OK, w/ this move I don't see our divisional rival being one of the teams that we need to slip in order to get into the playoffs next year. We better hope for the Jazz, Suns, or Portland to mess up How does the new look Wolves team match up w/ the current Rockets? Hudson/Cassell vs. Francis/Mobley Wally/KG vs. Posey/EG Rasho vs. Yao Thoughts?
Hudson and Cassell will probably beat each other up deciding who takes more shots. Stevie and Cat have the same problem, but they won't beat each other up cuz they're friends. Either way, this could be a signal that the West's Big 4 just became the Big 5. Rockets will most likely take Utah's slot when Karla leaves the Jazz.
I thought is was a little odd for the Bucks to take TJ ford when they had Cassell and Payton. I dismissed the thought because Payton is a free agent and Cassell is getting older. I would have thought that Payton would resign elsewhere.
Michael Jordan is making all of these decisions. He wants GP over Sammy but this is a stupid first move nonetheless.
What a horrible trade by the Bucks, Cassell for Joe Smith and Anthony Peeler? They're going to be in pretty bad shape when Payton leaves. On the other hand, I think the T-Wolves just got alot better, Cassell is a player.
Looks to me though he is an unrestricted FA they can sign him for whatever they want (Bird Rights?). If this is correct I suspect unless he gets a ridiculous contract, say 8.5 mil + from Denver or Utah or SA or Orlando (if they can do so) they will resign him. IMO though all these guys are in the same ballpark, Rasho is just below Kandi who is just below Miller as the top FA centers--I think about 6-7.5 mil year for Rasho is about right.
Keeping it to something relating to the Rockets: I think they're now head and shoulders above us. They're our divisional rival, we've had issues w/ them in years past & they just got better. At center, Yao is Yao, but Rasho played him pretty well last year + they have M. Jackson as backup.. Call me crazy on this one though but I like our backcourt over theirs but I's still call this a wash. At forward though, Wally & Garnett make our supposedly "deep" frontcourt look like ass... The problem I foresee is that one of our divisional rivals just got much better. We play them many times a year. This is not good in terms of potential wins for us, especially given how we've already had problems w/beating this team - in it's lesser state - in years past... Then again, maybe this will mess up their team chemistry, Cassell could continue to be a ball hog, and they fall apart...
It looks bad for the Bucks, but it's addition by subtraction. My assumption is that they try to resign Payton and have TJ be his understudy for a couple years. No need for Cassell, who though still a gamer, is getting on in age. Ervin Johnson is the 2 shot per game wonder. You can't really say he has a horrible offensive game because it is non-existent. Peeler adds to the their depth and Joe Smith, who was useless in the tough western conference, may be able to do some things in the east. I don't think they are done dealing yet. They need front court help and have an insane amount of depth at the SG/SF position to offer as trade bait. I just think it's sad that the T-Wolves went through all that crap with the loss of draft picks because of Smith, and now they end up trading him. They have no one to blame but themselves.
Actually, Milwaukee's motivation for this trade was more for cap reasons than for basketball reasons. Peeler is actually a free agent starting NEXT WEEK, and Grunfeld (Bucks GM) said that he will not keep him. This move gets rid of Cassell, a gifted player but a malcontent with the Bucks. They open up more cap room (between this move and the Ray Allen trade) to go after free agents if they can't hold onto Payton. IF Payton stays, they were loaded at the guard spots already. They needed frontcourt depth, and Joe Smith is still a good--not great--NBA player who can rebound and defend. Their depth chart (IF Payton returns) will be pretty good: PG: Payton/Ford SG: Redd/ SF: Mason/Kukoc PF: Thomas/Smith/Mason C: Pryzbilla/Caffey Plus, most of those guys can play multiple positions.
BimaThug, thanks for the info. Now it makes complete sense to me. I could understand getting Joe Smith, but I couldn't quite figure out Peeler. Karl had Tim Thomas playing the 4 last year, and he wasn't very happy about it. Smith is an undersized 4 in the West, but I think he can be effective in the East, especially in Karl's small-ball jump shooting offense.
Say what you want about Cassell, but when he was injured, the Bucks struggled. Cassell is one of the most underrated pg since Derek Harper and Rod Strickland. He's been nothing but productive since leaving Houston. He was called selfish and out of control, but look at his asst v to ratio. It makes the T'Wolves better, but what makes them even scarier is adding Eddie Jones for Brandon's contract. I hope it doesn't happen though.
What about Thomas for Cato + filler? The Bucks desperately need a defensive presence and a C (Cato fits both) and have a plethora of swingmen with Redd, D. Mason, & Kucok. J Smith and A Mason can also play spot SF minutes.
No, no no. The T'wolves will never, eeeevvvveeerrrr be better than the Rockets. They mighta gotten better by addin Cassel, but we just added a coach who actually has a clue on offense. Havin JVG now in control of our players is like adding 3 Cassells. JVG is more than just a new name, I think he'll really turn the Rockets around.
They have Przybilla and Gadzuric. They would want Cato (and his contract) why? And Anthony Mason? He's the guy they want to unload. I think they'll do their best to forget he's even on their roster next season.
