Barry chooses Spurs over Blazers; Rockets were pursuing Daniels?

I am kind of glad Barry signed with the spurs. I like his game, but I didn't like the idea of giving him that fourth year. I just never felt like he was the type of player we should make such a big commitment to.

There are still some servicable guards available. I just don't see a need to jump into the free agent market and overpay for a hot name.

 

Bingo!!! I will say I was a bit excited at the thought of a tall backcourt and the additional 3pt threat. However; I have to believe that if Barry were really our man, CD would have made it happen. They must not have been as hot on him as we thought. I have faith in CD that he'll bring in folks that can get it done and won't break the bank.

 

Yeah I think CD and JVG are laying in the weeds waiting for all the free agent dust to settle and are going to try and pick up a good role player at a fair price. JVG has already stated he wants to find smart role players that he can put in place around our two stars. If we can get someone almost as valuable as Jim Jackson was last year, then I think we will have done well.

 

Yep...with all this T-Mac hype, it's easy to forget about Jim Jackson, do you think he'll start?

 

muahh i'm just so glad

 

I think it really depends on what other moves the Rockets make. If we were go into training camp with the players we have now, I would think the starting job would go to either him or Nachbar. Not sold on Nachbar yet, he still has a lot to prove, so I would lean towards Jackson.

 

I also think one of our forwards will be gone. Padgett, Spoon, Mo-T, and now Howard..it's kinda clogged up. JVG like Padgett because of his versatility, Spoon played great last year (needs to get in better shape), Howard will most likely start, that leaves Mo-T as the odd man out I believe. Any thoughts?

 

The PF position is the hardest to forecast what is going to happen with. If they had an opportunity to move one of those guys for a player at a position that they are weaker at, I think they would do it. Hard to say which one would go, but I agree that MoT would be the one probably be the odd man out.

 

JVG said he wanted to surround Yao and McGrady with players like JJ. Someone who will give you value for the money your paying. Most of the people on this board have complained about some of the bad contract we have given in the past. Why would anyone want to see Brent Barry with a 4 year deal? When you combine Barry’s age with the fact that JVG likes intense practices, and a lot of them, it makes for a bad combination. Barry would more than likely last 2 years before he became a regular on the injured reserve list.

 

I'm feeling better all the time about Barry going to SA!!! It sure has been quiet though...on the Rockets management side. I also wonder what they have in store for A. Griffin and Pike. I'm assuming Wilks and M. Jackson will be gone. Pike probably stays, maybe A. Griffin if his health holds.

 

Padgett isnt signed...we would have to sign him first. Pike is signed...and not to a huge contract so he would be wasteful to trade. They NEED to trade MoT or Spoon. MoT has more trade value b/c he is a good scorer. Spoon and his contract make him untradeable unless you are getting rid of Moochie like we did. If they don't trade one of those two, I don't think we are going anywhere this year, just not the right of mix of players.

 

I was looking forward to seeing Brent Barry join our backcourt, but I'm not sorry we didn't sign him. Crazy money's being thrown around this offseason, and I'm glad we haven't joined in so far. We'll be thankful we stayed put in free agency a couple years from now when teams like Utah, Phoenix and others are regret their decisions. As far as I'm concerned, the only things that matter are we got T-Mac and Shaq's headed to Miami. If Rudy T can turn the Lakers into championship contenders, I'll be happy for him, but the Lakers without Shaq should not be better than us, and we should be in a better position to recruit talented PFs.

For Barry, I think San Antonio's a good place for him. His contract will last through Duncan's prime and the Spurs' most competitive years. He's the second or third guard on a mature team. The Spurs are a nice bunch, San Antonio's a nice town, and Texas has nice weather and no state income tax. I wish him well, and I look forward to a good old-fashioned rivalry with San Antonio over the next half-decade.

Give Charlie Ward a two-year deal at the minimum. I can live with Ward and Lue at the point this year. I wouldn't mind Fisher, but not if he's wanting crazy money like all the other free agents this year. Let's not forget that everything hangs on T-Mac and Yao. Their development and chemistry is all that really matters. We have a lot of time - let's be patient and get the right role players at the right price. And I have full faith that we will get them in time.

 

Good!

Daniels was much, much more effective at the 1 spot for the Sonics last year.

That's why they played him there and not Barry.

 

Whomever we get for the PG spot (I was thinking about Antonio Daniels, so I'm not surprised he was/is our targeted player), we do have Vassilis Whatshisnameous who could be a strong sleeper pick, perhaps joining the Rocks after a year overseas.

Antonio Daniels makes great sense, and Damon Jones, although lacking defense, would be great to have around here.

My only "worry" is that the Rockets' management is getting cheap on us. TMac and Yao will put a lot of fans in the seats, generate a lot of excitement. That means $$$.

I know these contracts we're seeing this summer are outrageous, but Utah just vaulted back into contention, Denver's not looking too bad, Portland will have a full year under the same group, etc etc.

 

Man, I like that Antonio Daniels cat.......he can play. Needs to mature a bit, but I'll take him over Fisher, Barry, Childs, Snow, etc.

 

The Sonics were 30-29 in the games Barry played and 7-16 in the games he missed.

That really supports your statement.

 

It's not necessarily about management getting "cheap" on us, but the organization needs to make smart decisions regarding the salary cap. A good bit of space on the BBS server is dedicated to posts lamenting the numerous bad contracts the Rockets always seem to be stuck with. Maybe we're finally wising up with a focus on value (i.e. Patriots, Pistons). SA, as much as I hate to admit it, has done a fine job of managing their cap spce over the last 5-6 years (Rose has been their only big mistake), and that's why they continue to have flexibility every offseason to tweak their roster. We're gonna be committing to building around 2 max-type players in T-Mac & Yao, so it will serve us well to sign cap-friendly contracts with players that fit into our system (i.e. JJ) and then tinker with things as need be.

 

the thing about the 'value' JVG stated with JJ is that it's reaaaaallly hard to find a JJ type player...playing for JJ type money. I really thought we got a steal when we signed him and he proved that in the season/playoffs. But this year, I don't see any potential steals other than Fisher, Hudson, or Jones.

But right now with everyone from Steve Nash all the way down to Adonyl Foyle getting rich, long term contracts, maybe Fish and Hudson will be tempted to go to Atlanta when they still have a buttload of caproom.

 

Let's be honest, the only way we were able to get JJ last year is that the Kings made that deal to get Brad Miller and thus didnt want to pay to keep JJ. If the Kings hadnt gotten Miller, which was an amazing trade for them, then they would have picked JJ back up.

The Rockets basically lucked out by waiting around and got a player that was available because he was SQUEEZED out of a situation.

Perhaps that's what they are doing this year. Wait until all the trades die down and then swoop in with the MLE to offer a player that is hanging around. Or perhaps use their T.E. for players that dont fit other teams long range plans.

Will we be lucky to be put in that position again this year? Only time will tell.

 

I think we'll end up signing one of the 3 PGs and going with what we have.

I honestly think that if we don't sign a back up center, Howard or Weatherspoon will slide over to the 5 spot whenever Yao needs a rest. As much as that idea hurts me like the idea of Rodrick Rhodes getting onto the courts, it's better than overpaying some stiff just to play 10-15 minutes