I have a feeling that Wesley will not be traded. His shot is going in and he is playing pretty well. I would be all for bringing him back next year if he accepts considerably less than what he is making now. He would be a great sharp shooter off the bench. I wouldn't trade Howard unless we received a dependable scorer. Right now Howard is our 3rd scoring option and we can't afford to replace him with complimentary players who have marginal offensive games. If something happens to our stars we need players who can pick up the slack.
I say we keep what we have and ride out the season. Yao will be back vs Miami and Sura should be back on march 1st so I say stay pat and make our run with what we have. Go Rockets!!!
Good post as usual, thacabbage. I agree in principal but IMO we need a big 2 if we are going to trade Wesley. Luther Head is better suited coming off the bench, and he plays actually smaller than Wesley anyway. I could live with Hayes, Baxter and Swift as our 4's so trade Howard if you get almost the same value back with a better contract. So Howard AND/OR Wesley for an upper echelon 2 guard. I would do that. Stephen Jackson could be one target. However, always when he is mentioned, somebody knocks his character. Where is it based on? I know about the brawl, but I'm not concerned about that. One player I would like to have as a big two, is Mickael Pietrus. Anybody know about his availability? They have J-Rich locked for a decade at his position so I guess Pietrus(+fillers) could be had for something we can offer ?
I don’t see Wesley having much of a future with this team after this season. We’re going to have to find ourselves a bigger, younger, more talented starting shooting guard in the summer. Head is probably going to get the bulk of his minutes playing backup at the 2. If Wesley sticks around next year, he’s only going to be cutting in on Luther’s minutes, which is not good for us long term. If we could get anything of decent value for him (a draft pick, a young player to come off the bench, or a backup point guard since we really don’t have a legit backup to Alston), I would move him. Unless you think we have a legitimate shot at winning the title this year and trading someone like Wesley is somehow going to jeopardize that, I don’t really see any reason not to shop him around.
The reality is that the Rockets will probably keep Wesley and Moochie so that their contracts expire, keeping Les under the luxury tax next year. Yao's extension kicks in next year, so if we don't get the space from these expiring contracts, Les will have to pay the dollar for dollar tax. So if we trade Wesley for another player making $5 million per year on a long term deal, that player will cost Les $10 million per year. More realistic would be trading Swift or Howard for another player making a comparable salary.
People got fussed about Mike James shots, S-Jax would push them over the edge. Pietrus has the talent and type of contract GSW do not want to give up because of all their large contracts.
I still think that Chandler/Duhon would be the missing pieces toward a championship. With Howard and Head's value high, and Wesley's too, and with our draft pick possibly a lottery pick, we actually might be able to make a trade. Chicago just has so many rookies, and Chandler hasn't stepped up to the table for them at center, and his value is at an all-time low with that big contract. But, I don't believe he is being utilized properly. What I love about Chandler, is that he can literally play 4 positions, and he can be a rebounding monster we really need. Duhon could play at either the 1 or the 2, and both players have high basketball IQ's fitting this team. Howard is a local legend in CHI, and Head is from that area too, which would sell tickets, which is needed with them playing at the bottom of the pack. Howard is very active socially there, and could give them a veteran presence at a descent price, and much needed stability. He would strengthen that position. CHI get's 2 starters from a top 4 Western Conference team when we were healthy, and a rookie on the rise, while only unloading bench players, albeit younger players with potential. They need some veteran balance and professionalism, if they are going to go forward at this stage, and the fans are getting antsy. The problem, is that Chandler's contract is BYC, so it get's sticky for a trade, and other players have to be added to make it work. But, according to RealGM, we could make the following trade. Howard/Wesley/Norris/Sura/Head for Chandler/Allen/Duhon/Nocioni/Piatkowski. We would need to add this year's draft pick, IMO. But, I'd rather get some players who already have 2-4 years experience, rather than keep a pick for a player who wouldn't get much playing time, and I think we'd have to sweeten the deal. Throw in another million of cash, whatever we have to do to get younger building blocks to surround TMac and Yao. We could then cut Piatkowski or Allen, and let one of them resign with CHI, and they could cut Sura, and let him resign with us. Our team would be: Yao/Deke/(Chandler) Hayes/Swift/(Chandler)/Baxter/Allen TMac/Nocioni/(Chandler)/Barry/Bowen Anderson/Chandler/Sura/(Duhon) Alston/Duhon/Lucas We could then cut either Baxter, Allen, Bowen or Sura might retire. We get younger, much deeper, smarter, and injuries become much less of a factor in our run toward a championship.
You're probably right. No calvalry over the hill, guys. Just us and these indians. That just reinforces the value of a lotto player. We really need to tank, if we want another real talent on the team. We'd be smart to do it, especially with Tmac's back. This is the year to do it.
And when they do, we should trade him to Miami. Remember last time Pat Riley was their coach? They traded away all their young talent for old fogies to make "one last run." We can trade wesley for a draft pick or wayne simien.
6 months ago I would have been right with you about Chandler. But he's been playing like utter shyte this year, gets into a lot of foul trouble, and is still battling chronic back troubles. And the last thing we need is to get another player with back troubles next to Mcgrady.
And I bet the Rockets give Wesley a one year deal next year about the size they gave Barry this year.
