Hey, I've been a Reggie Evans fan for years (notwithstanding the groin grab incident). He's an effective rebounder and a hustle player. I only suggested Van Horn as a "good shooting PF" that JVG had said he wanted to add to the Rockets.
I agree that no way is Battier the starting PF. He's could very well play crunch time minutes, but I highly doubt JVG will start him at PF. And Drew Gooden is Stromile with ADD. Savor that concept for a second.
I was thinking the same thing. I would really like to see the Rox upgrade at the 4. If he would be willing to sign with the Rockets for the league vet minimum, I dont see why the Rox shouldnt sign him up. Does anyone know how much Cato was making last year with Detroit? If we did sign him and he does well and loses some weight after training camp, I am all for having him start at the 4 with hayes backing him up. James/Alston/? TMac/Head/Frahm Battier/Novak/Bogans Cato/Hayes/Howard Yao/Mutombo That leaves two of the three inactive reserve slots that we could use for a couple of solid summer league contributors if we cannot pick up any other players through regular free agency.
I agree, I don't understand the whole "we need a PF who can shoot" logic. I think we need a PF who can rebound and play defense and keep Yao out of foul trouble. I don't care if he can shoot or not. It shouldn't be his job. Can't we just clone Otis Thorpe circa 1994? That's the kind of PF we need. I just don't know if there are any more players like that in the league these days.
IF I had to bet, I'd say that our PF situation will not be addressed in the offseason. The way i figure it: Howard Battier (for stretches) Hayes Novak Some sort of rotation of those 4 players will be holding down the PF position this year. Indeed, if we do aquire another player, in addition to Mike James, I think it will most likely be a long SG, not a PF. Personally, I wish we could address our PF situation, but the signing of Hayes, the drafting of Novak, and the refusal to deal Howard speak volumes. Agree?
I think you are right Aruba77. Who do you think can be a option as a long SG with only the MLE and the 2 TE's?
Assuming we sign James, I see our lineup like this: PG: James/Alston SG: McGrady/Head SF: Battier/Novak PF: Howard/Hayes C: Yao/Mutumbo The weak links there are Head, Novak, Hayes, and Howard - not that they're bad, but you'd like to do better. Since two of those weak links are both at PF, I think upgrading at PF is the pressing need. Yeah, there will be times where Battier will be the right choice at PF (like against PHX), but those times won't come often. We still need some power at PF.
There was arumor going around that the reason we lost to the Mavs last season was because KVH got injured...
I think we've got to pull a SAT with Toronto for James, using our TE, and possibly even Luther Head. Then, I think we need to go after Wells with the MLE. Stevenson is a good backup option, but the only good thing about his game is his defense (in my opinion). Also, for the record, I don't think Bogans played that bad for us last year. Sure he can't shoot, but he does all the other things reasonably well.
Aruba, I would be very happy to have Bonzi with the MLE but not only is it unlikely but if James does sign with the TE do you think there will be enough shots for them because they both love to score.
No, he has not in the past and will not next season. I'll be looking forward to opening day then. Since you aren't giving me a $1000, just write a 5 line ode to me in your signature.
Could Troy Murphy (BYC player) in theory be traded for using the 4.2TE? From my understanding current BYC contracts will lose that status come July 12th. For e.g if Rockets used the 4.2 TE on Battier (also BYC) instead of Swift it could be approved by the league and announced by both teams today instead of July 12th? I undestand free-agent signings can't begin until the 12th but BYC players are under contract players and be moved before then, e.g Toronto and their recent trades before and after draft day. Can someone clarify this for me?
You can't use the TE in any of these deals. The player's salary has to "fit" in under the TE. It's not possible to add the TE to some other person's salary. So unless you're targetting some other player (like Peitrus or somebody making less than 4.2 mill) with the TE in a larger deal, no it wouldn't work.
Yes, but as a BYC player Murphy's 8.28million contract is only worth half of what it really is in a trade, ie under 4.2million?
The BYC happens on their end in terms of how much they can take back. But the TE is on our end in terms of how much we can accept. The thing with these deals is that they need to work for both sides in order to go through.
