Sura the scapegoat..

Dekes salary would not count against the cap. We have his early bird rights and this is one of several exceptions to the NBA salary cap. We should offer Deke at least the salary we paid him last year for a 1 year deal, anything less would be an insult.

 

Let's give it one more try. First of all, I'll ignore most of your first paragraph. Unless you are a Rockets insider or have proven your cred here, there is no reason to believe any of what you said. One comment: It is safe to say JVG & CD want both Deke & DS and have considered any ramifications of signing (or doing a SnT) for DS. DS & Deke are clearly NOT mutually exclusive. Let this point go.

Secondly, I'm not acting like anything. I think depending on some theoretical/possible key trade deadline move for a starting PG when you are trying to make a championship run is "ignorant" (your favorite word). If a deal is available at that time, we will take it. But while it is summer and possibilities abound (much more than they do near the trade deadline), you do as much as possible. Duh, and I'm well aware trades happen every February for lots of reasons.

I guess the ONE thing we agree on is that there are enough stars on this team. We just disagree on what pieces to put around our 2 stars. But no one is "ignorant" just because they disagree with you, especially when you put false words in their mouth. If you think DS is a "cancer", that is your right. It does say something that both the Rockets and the Heat are pursuing him to be their starting PG. It could be he isn't the total devil you make him out to be. I wasn't aware he had "constant run ins with the law". Your tendency toward hyperbole & exaggeration when making a point is why you come across as emotional instead of logical.

 

KT,

Pretty successful launch of a clutch fans thread! You've stirred the pot and generated some interesting discussion. I like Sura and believe very much in the intangibles he brings to our team. Injuries were an issue last year, but will hopefully be mitigated more this year by a somewhat reduced role for Bobby.

As for DS, I'm gonna trust in CD and JVG to do the right thing.

 

He has also run the point for teams for 10 years. Nobody except Charlie Ward has done that on this team. I would S&T Sura or Wesley for DS in a heartbeat, it would be a good trade for both teams, would give Portland a veteran backup and give us a pure PG instead of a 2 playing a 1. Yes the guy is weed wacky but so is his running buddy Rasheed and the Pistons love the guy. Better yet if we sign DS for the LLE but if we do get him I think it will be a SnT that does the trick.

 

So CD and JVG have no interest in bringing in Stoudamire ~ it's all Tracy?

You have some great inside info or a big imagination...

 

I understand your points on why you dont want DS, but what I dont get is why you refuse to even consider him at all. Also, bringing in DS doesnt auomatically mean getting rid of Sura. It just means Sura goes back to the role that we all thought he would have when we first signed him, backup 1/2/3.

Regarding Stoudamire, he certainly isnt perfect, but I believe (as do many others) that his skill-set is needed and nobody on our current roster offers what he can as a starting point guard. Just look at it objectively.

Ball-Handling: Better than any guards we currently have. Cleary an upgrade over Sura/Wesley probably better than Mike James/Barry.

Spot up shooting: Probably not as consistent as Barry. More like James in the sense that he can make 5 or 6 in a row when he's hot. Definatley better than Sura, and probably a tad better than Wesley.

Ability to Create for Others: Definately Better than Wesley/Barry who are almost strictly spot-up shooters (Although Barry makes a couple nifty passes per game). Cleary better than James who is pretty much a really really really good version of our own Moochie Norris (dribble dribble dribble dribble dribble..... Shoot) Better than Sura in the sense that Damon has a ton of options when he penetrates (pull-up J, shovel pass, kick-out, layup) wheras Sura has about two (shovel-pass, flip shot)

This is all we need from our starting point guard and Damon offers this in abundance. Obviously, Sura is waaaaaayyy better than Damon in other aspects of the game such as toughness/rebounding/intangibles/team chemistry, but we wouldnt miss out on any of these traits if he is the do-it-all super sub we imagined back in August 2004.

*********************​

Now we come to the part where facts can be distorted in many ways and opinions have a lot to do with our conclusions.

Yes, Damon did shoot a poor percentage last year, but those were not the same open looks he will get from kickouts by Yao and McGrady. Many of those were either shot-clock winding down heaves or The-Other-Players-on-the-Court-are-Darius Miles-Ruben Patterson-Theo Ratliff-and-Joel Pryzbilla bail outs.

