According to this article, SAR is willing to sign for the Nets $4.9 million trade exception. If that's all he wants, then why aren't we making a run at him? I'd think that a chance to play with Yao/T-Mac/JVG would be able to beat Kidd/VC/Jefferson any day of the week & twice on Sunday. Unless, JVG has given CD a direct order to get Swift, we'd be foolish to not at least make a run at him. Especially at that price. http://www.nypost.com/sports/nets/49812.htm JERSEY SCORES ON SHAREEF TOUR By FRED KERBER July 9, 2005 -- The Nets wanted to impress Shareef Abdur-Rahim on his two-day tour of New Jersey. It certainly sounds like they succeeded. "It went real well, I thought," Abdur-Rahim said yesterday after returning home to Atlanta, where he claimed he hopes to have a decision by the end of the week. "Everyone was so nice, and the area was great. We saw homes and schools. I had no idea New Jersey was so nice. "Not to prolong it, but I have to talk to my agent [Aaron Goodwin] and just see what my options are," added Abdur-Rahim, who stressed the best part about New Jersey may be "Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, [Nenad] Krstic and Twin [Jason Collins]. It is a great opportunity for me." Abdur-Rahim, the 6-9 free-agent power forward who is the hub of the Nets' offseason plans, acknowledged he has not visited anywhere else — trips to Sacramento and Miami are planned and the Heat are "very appealing." The Nets prefer to use their $4.9 million trade exception in a sign and trade with Portland to obtain Abdur-Rahim, a 19.8 career scorer. Team president Rod Thorn admitted, "We've had conversations" with the Blazers, who would likely get a draft pick and some money in the deal. Portland is said to not want players back, which gives the Nets, with their trade exception, a bit of an edge in sign-and-trade scenarios. The Nets also have the mid-level exception, valued at $4.9 million, but they want that for other signings. Once Abdur-Rahim, 28, is in the fold, Miami free- agent guard Keyon Dooling is expected to follow. Washington, Sacramento and Miami are considered the top competition for the Nets, while some reports say Milwaukee is preparing an offer. But Abdur-Rahim made one statement that should soothe the Nets. "It's not a monetary thing," he said.
It might be because JVG and the coaching staff feel he won't be everything they need on the team. He might be able to score but his defense is not all that great and he's just a decent rebounder. He is more of a score first PF so thats why they probably aren't going after him that hard. Might just not fit the system.
It baffles me why he didn't get the tour Swift got, just baffling. I don't know if their is bad blood between agents/coaches/players, but why the extensive contact with Swift, Walker and DM but not SAR is confusing? I'd love to say this is because we are 99% sure we can land Swift or Walker (maybe Walker is in the bag if Swift goes elsewhere). Something has to up for us to not have brought him here or for him to decline coming here for a visit, maybe someone with some inside insight can let as know. Forget the arguments like SAR isn't a winner, has weakness, etc, as this is true for all the PFs we are looking at. In fact I'd argue SAR has fewer warts/questions than Swift/Walker. SAR and DM are the most rounded of the these guys, and SAR has DM by 3-4 years and a lot of athleticsm.
If I'm not mistaken, CD has passed up on opportunities to get SAR on more than one occasion. Maybe, he's just not a fan of his game.
First off a sign and trade starting at 4.9 million is more than the MLE because SAR would be signed as Portland's own FA, so he can be given 10% raises instead of 8%, and he can sign for 6 years instead of 5. Full MLE = 5 years 29-32 million, sign and trade for the TE = 6 years 37-41 million. Secondly it's obvious that SAR has never been on CD and JVG's radar. Maybe they feel he is just a duplication of Juwan, or some other reason that they don't like him. But we haven't heard any interest on either side of SAR coming here.
I believe SAR is a better rebounder than Swift. He's done it longer & has consistently put up great numbers. Swift has been sporadic at best. I agree that SAR doesn't play very good defense, but our help defense should compensate for a lot of that. I understand from Doc Rocket's comments, that JVG wants Swift & I can live with that, but is Swift worth $3-4 million more per year? I'm sorry, but I can't see it.
Hey, if my life raft is Swift or Walker I am way cool with that (I am feeling much better from the Doc post about Swift). Like I said I think all these guys have some warts.
If SAR signs somewhere for the MLE, this will be best news of the day for Rockets fans... Why? It means that a better, more skilled, more polished PF (right now) was signed for the exact offer that we made to Swift. Our "crumbs" of an offer just turned into the entire slice if you follow me.
SAR and Coach Frank are tight, from a long way back. Big plus. Note, this 'report' is offering possibilities not factual deals.
I can't believe this. CD is looking heavily at Walker but won't even try a hand at SAR? What's so special about Walker? He's got an inconsistent three point shot, a ball-hogging attitude, and has never really stood out as a hardworker. We should at least be weighing our options here.
My guess is CD and JVG know that SAR is not the complementary player that we need next to Yao. SAR vs Swift straight up, I'd pick SAR. Swift is another bust/bad contract waiting to happen. But, from a team perspective, a Swift-type player (young, athletic, rebounder) would work under JVG's system with Yao manning the middle. Personally, I'd prefer Tyson Chandler over Swift any day of the week. But, realistically, we don't have a chance with Chandler. The Bulls won't let him go. I would prefer that we don't sign Swift, but make a trade with NO for PJ Brown. I think Swift will go for the money and sign with NO, and with Chris Anderson set to resign with NO, PJ Brown will be available for possibly David Wesley and cap filler like Moochie.
p.j. brown looks like a bust. as tall as he is he should have more rebounds than that. not to mention swift has matched brown's scoring with 10 min. less playing time.
A bust? He's a well-respected, 35-year-old veteran who's had a very good career, especially for a second rounder. He gets paid a lot of money though. Still, he probably has one good season left in him. If we totally strike out in free agency, we should consider him as an option.
Only in the scoring and shot blocking department. Brown's NEVER had a year where he averaged fewer rebounds per game, or rebounds/48 than Swift. Last year, at 35, he averaged 9 rebounds per game, so I'm not sure where your "he should have more rebounds" comment came from. P.J. would be the perfect fit if it weren't for his age. In fact, it's probably a safe bet that he'd probably have a better season, and be a better fit, for us next year than Stro would. He just wouldn't be a long term solution. But again, he'd be a decent fall back. Hell, especially if NO ends up signing Stromile.
Swift has been nothing but over-rated. The man hasn't done anything his whole career, and has the nerve to blatantly say that it's all about the money. I really like Abdur Rahim's attitude, and he also has great game. He has all of the versatility in a power forward that you can ask for. Yes, it's true that he can't bang, but can Swift? Not really. We should atleast look at SAR.
its not looking like SAR wants to play with rox. and i still think swift will fulfill his roll nicely.
By roll, did you mean "fat roll" after someone overpays him? It's time that teams start becoming responsible with how much they're paying these players. Stromile, IMO, is an MLE level player at this stage. Plus, there's no guarantees anymore after a player's contract ends, they just move on to the next team who overpays. Look at Hughes and Simmons.
