....& I'm not talking cosmetics here. I know we're still adjusting to a new coach & system, but we're 1/3 of the way into the season & are playing worse than we were at the beginning of the season. Our defense has been awesome, but our offense has apparently gone on vacation about 63 games too early. Cato had a great game the other night, but for the most part, the Cato at PF experiment has been a disaster. He has no range on his shot, which allows the defense to ignore him & collapse on Yao. Francis can't seem to grasp the concept of pass first, shoot second. He'll do it for one game (with great success) & then abandon it for several games, as if it were a failed experiment. As a street baller, Francis would be a stud. But, as the leader & PG of an NBA franchise, he's a dud. Mobley has vastly improved in my opinion, but even he has had a difficult time avoiding the street ball mentality. Yao has shown signs of improvement, but he's still too passive for the physical NBA game & hasn't demanded the ball very often, if at all. I attribute his passiveness to the less agressive style of play in China & believe that he'll adapt. As for him not demanding the ball down low, I'm inclined to blame that on his culture (no offense meant to the Chinese people). What I mean by this is, the Chinese people seem to be a more passive & respectful society. Thus, Yao is reluctant to take over the Rocket's team as his own, out of respect for Francis. After all, Francis has been given the tag of "Franchise" & has been considered the leader & future of this team. I believe that you build a franchise around your dominant big man. Maybe, it's time for a changing of the guard (pardon the pun). Here's a trade that would completely retool the team & leave Yao as the leader. Houston sends Francis/Jackson to Miami. Houston sends Cato/Padgett to Orlando. Houston sends Mobley to Indiana. Miami sends Jones/Caron Butler to Houston. Orlando sends Juwan Howard to Houston. Orlando sends DeClercq/future draft pick to Miami. Indiana sends Tinsley/Pollard to Houston. Miami gets to field a nice young nucleus of Francis/Wade/Odom at the 1/2/3 positions along with Brian Grant at the PF position & Loren Woods at the C position. Jackson & DeClercq would provide them with good depth. Orlando needs a defensive presense under the basket & Cato would give them just that. Moving Howard would allow them to start Gooden at the PF position & Padgett would give them a real nice shooter off the bench. Indiana needs a replacement for Miller & Mobley would give them just that. Mobley also brings them some improved defense. Tinsley & Pollard are buried on their bench, so acquiring Mobley (a starter) would only make them better. Houston gets a complete makeover, with Yao now being the focus of the offense. Howard & Jones are up there in age, but they are still very productive. To hold down the starting PG duties until Tinsley is healthy, I'd sign Mark Jackson. Jones & Tinsley are an instant defensive upgrade to our guard positions. Howard opens the floor up for Yao, because the defense has to respect his shooting ability & he rebounds much better than Taylor. Butler is the SF that we've needed for some time & Pollard gives us a quality backup big man. Our new look lineup would be: C: Yao/Pollard/Amaechi PF: Howard/Taylor/Ford SF: Butler/Piatkowski/Nachbar SG: Jones/Piatkowski/A.Griffin(IL) PG: Tinsley/Jackson/Moochie(IL) Nachbar goes on the IL once Griffin comes off. What do you think of this trade?
I like the Francis deal. Who knows... Miami might even do it. I'd think hard about the Cato part, then probably not do it. The Mobley thing is insane. Tinsley isn't bad, but you can find his like elsewhere for cheaper, I think... and Mobley's having easily his best season.
This is certainly a broad stroke trade proposal. It certainly stimulates the "what if" juices, and, of course, that's why your proposals are always thought-provoking and entertaining. IMO, the Rockets can get more for Francis than Caron Butler, although I would love to have Butler on our team. I realize Jones is not chopped liver, but his age and contract makes me recoil in abject fear. Also, if Francis is to be replaced, I'd like to see a better floor general / player than Tinsley. Heck, I'd much rather have Kirk Hinrich of Chicago (Francis for Hinrich, Curry and a bad contract?). I also think Cato is more fetching as an Eastern Conference center than Howard is as a Western Conference PF. Everyone wants Kurt Thomas out of New York, but I'd much, much rather have Maciel Lampe and Keith Van Horn with Van Horn being used as a small forward. The real jewel in the deal is Lampe. As far as Mobley, even though the board doesn't like him, I'd keep him to use as Sixth Man -- he would kill second team SGs -- while using Pike as the first team SG. Pike is smarter, a surprisingly sound defender, a better passer and a less streaky shooter who can still shoot lights out. Keep the trade proposals coming. They're always great reads. Merry Christmas to all.
