Strictly opinion of course :grin: , but if we do trade Yao to say the suns, it'd be fun to watch some sick passes to our glutton of sg/sf!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...o-clear-fix-available-as-trade-deadline-nears Houston Rockets Fall Apart with No Clear Fix Available as Trade Deadline Nears By Robert Kleeman Welcome back to Choke City. The days of Mario Elie's "Kiss of Death" and Hakeem Olajuwon's last-second tip of a Clyde Drexler-miss are long gone. No one can seriously use the word "clutch" and this edition of Houston's hoops squad in the same sentence. It is OK to be a diehard fan and also come to grips with this tough reality. I still love them. You still love them. But we have to stop kidding ourselves. Former FEMA director Michael Brown was not doing a "heckuva job" in New Orleans just after Hurricane Katrina, and these Rockets will never approximate the 1990s crunch-time heroes. Give this to the 2010-2011 team: they gag as a unit. Saturday's meltdown against the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center was the second nauseating, late giveaway in a week. It took everyone on the roster to again snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory. Red is indeed rising. That would be blood pouring from the mouths of fans who have thrown up so much watching this team squander leads and miss defensive assignments that the pain of incessant vomiting has damaged their esophagi. I am as sick of writing the same column about the Rockets as you are of reading it. Until this squad pops another DVD in the player for us to watch, we are stuck with this repetitious, dreary movie. The defenseless Rockets are waiting for a train, one that will take them far away from this mess of an 0-5 start to 2011. They know where they hope this train will take them, but they can't be sure. Here is the worst thought of all, as Carmelo Anthony landing in the New York-New Jersey area seems likelier by the day: what if that train to salvation does not come in February? Fans fed up with the losing streaks and botched endgame execution want GM Daryl Morey to make the upcoming trade deadline as active as a toddler on a sugar high. He will undoubtedly work the phones and racks up hundreds, maybe thousands of minutes calling the 29 other men who occupy his same front office position. That does not mean his efforts will be rewarded with the kind of fleecing Rockets supporters have come to expect. Houstonians should trust Morey. He makes bold deals and does not emerge on the losing end of them. At worst, transactions that do not benefit the Rockets as projected become draws. With precious few useful commodities on the market, though, what can Morey pull off that does not involve kidnapping or a hostage situation? NBA.com, ESPN and Yahoo!Sports have all reported the Nets are closing in on a three-team deal that would land Anthony in New Jersey. Anthony, unnamed sources say, still prefers New York. Those same sports outlets have also reported that the Nets would love to pair Anthony with Chris Paul, stuck with the New Orleans Hornets for two more years thanks to a contract extension he signed. It takes two teams to make a trade. The Rockets can wish for Paul and Anthony in one hand, but they should expect Denver and New Orleans to crap in the other. It makes no sense to send either star to a Western Conference squad when a possible transaction partner in the Eastern Conference can offer the same number of attractive assets, headlined by a third overall pick with legitimate star potential. The Rockets cannot dangle Derrick Favors in a trade, and the Knicks make the 2011 draft pick they surrendered look a lot less valuable every time they win. The Rockets began November 0-5, but then beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Knicks. Rick Adelman hoped Aaron Brooks would return from a right ankle sprain in time to add another explosive option to the team's scoring arsenal. He also wanted to believe Yao Ming would play again this season after a left ankle sprain forced him to the bench. The Rockets drubbed the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, and Houston's prospects of swapping picks with New York for a lottery spot looked as promising as ever. Then Amar'e Stoudemire amassed a scoring rampage not seen since Patrick Ewing roamed the interior and the Knicks decided to challenge for perhaps the fourth or fifth seed. An MRI revealed a stress fracture in Yao's left ankle and ended his season. Brooks did return in mid-December, but he struggled to make shots and lacked the speed bursts that made him a lethal weapon. He re-aggravated the injury last week and has not played since. The Rockets now seem like safer bets to join 13 other franchises in Secaucus. Houston, barring a miracle finish, figures to pick higher than New York in the 2011 Draft. Fans wish the bad news ended there. Instead, the supposed top-tier trade chips Morey possessed seem to lose some luster with each week. Each time Jordan Hill starts in place of the injured Chuck Hayes and plays with lethargy, he gives opposing GMs one more reason not to take the same chance on him the Rockets did. Would you trade for a center who grabbed four rebounds against an undersized Utah Jazz front line? Chase