[Denver Post] Rockets Still interested in Wells...

I've already discussed ad nauseum why it was a horrible trade. Personally, I think he will fit in great with the team, but that still doesn't justify the trade. For all of his supposed intangible "greatness", he's been pretty insignificant during his postseason career and wasn't exactly a defensive specialist against Dirk last year. He'll fit in great, hit 3's, play hard, be a fan favorite, but he's inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. If McGrady is healthy, he'll make Battier look good and it will be irrelevant.

LOL. When did I say I don't support Battier? Exaggerate much?

I'm not passing judgment on his performance as a Rocket. I'm passing judgment on the trade from what I know. We were absolutely robbed.

Young players like....Rudy Gay? Sorry, but guys like Snyder and JL3 don't have much upside to begin with so don't hold your breath on them "growing." The transition process which you speak of that T-Mac/Yao would have made easier fits Rudy Gay so perfectly that the irony in your post hurts.

Are you kidding me? A net negative in the "long run"? "Development of younger guys"? "Ruining team chemistry"? WTF? There is no long run - that was the point of the Battier trade. There are no younger guys - that was the point of the Battier trade. There is no team chemistry - we haven't been out of the 1st round in a decade.

We don't have the luxury of being able to play it safe because quite frankly we sold our future and absolutely have to win now.

 

We were 20th in offense in 04/05, where Tmac and Yao missed about five games combined and our role players were lights out from 3. We were 25th the year before that and 25th again the year before that. The fact that we haven't gotten out of the bottom third of offensive ranking for half a decade speaks more than any your above points. All the detailed statistics in the world won't change the fact that some teams have an identity; ours isn't an offensive one.

Detroit plays a slow pace yet scores much more than us. Charlotte lost Knight, Wallace, May, and Okafor to significant injuries simultaneously,playing with a roster that makes our bench look like all-stars, and they still scored better than us. We're 2nd to last in the league and you want to ask why? Because we suck on offense, that's why. We'll continue to suck unless our team philosophy changes. That's something Bonzi's going to have to consider, whether you like it or not. How well do you want the author to explain that Wells won't score much here?

The irony in all this? You criticize the author for writing a poor article, but you suggest that he should have gone into great detail about the rockets offense in a short article about...Bonzi Wells' options. Man, I'd hate to see the kind of tangents you'd go on in a term paper about a broader subject, like say, terrorism.

 

what does guaranteed years have to do with option years. they are two different animals. Guaranteed yrs simply mean if a team waives a player, they still have to pay him. SnT's 1st yr is guaranteed for lack of skill. This has nothing to do with option yrs.

read the real text from the cba. Article VII, Section 8 (e).
<i>(1) A Veteran Free Agent and his Prior Team may enter into a Player Contract pursuant to an agreement between the Prior Team and another Team concerning the signing and subsequent trade of such Contract, but only if (i) <b>the Contract is for three (3) or more Seasons (excluding any Option Year),</b> (ii) the Contract is not signed pursuant to the Mid-Level Salary Exception or the Disabled Player Exception, (iii) <b>the first Season of the Contract is fully protected for lack of skill</b>, and (iv) the acquiring Team has Room for the player’s Salary plus any Unlikely Bonuses provided for in the first Season of the Contract.</i>

 

You make a good point about the lack of offense, but you have to keep in mind that for the last three years the team has had JVG as coach. The man is good in defensive philosophy, but he is not exactly known for his offensive doctrine. Getting wells would be great, but that alone will not necessarily translate to more points, but merely redistribute the shot allotment from players other than Yao and T-Mac.

 

Agreed and stand corrected. And IMHO, since the Kings have Full Bird Rights to Wells then the raises will be 10.5% vs 8% for someones MLE.

TE
Yr 1 - $4.3M
Yr 2 - $4.8M
Yr 3 - $5.2M
TOT = $14.3M

$5.2M MLE
Yr 1 - $5.2M
Yr 2 - $5.68M
Yr 3 - $6.0M
TOT = $16.85M

Afterthought...1 year deal with the Bobcats makes the most sense for Wells.

