their future. San Antonio and Miami come to mind.

As for your question Spinach man, I have been to the "Air Canada CentRE" - thats how its spelled everywhere outside your all-wonderful US of A - but not as much as I would like to. I've managed to catch Vince and Co. about 2 or 3 times this season, and will probably be able to make it to the March 19th game against the Rocks.

Azim da Dream

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No guts, no glory, no brain, same story.

[popeye]

'zim,my friend:

".....your all-wonderful US of A"

You forget my heritage. I used to speak a passable "en francais" having been born in Montreal. And lived in LaSalle, Vancover, Verdun, Halifax, Toronto, Kingston, St John as well as several US cities, South America, several islands in the Carib (ah .... the Carib now that is the only place in the world where you can spend a lifetime in a single second ).....

I got to Texas as soon as I could though.

[Azim da Dream]

Pops,

Don't worry, I didn't forget where your roots lie my well-travelled friend. I just didn't say anything about you being Canadian 'cause you mentioned in an email that you wanted to keep that fact condidential. So when you made that little 'Centre' joke, I thought I'd just play along.

Azim da Dream

[TraJ]

Why would Rose want to go to Detroit with Hill and Stackhouse (assuming that both Hill and Stackhouse will still be there)? I know he played at Michigan, but has he said anything about going to Detroit? Just curious.

If the Rockets keep Moochie, then perhaps Indiana would be interested in Drew, etc. . . I think Houston will be the team to trade with in the offseason since they can take on 4.5 million more than they give away. Don't you know there will be some teams ready to get rid of that much more than they get in salaries. I'm sure a lot of the offers will be overpriced junk, but there could also be several good deals.

[brahma rocket]

maybe we could (if our pick is'nt top five) give our pick to the pacers for jalen rose in a sign and trade deal.

[heypartner]

Jalen Rose has arrived. I've been watching him since the Eastern Finals 2 yrs ago when he scored at will against Jordan and played some of the best d agaist MJ I've seen since Maxwell.

[popeye]

Yep Azim is right.So is heypartner. Jalen is ready to move to a team that will feature him. Okay where do we sign him.

PS Azim: Ah, duh! Mmmmmm! I forgot I asked you to keep that confidential. I think that was when I was poppin' in here with some pretty substantial stuff, and mmmmmm, my friend ('close to the Rockets') and colleagues were being scrutinized over "leaks ... (that are) worthy of dismissal" from Les and company. Everyone was paranoid. Anyway, happily that witch hunt resulted in only a minor reprimand for a fellow worker because he was seen dining regularly with a local media guy. Duh. Droll. Appreciate your confidence.

[E.J. Tucker]

Why would anyone want Rose on this team? He will be a fine player on a team that allows him to do what ever he feels at the time. We have a core group that play well togather in a system type game. I don't see letting that get away for one player that I'm not that sure the Pacers will try that hard to keep - and there probally is a reason.

If the truth be know from the Pacer team its a give the ball to Rose and be ready for anything, the defense can't know what he will do, as his own teammates don't.

Just my thoughts, on what I've heard, but watch him play close and see if it doesn't look that way.