This is a quick spin-off ESPN thread that took off on Rasheed Lewis instead. I'm a Rocket fan whose been deployed to Wash D.C. and had the benefit of watching JW last year more than any other center. IMHO we should definitely make the Wiz for JW deal. Makes sense for WASH because they could use a vet 3 to bring off the bench when the kids are struggling + Walt is a Maryland grad and would be very popular in this area. This seems very plausible as MJ is trying hard to show he has what it takes to put together a nice team. JW is a real-man. This dude can flat ball. Besides what everyone has said about his rebounding, hustle, and defense he brings something else that we need--HE'S AN ENFORCER! JW could play 5 for us and give Cato some spot time when he gets in foul trouble. However, if this rumor is valid...it could also lead to CD actually pulling a Cato trade. Gosh wouldn't it be nice to have JW and Brad Miller as our 5s. If we could convince Krause his coach can rejuv Catonic Man we could add Miller. Believe their salaries are close $5-6M range. Back to JW, he's a wide body and his girth can be just as important when blocking out/boarding as another couple of inches. Guys like Wes Unseld, Chuckster, and Mason have showed us why wide can help win games. Adding a JW type body/player to our gazzelles would be great. Having JW is the protector of Steve, Cat, EG, and Mooch would also mean a lot over the course of a season. His offense doesn't suck either, he knows his capabilities/limitations and works within the flow of the game to get his points. CD if you can get JW for Wiz with the draft you've already had I'd give you an A- for the summer. If you can do that and trade Cato for Miller, you'll get an A. A+ would've been Weber. We could have Miller-time every game...too bad I'm a dark beer kinda guy...nice marketing buzz though.
Great post Shark! I too want that 290lbs of muscle and hustle to come here. I saw him a season or 2 ago and was thinking he could contribute a lot of the Rockets then. He may be short, but Mr. Mean was only 6' 8" and one of most valuable strait back-up centers we have had. Oakley ain't a bad back up center in that mold either, though I have no illusions of Jahidi having Oakley's offensive range and court sense. For many of his qualities and ethic, Jahidi would be a great foil to Cato. Also, in the west, I would rather have Jahidi battling the big guys defensibly (which is what we need) over Brad Miller or Marc Jackson. Interestingly, they all are within 1 year of each other in age. Jahidi is much stronger than those other 2 guys and a significantly better shot blocker. I would be quite fine going into the the season with Cato, Jahidi and Collier (who may become the Miller/Jackson type that we need to hit a few mid range shots). I would not object to a Cato/Miller swap either, but then if we didn't have Jahidi or Cato our 4/5 D would be really, really sorry.
Scar, Guess we're the only two that will pull for the JW trade. I don't know about Marc Jackson, Jelani McCoy, etc. I've seen JW do some nasty rebounding and think he'd be the right fit as compared to the above.
I'm all for a White/Williams trade because then we will get a good rebounder with some bulk even though he is undersized at 6'9" for a center,becuase with Walt gone,White's contract won't be a liability.If we can't trade for Williams then I would prefer Jackson because of his greater offensive skills and decent rebounding because Cato needs to score and also to play defense and he hasn't done anything.
RR, Three reasons as far as I can tell... - Wants to clear cap space for next summer - Doesn't mind loosing this year so that he can get high draft pick - JW is part of team BJ (before Jordan)...he wants to cleanse and purify to make this his team For these reasons, I'm not sure MJ will return...unless he's creating a team where he will dominate on the court and in the locker room. Complex man, but it really boils down to him being such a competitor (w/a very, very large ego). He's already sold more season tickets (I've heard) with just his rumored return.
I want to point something out. Walt for White could NOT happen. White makes less than Walt, and also has BYC restrictions. He rolls-over in September to 75%. The Wizards have a small exception, but not enough to make up for the difference. The hypothetical ways to get around this is to have them throw in one of their scrub restricted free agent 2nd round picks in a sign and trade (which is not unprecedented- Joe Kleine did it before), but the problem is that those are 3 year deals. Another hypothetical that would work would be White and Etan Thomas and their exception in September for Walt and Kenny Thomas. Of course, the Rockets could also just take on a contract (Nesby at ~3 mill with one year left) and be done with it since they have the cap, but we don't really have the roster space to do that. I doubt the Rockets would want Jackson and White unless they could move Cato for an expiring contract. If not, you'd have close to 90 MILLION invested in Cato, Jackson, and White over the next several years.
Thanks Nike! Understand about the throw-in and yes it could impact our overall squad...Etan Thomas we be great, because we could probably trade him with Shandon for something of value. What about SA, KT, Cato for LaFrenz and change?