 

First of all, you bascially proved my first point right by going into so much detail yourself regarding our past 5 seasons. I'd MUCH rather be ranked 20-25 instead of second to last in scoring. Marginal or not, I'd say that CAN BE the difference of between being 52-30 or 42-42, but hec, that's just me... And why were we ranked second to last? INJURIES to the aformentioned, which failed to be even vaguely mentioned in the article I attacked. As a sportswriter, hmmm, I may want to include that little point, just a thought...

Secondly, as to the "slow pace" team (Detroit) I was referring to, references back to the original article yet again based on his assumption that that JVG's kind of "slow pace" style simply does not work anymore, meaning, it doesn't translate into victories. The article again fails to mention the "recent" success of teams such as SA and Detroit which utilize similiar types of offense and half court sets (Obviously, the talent levels on those 2 teams in recent years didn't compare to Houston's).Detroit was ranked 20th because they probably knocked down a hell of a lot more shots than us too. Our bench WAS terrible! When they had to come in for T-Mac, Yao, etc. , that was exploited as it should of been. As for Charlotte, they may have been so bad on defense (because of their injuries as well), that scoring turned into the only thing they were concered with. Losing their games, I don't know, 110-100 doesn't nessecarily equate to them having more "offensive firepower" than the teams they were raked above...

I'm not blaming ALL of our shortcomings on injuries. My point, write about any of the above mentioned points instead of "JVG's offense sucks!" or "they were ranked 29th in offense last year, the Rockets can't score!" I'm sick of that same old song, and you should be too! And if that's "too much detail" for a sportswriter to go into, he/she should consider another line of work...

Thirdly, I think its great that you're concerned with "changing the teams philosophy" when you, nor I, for that matter, know really next to nothing about the intricacies of an NBA offensive or defense. We may be Monday Morning Quarterbacks and be able to scream at the tube better than anyone else, but when it comes down to it, the Houston Rocket Management and Coaching staff know a hec of a lot more about all the things we love to tear them apart for. "Because they suck that's why?" C'mon your better than that... If we sat down in a room and talked straight B-Ball with all of the Rockets brass, or any other NBA teams brass, we'd be laughed right out of it...

And as far as a "term paper on terrorism?" Umm, I'd love to see it actually, it would probably have a few tangents, but then again, I'm not a professional writer. Look, I'm sure the piece I attacked wasn't his best work, I'm sure he's written dozens of articles that would "ironically" put my writing skills to shame. Maybe the editor got to it, I'm not sure... But, I still didn't it was that great and either did many other people on this BBS that read it.

 

You guys need to quit the bickering. It's not debating, it's bickering.


And I'm tired of checking this thread for news and having to sift through everyone's menstrual rants to find some legit info.

 

As I drift through menstrual rants and bickering over crap, I can't help but think how sometimes the best transactions are the ones that never take place.

 

Can I get an AMEN?

 

I think you missed the point of the article completely. It's not comparing teams, it's comparing Wells' opportunities to showcase himself. Ask that writer which team would be better next season, the rockets or nuggets, and he quite possibly would pick the rockets. But being on a better team won't necessarily get Bonzi a fat contract next year.

29th. 20th. 25th. It doesn't matter. Sure, being ranked 20th in offense in combination with our defense might just get us the best record in the league, but it sure won't rack up the point totals. Who gives a crap about wins? We're talking about boosting an individual player's stats here! The comparison is scoring opportunity between a team that's consistently in the bottom third offensively and a team that's been top ten offensively for years. Wells' 11/7 for the first-seed rockets could easily be 17/7 for the fifth-seed nuggets. That's the bottom line.

