Posey is certainly better long term fit..i.e. Boki will not be able to step up with Rice on verge of retirement...and hopefully Griff can develop with all the additional time he is now getting. In the short term its about even.....though Posey is showing up on offense recently....if he does that consistently he will make htis an even better deal for us.
The Rockets could have had both..the Nuggets just wanted a #1 choice in the next few years and enough salaries to make the trade legal, thats what they got. The Rockets moved KT to make way for EG..at least one year too soon.
JP's probably out of here after this year anyway. Like KT he's an unrestricted FA. The Rockets have very little cap room, given the ridiculous guaranteed contracts in 2003-2004 for Rice, Cato, Mo T and Moochie, along with the more reasonable contracts for Francis, Mobley, Yao, EG, etc. JP gives the Rockets much needed perimeter defense at the 3, but also world class brick-laying - something the Rockets have in abundance. KT is providing nightly double-doubles. EG is so far nothing more than a "regular season Robert Horry". Same career progression so far, without the clutch playoff performances... EG's only 20, but so far he doesn't look like "the best player in the 2001 draft" as touted by the Rockets brass. At this point, I'd rather have 2001 Richard Jefferson for playing the 3, instead of trading him and 2 1st rounders for EG. We'd have MoT and KT at the 4, Richard Jefferson (and Rice) at the 3, plus 2 extra 1st rounders to fortify the team.
The Rockets gave Denver a #2 pick. Are you suggesting that they would have taken a future #1 and Collier? Unless you are a personal friend of Kiki Vandeweghe, how do you know this? Even if something that far fetched were true, they could not have re-signed both Posey and Thomas without going over the Luxury Tax and they wouldn't have addressed the in season PF glut.
How about kudos to Posey's play as of late? Especially his 3pt shooting. It has gotten A LOT better over the last month. The work Posey did with Jim Boylen on his shot really seems to be paying off. Posey is just so much more effective when he can make the spot up jump shot ala Mario Elie. Teams will sag off of him guarding Yao Ming but if Posey can keep the honest and make that shot, he would be huge for this team.
Polar Bear, I don't agree. The Rockets certainly have enough money to resign Posey. He's not going to be asking for max or anything. Hopefully he will be content with about $3.5 million. If not, then don't resign him! There are many other players who are better than him who make less... But James Posey is the better fit for the Rockets. If he continues to improve his shooting, and he is more accustomed to his new role, he will be doing fine.
i had to vote for JP, not because he is on the team so i cant like KT anymore, but because he is a real 3 that can defend other 3's. we dont need another 4 when we already have griff and moT.
JP without a doubt. Especially if he can keep up this level of play. He's been shooting well from the arc, he can run a fast break, and he's not a bad defender. KT couldn't shoot any better, actually worse, and he wasn't a real 3. Plus he isn't as fun as JP.
With Cat trying to focus his game more on the defensive side, I can see Posey avg 15 to 18 pt per game for the rest of the season. He doesn't have to do much to get those points either. All he has to do is stand outside the 3pt line or run the fast break. Right now, other than Francis, he is our best finisher around the basket. I'm also impressed with his nack for rebounding and getting loose balls. In that way he reminds me a lot of Marion. He just needs to work on his jump shot, correct form and rotation, and he will be a legit threat from everywhere on the floor.
I like Posey, but right now, it feels like he's playing for a contract. I hope we don't overpay him, ala Cato, Norris, Taylor, Quitten and Maloney... In my understanding, all we can give him is our mid-level exception, so I think we'll lose Posey, since he'll probably want more. I'm really happy for KT ... I knew he'd do well in the Eastern Conference, which will give him his best shot at a good contract this off season ... but I didn't think he was a good fit for us long term. I HAD hoped we'd trade KT for someone we wouldn't lose, though ... If we lose Posey, I will regret this trade. If we can sign him at a decent salary, even if we trade him at some point, it will have been a good trade for us. We also have to figure a way to sign TMo this offseason ... I still wish we had SOMEHOW traded for Elton Brand earlier this year (Mobely/Griffin). Whatever we would have had to do to sweeten the offer, I would have done. I don't see any way of signing him this summer.
When you say mid-level exception...approximately how much? Because he should not get more than $4 million. I hope he asks for less than that. If he doesn't...no worries. We can go for plenty of other players that will be free, including Thomas.
posey is upping the rockets D alot and is also a big contribution to the offense. how the hell does he catch some of those lobs?
I really can't think of many teams that would pay Posey more than the MLE. And all things being equal I think he would prefer to stay here in Houston. He's found his niche with the team. He practices in Houston every summer. The assistants here have done an excellent job of helping him with his outside shot. Just looking at him on the bench cheering for his teammates he really seems to enjoy playing with this team. I think he would probably take a Cuttino-like bargain contract to stay here.
