It's that we gave them Stromile Swift and didn't DEMAND that they take Juwon Howard instead that has me the most pissed off. I don't think anyone is going to be unhappy with Shane Battier. I just don't see it. He is going to immediately step into Houston and be the best person on our team and be a 35 minute a game starter right away. Battier leads by example and this team needs someone like that. Notice that I said he would be the best "person" and not the best "player". Battier is a winner and that's something that is hard to teach. He is also still fairly young and healthy and doesn't miss games. He will be a starter for the Rockets for years and years and for that I really don't mind giving up the 8 pick. But Swift?! By including Swift instead of Howard, Jerry West basically had his way with CD. I have said it for years and I will say it again, Carroll Dawson is the worst GM in basketball not named Isiaha Thomas. There must be something in the water for Houston to have such horrible general managers in every single sport. There is no sugar coating this, we were bested in this deal. Big time.
I was mad about Swift leaving, but it's a salary cap move. Let's hope we sign a serviceable four out of it.
Maybe I'm wrong, but if Realgm is reliable regarding trades, this trade won't work. Battier is a BYC player and this won't work. The only way it works is if the trade involves Mike Miller. Howard and 8th for Miller. Howard, Swift 8th for Miller and Battier works as well. So maybe it's not over yet. I wouldn't have a problem with Miller at the 2
everything changes on July 12. then the deal is possible. which is why they're saying, "it's still not done."
Exactly what I'm thinking. I am FAR from a salary cap expert, but if Miller ends up here, I'm cool with this trade. As is, the trade blows chimps. Howard, Swift and Gay for Miller and Shane? I can live with that. Hopefully, we'll find out some good news after July 12th.
I'm glad Swift is gone. The guy is a complete dumbass. At least Howard knows what he's doing. Heck, Howard was our leading scorer and #1 option when Tracy and Yao were out. And now Battier can play some at the 4 against more athletic PFs. I'm still holding out hope that Mike Miller is a part of this deal, but I think it would have been mentioned by now. But even if he's not it's not all bad. I'm confident we'll sign Mike James and probably make a move for another athletic 2 guard. Aslton/James/Sura? TMac/Head/FA? Battier/Bogans/Bowen Howard/Hayes/Novak Yao/Deke
I'm glad Swift is gone. The guy is a complete dumbass. At least Howard knows what he's doing. Heck, Howard was our leading scorer and #1 option when Tracy and Yao were out. And now Battier can play some at the 4 against more athletic PFs. I'm still holding out hope that Mike Miller is a part of this deal, but I think it would have been mentioned by now. But even if he's not it's not all bad. I'm confident we'll sign Mike James and probably make a move for another athletic 2 guard. Alston/James/Sura? TMac/Head/FA? Battier/Bogans/Bowen Howard/Hayes/Novak Yao/Deke
I'm willing to bet just about anything that the Rockets preferred to move Swift over moving Howard. As much as most people here hate Howard, I think Van Gundy hates Swift more. I knew it even at the time, signing Swift last offseason was a big mistake. This trade erased that mistake. However, as Clutch did an excellent job explaining, what this says is that Swift had a negative trade value. That, in order to get Memphis to take him off our hands, we had to pay them with the #8. I can't believe that. Memphis doesn't want him, so I'm not surprised they'd want something like the #8, but some other team must have wanted him at least a little bit, right? And, we will soon see, I have to think. Memphis doesn't want Swift. They didn't even make him an offer last offseason. As soon as they can get any kind of taker for Swift, they'll trade him. So, we will see who West gets for him. And then we can boo the Rockets all over again. Swift for Battier, that'd been fine. Gay for Battier, well you could eventually convince me that it's better for the team. Both assets for Battier? That's the thing that galls me. Two tradeable assets for one guy that at best is worth one of them. It makes us shorter, older, less athletic, and less deep. We had 5 bullets in this offseason: Swift, Head, #8, the TE, and the MLE. We know have 3.
Makes no sense. Salary Cap move Sure... a Salary Cap move would be keeping a top 10 pick during his rookie contract. Also Battier's contract (after the BYC) is marginally larger per year than Swift and twice as long. Giving them Juwon would be saving a couple million per year(but is it really? when we're giving away a cheap rookie contract?). Every way I look at this trade, it makes no sense.
I think Van Gundy is more of a porblem than Swift. Ever since that season he took the Knicks to the Finals he's been trying to re-enact that team EXACTLY how it was, even getting guys that were on that team 10 years past their prime.
This is going to sound harsh, but I don't mean it as a personal attack. I honestly think that Stromile either has a severe learning disability, or that his IQ is somewhere around r****dation level. I haven't seen any evidence that he has a terrible attitude, or that he runs with gangstas, or that he believes he is some superstar and that playing hard is beneath him. He just doesn't get it. He seems to lack the mental capacity to remember plays, to grasp the general framework of the team's system, to speak coherent sentences, or to show up on time for shootaround. He was a terrible liability for our team, and making the occasional spectacular dunk does not redeem him. His salary was an obstacle to us getting solid veterans to place around Yao and T-Mac. And never mind all the excited yapping about Dallas and Phoenix. Seven of the last eight NBA championships were won by surrounding a dominant big man and a scorer with solid role players. The eighth (Detroit 2004) was won won with grind-it-out defense and a roster heavy with role-playing veterans. Howard's salary is not great, but he does have the smarts, the effort, and the leadership to play a solid bench role on a contending team. And he's got excellent taste in sunglasses.
It's that we traded a potential star player to a division rival. It's that we traded 2 for 1 when it already seemed lopsided when it was a 1 for 1. It's that we didn't demand the 24th pick. There are so many things wrong with this trade if it goes down as rumored.
If Memphis hits big with Gay, then that would merely be the latest in a long line of dumbass moves by a dumbass organization. In essence, we have helped make a division rival better while not improving ourselves an equal amount. Yes, Battier makes them MARGINALLY better but was he worth the 8th pick in the draft? HELL NO! This is the type of move you see made by stupid people in stupid organizations which of course is why the Rockets made this trade.