I like our team philosophy, I don't want it to change and I don't want to be the suns. I like tough defensive teams with half-court offense. The spurs should be the model we strive for. But for us, winning doesn't mean scoring in bunches. It doesn't matter why we can't score. It doesn't matter that we're going to get a few more points next year. It doesn't matter that some of the crappiest teams on offense (spurs, pistons, pacers, nets, grizzlies) are some of the best teams in the league. Wells is looking for a fat contract, and he's not going to get it playing for that kind of team. Ask yourself, where is Bonzi going to get better looking stats: a completely healthy rockets team or the denver nuggets as they are? The answer should be obvious.

FYI: I should be able to criticize whoever I want. And ironically, I didn't even call anybody out. What's your opinion on Isiah Thomas? I bet his HOF credentials really don't mean a whole lot to you. We express opinions here, not group praise for our brilliant management and coaching staff for having bball cred.

 

I only want Bonzi if and only if he can accept his role as the 6th man on the team.

He'd be perfect for that role, scoring 10-15 a game off the bench late 2nd quarter early 3rd quarter while TMac takes a breather. This cat can rebound, drive, and is a tough player.

But that's a big IF, as we all know, Bonzi is looking to inflate his individual property value on a ONE year deal, and probably won't care much about Rocket's success or future at all; hell let's face it he'd be happier if TMac got hurt mid season so he can take Mac's role in being the primary scorer; and if Mac does get hurt, make no mistake about it, Bonzi will make himself the primary scorer.

I think the chance of Head/KBill/Synder having a great year > Bonzi accepting his role.

I'm actually leaning towards not signing Wells.

 

Where did this come from? Is this a/the basis for negotiations or abject conjecture? (Inquiring mindlesses want to know... )

 

Maybe having him for one year won't be so bad seeing as to how next year's draft should be more than interesting regardless what pick we have in the first round.

 

Trade idea.

Trade Head to Charlotte for a 2nd rounder next year and get a 1M+ exception.

Trade the high 2nd rounder to Sac + 2 TE's @ 5.4M for a signed and traded Wells for 5 years or 6 years.

Six years is long, but that's what Houston needs to do if you want to get him at a discount now.

5 years
5.4+5.9+6.5+7.2+7.9= 33M

or six years
5.4+5.9+6.5+7.2+7.9+8.7 = 41.6M

 

According realgm.com, Bobcats are gonna wait to sign Bonzi because they want to settle Ely situation first and they have not offered any contract to Bonzi. Thats good news for Rox as it seemed Bobcats would be the first choice for Bonzi because of money. Now since he is not their primary goal i doubt Bonzi would like to join them since he had mentioned earlier that he wanted to play with the team that really wanted him.

I think it would be smart for Bonzi to join Rox since he would get significant amount of minutes to play and everyone knows with healthy tmac and yao and addition of battier and Span, this team will go deep in the playoffs than denver and Bobcats and Bonzi could be the third scorer for the team and starting SG where he will be recognized more than any team. Bonzi will be off the bench player with Miami and i dont think he wants that since he is looking for high pay next season.

 

i don't see how bonzi could come off the bench, who would you start in front of him that makes this team that much better?
Head? - yeah right
snyder? - unproven
vspan? - too early to tell, maybe future pg

i think bonzi starting makes us a contender for the WCF.
as of right now, at best we are a 2nd round team

 

I'm 90% sure that our starting PF is going to be Juwan Howard, not Battier.

Bonzi comes off the bench behind our starting SG Tmac.

The way I see it, Bonzi could even come off the bench for Yao, then we could go small and play Howard at C, Battier PF, TMac SF and still maintain an offensive post up player in our line up. This small line up would work well against a team like Mavs or Suns, but we would absolutely get raped by a team like Spurs, Cavs, even Nets.

 

Let's give Yao an assitent GM title. He can help us sign quality players without going over the cap

 

Why stop at 90 why not make it 100! Either way you are talking out of your ass. Noone knows who our starting lineup is going to be. I doubt Van Gundy has even made that decision yet. But if he has I am 90% sure he hasn't told you. Ah, what the hell, make it 100%.

 

Which is why he didn't say 100.