It's come to this because the FA market is weak, we are over the cap and can only offer the MLE and we have few assets to use in a SnT. As someone said, MJ is the best FA fit for us that will accept the MLE. The idea we are a magnet for FAs is nonsense. When NBA player are UFAs, they go where the money is, simple as that. The idea players don't want to come here is also wrong, I believe. Tim Thomas said all the right things about going back to a perfect situation for him in Phoenix yet he bolted for the money. And we all know how everyone in the NBA would love to play for the Suns. What killed us was blowing the MLE last year on Stro. That was a huge setback. If we could have gotten a starter, or at least a very strong rotation player, the Rockets would be a step closer to having a complete team. I ranted enough about this last summer but not getting our taller SG was just plain dumb! So, the issue is Rox management has made some serious mistakes since getting Tracy. 51-31 was nice but the key players signed for that stretch (Wesley, Sura, Jon Barry) are all out to pasture. Seems like the only asset we have accumulated is Luther.
I am trying to convince myself that even if Mike James doesn't sign with Rockets, it is not that bad. At least it will give more chances to our Rookies to show how good they are. This will also help Rockets in the future. Who knows, Novak may do wonder and don't forget Rockets still have Head.
Im sick of the people calling Battier just an "average" player, and that we could of gotten more. Swift had absolutely zero trade value, and was a horrible signing by the Rockets last year. His athleticism is off the charts, but unfortunately he doesnt have a clue what to do on the court. I think he has been given his fair share of time in the NBA for people to realize that he ISNT going to live up to his potential. As for Gay, he again has alot of upside, but nobody knows for sure if he will ever live up to that hype. Even if Gay lives up to the hype he is atleast a few years away. I think people need to stop callling Gay the next Tmac,Kobe,Lebron, or Wade as those players only come every so often.
If I was a betting man (which I am), them my money is that James announces real soon today. In fact he is probably already in the city, he is choosing. Why you ask? Because he seeks the limelight, the podium to announce his intentions to the world. Tomorrow he will play second fiddle to lebron, Wade and everybody else. Today is Mike James days, so hopefuly this circus will end, and we can stop monitoring the news wire every 5 minutes.
I like MJ and want him back, but I agree that it's sort of embarrassing for the Rockets to have crawl back to him like this to the point where it's almost too much. What makes it worse is that this could have been avoided had they not traded him for Rafer Freaking Alston last season - who was about as far back in Toronto's doghouse as possible, and had the trade value of a bag of dirty laundry. Rafer Freaking Alston was there for the taking either at midseason or this offseason at the cost of what...a second round pick maybe? The market for Rafer Alston was so high they had to give up James for him? What? What? What? What? What? What?
What else do we have to talk about? There have been only two posible discussions. 1. Gay/Battier trade 2. Mike James Actually the summer league has been my favorite discussion.
I will be surprised if MJ plays for Rockets again. Even James signs with the Rockets, he will be traded away soon. Rockets made stupid trades and they will make them again.
Stop with the "Swift as zero trade value" non sense. Decent big men will always value in this league as long as he doen't have a terrible (i.e. Juawan Howard). Stro has a couple of things going for him....1) age...26 years old 2) decent stats for the minutes he plays 3) decent contract...3yrs left at MLE money. Just cause he didn't work out the way Houston thought he would doesn't mean the league thinks he should be bannished to the CBA. He's worth at least a late 1st or a 2nd round pick
Ya, I agree with some posts here - FAs aren't going to go to a team that would offer them millions less - unless they fit the "last shot" aging veteran dream to win a championship role. When you have two max contract type of guys there is a reason you only get the scrubs. Look at the Lakers with Kobe & Shaq - everyone wanted to play with them, but the only two free agents of note who ever actually signed with them was over the hill Malone & Payton. The Rockets are actually in a better position financially than those Lakers teams where - look who their role players were! I'll take Battier or Rafer over Fisher and Devon George. Hell, I'll take Battier & Rafer over the older versions of Malone & Payton. I think the Rockets are looking to bring back James mostly for his three point shooting. The situation in Houston is different than when we shipped James off last year. Yao went from "on the verge" skillwise (but needing the ball more) to a real legit superstar. Ming learned how to stay out of foul trouble and how to attack defenses and as a result, teams are being forced to double and tripple team him more. This changed the way Houston's role players were asked to play and as it happens we didn't have the skill set to match that. James brings us that outside shooting touch we missed last year and also the added bonus of having a legit scoring threat on those days that Tmac's back is bothering him and they want to rest him. James makes absolute sense here and I think the Rockets are smart to be pursuing him with the mid level. If they can find a way to score him at the MLE for 3 years with a team option on the 4th, I think it's an absolute victory.
I liked the trade last year. I bought into all the "TMac and MJ don't get along" nonsense. Now I know that was hogwash and I realize we need someone who actually CARES when we lose. It's ironic, the 2 big moves we made last year (Swift signing & MJ trade) were so HORRIBLE that we've already corrected one and are now trying to correct the other just one year later. I can't remember this happening to any other team.
I don’t know if it’s as much the Rockets management that are pathetically begging James to come back as much as it is the fans that seem to be most desperate for James to come back. The Rockets seem to be dead set on giving James no more than a 3-year deal for the MLE. If they really were desperate for James to come back, they would have offered him a 5-year deal already. Maybe they just don’t covet him as much as most here do and have other players that they like just as much as James. You never know with this management. Everybody here thought for sure that the Rockets would give up a right arm for a chance to draft Rudy Gay, when in reality they didn't want anything to do with him.
I never really bought into that either, but last season it seemed to be a decent list of free agents that could have helped the rockets. now maybe the rockets didn't have the budget, but it just seems to me that no one was even interested. and I would think there would be at least some, not just because of yao and mcgrady, but houston is magnet for pro athletes as far as a place to live.
we don't want to negotiate with anyone else because we don't want to make him think that we really don't want him. we dont' just like him. we like him like him.
All we needed to do was let the Raptor's season start going down the tubes, and they'd be ready to dump Rafer for Moochie's expiring contract, straight up. Or at worse along with a 2nd round pick. Sigh. And now this Gay+Stro for Battier trade. Rox management really has no concept of buying low.
Okay, JB retired and Sura is injured (any update on his status?), but is Wesley really out to pasture? Any use to the Rockets as a backup?
If Mike James signs with Houston, that would even be more surreal and astonishing to me than if he does not sign. I say this because it just seems like in the last 12 months Houston and Houston sports team have been going through some weird things lately - things we thought were no brainers (Reggie Bush/Vince Young and Rudy Gay) took suprisingly different directions. So for now, I already expect Mike to announce that he is signing with Minny, or Dallas or retiring before signing with Houston. Today and 'morrow will be very interesting to keep an eye as things unfold.
Someone called into SR610 this morning saying the exact same thing. He was talking about how Houston sports is just cursed, mainly this year. Yeah we had a World Series, but look how that turned out. I just keep holding out hope that Rudy Gay will not be all he is being cracked up to be, (I don't think he will be GREAT....good maybe, but not great) and that hopefully Tracy will be healthy this year. The key to our season is not Mike James, it is the health of our two stars. Whether or not Mike signs is NOT the key to our season. It's the health of the players we have.
