http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2611273 McDyess could still be answer for Rockets Power forward is interested in joining team By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Put aside for a moment the notion of a superstar scorer circling in Yao Ming's orbit. As nice a vision as it is, there are other basketball fantasies with which the Rockets could indulge themselves. Because it is apparently the season to dream about superstars joining the Rockets and taking the season in these parts into the hot weather, imagine what they need most. OK, because no one will agree on that, imagine a power forward. Imagine someone stronger than virtually every power forward, able to knock down Karl Malone and jump shots, outwork anyone, someone averaging double-figure rebounds who would be a simple, no-frills, everyday professional. If you also imagine him jumping to the upper deck, you would be picturing Antonio McDyess, circa 1998-99 when he was a hot free agent ready to consider the Rockets. The Rockets, a long shot to beat McDyess' former teams Denver and Phoenix for his hand, went instead for Scottie Pippen, and we know how that worked. McDyess is a free agent again and according to agent Andy Miller would love to consider the Rockets again. McDyess, 29, will not be anywhere near as expensive as he was last time. His knee injuries, including the broken kneecap that changed his life and is not held together by screws, have dropped his stock dramatically. He has played just 52 games the past two seasons. Miller said McDyess is healthy enough to start a season right now, and can play any number of minutes or games a team needs. "I have had no ... conversations with the Houston Rockets about Antonio McDyess," Miller said. "But Antonio has indicated to me that, one, remaining in his adopted hometown of Houston, Texas, is very appealing to him. He loves the city and community. "Two, he has a high regard and respect for the team, its personnel, management and coaching staff. And three, this would provide him the opportunity to win, to contribute to the success they are having, and to go over and above what they've already achieved." Even if he never regains the explosiveness he once had, McDyess' attributes and attitude could be right for the Rockets. The move of Kelvin Cato to power forward and the additions of Clarence Weatherspoon and (briefly) Charles Oakley offered a pretty good idea what the Rockets believe they need at the position. Even a relatively earthbound McDyess can bring what they were missing — if the knee will allow him to be there every night. He might have to be checked out by every orthopedist in Houston before the Rockets will make an offer, though Miller said, "We're willing and able to address that, to give teams the opportunity to wrap their arms around him." But as long as it is June, NBA fantasy season for all but two teams, McDyess might just still be an All Star/Olympian talent at role player/midlevel money.
I haven't heard about McDyess for a while now, so I have no clue about what his game is like today. But if the guy signs for 2 years at the exception, it would seem like an ok gamble. The Rockets are two years away from cap freedom anyway. And w/o the luxury tax, they can certainly afford someone like him. The only problem is the gluttony at the PF/C position with 5 players. Now if the Rockets trade one of them(probably Cato), then the signing would really make sense.
McDyess at midlevel money could be just what we were looking for at the 4 spot. We have already seen that Cato has the aptitude for PF and he can take some of the pressure off of Antonio as far as injuries go. Even if we only got 50 or 60 games out of him, he could be a godsend.
McDyess is the player I wanted the Rockets to go after before they signed Pippen. His injuries were very unfortunate but if he can regain some of his old form and stay healthy I'd love for the Rockets to sign him to a low risk contract.
This is all I need to hear...why would we waste mid-level money on him when he hasn't played a full season since the 99 season. If we get him for close to the minimum, I would consider it...otherwise, there are better and less risky options.
well if we can get TMac... Dice would be part of the puzzle to assembling a championship team... assuming he can go 30 minutes a night. he won't be what he used to be... but 12-8 may be a reasonable expectation. if we can't get TMac... you know who's like Mcdyess but better in every statistical category? Elton Brand.
McDyess averaged 9-8 on 50% shooting in about 28 minutes as a starter over 20 games this past year. It usually takes an extra year to recover from the lower body type injuries, so the fact he's still producing at all is a plus. He won't demand a lot of shots-he didn't attempt more than 14 FG all season, and is a solid defender, still a very good rebounder, and if healthy, another intimidating shot blocker. It's a shame he had the injuries he did; he really relied on his pogo-stick jumping abilities Right now, we have a crowd of multi-year front court contracts between Spoon, Taylor, and Cato (plus Yao, of course). If we lose one of them in the expansion draft, or in a trade, it could make McDyess a nicer possibility. I'd give him a 2 year deal with a team option on year 3 for half the MLE, assuming a guy like Brent Barry isn't available (for all the MLE).
