[CHRONIC] Rockets apparently not getting Iguodala or Butler. So what now?

They should just let mcgrady play then and see what he gots

 

Bwahaha. Knew that was coming.

On a slightly different note..........I am convinced that the way to acquire a top 4 player this offseason (Lebron, DWade, Joe Johnson, Bosh), is through a trade. IF one of those guys determines they want a different situation, the most money they can get is through a S&T. The only way to accomplish a S&T is to have enough of the right kind of assets to give to the signing team to convince them to cooperate in a S&T scenario. There has to be incentive for the trading team to do the S&T. So, part of the equation here for Morey is to figure out how to position himself for this offseason so he has the assets to send to a Miami or Atlanta to get a S&T done.

That means one of three things is going to happen. Either we trade McGrady for assets (regardless of position or team need) or we hold on to McGrady and work out some sort of palletable scenario for him to return to the team and play and cooperate in a S&T scenario this spring, or we buy McGrady out with the understanding that he is going to a certain team (NY) and we get that team (NY) to give us some incentive to buy McGrady out so he can join them for a playoff run.

 

If DM the GM has already been thinking for the longest time probably that moving Tracy was already and has been in his plans and has had longer than most to make a decision. If something happens - it happens, but it wont be a dumb move. They realize that throwing names out gets the whole city pumped and that writing this article was the best thing to do since the Rox need assurance nobody will be moved to keep playing well. I predict a 4 team scenario that was probably in place 3 teams in the West and one in the East. I predict 15 players total and one pick from another team. If it ain't 15 players then it's 13. All we know is 'talks' from past articles and one team that is not mentioned.

 

I only see McGrady getting back in the lineup if we make the playoffs, have one of the starting guards/forwards are injured and he is playing like the T-Mac of old.

McGrady would like the chance to prove he still got it before FA and break his playoff streak of first round exits. And the Rockets would need the potential offensive fire power and experience.

 

I wouldn't mind trading Tracy to New York for a bunch of expirings (they have them) and Jordan Hill's $2.7 million contract next year. We'd be in about the same cap situation as letting him expire, plus we'd have another little piece.

 

Articles you see, would be the 'push the panic button' on something when they lose, but i'm quite sure something even before that has been in place.

 

No ****. He should pay the Rockets to let him play 8 minutes a game the rest of the year.

 

I say we let T-Mac play. What if he comes out and plays on a "All-Star" level?
All i know is that T-Mac>Ariza. So we can't possibly be doing worse then with Ariza jacking up 15 shots per game.

 

He would be putting up better numbers then what he did last year AND remember he had less shots with Artest in the line-up with a bumbed knee. He even said himself he can get somebody 30.

 

The Rockets general problem since Leslie Alexander came here was profits mattered the most so CD and his predecessor was allowed to do anything in his power to land star players.

First it was Drexler, then Barkley, then Pippen, then Francis (future star and it took 3/4 teams and 11 players to complete the deal) and his return, Tracy McGrady and the latest Artest.

We gave up on the future with all these deals, except for Drexler because the Rockets figured Herrera could fill in for Thorpe but the 94-95 season was injury filled (they gave up on Herrera after that season and figured Horry could play PF, HUGE MISTAKE !!)

Now we are slowing turning around, which is evident in the Artest deal where we didn't gave up much and got rid of Bobby J. The problem is the Rockets have held on to Tracy for waaaay too long.

In 07-08 Tracy proved his worth and a deal should've been made in the offseason. Maybe for Artest, maybe for some1 alongside Yao & Artest. Tracy came back out of shape which should've resulted in immediate trade talks. They let him play injured, heard about deal and sabotaged the whole thing.

Now it is all too late especially because Morey is holding out way too long. You can bet that Tracy could've been traded for Butler / Iguodala without giving up too much. I'm not talking about our future but players like Scola, Battier or even a Landry / Budinger who are not going to get much better.

If Scola / Landry / Battier / Budinger can land you a good SG then you do it. If he doesn't work out, you can trade him or let him walk. What shocks me the most is that Battier is in our future plans. The guy proved his worth in 07-08 and should've been traded that off-season or last off-season.

In 08-09 he started to become worse and this year he has been horrible, he is not slowing down anyone, his lateral movement has deteriorated tremendously, he cannot even hit a three anymore, his unwillingness to take the ball to the hole is even worse than Tracy / Artest jacking up threes (at least he hit some) etc.

