Well the reason they let Brad Miller go, is because signing him would have put them deep into the luxury tax. Although the point is taken that Indy is playing pretty well so far with the centers they've got now.
Charvo - did you call in your Knick trade to 610 am yesterday? If so I heard them talking about it. If I were to trade SF, I would package him with Cato and MoT and Cash from the exception to the Heat for Grant, Jones, Butler, and Wade. This deal gives us 2 solid albeit overpaid vets and 2 young potential studs. It gives the Heat cap flexibility and a starting line-up of SF, R. Butler, Odom, MoT, and Cato. That is a good Eastern conference lineup. MoT gives them inside scoring, Cato dirty work, D,and rebounding, Odom is the point forward, Butler is a good player, and SF gets to be the primary offensive force ALA AI. MY 2 cents...
How about Steve for Tracy McGrady. Plus miscellaneous contracts back or forth. Orlando needs a big man. Throw in Cato if we really have to. Use Eddie and even Badianne as back up center. Both Steve an McGrady could use a change of scenery. Let's get a real second superstar. Tracy, from what I've seen, has it mentally over Steve. McGrady could be as good a point guard as Steve, if not better. With his height I think he could make the entry pass to Yao.
glynch, I think that the McGrady trade would be a great move for the Rockets. I'm not sure about the logistics (contracts, salary cap, etc..) I think that Orlando may actually bite b/c McGrady is very disgruntled and is very likely to opt out after this season anyway. I'm sure they would rather be left with an all-star point guard rather than nothing. Houston has no reason not to do this trade.
Why do so many people want to keep turning this team into the freakin' Knicks? Are they doing something great that I don't see? If so, who are they doing it against? The East? Transplant the Rockets to their spot and we would be in 1st....
What about this trade idea? (it works with realgm) Houston sends to Washington Steve Francis Eddie Griffin Washington sends to Houston Jerry Stackhouse Larry Hughes We get a star player in Stackhouse, even though he is injured now. We also get Larry Hughes who has improved a lot in Washington. Steve Francis moves closer to home, and Washington gets Eddie Griffin who is more promising than Christian Laettner or Kwane Brown.
Houston trades: PG Steve Francis (18.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.7 apg in 38.7 minutes) C Kelvin Cato (5.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 0.7 apg in 29.0 minutes) Houston receives: C Dwyane Wade (5.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 0.7 apg in 29.0 minutes) PF Brian Grant (8.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 0.9 apg in 31.0 minutes) SF Caron Butler (4.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.1 apg in 21.4 minutes) Change in team outlook: -12.0 ppg, -5.6 rpg, and -3.4 apg. Miami trades: C Dwyane Wade (5.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 0.7 apg in 29.0 minutes) PF Brian Grant (8.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 0.9 apg in 31.0 minutes) SF Caron Butler (4.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.1 apg in 21.4 minutes) Miami receives: PG Steve Francis (18.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.7 apg in 17 games) C Kelvin Cato (5.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 0.7 apg in 17 games) Change in team outlook: +12.0 ppg, +5.6 rpg, and +3.4 apg. TRADE ACCEPTED
A T-Mac trade would be a dream come true, especially if we could get Tyrone Lue. He's not a great point guard by any means but his contract is cheap, he's worlds better than Moochie and he actually focuses on playing the point guard position. Having a 6'9 shooting guard/small forward would be great as far as I'm concerned. Lue Mobley T-Mac Cato Yao We'd be definite contenders if only because T-Mac is a much better scorer then Francis is, and is able capable of dropping 50 on any given night, unlike Francis who's career high is 43. Francis is a good scorer (not even that this season), but he's never proven to be a great one. If anything we'd have a guy we could rely on to score for us when we go in those dreadful scoring droughts, not to mention adding size, and getting a decent PG in return to replace Francis. The Magic do also have a guy named Hunter that's intriguing. He's a shotblocker and a decent defender, but he can't shoot worth a lick. (Shoots worse then Cato but at a much smaller contract.) Anyhow the Magic trade is my dream come true trade of the whole scenario.
Let keep in mind who our starting pg will be if we trade Steve and we don't get a pg in return from somewhere. I am for trading Steve but this still need to be said on these fantasy trades. That's where the tricky part lies - who will trade us thier good pg for Steve? A 3+ way is what I see or 2 separate trades.
