Brad Miller 1. He made $385,000 last year and is now a restricted Free Agent. His agent wants between $3.5M and $4.5M in a multi year contract. He will most likely end up between $3.0M and $3.75M this year. Charlotte has (restricted status) rights to match the outside offer. Or, they can affect a sign and trade. 2. He is an overall talented 7 footer, a passable defender, with good floor basics ... but still only averaged around 8 pts in 18 minutes a game in a wide open offensive front couirt. 3. In a sign and trade he becomes a base compensation player and thus, the Hornets will only garner 50% of his salary in compensation. In short, they will lose $3.5-4.5M in the trade value but can only take back $1.75 - $2.25M as compensation. 4.That also means the team he goes to has to be able to take on $3.5-4.5M in salary. There are not many teams able to take more than they give up this year. Chicago comes to mind due to being below the cap. AND the Rockets with their $4.45M trade exception are also contenders. What do the Hornets need? A point guard. Badly. real Badly. In fact they need a good all-around PG who can shoot too. Somone who can be a stay at home or can move up and pop a trey to make the opponent a little more honest. But most important a low priced Point Man who knows the league. What does Chicago have that Houston does not? Plenty of cap space. A need for some playas. A 4/5 spot wide open. What does Houston have that Chicago does not? a. A point guard that has some very valuable playtime under his belt. And, at $1.25M a year for one more year, is very compensation desirable. b. A couple of other players like Bull and Los who are tweeners who can fill a lot of holes. (Both have contracts up next year. Mmmmmm, very desirable.) The big question to Houston .... Due to a sign and trade requiring a three year contract (and presumably a $3.5 to $4.5M/year for three years is the offer that is being bandied around) ...... Is Brad Miller the player to put that type of committment into for three years? {A Point to Ponder: the Rockets salary cap will be further helped next year when Matt Bullard retires and Carlos Rogers' contract ends. Both of these guys are valuable on any team (IMHO,anyway), but having them both in a Rox Uni this year, will be a luxury that the Rockets just cannot afford.} [This message has been edited by oeilpere (edited August 23, 2000).]
I think that´s a pretty good average per min, specially coupled with his 5 reb per game. If you ask me, it definetly worth it, but i would not trade Los. I would rather trade KT, or Bul (though don´t think that rudy would EVER trade him) than Los. Sounds like a win-win deal to me and Drew doesn´t have any PT with us now that Moochie has estabilished himself as our backup PG. ------------------ "The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams. It´s Heaven and Hell!" [This message has been edited by Thanos (edited August 23, 2000).]
oeilpere, It sounds like the Rockets have the upper hand over the bulls esp. with Drew to offer. Are the Rockets just waiting to see about Mo first of would they try for both? Also is this some how being used to put some pressure on MO, as it to say "we have a hand" also? ------------------
Thanos: On the surface it looks better than respectable. But ...... 1. The Hornets had a frontcourt offense system the whole season. Their team offense approach was charted in that direction. Front Court! Front Court! 2. The Rockets was backcourt focused yet we have KT at 8 pts/25 minutes and Bull at 7 pts/18 minutes. Miller's looks a tad anemic at 7.7 pts in 18 minutes. 3. For a $3M to $4M committment, I would like the Rox to be looking at a PF/C that will back his (very respectable) 5 rebs up with a 10-12pt effort. That is what we lacked last year and what we need this year. LostTexan Personally I think they have made the offers they wanted to make and they are still out there being bandied around. I don't think the Rox are going to change their position on any offer,including Maurice's. However, they have some aces in hole yet, and playing a viable alternative off of Maurice's agent certainly would not hurt there chances of Taylor finally jumping on the Rockets ship. CD and RT are not beyond playing a game to get who they want. Especially if the Rox are talking a sign and trade roughly in the same neighborhood (Miller = $3.0M to $4M S&T versus Taylor = $4.0 to $5.2M S&T). That being said, I think the Rockets are committed to getting a PF and they are slowly running out of choices as the deals are drying up. So, any available player that fits thier "game plan" will get consideration. As an added note, I have heard from a source that CD has fielded some pretty strange and complex deals in the last two weeks. [This message has been edited by oeilpere (edited August 23, 2000).]