Yes, Damon was(is?) a notorious pot-head, but he did publicly tell an Oregon reporter that he would take a drug test anytime, anywhere and he backed up what he said peeing in an open stall for all to see and handing the cup to the very same reporter. None of us really knows for sure, but I am willing to bet that his drug days are behind him. If you aren't, I respect that b/c nobody really knows.

Yes, Damon is probably about 5'9"ish but his quickness/speed are make up for that somewhat. I imagine JVG would have him playing passing lanes and if his man got past him, we have Swift/Ming/Mutumbo to erase his mistakes. Damon's defense is definately the worst aspect of his game, but I'm confident in JVG's ability to work something out.

I think that covers everything, but you saying that he is a shoot 1st, pass second PG. I counter that (with OPINION) by saying that anyone signing with a team for the LLE, especially a PG, understands that they are not the 1st or 2nd option, they are a cog in the machine brought in to make things run smoothly.

I do agree with that we should keep our expirings into the season and wait until the right deal finds us, but signing Damon doesn't stop us from doing that. It could only keep us from retaining JB, who we all love, but Damon is definatley better than him. And there are options like Kerry Kittles or (IF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY) Sprewell if for some reason we cant work things out with JB.

 

i didnt like jenny mcarthy til someone showed me a picture of her. when the idea of DS came up (yes out of mcgrady's mouth) i researched the guy. he's got good numbers and is a hustle player. i think its your pothead prejudice talking still.

 

I think it's interesting how ktvoss dismisses everyone else's opinions as wrong, then states his as if it's absolute fact.

How do you seriously expect people to listen to you when you aren't open to outside opinions?

Here are some facts about Damon Stoudamire:

He was the starting Point Guard on a team that made consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals.

He's marginally younger and CONSIDERABLY more durable than Bob Sura.

His career 3PT and FT shooting percentages are both considerably better than Bob Sura's. His overall FG% is .005 points lower. His EfFG% is .006 points higher.

His career assist/TO ratio is 2.64. Bob Sura's is 1.72.

We have over $20million in expiring contracts. Trading for him does not prevent us from making a move at midseason.

In 2004 he won the October NBA Community Assist Award and has been active in the Portland Community Assist program.

He founded the "Assisting Ontario's Youth" program in 1997 to benefit Ontario children's charities

He created the Damon Stoudamire Foundation to assist youth in Ontario and Portland and set up a $20,000 scholarship fund in support of the Boys & Girls Club of Ontario

He was selected as one of the NBA's spokesmen for their Team Up program

He was the Raptors spokeperson for their Stay in School program

He is a spokesperson for the American Red Cross

He lists his favorite NBA player as Hakeem Olajuwon

There you have it. Facts. What's not to like?

 

SOF has taken on a whole new meaning.


I agree with Desert Scar, all of the guards are scapegoats except Barry. I see people wanting to get rid of Wesley in every trade thread and he's the only real sg on this team, and he gives JVG exactly what he wants.

I was against signing Damon till I saw some of his career avgs. The guy put up 20 and 8 a couple of seasons and despite his overall fg% he is a decent 3pt shooter and he takes care of the ball.

With the signing of Swift, I have my reservations about the toughness of the Rockets' frontcourt and one thing Bobby adds is toughness and rebounding. With the health of Howard in question and the uncertainty of what Swift will bring, Bobby's needed on this team for now. If Swift turns out to give the team what they expect from him, they can then look to moving Sura.

 

Sura had some problems against Dallas - maybe it was do it injuries/ too many minutes, but he was exposed at times in that series.

Stoudamire is a solid player who wants to play here ~ what's not to like with Sura and Stoudamire in the backcourt?

 

Damon's offense hurts in the playoffs?? Let me see, who's had more playoff experience and wins, Damon or Bobby?

Sorry buddy, but you need to come from another angle. And touting Bobby's defense, did you actually watch the Rockets? I like Bobby, but Damon is no question a better player.

 

Small point but I shuddered when BS was on the FT line or when he handled the ball in foul situations. DS is a very good FT shooter.

 

Your sarcasm and comments don't help your argument especially when other posters on the board are actually making a point.

 

EDIT: Urhghg. Nevermind.

 

I think I'll stick with the wishes of the superstar. T-Mac said he would like to have Stoudamire on his team