I believe Morey has done some great things for the Rockets by landing some great young talent in Brooks, Landry & Lowry; in turning bad contracts into good ones (Mike James & Bonzi for Bobby J); in getting some good, not great, draft picks with Budinger, Dorsey & JT. However I believe like some others here that he overvalues our players and love for stats worries me.

I believe no deal is imminent, they will let Tracy walk, it will be all for naught and at best we will get a SG / PF next offseason. I cannot believe if Tracy will not be dealt we have nothing to show for him. No big time player wants to come here and Tracy only saves us a few millions next year.

 

you just mentioned the knicks and the playoffs in the same sentence.

Spoiler

spike lee faints

 

BOOOOOOM!!!! You couldn't be more right. You HAVE to have a star that is stellar at both ends of the floor to win a ship, because you know what that means? Other than the obvious, it means that player has HEART. HEART, determination, and is a leader. These are intangibles that go hand in hand with a player that excels at both ends of the floor. If you don't put as much effort into your defense as you do your offense, then you only care about your stats and your paycheck (I.E. TRACY MCLAZY). Those players who give it their all in every facet of the game have heart, and want that championship even more than their paycheck. Shane Battier is a poor man's example of this. Imagine if you put his heart into T-Mac's (when T-Mac was actually relevant) body. You know who you would have?...KOBE. A player that refuses to lose, has exceptional skill, and utilizes those skills on BOTH ends of the floor. Only in a perfect world....or in L.A....sigh

 

Good Read....

 

the thing is letting tmac walk won't give us the money to sign a big star anyways. and in the offseason, if we want a star, we need to trade a rotational player anyways, who morey over-values.

i don't see us getting a superstar (lebron/wade). bosh and johnson look like they're staying with their teams.

at most, we're going to get a 3rd tier star of some sort anyways.

 

Hmmmm

Golden State
Seattle
Detroit

 

Morey is extremely smart. Honestly there is no move they can make that will make them contenders this year. So why mortgage the future by taking on some stupid contracts just for the sake of "change". I never wanted Butler, Iggy is a nice player but has a long ugly contract, and really what else is out there that would help us? I was hoping we could get Bosh, but Toronto is playing too well so they have gone from sellers to buyers!

 

HEY, WHY DONT YOU GO BE GM. FIRST OFF ALL, TRACY DOESN'T SAVE US A FEW MILLION, HE SAVES US 23 MILLION.

Second, your logic is nonsense. Why take on Butler's 10 million dollar contract that lasts through 2011, taking up useful cap room that Morey could use in a bountiful free agent market this summer to pick up good players for the half or less than half the price of Butler's contract? (he could easily find a gem that's been riding the bench somewhere, i.e. Lowry)

Or even use some of the cap space to sign some great draft picks? (which we know he has an eye for). Morey has a way to stretch a dollar as far as it can go and get great talent in return.

Butler averages 16.9 ppg and 6.7 rebounds per 40 minutes. Not to mention his less than impressive 40% shooting percentage. Guess who gets paid less than one third of Butler's salary and has nearly the same production if not better? Carl Landry.

Landry averages 16.3 ppg. 5.5. boards, nearly a block a game, shoots 55% from the field, and all in 27 minutes! (oh yeah and 84% from the FT line) Granted, Butler is a 3 and Landry is a 4, and what we need is a 2 or 3, but they both play facing the basket and put the ball on the ground. That's irrelevant, however. What is relevant though, is there is no need to take on Butler's 10 million for another year (Haywood's 6 mil, doesn't matter because we need the help inside, and it's an expiring contract), and limit Morey's financial flexibility in the offseason when he could easily pick up a swingman gem in the rough. I know the Landry vs. Butler comparison is a little hard to make considering they play different positions, but what I'm trying to say is Morey could find a swingman that's just as good or has the potential to be that good for far less money.

And guess what? Yao's back next year...so if we add some pieces in the off season (maybe even a splash if the cards fall just right) and we don't squander our cap space on a deal JUST for the sake of making a deal, which morey won't do, we could have a TEAM that's playoff ready next fall.

 

Or we could let McGrady walk this summer and utilize the cap space plus some of our young talent to facilitate a sign and trade.

 

Agreed. Read my post above.

 

I think we'll be fine if we don't trade McGrady. We can still make other moves later on. Yes, I wonder what will happen and don't think our lineup with no McGrady trade is going to be "good enough" to win games in the playoffs, but it's still solid, and we can build upon that over time, or maybe not over time but with a sudden decision/trade/signing that'll help our team.