In the 4 games he started, he scored 11.5 pts, which would be okay, but took 11.0 shots per game which is bad. He grabbed 8.8 boards, blocked at 1.5, and assisted 2.3 times. The only thing I remember from actually seeing him is that he was a solid rebounder. A big man that can rebound can always find some minutes. I could see giving up los or Drew since both will have little PT. If the rockets s/t Miller for 4 mil for Drew, the rockets would only loss 3 mil in cap space next year. I can see him as being an improvement over rogers, pig, Collier, and Bull. PS doesn't rogers have two years left? ------------------ "You've got 6 fouls, use them well" -Derrick Coleman [This message has been edited by Joe Joe (edited August 23, 2000).]
oeilpere -- Why does Charlotte need a point guard when they have David Wesley and Baron Davis? Seems like they already have more than they need.
Oeilpere: Are you really that down on the Hornet PGs, David Wesley and Baron Davis? Or has a dose of wishful thinking entered into your thinking? I'd feel pretty good about the future of our 5 position with Cato and Miller locked up for a few years. But I don't know how to value it. No one has tapped Miller yet; maybe he'll go for less. ------------------ Time is a great teacher-- only problem is it kills all its pupils.
oeilpere, maybe i should have made myself more clear. Signing Miller alone would not do. I think he would be a capable role player who could serve us nicely as a long-term backup to both Mo (assuming we sign him) and Cato. I definetly don´t see him as a starter or as solution to either the 4 or 5 spots. That being said, if we managed to sing BOTH Mo and Miller, we would be dangerous (as chuck daly would say) Richrocket: Wesley is NOT a PG. He is an SG who played PG last season, and he wants OUT of Charllote. Badly. ------------------ "The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams. It´s Heaven and Hell!" [This message has been edited by Thanos (edited August 23, 2000).]
I think the Hornets' troubles are at the 2, not the 1. They just lost E Jones and don't have a suitable replacement. Now, I've seen so-called experts say that Drew is more of a 2 than a 1. But I don't think he could play many minutes there - he doesn't have the size, esp. to match up with the big 2guards in the east. I could see them wanting Walt though (a SF who might be able to slide over to the big guard slot). ------------------
Actually Thanos, Wesley's been a PG everywhere he's played, from Longview High to Baylor, to Boston, to Charlotte. ------------------ "I'll drop kick those f*ckin' dogs if they come anywhere near me." visit www.swirve.com
He is a PG as much as Lindsey Hunter is. Just check out his assists. Mason played more PG (point forward, that is) last season than he did.] And nevermind that, he really wants out of Charlotte. I say we send the Wiz, plus Drew and KT, get BOTH Miller and Wesley, and then trade Wesley for a SF type, or maybe Jerome Williams somehow, if we don´t get Mo. ------------------ "The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams. It´s Heaven and Hell!"
It would be nice if the Rockets gave MO & his agent a taste of their own medicine by putting an ultimatum on the table. Sign now or you only have one team left to deal with. MO might be a great addition to this team, but if we are his second choice & he comes here for the exemption because the other deal falls through, what are the chances that he comes in here with a bad attitude also? After all, if you've been counting on a big payday & then you get a fraction of that, it has to affect your overall attitude. If Rudy feels that Brad Miller will do the trick, then I'm all for pulling the trigger on the sign & trade. That way the Rocks move Drew & use the 4.45 mill exception all at once. I still wish there was a way we could sweet talk the Clipps into trading Maggette to us without gutting the team. ------------------
"I could see giving up los or Drew since both will have little PT. If the rockets s/t Miller for 4 mil for Drew, the rockets would only loss 3 mil in cap space next year." Well technically if they do not sign Miller and they let the contracts (Los and Bull) expire next year they save considerably more cap than that. That really wasn't my point thouigh. My point was that if you are a team desiring of a number of things, including (1) clearing cap space(or in this case not adding any more) and (2) filling a needy position (in this case, the four spot). Then filling it with someone of Miller's largely unproven game through a sign and trade which makes you sign for three years ..... actually increases your cap, AND you still don't know his true worth. Double whammy! Maurice is a different ball game. "PS doesn't rogers have two years left?" You are right. Glich fart in my splendorf! " Are you really that down on the Hornet PGs, David Wesley and Baron Davis?" As point guards? Yep. More importantly so are Charlotte. Of the two you mentioned = One is not a PG and the other doesn't know the difference between the one and two spots.
