My apologies for making yet another thread regarding our overload of players on this roster, but I think that is to be expected when you are basically guaranteed of a change coming soon so that we can get rid of some our excess baggage. Im not going to list out the roster since there are at least 10 that do so already, but just opening up a discussion based on what I think are realistic possibilities. These may/may not all be connected, just things that I see out there. Steve Francis Matt Barnes Trades with teams who need Point Guard Trades with teams who need a Shooter Who can we dump along w/ assets in cases c) or d) a) Steve Francis My Personal View: We don't need the guy. With Mike James on this roster, Stevie becomes even more redundant in my opinion. However, if we were able to convince him to take on a limited role for less money, then he would be a viable option. But judging by Morey's comments, and by the Stevie who 'built the Toyota Center', its just not in his make up. If we can get him on the cheap in an understood reserve role, then I'm all for it, however I just don't see that happening. b) Matt Barnes My Personal View: Did I miss something here?? Why isn't this guy getting offered anything near the MLE? Let me know if I just missed the announcement that he resigned, but wow, if Jason Kapono can get more than the MLE, I would take Matt Barnes in a heart beat for the MLE. Now obviously we dont have that money as we used some to spend on Scola, but what if he could be had for ~4million a year? Im sure Golden State would do a sign and trade of that magnitude for a guy that would walk otherwise. So my question is: 1) Would you want him for btwn 4-5mil/yr, and 2) What would you be willing to give up in a sign and trade for him? As a reference point, Seattle only received a second rounder and a trade exception for Rashard, so a second rounder and possibly Bob Suras expiring, Justin Reed, etc would get that done. c) The Mo Williams/Steve Blake effect My Personal View: Teams are ready willing to overpay for mid level point guards right now. With so many on our roster, what would you want to trade- Rafer haters relax please - and what would you expect to get out of it? I know Indiana is in the market for a PG, and so is Miami, not sure of others. But with Rafers affordable contract, or JL3, etc, I really think we can capitalize on this weak market. However, while I would trade JL3 for the 61st pick of the draft, Im not an advocate of just throwing away Rafer. Hes a good affordable point guard who will never be mistaken for a shooting guard. And once again, who could we dump along w/ that in a realistic scenario? d) Jason Kapono effect My Personal View: While many flamed Morey early on for getting out of the gate slow on the free agent market, I really felt that this is one of the cases where Moneyball saved us some serious headaches in the future. If a team with as great of a GM as Colangelo would pay Kapono 6/yr, what is Luther's value on the open market? He is still on his rookie contract, and just like c), I think we could really get something of quality while dumping some quantity on a desperate team. e) Who do ya keep? My Personal View: This one is simple: Of the expendables, who do you think MUST go, and who would you try to keep? I say keep one of Rafer/Luther unless you get quality return on both. Obviously let JL3 go and I'd package Justin Reed since I still dont know who he is, and my opinion would be to send Landry to the NBDL. I'm not sure I'd resign Deke at this point, but Morey made it seem like he wants to ride out Deke until he officially breaks down (610 am this morning).. I'd also give Jackie Butler a shot and cut all Greek ties w/ big Jake. Anyways these are just some thoughts I put together while consistently checking RealGM and Clutchfans for updates, let me know what you think of the realistic possibilities.
RA is not in the same class as Mo Williams/S.Blake J.Kapono is a better pure shooter than luther (luther is limited to 3ptr threats only, and just as bad as RA within the 3 pointer line)
True, but I dont think the difference between the two classes is nearly as drastic as some do. And in both cases, Mo/Blake/Kapono make a LOT more money than our guys do. That was my point, we have the poor mans version that has to be attractive to desperate teams who don't want to over pay.
