ESPN says that he is gonna be traded by the sonics this year before the deadline. No way he signs an extension on that team with the financial situation they are in. Seems like something the rockets will definetly pursue. What can we give for him though. We have nothing besides Yao, Tmac, and Battier.
I know, how about we send them Juwan Howard and Luther Head and Ryan Bowen. Yea ...perfect. Make it happen CD.
Nah, let's sign Turkcan from um, where is he now, Fenerbahce, tempt Drew out of retirement with a three-year contract, and offer Dickerson a job as assistant coach. Then we can trade the three of them for Rashard and a pair of Birkenstocks
2006-07=$9,350,649; 2007-08=$10,129,870; 2008-09=$10,909,091. Player Option in 2007-08. Pretty expensive for Rockets.
I'm not saying Rashard isn't all that.It's just that CD & the Rockets brass went to a lot of trouble to acquire Shane and see him as an integral piece to our puzzle. Yes,I wish we would have just picked Rashard when we had the chance,but now we're in a different situation.
I think you’re forgetting that Shane Battier was a worse case scenario for the Rockets. They did not head into the draft thinking “God, I hope we get Shane Battier”. There were 5 other players in the draft that the Rockets would have preferred over Shane Battier. If Randy Foye, Brandon Roy, Tyus Thomas, etc fall to #8, you can forget about the Rockets trading for Shane Battier. And those players can only hope to be as good as Rashard Lewis already is.
The best thing about Rashard is that he would LOVE to play for the Rockets. Maybe he would be willing to work out a deal that would facilitate him joining us. I still remember just a few years ago when Calvin interviewed him and told him that we wish he had been a Rocket, Rashard winked and said "Me too."
I like Rashard but just don't see the fit, especially for the money. First of all, he's not good defensively. Who is he gonna guard with TMac and Battier on the floor? The best fit for him defensively is at SF, which pushes TMac back to the 2. Otherwise you put Rashard at either 2 or 4. He can't stay with 2s. And I don't see see him being able to guard 4's. Offensively, it would work fine. McGrady at the top and Lewis and Battier in each corner for the 3 ball. Just don't see it happening. I think all that talk about opting out is just that, talk. I think he's using the opt out as an excuse to get Seattle to move him to the right situation. Because I can't see him getting $10 million + as a FA next offseason. There's not enough teams with that kind of space, and there's lots of talent that is going to be on the market. I can't see anybody giving him 5 yr $50 million or whatever. He is NOT a superstar. He is a midlevel star, worth maybe around $35 mill over 5 years, maybe $40 million max. In my view, what has happened in the NBA is there have been way too many max contracts given out to less than max players and way too many contracts overpaid for average to below average players, that there simply isn't the money out there that there once was. When you look at guys like Raef Lefrentz for instance, or Adonal Foyle, Kenny Thomas, Boozer, Kenyon Martin, now Nene (what has he done to merit a $10 million a year contract)making the kind of money they are making, taking up 1/5 or more of the salary cap, the money just isn't there. In my opinion, Rashard would be foolish from a monetary perspective to opt out. And I don't see us paying him. We ain't got the space and we ain't that stupid.
If he had been there then Roy probably would be a Rocket,but the thing is we needed someone to step in and start,providing major minutes.We needed a guy that knows the NBA game,knows his role,and has the necessary skillset to work well with Yao and Tmac.I just don't see Battier as a "worse case scenario" as our window is open now.Yes,we have sacrificed some individual upside,but the Houston Rockets also have put a square peg in a square hole.While I don't disagree about Lewis's talent level and what he could bring to the team,I do see a bit of redundancy there.And again,if you look at the price...salary wise and in what it would cost to get him,I just don't see the feasibility.
Like I said in the Luther Head thread, his trade value has been overrated for a while now. The guy is an athletic Kyle Korver.
sounds familiar...... wait didnt mike james say the same thing when it comes down to it, its all about the money
Why? His stats are inflated playing 40 mpg in a high posession Seattle system that calls for no effort on defense. He wouldn't be capable of playing the 3, pushing McGrady out of position to the 2. Lewis certainly isn't capable of playing defense at Battier's level; the only advantage he has on Battier is being a volume shooter. And that is negated when you have a quick release like Novak coming off the bench.
rashard can put up the three ball and score pretty well on CERTAIN nights, but there are nights when he disappears. he is also a consistently awful rebounder, and don't ask him to get you any assists either.. i had him on my fantasy team last year so i had my eye on him for every game last season. the dude can shoot, and shoot from long distance, but nothing more than that. i really couldn't believe how bad he was at rebounding.. i don't know how much of that is caused by lack of effort or just lack of talent.