Wesley is and always has been a point guard. I cannot remember him playing anything but. Nobody said he was a good one! Also, I would have to question that the Hornets philosophy was to have a front court tailored offense. True, they did have Coleman, Mason, and Elden Campbell. But last year Jones and Wesley were in the top three in scoring. I will say that Charlotte had a good inside-out game that was largely productive due to the front court recognizing when to kick the ball out. Miller was not necessarily a bad scorer in an open front court offense....but more a lesser used scoring option with the likes of Jones, Campbell, Coleman, Mason and Wesley averaging in double figures. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." [This message has been edited by HOOP-T (edited August 23, 2000).]
He is a point guard. He's not a shooting guard. ------------------ "I'll drop kick those f*ckin' dogs if they come anywhere near me." visit www.swirve.com
If Davis and Wesley aren't PGs, then what does that make Drew? Nevermind, I answered my own question. ------------------ "There's 1,000 different things we're looking at, but there's not a lot of things there," he said. "The thing we have to remember-if nothing happens, there's still a positive in that, and that's a big positive." -- Rudy T.
Thanos Wrote: "Signing Miller alone would not do. I think he would be a capable role player who could serve us nicely as a long-term backup to both Mo (assuming we sign him) and Cato." 1. For the $2.5M exemption maybe. But CD would never use big money (Miller wants $3.0M +)to sign a backup. Les learned that lesson too many times in the past three years. 2. Miller cannot be picked up for the $2.5M unless the Hornets are willing to NOT pick up the matching offer option. That is not going to happen. Miller is valuable. They know that. It is a sign and trade or nothing on, because we would have to "trade" to get the exception. I definetly don´t see him as a starter or as solution to either the 4 or 5 spots. See above. That being said, if we managed to sing BOTH Mo and Miller, we would be dangerous ... Very unlikely but yes definetly the best of both worlds. Miller's defensive end picking up where Maurice's offense led. It would be combo that the Blazers tried somewhat successfully with Rasheed Wallace and Brian Grant. I love the idea. But that would mean we get Taylor in a sign and trade which means the Clippers basically give us what we want without much compensation (Drew or Los and our exception), when they have repeatedly said they did not want more roster players. AND, we get Charlotte turning their back on Miller without compensation, which also is highly unlikely. Great thought though!
Who really thinks that the Hornets are looking for a PG? Wesley played pretty well last year. But, let's say, for the sake of argument, that he is sick of them, or they are tired of him running the point, etc. Charlotte drafted Baron Davis, what, #3 overall in the draft? I don't care WHAT kind of year he had last season. They have to give the kid the chance to start, and play major minutes, at the point sometime soon. Otherwise they'd have to admit they made a major major mistake last year. And they just aren't going to do that. I'd like to have Brad Miller. But I don't know that he or Cato could play PF, and if I trade a starter (Walt) I'd want a starter in return. ------------------
Miller for Drew and the exception? Where do I sign. $3M for a 7 footer who has some skills is a steal at the current NBA prices. ------------------
Hmmm. Brad Miller is not worth $3-4M. We do this deal and no way MoTay and his inflated ego sign for the $2.5M, with the Rocks at least. Of course, the Rocks may only be looking at doing this deal or the other, but not both. I think the Rocks should offer Miller the $1M exception (or the league minimum) and call Charlotte's bluff. If Charlotte really wanted him, he would be signed already. Besides, any minutes that Miller would get with the Rocks would be taking minutes away from Collier. I would rather see Collier develop than putting him at the end of the bench to rot. Getting MoTay is one thing, since he is a great offensive player that we got for cheaps. Getting Miller for mo $$$ is another, since I think his contribution to the team will far surpass his cap worth. ------------------
