If they were in payroll slashing mode, their best option would be to deal Rasheed. He makes way more money than anybody else on their team and now they have Randolph making a third of his paycheck and doing just as good of a job as Wallace.
What is the difference between Rasheed Wallace, Mo Taylor, and Eddie Griffin. Seriously. All three of them are soft. All three of them come with problems. About the only thing Rasheed has that is different is the ability to hit that little turnaround jumper in the lane like Carmelo. It's a nice shot to have in the clutch. And he does come with a little more credibility on the court, but is he any better than Griffin or Mo Taylor? In my opinion not enough to make a difference. If he ends up on this team we improve slightly. But the benefits are minimal in my opinion.
Rasheed is an intriguing player. He's already proven that he can be a great player. His issues are in his head and with management. Portland has not been a great place to play for quite a while now. If there was a chemistry between Van Gundy and Wallace, where they coule understand each other, then he would be the best person we could get at that position, and add some veteran experience we definitely need. Gater or AElliott, how would the exception work on a trade for Wallace? I know you guys have discussed this in detail, and I still don't quite understand it ... Portland wants the cap room. They would like to get something for Wallace. They aren't going to make a bad deal. They aren't going to take our bad contracts. The other teams that are in negotiations are offering or negotiating on trades like: (1) Jamison/Najera, (2) Jamison/TAW, (3) Nesterovic/Rose/Mercer, (4) Ratliff/Jackson, (5) SAR/Jackson ... I don't see any package that we could give that competes. If they could reduce cap room, and get a couple players with potential, that would seem to be valuable to Portland, since they seem in rebuilding mode. But, I have no idea if that works using the exception we have. For instance, what if we traded for Wallace, giving them Cato, Boki, a draft choice, and the exception? That way they could get a couple players with significant potential AND some cap space. We obviously go well up into luxury tax territory, but we have a team now that can go far into the playoffs. Is that something they would do, or is it something even we COULD do? Gater or AElliott, could you explain the parameters?
What about a 3 way with New Jersey and Portland. Rox send cato/? Nets get cato and ? Nets send martin blazers get martin Blazers send wallace rox get wallace/ Something like that with the trade exception and the other players needed to make it work.
I just realized the rockets could and should if they get off their fat duffs trade for BOTH. I checked realgm and mobley for artest/tinsley/another scrub worked. And I believe that cato plus a chunk of the trade exemption could get wallace,(although I hate his personality,why not go for it if possible) a lineup of : francis artest jackson/pike wallace ming Would be an INSTANT championship contender. I dont understand why people keep saying "we are two years away". Wasnt Horry only 24 and 25 when he won his first 2 rings,and wasnt Cassell only 23 and 24 when he won.Kobe was like 21. Just because Ming is "only" 23 doesnt mean we should relax and stand pat for a few more years till he so called "matures". He already seems to have hit his limit. At age 23 with having his knee feel like "somethings stuck" is not a good sign. A guy that tall will have the same problems as Rik Smits. Better win the ring now before he gets other leg/foot problems. I say go for it. Id be in shock if Artest wasnt on the block after his comments. I want both. The TC would sell out every game and the buzz would be electric for the first time since Mings first few games.
that would be a nice line up...but only if we had a GM that would get up off his a@@ and do something good for this team.
Portland has Zach Randolph -- they don't need K-Mart. They need a center like Ilguaskas or a small forward. Think needs, not necessarily matching salaries.
They are in payroll slashing mode with an emphasis on reducing their long-term salary committments. Rasheed's contract ends after this season. They have no intentions of taking on new contracts that extend beyond this season to replace Rasheed's contract.
You do realize that Hakeem was around 30 when the Rockets won the 1st championship. I sincerely hope you do not think it was because of Robert Horry and Sam Cassell that the Rockets won the championship. That be doing Hakeem a great disservice.
Indiana could probably get a lot more than just Mobley for Artest/Tinsley. Although Artest and the Pacers aren't seeing eye to eye right now, Indy would be stupid to trade Artest/Tinsley for Mobes. I do want to see the Rockets deal with Indy though, they have a lot of young talent that the Rockets could use. Ex: Mobley/Cato/2nd rounder for Tinsley/Artest/Pollard
Just playing here. Cato an MoT for Wallace works on RealGM. Amazingly the points also work out almost exactly even. Also works with the filler of Cato/MoT/Amaechi for Wallace and Travis Outlaw. Amaechi's contract is one year and Outlaw's is for four - their longest contract. Also works, and may be realistic, Cato, Mobley and Amaechi for Wallace. I see Cato and Mobley as good players with reasonable contracts. Legit ballers who are easy to keep or easy to move.