Budinger and the rest of the youngsters ranked as sexier assets this summer. Rockets players not named Luis Scola and Kevin Martin are shooting below 40 percent in January. Houston connected on just 13-of-46 second half shots in Saturday's collapse. The next question becomes even tougher to answer. What could Morey acquire that would make parting with Scola, Martin or any other player worth the pain? The Rockets already dumped fan favorite Carl Landry to get Martin. Why jettison Martin now for another role player, a scrub or a stiff? Anthony appears destined to end up near the Hudson and the Statue of Liberty, whether in Newark or Manhattan. If Paul leaves New Orleans before his contract expires, it will not be to come here. The two superstars mentioned in trade discussions are out of Morey's reach. He can beg and plead all he wants, but Masai Ujiri and Dell Demps are not obligated to appease him or Rockets supporters. Anthony, like Chris Bosh the previous summer, wants something Houston cannot deliver. He is from New York and spent his one collegiate year at Syracuse University. He craves the kind of star union LeBron James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade formed in Miami. 'Melo is not a Rockets fan. He would rather team up with Stoudemire than Scola. He would take Paul as a starting mate over Brooks or Lowry. No one else rumored as available would fill the superstar void that continues to sink Rick Adelman's ship. Those fixated on Andre Igoudala should look elsewhere. Trust me on this one. You want Trevor Ariza, part II? Be my guest. I don't. Igoudala is a stellar complimentary piece and a designated stopper. The Rockets have plenty of role players, though not enough of them can play acceptable defense. Can one above average athlete patch the gaping holes in the Rockets' coverage? If the name on the back of his jersey does not read Howard, Duncan or Olajuwon, no way. Yahoo!Sports writer Marc Spears reported last week that Marcus Camby does not want to be traded from Portland, but would accept a deal that sent him to Houston. Camby owns a home in Pearland. Morey, though, has expressed his dedication to the Rockets' long term welfare. A 37-year-old shot-blocker who still falls for easy up fakes might not even help much in the short term. Camby still produces despite his climbing age, but he cannot put a 16-21 outfit over the top, whatever that means. Bleacher Report's NBA editor asked me to predict five or six mega-deals that might involve Yao's expiring $17 million contract. Forgive me, but I do not see any on the horizon. Morey wants to trade Yao to net a utility youngster or a star, not garbage. He also does not want to donate the Trevor Ariza trade exception. Leslie Alexander does not want to spend money for the sake of spending it. Competent NBA owners do not treat their payroll like a Happy Meal toy. Jerry Buss shells out the cash necessary to keep the L.A. Lakers competitive for championships, but he thinks before he opens his wallet. The Washington Wizards were desperate to ship out Gilbert Arenas. When they found a taker with a reasonable offer, they jumped head first into the water like a diving champion at the Olympics. The Rockets can live with Yao on the roster beyond the February deadline. They still consider him a vital component of the organization, even if they should think otherwise. Morey covets a franchise star like Deron Williams. After a slapdash first half, Williams did what elite performers do. He ran the Jazz offense with supinity, while the Rockets crumbled with the pressure to put away the game mounting. Until the rudderless Rockets unearth the next anchor and championship-caliber engine, they will hover in the land of commonness. The January slate does ease up after a win-less first week. The Rockets will joust with the East-leading Boston Celtics at TD Garden in a few hours sans Martin, Hayes and Brad Miller. The Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Hornets and Atlanta Hawks loom. The month ends with road games at San Antonio and Dallas. Given that the losing streak could reach 10 by Saturday night, fans will implore Morey to do something to shake up the roster and energize the fanbase. Let this column serve as a harsh reality check. I doubt I printed anything here that would make Johnathan Feigen, Fran Blinebury or another hoops writer tuned in to the Rockets scoff. Those in touch with reality see a porous team without a star shepard. They also know the Rockets need to become adequate defensively and employ a superstar just to secure a postseason berth. True title contention will require much more. February, in most years, would come with guaranteed change. With so little obtainable on the market, Morey may have to wait until this summer or beyond to cure what ails the gagging Rockets. Until then, all Adelman's squad can do is play doctor in lieu of seeing a real one. The Celtics' roster boasts 52 combined All-Star appearances. The Rockets? Try two. One week ago, the team arrived in Portland a half-game behind the No. 8 seeded Blazers. Thanks to another 0-5 stretch, the Rockets have been lapped and left in the dust. If they want to return to the playoff chase, they will need to find a way, with the current cast, to stop choking on it.
