Not a fake scoop! Got some info from a very good source on negotiations between Moochie and the Rockets and it isn't particularly promising. Fegan apparently wants WAY too much money. My source didn't know numbers but said that it was WAY more than the Rockets wanted to spend on a back up point guard that plays 15 to 20 minutes per game. The Rockets want him back at the right price but they aren't going to overpay. Fegan is trying to squeeze every penny he can out of the Rockets and, for the moment, he isn't budging. The bad part is that Moochie is apparently caught in the middle because he does want to stay in Houston. There aren't really any takers out there for his services and the Rockets could replace him with another back up, so Fegan doesn't have anywhere to go, but here they are. Sorry I couldn't give you guys exact dollars, but it is obviously more than the Rockets are willing to pay and they aren't terribly close. That's all the info I got on this one. Hope this perks up the summer doldrums a bit!
@#$% Fegan. I LOVE Mooch, but at this point, I say that we kick Fegan's @$$ out of Houston and tell him to never consider doing business with the Rockets....EVER! No multi-team deals, no rookie draftees, nothing. What a prick!
Well, Moochie doesn't HAVE to listen to his agent. An agent is just an advisor. If Moochie really wants to stay in Houston and doesn't feel that he'll get better offers from other teams, he can walk up to Les and sign for whatever the Rockets want to pay him... Of course, he would probably still have to pay Fegan his 10%
Fegan being Fegan, this is not surprising. With no other options left, why NOT play hardball. Fegan is trying to get the most money that he can and I'm sure that moochie has told him that he wants to stay a Rocket. Since Fegan is awarew that Mooch will be a Rocket, why not push for as much money as possible? It's what agents do. As long as Moochie wants to be a Rocket he will be.
I hate the fact that Fegan continues to play hardball when he and his client have so little leverage to work with. Is he willing to concede on anything? Houston wants Mooch back, Mooch wants to be back. Those two semi-cancel each other out. In addition to that, Mooch is getting less and less interest from other teams as guys like Shammon Williams are signed, and Mooch's options are running out. I would be VERY surprised if any team out there is willing to pay what Fegan is asking for Mooch, and I would be slightly less surprised if a team out there is willing to pay Moochie more than the Rockets are willing...makes the choice pretty obvious, doesn't it? What exactly is the snag here?
So far I have stayed out of the debate concerning Moochie, but I can no longer hold back. How the HELL can Fegan demand so much for a back up point guard that is 2 years removed form the CBA. Moochie, you can leave with all of Fegan's other clients. Who the hell is dumb enough to pay Moochie what he is demanding? If Dream is worth 5 million then Moochie is only worth 1 million. Don't tell me I am comparing apples and oranges. Moochie fits only on this team. He has friends on this team that compliment his game. HE WILL NOT BE AS EFFECTIVE ANYWHERE ELSE. <b>Moochie is replacable!</b>
I just can't imagine how difficult Fegan must be. I mean, we got Mo Taylor signed in a heartbeat and his agent is DAVID FREAKING FALK, the biggest agent on the block.
Moochie is not a commodity being traded by two men. Moochie is an employee who ultimately names his price. Can't we just get this news without adding that "Moochie is caught in the middle." I'll tell you: imo, if Cuttino would have pulled this crap last year, we wouldn't have yelled about his agent. There would have been a chorus of Cuttino Sucks relative to the Dream bashing we saw earlier this year, that's for sure. Moochie is being told he can get money out of Les, and he is buying into it. We aren't budging. Eventually, Moochie must decide. We are calling Moochie's bluff, not Fegan's.
For what it's worth, this is the way I see it: * Rockets want Moochie back as first option for backup PG * Moochie wants to return to Rockets..chemistry is established * His realistic options are waning * All of the above plus the ticking clock will deleverage Fegan * Overstepping the lines, vs. playing honest hardball, will hurt any agent with respect to future dealings both with players and teams. Ultimately the marketplace will set a player's value. AT THE END OF THE DAY, MOOCHIE WILL BE A ROCKET.
A-Train, crispee: Bingo. It's up to the player to decide what he wants and where he wants to play. The agent then finds a way to get what the player wants. Moochie, not Fegan, is the person who is holding out for more money. His agent can't force him to do anything he doesn't want to. For the record, Fegan did a great job for both Hakeem and Anderson. Neither really wanted to be here, so Fegan delivered them to playoff-caliber clubs willing to hand them each alot of money.
I know that the Knicks will be in the playoffs because they play in the East but still... The team is not that great and will press to reach the 6-7 seed next year.
This is a great point that I have made before. With Hakeem and Shandon, it was their fault, but with Moochie, it's evil Fegan's fault. I'm sure you're right about Mobley, and I'm sure if Fegan were Francis' agent, it would still be Fegan's fault. Shandon didn't seem to have a problem standing up to Fegan and taking less money to play in Houston 2 years ago. I actually blame Hakeem for all this. If he hadn't taken so long to make up his mind, we'd have already had all of our free agents signed. Remember--they were all supposedly waiting around for Hakeem to decide. Hakeem is the real villian here. Hakeem screwed Shandon by making him wait to sign a better deal with NY, and now he's screwing Moochie. Bullard even had to go sign with Charlotte because Hakeem took so darn long to make up his mind. Oh, and we can't forget poor Mo, who had to settle for 50 million from the Rockets because Hakeem killed all his other options. Thanks a lot Dream.
Stevie you seem to be Rebel without a cause and a comment without a reference ... what the hell are you talking about ....
The important information in this scoop, from the viewpoint of us hardliners, is that the Rockets aren't budging. They refused to overpay Hakeem, they refused to overpay Shandon (as for what they're paying Rice, uh, no comment), and now they're refusing to overpay Moochie. Good. Let's all relax. There is a continuum of talent available at the backup PG position. In front of Moochie are the guys who have been getting the offers Moochie hasn't been getting from other teams. Right behind him are other guys who are almost as good as he is and who will play for the amount he's turning down, if not less. If Moochie gets a call and we don't want to match it, we just move on to the next guy down the list. We're not talking about a Francis or a Griffin here. It's a cold calculus of hiring the best player you can get at the price you're willing to pay to fill that role. Deal with it.
True. And he did it relatively quickly considering the difficulty in finding S&T fits. Not to say he engineered the S&Ts more than the GM suitors did, but it appears he did execute the deals as soon as they hit the table. so is "GM suitors" puny? How about "Executive suitors?" man I'm bored.
