Exactly. What is the difference between Battier and guys like Posey, or Rick Fox, or Tony Allen, besides the fact that they're all 'win now' guys who have actually won something...
I don't think most NBA GMs is a better than Fantasy basketball player on their trading skills. But they are prob alot better than the ones you got in your league.
Seriously, people in your league must have been on dope. only way Morey pulls this is by taking a roomful of GMs hostage or something.
Rudy Gays contract 4 year rookie contract, 3rd and 4th team option, worth lil over 2 million a year Stomile Swift's contract, 4 year 22 mil. Shane Battier's contract, 6 years 36.8 million. Roughly even. Conveniently tho, Swift and Gay's contract would have given the Rockets more flexibilty in time for the 2010 Sweepstakes. Also, it's false logic to presume that if this trade didn't go down, that Swift would not have been moved with another trade (partner) Hell, the Grizzlies managed to trade Swift to the Nets the following year . In essence, it was Rudy for Shane. I like both players, but I do recall myself being a little ticked off when the trade was announced. And the better Rudy gets, the worse the trade looks. Whatever... At least he's not Carroll Dawson, and Morey has had some solid draft picks since
I'll admit that Morey's done a really good job in the time that he's been here. However, that wasn't all that difficult considering the zero he replaced. What's Morey's been able to do quite well is to clean up the mess that Dawson left behind and for that he really had me on his side up until he made the Artest trade. That's where he lost me because that was exactly the type of short-sighted move that Dawson would have made and I truly believed that he was better than that. That being said, he'll have ample opportunity to substantiate that "genius" label over the next few years as he attempts to rebuild this team. Make no mistake: they won't publicly admit it but the Rockets are starting over once more. As of today, they are the 3rd best team in Texas with a line up of nice somewhat undersized role players surrounding two brittle & fading stars. Not exactly the blueprint for an NBA title. If Morey is somehow able to overhaul this roster and replace his star players in the next 2-3 years, then and only then will he have earned the title of "Genius".
Yeah, i'm still thinking how did he got Lebron, CP and wade on the same team. Wade I understand as he was injured the previous season, so we have no idea how he would turn up. But Lebron and CP? The top 2 in fantasy boards? This is just crazy. And the team can get number 1 even with 7 PGs?
I disagree... at the time we had mcgrady who was meant to be our scorer.... now we don't have anyone to score (von isnt here) if we didn't make the trade and couldn't have anyone to guard Kobe or Lebron... (Artest wan't here) Bonzi Wells was our best perimeter defender then... Daryll Morey is a genuis... Case Closed
Haha, Bonzi Wells was our best perimeter defender? You are talking about Kobe and Lebron. Is not like we actually stop them with Shane! I never thought Shane was a good match up for Lebron. It was always our team def that keep him in check with Yao in the middle. Rudy may have given Kobe and Lebron a couple more points, but he woulda easily made it up on the other end of the floor by dropping 15 to 18 a game. You need more than one scorer on a team to be sucessful. As great as Tmac was in the past, he couldnt never scorer enough to even with a first round series. Like I said before, you can find other glue guy in this league, maybe not as good as Battier, but there are lots of them in the league.
Re: the Shane vs Rudy/Swift trade. Players who are a lot like Rudy Gay: Maurice Taylor, Tyrus Thomas, Tim Thomas, Stephen Jackson, Stromile Swift. Players who are a lot like Shane: James Posey, Robert Horry. Rudy lovers, do you understand now?
People expect Trevor Ariza to be as good as LeBron James... and they're acting like we're paying him as such, even though we just gave him the MLE. I agree, the expectations of Morey are too high right now. He's done quite a good job setting up the Rockets for the future, but you can't ask him to fix the $40 million black hole that is Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
If that's the biggest mistake, we're in incredibly good shape. Gay for Battier was practically an even trade, and many still consider it to be even or in favor of the ROckets.
