Dosn't Tim Thomas make a load of money? He would be a great fit at sf, though. Don't know what the Bucks do with Mason. They could really use Cato more than Taylor. Eh. I'd want to keep KT, though. KT should be a good value player. Interesting idea.
I think that you Miller fans should be shipped to a warriors board for guys with more upside. No I'm not kidding there are some bright pre-teens out there.
Yeah, perhaps there are....but have they won rookie of the year? Last I checked, no. Would they fit in the Rockets' (as well as the Magic's offense) like Miller would (does)? Nope. A little bit of the facts of the situation....in that Miller is a good player, but it's going to take more than KT and the 15th to get Miller. At that point, what can the Rockets offer that the Magic would want? Not that much. Miller and McGrady are like Steve and Cat - unlikely to be separated. With Hill's return still uncertain, Miller is only going to be moved for a sizeable package in return.
mfclark, what if Stoudemire is still on the board when it comes time for the Rockets draft at 15? Would the Magic then do the deal for KT + #15 pick (plus Collier to make the salaries match), and pick their hometown hero?
Miller struggled last year and is a below average FT shooter. I was very high on him year before, but... I wouldn't mind seeig him on Rox, maybe for Cato, #15 & KT.
Miller is no where close to peja as a player. Miller is an a exact clone of Dunleavy jr which tells you a lot. He can handle the ball decent but doesn't really get seperation from his player. He's a decent all around player but nothing special. I'v watched him for 2 yrs in the pro's and hasn't seen anything. If he's so good, how come Mcgrady is constantly talking about he has no help.
Mike Miller is so overrated. Worst ROY in the last 10 years by far, only reason he won it is because Martin got hurt, same with Marc Jackson, and unlike Miller who had the open door, Mo Pete had to take the starting job from Corliss Williamson. Whoever said Miller would go #2 is on crack. Miller was a terrible pick even at #5 in that draft. He'd be late teens this year for sure.
I sense some resentment for the Magic and its players after McGrady left your Raptors, but that's fine. To say the Rookie of the Year was a terrible pick at #5 in that draft is ludicris. Who are you going to take over him, Jerome Moiso? The only pick worthy of going higher is Kenyon Martin. MoPete, lest you forget, was a 4 year college senior, while Miller played just two years...Miller wasn't handed anything until after Grant Hill was injured, so had to be thrown into the fire. In this draft, Miller would likely be a top 8 pick - coming from a top program like Florida and being the player that he is, he would be talked about with Dunleavy Jr. near the top of the draft. Hate all you want...but at least make some sense when you do it.
The Magic are high on Stoudemire, yes. That high...I dunno. Amare really isn't a hometown hero; he played high school ball here for one year after playing at 5 or so different schools the previous 3 years out of state. KT and Stoudemire would solve a lot of front court problems for the Magic and help clear some cap room for next year, but it also would cause them to lose a lot of insurance for Grant Hill and McGrady's best bud on the team in Mike Miller. A lot depends on how well Grant Hill's ankle is and how, oh, picks 4-10 fall in the lottery. If Miller can nab the Magic the chance at a top lottery pick, they'd consider it. But Miller for Stoudemire, KT, and Collier? Ehhh....
I don't care about the Magic or do I even hate them like you think I do. Fact is, everyone overrates Miller. He's a 1 dimensional player who even struggled with that this year. Ask anyone who voted for ROY, and they'll tell you that Miller won it by default.
And you've asked these voters what they thought? MIller was a 16ppg scorer who worked to add weight to his frame so he could play in the post and become a better all-around player. Not to mention he's only 21-22 years old and just entering his 3rd year in the league and he still has a good bit to improve before he hits his peak. If you want 1 dimensional, look at Morris Peterson, who struggled at that last year. Miller at least tried to improve his game by hitting the weights; early in the season he broke his foot and late in the season he sprained his ankle twice, so he had several setbacks that he couldn't control.
So because Miller added weight, that makes him better when he didn't know how to use it, nor help him in any facet of the game. And then you bring up Mo Pete, who's widely regarded as a much better defender and has been called one of the better ones in the NBA this year when he returned from his broken hand. He stepped up when Vince went down at both ends of the floor. He takes about 3 charges a game and frustrates a lot of players. Yeah he sucked at the offensive end in the playoffs, but guess what ? He still shut down Stackhouse.
OK, now you're just jaded. Adding weight - all muscle - allows Miller to be a better post up player, adding another facet to his game. Morris Peterson has never been regarded with the league's better defenders and never will be. He didn't step up when Vince went down; in fact, he was chided for not doing such, especially on the offensive end. He was lost many, many times this past season - with and without Vince - on the offensive end of the court. Peterson gets eaten alive by opposing players because he's no better defender than Miller is; he has more lateral quickness, but not enough to compensate. And guess what? The Raptors got sent packing easily, all with Peterson playing. Miller hardly even played in the Charlotte series and the Magic were several plays from sweeping the Hornets. But I'm not going to change your mind here, so I'll drop it. Back to the topic at hand - Mike Miller for the Rockets. Orlando and Houston run very similar offenses with two featured guards, less of a post presence, and the need for an outside shooter. Much of the season, Houston had one outside shooter (Griffin played this role) and Orlando two (Miller and Garrity). If Miller were to be traded to the Rockets, it would free up Griffin from hanging around the 3pt line as well as provide Francis and Mobley with one of the league's better 3pt shooters. A lineup with Francis, Mobley, Miller, Griffin, and Ming is multifaceted and well rounded. Maybe lacks a little bit of interior presence, depending on where Ming and Griffin find their comfort zones, but definately would allow for an inside-out inverted offense - something that would succeed in the west versus some of the better big men in drawing them away from the hoop. All that said - I don't think Miller gets traded, mainly for the reasons I've outlined before in this thread.
When Miller added the weight, he slowed down. He wasn't able to take players off the dribble, and his post up game was ugly. Mo Pete never stepped up ? The guy averaged 18 ppg down the stretch over the 12-2 run, and won a couple of games in the closing seconds on his own. (Big game vs Miami with the high lay up off the glass over Zo comes to mind) He was chided after game 2, didn't have a great game 3, but stepped up huge in Game 4. And to bring up Mo's lateral quickness vs Millers is quite humouress. Oh man that last point is the funniest one I've seen. So the Raptors faced the Central champions who were all healthy and won 50 games. All the while the Raptors were missing Vince Carter, their only true star and it went 5 games. The Magic who had Tracy playing, were taken out in 4 by a Hornets team missing Mashburn. How is that even close ? I mean, man, thats reaching.
I don't want Mike Miller. Miller is the worst ROY in 15 years. Miller is horrendous on defense and gets abused by quicker 3's and stronger 3's as well. Miller is just a set shooter, he lacks quickness to penetrate and doesn't rotate the ball well either. The guy was hurt alot last year and scored 16 points a game as the #2 option in Orlando, in the Eastern Conference, the guy would be lucky to get 10 pts a game as the #4-5 option. He has a contract extension coming up and is honestly not worth the #'s being thrown around. Kenny Thomas is already a better player than Miller. The Rockets have enough bad defenders, we don't need another one.