I don't think Portland's priority is the cap room. Instead, they are trying put proven hard working veterans around Zach. Which Rox players fit into that category? However, I'd like to have Rasheed in our lineup for a long term. I think JVG has the ability to control him. If we can trade for him in mid-season, we would have his BIRD right in the off-season. Consider the luxary tax would be gone soon... Les may wanna give him a contract bigger than MLE.
Could someone please post the quotes from Van Gundy praising Rasheed back when he was broadcasting last year? Talked about how Rasheed plays the right way, is unselfish... stressed the unselfish part. I wouldn't be surprised if Rasheed is exactly what VG would want for this team. I think Rasheed would be an almost perfect fit for this team. He is super-energized and is a passionate player, much like Franics and Cat. It's possible he and Yao would be good influences on each other, since they are polar opposites in personality. He's just the right fit on offense- a four who can hit from outside. On defense... man. Our defense is good now, but with him? It would be just sick. I'm not worried about his 'issues' if he comes to Houston. If he comes here, I think he looks at it like a fresh start, and enjoys playing with players who like him and a coach who respects his game. That said, we don't really have any chance to match the offers that Dallas or Spurs are offerring talent wise. I think Portland should just let his huge contract walk and we see if we can pick him up this summer. If he does love Houston, then let's hope we can pick him up this summer.
the only 2 things that would peak portland's interest in trading 'sheed are expiring contracts and draft picks or MAYBE a good player with a decent contract. thought that was known already.
agree if they really are after cap space then he will just walk, sounds like the only way the Balzers deal is for an exception, draft picks or other expiring contracts
Sherlock - Let me do this in three parts because there are several good thoughts occuring simultaneously in this thread. 1) Portland & cap room No argument. Rasheed comes off of the Blazers' books and they have ~$36m committed for 2004-05. If we push the current cap up slightly to say $44m, the Blazers' best estimate (IMO) is $8m to spend in 2004. From this, the very first question confronting the Blazers management is obvious - are the players being placed in front of us for Rasheed equal to or better than any FA player(s) we can get in 2004? (Remember...once they drop below the cap, they lose their MLE). For the sake of brevity, I have seen the 2004 FA crop and I'm relatively unimpressed. And there's no guarantee they can sign the player that they target. IMO, Portland would not turn down a reasonable offer. 2) The Rockets TE As most know, there are basically two exceptions available for the Rockets in any trade scenario...the assigned players exception (APE) and the Rice/Amaechi trade exception (TE). The key point is that both can be used in a trade but they can NOT be combined for one player. IMO, the Blazers would not take Cato and Mobley for Rasheed. But if they would, the TE could be used because Cato and Mobley make roughly $12.7m and Rasheed roughly $16.9m. $4.2m of the TE could be used in this instance. (Note: Only the TE was used, not the APE). BTW, your Boki example does not work capwise because Nachbar's contract is too small. 3) Realistic Rasheed scenarios Beyond the possibility of Rasheed signing as a Rockets MLE FA (not impossible IHMO), here's how I view trading. For the sake of argument, let's assume that Yao and Francis are off of the table. And further, the Blazer have no interest in Cato or Taylor. Pretty safe assumptions IMO because there are a few FA centers available in 2004...Tsakalides, Ostertag and Loren Woods among them. So the Rockets' best trade assets are Mobley, Cato and Taylor. To get Rasheed in a trade, send these players East and be prepared to take a bad contract. My first thoughts were Cato and Taylor to MIL, Piatkowsi to POR, Redd and Kucoc (also expiring in '04) to POR and take back Joe Smith (or Jason Caffey) from the Bucks to balance $. (This doesn't work without fill, but it's close). Can Portland sign 3 players equal to Redd, Kucoc and Piatkowski with $6m-$8m? Maybe, but the Bucks could use a big man and a low post scorer
Why in God's name would any of you want Rasheed Wallace? You're bringing up talent...we all know he's talented. There's no question. But; He's a HEADCASE. He's talented right now, in Portland...which has put up with more stuff from him than most teams would. Why do you think he will suddenly become a different person here? All that talent's nice...if it mattered.
