Somehow I suspect the expiring contracts like Mooch's and Wesley's will be parlayed into Yao's upcoming pay raise.
I have defended Howard and Wesley recently from the senseless blind hatred that folks seem to have against these two but I definately think we can upgrade. If we CAN upgrade, we should. But I would be disappointed if we just traded them just for the sake of trading them and got a questional guy in return. It is easy to get more athletic but if you trade them, it better be an obvious benefit to it because it is hard to replace their professionalism.
If you want GGreen bad enough and Blount is otherwise un tradable then DWes and DA likely make the deal. Let NJ talk you into MJax and a #1 and a #2 for Stro. Call Atlanta and offer the Jersey #1 and Head + Mooch for Harrington. Maybe they'll listen? Or call Walsh/Birdie and give them a chance to take Cro and SJax off their payroll for Mooch and DW and JHo. Too much? Yep, so take back at least a #1. Or the pair of DW/DA the missing 3 of Damon Jones and Gooden? There are deals out there, likely, but are they worth it?
The trading value of DW is just in his expiring contract. No team will trade for him for a late push whiling giving us decent talent. Only teams with contract problems might look into it. So, sell high, doesn't really matter.
I see some people are still holding out on the Rockets bandwagon. I'm marking every one of you, when we make it to the playoffs and you all turn into hypocrites and start singing David Wesley's praises... Yeah that's smart. Throw away your most reliable 3 point shooter, most effective penetrator and your best perimeter defender (#5 among all active NBA players in 3 point pct), and then your most effective offensive power forward and only person on the team with a consistent 18 foot jumper. And then continue to accuse JVG of being the reason the team is inept offensively. I am in awe of your devastating logic.
It is only once a week or so when a post literally makes me burst out laughing outloud at my keyboard.
I totally agree. Unfortunately, our best trade-bait is probably Head (who we should not give up easily) or Swift (because of his contract). Any deal involving Swift AND Howard had better warrant a quality power forward in return. I know we've all been impressed with Chuck Hayes, but the fact is we need a legit 4 to play with Yao, and I'm not sure what we could really get with Howard strait up.
I agree about Wesley. He is not in our long term picture and should be traded when he still has some value. I said the same thing a few years ago about Glen Rice. I think the Rockets waited too long to trade Rice. But Howard is another story. We need a reliable starting PF, and he is the only one we have. Besides, I think Howard still has a couple years left in his tank as a solid starter. And even when he starts to decline, he can still be our reliable backup c/pf/ and veteran leader after Deke is done. I would only trade Howard if we can get one of the following in return: 1. a tough rebounder-defender PF who can hit the open midrange J 2. a PF or SG who is a legit 3rd scoring option
Wesley has been more effective lately because he's been driving to the hoop and getting himself to the line. It seems earlier in the season he would just settle for the 3.
No, Wesley has been more effective lately because he's no longer being forced to play PG, which has never been his role and was never the reason he was brought onto this team. Now that Rafer handles the ball, he doesn't have to expend his energy running point and can find open spots to knock down shots. And naturally his 3 pointer came back once he settled into his groove. It's not by accident that this guy ranks fifth among active players in 3 point pct (with 2500 shots or more), ranking with the likes of Ray Allen and Peja Stojakovich.
We will not be under the cap even if all of our expiring contracts stay with us. We will be under the Luxury Tax, but that will still only allow us the MLE since we used the LLE on DA this year.
How about sell-out. Wesley and Howard are as reliable as two vets can get. They're not going anywhere.
The only way you can trade Wesley at this point is if we get an outrageously good deal. I agree that if we get an incredible deal for him and filler, we should trade him, but if it only gets us a marginal player, I say we keep the guy who is shooting 40% from the arc. Howard is in the same category to me. He has shown that he can be the primary weapon when necessary and more importantly, his teammates have seen that too. When we are at (more or less) full strength, when Yao and TMac are resting, everyone knows that Howard is a viable option. If we get a steal, trade them. If not, then no deal.
I would do the Croshere and Stephen Jackson deal for Moochie, DW and Howard in heartbeat. Stephen Jackson can match up real well with players like Josh Howard and Carmelo Anthony. With Croshere's 3 point range, he can drag the other teams power forward to the 3 point line away from Yao and Swift.
I totally agree, we should only move them if something much better than Wesley and Howard is given back in return.
