How about Marcus Camby. With all his ties to JVG, and coming off a great (healthy) year, he was a big reason Denver made it into the playoffs. You know JVG loves that NY connection.
His Gonna Want alot of Cash!. he had a pretty good year!. if JVG can convince him to take less, then he'll be a very handy pickup Indeed!
While I think the Rocks will sign a backup center, if worse came to worst, Howard can play the position. He was a center in college and has backed up center in the NBA. Cato, our former starting pf, is a better defensive center than Howard. Howard, probably our future starting pf, is a much better offensive player. I think that right at this moment, we are better off at the backup center position.
Foyle would be nice. Howard played center when he was with the Nuggets. He's not very effective there but can play that position. Not much else out there that the Rockets can afford. Or bring back Kevin Willis!
Unfortunately, I think Foyle will be out of our price range. A number of teams are looking at centers, Phoenix, Utah, Atlanta etc and all of them are way under the cap. Foyle probably will be a big target for those teams. I feel Foyle will get a contract slightly above the MLE. Usually "bigs" get contracts much higher than their worth. Just how it is in the NBA. I also see Okur, Swift and Camby out of our price range (MLE monies). Guys like Etan Thomas, Ostertag and Skinner seem like guys we might be able to get with a PORTION (not all) of our MLE. They aren't "sexy", but they can provide decent minutes while Yao is on the bench.
Camby is great. But he will demand a lot of money which Houston does not have. Unless a S'n'T with Denver ...
That's just stupid. He can barely play an effective defensive 4. He may have played a few minutes at center when a team was trying to go small but there is no way he can be the back up center.
Foyle and Blount would both be solid pick ups. David Aldridge has posted his free agency preview, and he says that Foyle will get most, if not all the MLE, while Blount will get about half of that. I'd be extremely happy if we could bring in Blount and Fisher (who DA thinks we'll land) and still have the TE left over. Unlikely, but possible.
Rummor is Philly is After Blount. But you never know, We might be able to convince him to come here. You know the Temptation to Play with Yao and Tracy might do the Trick!
Blount wants to go to a team where he can be a starter. Ditto for Foyle, especially considering that he can't play any PF and would only get 15 minutes per night backing up Yao. I say Principle Skinner... Or, if CD wants to gamble, offer the full MLE to Stromile Swift.
Guys I think we need to spend a little more for a back up Center than most people are budgeting. Our team is very, very Yao dependent and oversized human beings are very susceptable to foot and knee injuries. We need to have a back-up center that is capable of carrying the load for 20-25 games a year. It is just reasonable level of insurance. And if we spend a lot of cash for a fairly skilled C, he could also give Yao 20 minutes off a night greatly increasing his stamina at crunch time and into the playoffs. If that means we have to spend a little less at the PG, so be it
I don't know how a guy who put up 3 & 4 while playing in about half his teams games expects to get a full MLE. In fact his best season Foyle didn't break the 6PPG barrier. He is a backup all the way and one with the most extreme offensive limitations. I expect Foyle will get offered starting at the 1.7 mil exemption in upwards of half the MLE (2.5mill) for any kind of deal 3 years or more. I like him, as a 15MPG defensive sub and paid accordingly.
MLE or TE (though I guess Denver doesn't need it) for Camby would be ideal. I really like defensive guys who can play the 4 or 5 to gives us more flexibility. That shoots Camby, Swift and E Thomas to the top of our list (using TE or MLE). Etan is probably the most realistic, we probably want to negotiate with Washington using our TE since he is a restricted FA, but perhaps they would not match a 4 year full MLE if we have to force their hand. It would make a lot of sense for Wash work with us (say TE and 06 1st rounder), they are trying to drop salary and have Kwame, Haywood and Jamison for the 4 & 5 spots. (further, they have Ramos and Jeffries as prospects) If you can't get the above, look for some vet with the 1.7 exception--Foyle, Skinner, Divac, Clarke or Ostertag. Foyle, Skinner or yes, Ostertag, might be worth breaking into the MLE for if it looks like that is what the market demands, but again at most 1/2 of it. Przybilla, Corie Blount or Scott Williams you could sign as a 3rd stringer emergency player for the vet min. Centers (who can't play the 4 much) looking to start, and with teams that will pay to start them, e.g., Dampier, & Mark Blount, just don't make sense for those players or the Rockets. Nor does Okur, because he will get starter money, can't play d worth a lick, and is redudent with Mo/Howard