NIKE, what about Langhi (say plus a #2 or the Toronto pick) for White? We could use some exemption money to facilliate the deal right. I would be cool with KT and Walt or White and Etan. We would gain interior defense at the cost of offense, which is fine with me. Someone in another post said White is slower than molasses. Is that true? I do remember he was always hustling and seemed athletic for a behemoth (his block numbers bear this out), but I never specifically remember noticing his foot speed either way. Also, I agree we would not go with White, Cato and Jackson. I have though Jackson was the right guy, but the more I think about it (plus a LTD with a 7-mil per year for him) I'd rather go with Cato, White and see if Collier can develop to be the 5 that provides the mid-range O from the 5 when needed. A couple of things make a trade for Jahidi more probable to me. We have excess 3s and shooters, and the Wizards need such a player desperately (Walt or Langhi- seem fit the bill). We desperately need another 5 or 4/5, and the Wiz have a lot of true 4s, 5s or 4/5s, some of whom are young--Kwame, Heywood (acquired in an Orl deal 1 week ago and now signed to a 3-year deal), Etan and some veterans--White, Popeye, Laettner, Vaught, M Smith. They especially need to make room for minutes for their young guys and have to play Laettner to justify his salary, and Jahidi seems to be the most tradable of the rest.
If Langhi plus change lands Jahidi White then I say GO FOR IT! I mean, we shouldn't be trading the Wizards, first off caus he comes off the books next year and even though there isn't a great free agent prize like Webber, cap room is always nice. Secondly, Wiz is supposedly really tight with Steve, and anything to make Steve happy is worth doing. Plus if Wiz is in Washington either playing with or under Jordan, it makes Washington that much more enticing for Steve come free agent time. Langhi is not particularly important imho since I'd much rather develop TMo and Eddie and much prefer Shandon at the 3 or even the 2. Go Shandon, Go Cato, Take us to the promised land!!
Why not trade Walt for White and Nesby and then just waive Nesby? The Rockets have taken on contracts plenty of times and then waived the guy. Fairly recent examples: Morlon Wiley, Don MacLean, Brian Shaw, Stacey Augmon. Shaw and Augmon are prime examples of them trading for a guy they want, taking on expiring contracts to make it work, and then eating the contracts of those guys.
The Rockets already have something like 3 dead-weight contracts right now. Matt Maloney is one for sure. I'm not sure if Price is still under contract. Somebody else might know the others if there are any. There is only so many damn times you can bank roll another team's squad. The examples you gave were mostly from the Scott Quitten trade that we were forced to make happen. We had to take the players so the salaries match...not cause we wanted the players. Quitten tied our hands. That's why we released them. In your scenario, it would be our option to sign a player and then release. Not going to happen anymore. -krosfyah
Bingo, I wouldn't trade Langhi yet, the one game I saw him play this summer was enough for my vote at developing him at least this year. Walt make sense for WASH because they have a young 2-3 combo guys in Alexander and Hamilton...they you can argue both are true 2's, they both played some 3. Alexander has some talent and if Jordan doesn't come back this kid could develop into a good player. Sam/Scar, Someone on another thread mentioned JW and Hubert Davis as a trade match for Wiz. That would work well and fills both our needs at 5 & 2. Gives us flex with trading SA also.
Shark44, Who is more important to this team right now? Jahidi White, who can split precious center minutes with scrubs Cato and Collier as well as grab needed boards, or Dan Langhi who will clog the SF spot and halt the development of Eddie Griffin or Terrence Morris? IMHO, I would lose Langhi and pick up another big man. Maybe you feel Langhi is more important, I can't say I've seen him shine because I never caught a summer league game. I agree it's risky losing an unproven yet potential solid role player who makes bread crumps for a salary, but I'd rather keep Walt and get cap space next summer than hold on to Langhi, but that's just me!
Bingo, As you say, we need to develop guys like Morris and Griffin, but there are no sure deals in development. I'm knocking on wood as I say this, but Morris and Griffin has a possibility to be duds. The idea is to have as many guys with talent on the team at the development stage, and then trade the guys not needed when one of them has developed to be a good full time player. Who knows? Langhi could be the stud of the group. As much as I like Walt as a player, I think the smart move is to trade Walt, and get the cap space, and keep the talent pool we have at the SF position.
Bingo, Yes, I agree we need a guy like Jahidi for all the reasons we've discussed, but the Wiz is on the downside of his career while DL is just starting to break the surface of his potential. I probably wouldn't trade DL this year, unless it was part of a package for a long-term answer at 5. Ol Bern, Agree, DL could become something special and this camp/preseason is important for him to get into Rudy's rotation. DL has such a sweet stroke, with enough minutes and development he'll should easily become a replacement for any mins we would give Wiz or Bull at 3. In fact DL could be our starting 3 (in the beginning) depending on how well EG does. This would allow EG to build his confidence against second team players.
JW is not a long term answer but he has a long term contract. I don't beleive CD will make a move for JW unless Washington makes an offer too good to refuse. I'd just wait to see if we can acquire somebody else later that'll have a greater impact.