Why would JVG want Tinsley as our point guard??? He cant even get off the bench in Indiana and was beaten out by Kenny Anderson (yes, that Kenny Anderson).
U guys do know that Caron Butler is averaging 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist this year right.......
I'm still partial to the: Cato to Indiana for Pollard/ Tinsley Mo. Taylor to Toronto for Mo. Peterson/ Olajuwan rights 6.99 TE / Meech / Boki to NYK for Kurt Thomas/ C. Weatherspoon Foward Fire Sale scenario.
With the above, throw in Mobley for Al Harrington and you have the deal I posted a few days ago. And I believe that works under the salary rules. Mobley, Cato for Harrington, Pollard, Tinsley Francis/Tinsley JJ/Francis/Pike Harrington/JJ/Nachbar Taylor/Harrington/Pollard Yao/Pollard
I like the Orlando part of the trade, but despite your small explanation, I don't see why they would give up Howard, DeClerq, and a pick for Cato and Padgett. Hell, I'd love to do Cato for Howard straight up and I think that make us a better team, but I'm not so sure they'd bite. Butler + Jones for Francis? No thanks. I'm not oppossed to trading SF, but getting that huge contract for an old player (EJ) isn't my idea of a good trade. Maybe Mobes + trade exception for EJ and Butler. Doesn't really solve much for us though. Nice talent swap but when you take on that much $$$ you want it to solve big weaknesses, which it doesn't really. Mobes for Tinsley + Pollard? Hell no. Tinsley is hella overrated, and Pollard ain't that much better. Neither of those guys changes the team due to their lack of skill. Pollard is okay, but overpaid backup, and Tinsley isn't good at running a half court o and couldn't hit a jumper to save his job. In conclusion: Cato for Howard, yes. Mobes for EJ + Butler, maybe. Everything else, no no no.
CriscoKidd - The TE is ~$7m. Francis is at $5m (BYC value) and Mobes is at $5.4m. Jones and Butler combine for over $15m. It won't work either way without sending addition players to MIA.
no only kenny Anderson but when anderson got injured against Detroiut on the weekend, Teen-Wolf Jamison Brewer played the main minutes with Anthony Johnson backing him up............................................... talk about dog house he is behind Kenny Anderson, Jamison Brewer and Anthony Johnson
if we did trade Steve to Miami, i would prefer Grant to Jones in the trade suggested, but surely we can get more for Steve than that.
Brewer played because I believe Tinsley is on the IL. Oh, and Tinsley is not a bad player, he just got on Carlisle's bad side in training camp. The guy got into better shape over the summer, and to be honest I'd be absolutely THRILLED to have him backing up Steve. He shoots the same or better than Mooch, but brings better passing, better smarts, more athleticism, better defense, and youth.
I still think this team would flourish with a Steve + TE (7M) + their choice of Mo or Cato for Rasheed Wallace + Damon Stoudamire Reasons: Their talents are obvious, especially Rasheed. Damon's having a good year, 6 assists and 2.5 TO's, with 42.5% shooting. He's always been a threat from 3-pt range, but what intruiges me the most is how he was super effective when playing with Sabonis. I remember how they always had great chemistry and he always knew how to feed Sabonis at the right time. Aside from skills, Rasheed's 15M off the cap this offseason while Damon's 13M off the cap the following offseason. We re-sign Rasheed, who will be thrilled to play on a team with buddy Cuttino Mobley, HUGE FAN Jeff Van undy, and an unselfish star player like Yao Ming. If not, he walks, and we'll have some room to make trades, and the following season we oculd sign a huge FA. Basically, right now, I'd rather have Stoudamire runnign the PG over Steve, and Rasheed next to Yao than Cato or Mo. Thoughts?
Sane - agree on Tinsley, is on IL for legitimate reasons or just cause of doghouse??? i really like him as a player and he would be great as Steve's back-up or even as a starter if we got a dominating 4 for Steve to pair with Yao. Now onto Sheed, wouldn't be against trading for him, but would they re-sign him?? Stoudamire ..... no not really, maybe to create cap space, but not as a player, don't forget he doesn't play as well against other teams as he does against the Rockets
Sane - I like 'Sheed (a minority view) but I doubt Portland would do it. If we assume that Stoudamire and Francis are reasonably comparable, why would POR prefer Cato or Mo (they already have Zach) to Rasheed? Especially since POR will be under the cap next summer when Rasheed's contract expires?