The problem with Trading for a TMac type player is that with basically two centers in the paint and the zone defenses in play, you don't need anyone that primarily drives to the hole. The reason why TMac's numbers are down and his team is doing so poorly is because teams just pack it in the lane. Against a team with Yao and TMac, I would just camp all five guys inside and let whatever PG and small forwards are on that team fire away. No drive and dish, no back cuts not post up because all my defensive guys will be packed in. If Lue or Tinsley or whoever goes off for 40 or 50 and beats me so be it. If you trade SF it has to be for jumpshooters in my opinion. Or they will have similar struggles in this offense as he is having now.
I think the best deal out there is Ridnour + Allen + Booth + Evans for Steve Francis + Cato You could also remove Cato, Evans and Booth from the deal, whatever turns you on. But the basis of the deal is Ridnour/Allen for Francis. It's definitely not lopsided FOR us, so if it's lopsided for them, swap Cato for Booth and Evans, then we look like this: Yao/Booth MoT/Evans/Booth JJ/Boki/Pike/AG Allen/Mobley Ridnour/Mobley/Moochie I'm a huge fan of Ridnour, I really think he's going to turn out great, I think Rick Sund compared him brilliantly to Steve Nash. Ray Allen, much like Allan Houston, is a superb compliment to Yao Ming, and he's also a great passer.
It's weird...everybody wants a trade, yet nobody can think of a trade that makes any sense for both teams...
Ok here is the best I can come up with. Steve and MoT or Cato for Antonio Davis, Kirk Hinrick, and Jay Williams Chicago gets the point that is lost when Jay got hurt and a star that will sell seats. They can then chose whether they want a offensive 4 or a defensive rebounding 4-5. They Rockets get AD who is wayyyy overpaid but whoes contract runs out in 2. AD can certainly fill Catos or MoTs shoes for 2 seasons. We might also be able to keep him on the cheap when his contract runs out if he is still productive. We also get Kirk Hinrick who I believe will be the best PG for the next 10 years and potential in Jay W. If Jay W. ever plays again which I doubt, he might be worth trading, though he wasn't all that before he got hurt. Best I could do.
I suggested this Knicks trade, and it doesn't seem to go over well with the 610 crew. I do admit that it's not going to be an exciting trade for the Rockets. I think the first reaction of most fans will be a negative one. I'd really like this team to win this year and get into the playoffs, so this would not be an issue. If the Heat trade works salary-wise, I think it's a legit option. It gives both teams a shakeup roster-wise. Brian Grant and Eddie Jones are both good guys. Dwayne Wade is the key here. Can he pass well? I don't want to see another combo guard masquerading as a passer.
It''s so hard to make sense out of these moves with the CBA. W/superstars it is even worse. Look at that trade Boston-Cavs did. I'm not sure what that really did. The last two big trades have been made more for chemistry than anything else. Perhaps the Rockets are just allowing JVG to expose the bad seeds to his NY bud Les before they clean out too. If so, watch out SF, MoT, EG, Cat, Mooch and maybe Cato...
This Hinrich guy looks like he has potential. I'd like to see how he progresses during the season. I believe he is playing point guard with Jamal Crawford playing the SG now. I think the Bulls would want Maurice since Eddie Curry plays center. Fizer doesn't cut it at power forward.
I like the great passer part. Would the Sonics trade him? I don't know. Brent Barry plays the point, but Luke Ridnour is a solid backup. Sonics want frontcourt help. They have zero basically at the power forward and center position. My preference is to have a solid veteran at point guard along with a young passing point guard. Too much pressure on a young point guard to get everyone in the game may not be good for the long-term. Even Milwaukee hasn't given T.J. Ford full-time duty yet. He shares time with Damon Jones who has been out there a little while.
I think he is a decent passer. He is still somewhat learning the PG position, but from what I have seen and read he's legit. Don't forget Caron Butler in my trade. That guy is a stud at the 3, and he is also supposed to be a good passer. I remember Riley thinking of using him as a point forward. If we took Butler and Jones, perhaps we could package Mobes and Nachbar for a servicable backup bigman and an upgrade back up PG. There are a few teams that are looking for some scoring punch right now, and Mobes has played very well so far this season.