any team would hate to have a 7-6 uncoordinated center who can't play 5 games without getting hurt this is not a 23yr old yao we're talking about
The Nuggets are $7 over the cap. Along with young talent and draft picks, getting themselves comfortably under the cap to sign a free agent in the offseason is also a high priority for the Nuggets. How about a scenario in which we actually get to take Derrick Favors back from the Nets? For instance, if we send Yao's contract, Kevin Martin and Patrick Patterson/Jordan Hill/Chase Budinger to the Nuggets, we can take back Favors, Petro, Billups and Harrington. And the Nets get Carmelo. The Nuggets also get Troy Murphy and picks from the Nets. The Nuggets get almost $30M in cap relief when Yao's and Murphy's contracts expire in the offseason. They get draft picks from the Nets and get young talent in whatever young player we send them. And they get an immediate scoring replacement for 'Melo in Kevin Martin. We get a legitimate big in Favors to shore up our frontcourt. Of course, we get 3 less-than-desirable contracts in Billups, Harrington and Petro, but two of the three of those guys can actually contribute. We could throw out a rotation of: Billups/Lowry Brooks/Lee Battier/Williams Scola/Harrington/Hill or Patterson (whomever is left) Favors/Hayes/Miller/Petro Billups is a bigger 1 who can face up against most 2's, and we have Battier for Kobe/Wade duty. So we could field a backcourt of Brooks and Billups, with Billups handling the primary ballhandling duties. We'd have a very dynamic 2nd unit with Lowry, Lee, Williams and Harrington. I don't know if this deal is worth it for us or Denver... bored at work, and this is just a random thought I had.
Yeah, my bad. You're right, it is $13M into the luxury. Even more reason for them to want to acquire expiring contracts.
Do you realize that Morey could take them clear out of luxury tax and give them young talent to boot? I don't think there's another team that could do that for Denver.
How can he do that? We don't have $13 million in trade exceptions, unless you are saying that the $13 million what they will pay...etc...making it a $6.5 million amount they are over the tax. DD
Which is why the Rockets have remained present in all of these Carmelo trade talks, though only at the periphery. As soon as it seems like the Nets and the Nuggets are really ready to play ball, Morey's gonna swoop in and sweeten the deal for both sides while simultaneously making off with whatever he wants (apart from Melo).
You got it. We can use the TE to take $6 million off their hands right there. Then use the 25% rule to take the rest of the money off their hands. Start adding up Yao's, Chuck's, Hill's, and Brooks' salaries for example, then add 25% and see how much money we can take back from Denver. We can take their payroll clear under $70 million if both teams wanted to do that.
But you are not taking them all the way out of the tax, just lessoning it....the only way to do that is to take contracts on for TExceptions..... Unless you guys are calculating the insurance money from Yao too? Then maybe you can get to a net zero point.... DD
Very simply. TE for Al or J.R. That takes them down $6 mill. Yao, Jared, Chuck for Melo, Billups, and whatever. That's another 6-7 million. We can trade them enough salary that with the 25% difference, they can get clear under the luxury tax line at $70 mill. That's a total of around $26 million in savings to them, if both teams wanted to do that. That's also a total of around $26 million of payroll and tax added to our team. Work the math. There's a number of ways to do it. Heck, we could take Melo, Billups, and Nene off their hands for our expirings and a couple young pieces like Brooks, Bud, Hill, etc. They would have virtually no payroll to build from next season and they would be out of the luxury tax this season. Honestly, they would probably be best off to do something like that and go to the lottery and wait for the new CBA to take place. If we take a year off their lottery status could run 2 years and then they come back and build their team with loads of youth. But, alas, it likely won't happen.
Alas, the public way this is playing out 'we' have no clue might likely happen, just guesses. And I wouldn't bet against the NYKs. Nor DM the GM. And certainly not against the Newark/Brooklyn Nyets.
Quick note on something that has been repeatedly misstated: The Rockets CANNOT acquire J.R. Smith using a trade exception. Smith's contract includes incentives for this year which were characterized as "likely", meaning that his 2010-11 cap figure is about $6.76M. (I think Hoopshype has his old cap figure before the incentives were re-characterized, which is why y'all should use www.shamsports.com for salary information instead.) The Ariza trade exception is only $6.32M. And the 25% rule doesn't apply to trade exceptions. Also, the Yao DPE (if we get it) will only be for about $5.765M. That should, however, be exactly enough to take on Al Harrington's contract.
If not, we can use the Ariza TE to take on Harrington or Birdman. The point is we have enough expirings and rookie contacts combined with trade exceptions to get Denver under 70 million.
The 25% rule would still be in effect if JR is pkg'd with Melo while AH gets the TE (or DPE). I'm not suggesting this should be or world be done but that it could. What level of motivation is coursing from the Owner's Suite to the GM's Blackberry? This team cannot compete for anything significant. If Yao were healthy who would trust Yao to remain healthy? So, what is the owner thinking/willing/demanding? There is no clue, at least none of my familiarity, but if the Rox are part of some piece of this deal in it's final form I suspect we'll gain some insight.