Here is the direction I think the team needs to go. There is lots of talk of reloading for THIS year, I don’t think this is going to happen (or should). Point Guard - The Brooks/Lowry combination is undersized but athletic and reasonably priced. You do not need a superstar point to win titles in today's NBA. If a PG with superstar potential (Rubio) can be had on the cheap then I could see a move being made. Otherwise, this position is young and developing and set. Shooting Guard - Here is where the Rockets need to be focusing their energy. If Von is re-signed then that is a clear indication that no major trade/reloading is going to occur this year and TMac will be allowed to expire/traded at the deadline. I am in favor of this move. Von is this generations Mad Max if his defense can be straightened out. He certainly has the scorer's mentality and stroke. However, if DWade can somehow be convinced to come to Houston next year, he should be the #1 target. Wafer/Budinger/Taylor/White give ample depth and potential for a future starter to emerge. Besides, I think TMac deserves a 25-30 game audition late in the season to see what he has left. Small Forward - Ariza has made Battier expendable. I'm guessing that Battier will be moved at the deadline for a championship push. Portland gives a wealth of options and serious man love for Battier. Any combination of Bayless/Fernandez/Outlaw all fill need positions (PG with size, starting SG, backup wing) Power Forward - Like the PG position this position is undersized but talented and reasonably priced. I say no to Bosh/Stoudemire. Do they bring more to the table offensively than Scolandry? Absolutely. Are they worth the max contract they are both seeking (and will likely get from another team)? Absolutely not. It's all about value. Neither brings the shutdown individual post defense or mad rebounding that KG brought to the Celts and what is required if your superstar is your 4. Let Landry develop and Scola bring his hustle. This will not be the position that Morey will upgrade unless the price is right. Center - Yao's injury has made this the biggest impediment to assembling a championship-caliber squad. My gut feeling is that the injury is not as bad as being reported and was simply a ploy to get the injury exception dollars. I'd be willing to bet that Yao will be back in the starting lineup late this season for a playoff push or tabled for the season if the Rocks are out of contention ready to go in 10-11. Meanwhile, I say let Hayes start, let Dorsey back him up if ready or sign a young big to the minimum. 2009-10 Lineup Brooks/Lowry/Barry Taylor/Budinger/TMac Ariza/Battier/White Scola/Landry/Cook Hayes/Dorsey/Vet Minimum 2010-11 Lineup Brooks/Lowry Wade/Taylor/Budinger Ariza/Outlaw/White Scola/Landry Yao/Hayes/Dorsey/Lottery Pick This is a lineup that is relatively young, versatile, athletic with just enough veteran presence to be a championship contender.
Rudy Gay is nothing like any of the players you just listed. Have you ever seen Rudy Gay play? I am not blashing Shane, but all I was saying is that we gave up too much for Battier. Gay is too much of a young talent to give up just for Battier. If you could do a redo on the trade right now, knowing what is going to happen, you wouldnt do it?
Stephen Jackson won the championship with the Spurs And Shane is more like any other player who has not won a championship
Just like Gay, all of those players have been pretty hyped at one time or another, and yet all of them are lacking in that elusive "it," and their teams tend to underachieve. Stephen Jackson is probably a bit better, but he's got some BB IQ traits that noticeably separate him from Gay. Jackson's A/TO: 1.66 Gay's A/TO: 0.67 Anyway, my answer is no, I wouldn't redo the trade. Battier and Gay are pretty close, but Battier has been a better fit for us over the last few years than Gay would have been. In addition, we dumped Swift's contract, which is important as we wouldn't have been able to pick up Scola otherwise. Now that it's 2009, I would trade Battier for Gay, but that's because our team looks ready to rebuild. I don't really expect Gay to get any better, but in the lucky chance he does it would be worth the risk. (Incidentally I just looked up Battier's A/TO. It's 2.8!)
First of all, Gay is not a great pass and we all know that, but he is not ask to pass the ball. He is ask to score, so you would have to look up his pgs. Jackson is basically the point guard of the Warriors. They use him to Point Forward every single play. Dumping Swift's contract is easier than you think. Gizz easily dump him off to the nets the following year we traded him there. Scola had nothing to do with this trade. We got him from Spurs for V-span and they gave us Jackie Butler along with him. Morey also could have turn the contract into something more useful than a dump. Had Gay been on our team, he would have learn to play his role. He did it in college when he was playing with 3 other NBA talents. One of his knock was actually not showing up when they needed him to. Meaning he always gave up the ball when he got the chances. Battier is not a better fit, because we needed another socer on the team. When Yao is gas in the 4th and Tmac was getting triple team, he needed someone else who could create their own shot. Someone like Gay! As for Battier, Assits/TO. Are you serious? What does Battier do that actually gets him a assists, he basically just gives the ball to Yao or Tmac. As for TO, if he even had one turnover a game, it woulda been the worst player ever. He never dribble, and basically just stand in the 3 points line and shoot everytime he catches the ball. This stats has nothing to do with the value Battier actually offers the Rockets.