I say we offer Dice our 1.6 million dollar exception for one year which is what Karl Malone signed for with the lakers last year. Seems fair to me. See how he does this year and then next year we can renegotiate according to his performance. Oh yeah, I forgot to add that he's a former Knick. I guess he's as good as ours.
This would be so great. Before the season ended, I knew this would come up. It was obvious he would be playing for little to no money, so Houston are the only team that can offer him an incentive at the same price. Sign him up, trade MoT. If we sign McDyess, I really suggest we trade MoT for Austin Croshere. Gives us size at SF, better shooting/rebounding, and less of a jam at PF.
I don't think he is a best fit for our PF needs. He doesn't have much range, I believe. We need a jump-shooting PF who can draw double team away from Yao. And if he has lost some of his agility, can he stay with his man on D, especially Dirks and Sheeds? I won't mind if we got TMac and sign him on the cheap, that is, if CD and JVG think he still can do better than our other one-dimensional 4s.
Well considering other free agents Mcdyess is probably the best choice as a PF. He played well at the end of the season when he was given the playing time. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?playerId=530 These are the stats for all the games he has played this year. Take a look at the games between the dates 3/20 and 4/14. He put up very acceptable numbers when he was given the playing time. Now consider he will be given an entire offseason to heal and stregnthen his knee. Granted thats not even a month. He played a couple 40 minute games and averaged 30 mins in april. I would be willing to give him the MLE for 2 years and see how he does because i just dont want to see Cato playing the 4 again. Cato was a temporary solution since EG crippled us at that position when he left. I prefer Mcdyess over Brand considering their different styles of play. Brand is most effective under the basket doing all his dirty work and having him play outside of the paint would not play his strengths(what we are doing to SF), Mcdyess does have the outside jumper we are looking for and it seems he is able to still rebound and block a few shots. Mcdyess will have to work on his perimeter game since he will not have all his althleticism anymore and that would work well with yao.
The Rockets would be insane to sign him, without some sort of legally binding buy out option in case he reinjures himself. This is a horrible idea.
No Freakin' Way!!!!! No amount of $$$ is worth rolling the dice on McDyess. Heck, he should be referred to as McDice from now on. Knicks were baited when they traded one hampered player (Camby) for McDyess. And it turned out McDyess was the one with the physical ailments. As any athelete knows, knee injuries are rarely that simple to come from. It's probably one of the most debilitating injuries of all b/c everything depends on the legs. Who's to say McDice doesn't have knee problems in his other leg? Or back problems too? I'd rather go for youth than a former all-star with questionable health. It's not worth the gamble. theSAGE
Faos, You're slacking. Link to article : http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2611273
This could be a great pick up if he comes cheap. If Dice is healthy he could be the hard nosed 10ppg 10rpg and player with though D that we are looking for. However, he is a gamble. Extremely injury prone. But if Dice is healthy, wants to come here, and he comes cheap, I say YEAH!
1) Spoon is at a point in his career where he's only capable of situational play. He's not gonna split minutes at PF with another player because he's not good enough anymore. He's a decent occasional spark off of the bench and another body to throw at Shaq, Duncan, etc but he's not going to be capable of playing consistent big minutes over the course of the season. That being said, unless we can trade him (ex. for Fortson) he is just a name on the roster or IR taking our money and shouldn't factor into any "log jam" we could potentially have at PF. 2) Wouldn't trading Taylor for Croshere create a log jam at SF? JJ is still more than worthy of big minutes and Nachbar needs to be worked into the rotation this season, where are the minutes for Croshere other than at PF? So this is kind of a dead point. Back to McDyess, I cannot think of a more realistic/best chance of reward option at PF than signing McDyess. Of course the injuries are a concern but it isn't like any deal he would be signed to would be anything more than 2 years, 3 max. He showed promising signs of improvement towards the end of the season and you know Rockets management will watch his progress closely this offseason. If things look good we are INSANE not to go after him because there aren't many more appealing and realistic options out there.