I think Barnes is too expensive for us, especially after getting Scola. I'm not sure what the numbers are, but I get the feeling that spending 4-5 mil or more for Barnes won't work unless Les does a 180 and decides that paying the LT is OK. Other teams will pay Barnes more than what we can offer and he doesn't have any significant reason to come to Houston for a lower salary. Francis can be had for cheap and there's motivation for him to come here, but like Morey said, it's not all that likely. One thing the Rockets need to do now is to figure out what to do with Head, Snyder, Reed, and possibly Alston. All of them have fairly good trade value.
If I looked Im sure I could find the article, but Barnes was frustrated that he ISNT getting the MLE offers. Im paraphrasing, but he said, ' I thought that the midlevel was reasonable, but I havn't received any offers like that '...Signing him to whatever we have left of the MLE is probably a bit low, but thats why I suggested the sign/trade where we could give him his ~4 mill and give GS some cap relief in the process.
We could probably piece together, a package of Sura + JLIII and perhaps another filler to make that happen. If we any other scorer/contributor to the team, I would be absolutely estatic - not that I'm not to begin with already.
please sign barnes he has a lot of passion when he plays, can shoot, and is aggressive taking it to the basket, signing him would make this offseason complete
Matt Barnes is a scrub. If he were on any other teams, he wouldn't have anywhere near the numbers he had with Nellie. BTW, you need to check before you post on who's available. Jason Kapono has officially signed with the Raptors. Francis is also wayyy better than any of the other players you mentioned.
Mo Williams is a much better scorer than RA... but Steve Blake being better? Steve Blake is a poor man's Rafer.
So did you even read the post? I know that those guys have signed- Blake-MLE, Mo- ~8/yr; Kapono- 6/ yr......The point was that those guys got that much money and we have lower priced options of value....so perhaps you should attempt reading before giving out advice on posting
Let's get rid of LJ3, Sura and Kirk to make room for Barnes. That's a championship roster now. eahr!F@$%^%#$.
I notice you didn't have Ron Artest on your list, especially when he mentioned that Houston is one of his cities most desired, if traded!
Yeah, but Steve Blake looked good in the playoffs for Denver. He must be better than Rafer. Just kidding, I agree with you. Steve Blake would make an acceptable replacement for Rafer if they need to trade him, but he's not a better player.
I think Luther Head is redundant now that we signed Mike James. What does Head do other than shoot from the outside? James can do that, and he can do it while playing either guard position, unlike Head. I think Alston is also less important in Adelman's system, where the big men distribute the ball. With T-Mac/Battier at the 3, Yao and Scola who comes in with a rep as a good passer, we have a very good passing frontcourt. Thus, we don't need a distributing point guard as much, and someone like Alston, who can do much other than distribute, is less important. I do support the idea of going after Francis. I know people think Francis and James are rendundant, but I don't think so. What I remember about James is that he could get hot shooting 3's and midrange jumpers, but wasn't much of a driver. On the other hand, Francis is at his best going to the hole, and either finishing or passing. With Francis and James, we have two guards that can score in two different ways, rather than one guard who can score and one that can pass. I don't take defense into the equation because none of the guys I have mentioned can play much D, making defense a wash. So we trade away Head, Alston, and JLIII (he goes without saying) for the best we can get (maybe one more shooter?), and sign Francis. That would give us T-Mac, Bonzi, Francis, James and Brooks at the guard spots. All five players can score. Add Yao and Oberto to that list on an Adelman team, and suddenly we have seven legit scoring threats on one team, when we used to have two. Sounds potent to me.
I completely disagree. On the right team, Rafer would be a competent starting PG. But that situation can't demand that he be counted on for scoring. He's fine as a distributing PG who can make an occasional three. The Rox, unfortunately, had to push him to be the third option -- a role he's absolutely not suited for. The Lakers, for example, would be a better team with Rafer at the point than Smush. Rafer's only boneheaded plays tend to be when he's trying to score -- Parker makes boneheaded plays constantly. Under Adelman, we might see a different side of Rafer. Then again, we might not. But after last season, I hope everyone involves has the sense to tell him not to shoot the ball unless it's the LAST option available.
