Any chance we can get this guy next season? He's refusing the extension from Seattle and will be a UFA next season. He's from here and has always wanted to play in Houston. Our books clear up a little bit after next season and beyond so possibly we could backload his contract or something. Or maybe works some kind of sign and trade with Juwan Howard and/or Rafer Alston. A three headed monster of Tracy, Yao, and Rashard would be KILLER!
Unlikely since we don't really have any heavy assets to land him. The only teams with cap space to sign him will be Orlando and Charlotte I think.
he would look good in orlando but if he wants to be a contender he'll come to houston, i think he knows this team is on the cusp and he would put us over the top. though dwight howard is turning into a beast down in florida....
The question for capologists is what is our situation relative to a fair price for Rashard. I personally think he is exactly what we could use on our team. He's a Robert Horry type weak side shotblocker that is a fantastic rebounder with size and athleticism at the 3 that is a very good 3-pt shooter. I think he would take a discount to come here and if he does talk to the Rockets, Rudy T and Dawson will be gone, so he may not take the whole promise to draft thing to heart with a different staff. I'm sure he's sick of losing and would love to play with unselfish Yao Ming and T-Mac and in front of his home crowd. I think he must also realize that he's not a star and cannot create his own shot. He truly is that secondary tier of players that needs a shot created for him which our core can do. I personally would give any assets including Battier for Rashard as I feel he fits our team much better. If he forces the issue that he'll sign with us for nothing they would be forced to do a sign and trade and we could send a draft pick, Luther Head, Bonzi and Juwan Howard to force their hand. That and we may have to take a bad contract from them to accomplish it. Rafer Alston (Gaping Hole!) Spanoulis T-Mac Battier Rashard Battier Hayes (Gaping Hole!) Yao Mutombo BigJake
I'd love to hard Rashard Lewis, I would, but our team doesn't need Rashard Lewis. What we need is a PG or PF. How about we try to upgrade the needs first?
We don't have enough cap space to sign him, and we don't have anything that can be used in a sign and trade. So forget it. I personally think he's gonna go to the Magics. The one-two punch with Rashard and Howard can do some good damage in the east.
1) We don't have the assets to acquire Rashard Lewis. Other teams can offer a better package. 2) Where does Rashard play here? Tmac and Battier are locks at the 2/3 spots. And Battier is not playing the 4 spot for large minutes. And Battier is not coming off the Bench while JVG is the coach. 3) A Battier/Tmac combo is a much more attactive combo for us from a defensive perspective since Battier can cover the offensive swingman on the other team. 4) back up (or starting) PG is a much bigger need (ideally someone that can create their own shot and hit the 3ptr). As is another defensive+range shooting PF considering Juwan probably won't be able to duplicate this effort next season. My initialy offseason recommednation would be to continue to pursue a Mike James trade for Bob Sura+JL3. And then with our MLE money either look to add another big, or let Bonzi go and look to add a swingman that fits our system a bit better, like free agent to be Morris Peterson.
It's not very likely. The salary cap this year is $53 million, and our current cap responsibility in the summer of 2008 will be $54 million. If Howard takes his option and we pick up our options (V-Span, Head, Lucas 3, Novak) and make a qualifying offer to Snyder it'll be $63 million. And that's not accounting for Hayes (FA this summer) or whomever we will have as Yao's backup. Best case scenario will be if the team is just slightly over the salary cap (must be over the cap to have an MLE) with space below the lux tax (20-25% above the salary cap). We could conceivably send Juwan (entering his final year) and a pick if Rashard was willing to take $9 million to come home, but it gets tricky trying to predict the future. Besides Seattle is most likely to send him for a package that benefits them most. Evan
Yawn. Yet another big name this board salivates over for no apparent reason. He's injury prone and ALWAYS disappears when his team needs him most, not to mention he's not worth the cash he will command. I'll pass. Battier/McGrady is a far superior combo.
Thank you, my thoughts exactly. Would I love to have Rashard Lewis? Of course... but our team has real needs that take precedent over a player like Rashard Lewis.
Battier is nigh-untouchable unless for a player with similar HEART. Don't you guys get it- he may not have all-star calibur skills, but he plays his ass off every game and it really shows in the W column. Rashard is at best an every other year borderline all-star. Feed the tipjar, ya cheapskate!
Rashard Lewis makes Tmac looks as durable as AC Green. I like Lewis' game but I think that type of money would be spent much better by adding some other pieces. PG and PF (no midgets) come to mind.
He announced that he probably wasn't going to sign the 2 year/25 million entension offer on the table, because he felt he could get more on the free market. There is just no way we could afford to pay him that. Maybe the Knicks will be dumb enough to do it.
Please name every team with the cap room to go after 'shard as an UFA. IIRC the # is 2: Orlando and Chicago. And, no bull, Chicago does not need him. They need a 4. Orlando would have to renounce GHill, a reasonable possibility. Either Seattle engages in an SnT, Orlando declares their interest, or 'shard stays put.
That's pretty much it, right there. Rashard mentioned that his agent thinks there will be other teams with cap room. It makes me wonder if his agent is privy to something. But that doesn't mean anything at all. It must be said that Rashard is giving up a ton of money. He won't make that on the free agent market. So he's confident or stupid or just wants out of Seattle/Oklahoma-to-be. The only way he can come to Houston is if a third team takes on some of our current players for (a) draft pick(s) which would be used to help Seattle lower its cap hit before it moves to OKC. And Charlotte's too cheap. Atlanta's hands are tied by ownership problems (and they have no fans buying tickets to help them anyway).
