What should we do with it? It could kick us into the lux tax depending on what it is. Do we use part of it and break it up like last year and sign bench scrubs to develop, maybe give a good portion of it to Chuck Hayes? Do we sign a single player with it? If we sign a single player with it, what position do you target and what players? They way I see it, our team has several basic needs in no particular order: 1. We still need a tall rangy PF that can shoot the 3 ball to spread the floor for Yao and can rebound and defend decently. 2. We need an upgrade at the point that can shoot from distance and also break their man down and finish at the rim. We've got the MLE, the lower exception, and our draft picks along with possible trades. Personally, I do not want to lose Hayes. I'd like to see if we could use the biannual exception (approx. $1.8 million) to get him to re-sign and keep our MLE free for a primary rotation player. Possible fits for part or all of the MLE: Malik Allen(if we lose Hayes, definitely not all of the MLE) Gerald Wallace (Could he play PF in a smaller lineup?) Jeff Mcinnis (fits a need but attitude won't mix with JVG) Jerry Stackhouse (weakens Dallas, but do we have minutes for him and does he fit a need?) Steve Blake (PG that can distribute, shoots like Rafe) Eduardo Najera (if we lose Hayes, but for only part of MLE) Antonio McDyess (don't think he will opt out, not sure he is an upgrade over Juwan now) Jason Hart Smush Parker Shammond Williams (perhaps a low cost addition that can shoot it a little) Chucky Atkins (I like him) Brian Skinner (if we lose Hayes) Mo Williams (interesting, better shooter than Rafer but is he good enough?) Mo Pete (good player but not a fit unless Battier goes to the 4) Personally, I like Chucky Atkins and some of the others. But, I would not give Chucky the whole MLE. The players that are worth the MLE to me are players at the swing positions, which we are covered there.....unless we are going to run smaller guys at the power forward position, which I am not opposed to. I actually think a lineup of Battier, McGrady, and one other very good shooting 6'8" to 6'10" player around Yao could be very successful. Mo Pete has been known as a very good defender. Would he play good enough perimeter defense to allow Battier to move to the 4? Or could Rashard possibly force his way out of Seattle to come to Houston? And then is our defense and rebounding strong enough with Rashard/Battier/McGrady alternating minutes at the 4?
Our Big needs are a PF who is adequate and can defend ( athletic would be nice) and can top Juwan on Scoring and rebounding ( sad but that is the benchmark!) It is smarter to get the PF via trade or Draft or a combination and then look for the PG via trade. I dont mind a draft day trade- if we can get a significant pieces. That said you seem to be already getting ready for the next season!
Would Chuck Hayes really eat into our MLE? I would think we should have his Bird Rights. If so, can't we resign him after using our MLE (assuming Les is willing to go over the cap to make this team deeper)? NIKEstrad? Somebody?
Mo Williams would be nice. And find a way to get Jeff Foster from indy, they're not playing him anyway. Mo Tmac Shane Jeff Yao That lineup can compete.
Yeah we do own his bird rights but since he signed to a small, minimum contract. We really can't offer that much more than his original contract. So we would have to dip into the MLE if Chuck wants more money.
Ummm, well I started this thread as a reaction to find out what values players have. Some here don't think Francis is worth the MLE. I think he is and I think he would be a good fit for us for the MLE. After all, we were going to give the same contract to Mike James. You can't say Francis is significantly worse than James. But you could make a pretty good case that Francis is every bit as good or better than James.
I think we have Hayes' "early bird rights" and thus can resign him without dipping into MLE money. So that is key. Nice list of MLE targets. Don't forget Grant Hill. Would be a GREAT option off the bench as a 6th man and part of our swingman rotation. I think his skillset would be really utilized here. And we might be able to get him for a 2-3yr MLE deal. Short years. Having a guy like Hill coming off the bench to play Point Forward would allow us to play Head at PG more if we wanted. Also give us another long defender, someone that can handle the ball and let Tmac play off the ball and would be someone that could be a 3rd scoring options. MLE targets might depend on what we do with the draft and with potential trades (such as a Mike James for Sura+JL3 move). I like Chucky Atkins, Mo Peterson (very durable, good size and good 3pt shooter), Mo Williams (although he might be tough to get). I think Gerald Wallace is out of MLE range. Najera is interesting. But he will likely take his PO. But the Nuggets will probably try to trade him away for cap relief.
I'm not really enamored with anyone on that list. Still,I agree we definitely need a PF that play interior defense and hit the boards.Like you said someone long and athletic....the ability to shoot the three would be nice,but isn't a dealbreaker there. As far as PG,we need one,but I'm not so sure we wouldn't be better off with an athletic hybrid 1/2 that can handle the ball,play defense,and shoot it a bit. I'd imagine Spanoulis will be the man eventually,but if JVG is going to spoon feed him,we need a guy that can fill in presently and then be versatile enough to slide around once VSpan is where JVG wants him. Rashard is kinda soft..Yes he can drill the outside shot and has his finesse game middle to inside,but he takes up too much capspace.We can get more bang for our buck IMO....spread it out rather than put it into a a player with this kind of salary.
Some more names to mull over that are free agents. PG: Brevin Knight SG: DeShawn Stevenson SF: Nocioni (RFA though), Ruben Patterson, Desmond Mason, James Posey PF: Joe Smith, PJ Brown, Corliss Williamson
I'm assuming you are saying $10 million per year. I would think that if Rashard really wants to come home that somewhere around a $50-60 million 5 year contract would get it done. If Rashard wants to come home, he'll take slightly less than what he can get on the open market. That would require a S&T with Seattle, that is if JVG and Morey wanted Rashard. I find it very difficult to believe that Morey and JVG would turn down a player with his skill set, and a PER in the top 30 in the NBA. After all, Shawn Marion is making $15 million. Ideally, I'd like to see us acquire Rashard somehow but it is far fetched. Barring that, we should draft a big (Fazekas or Splitter) and sign somebody like Francis.
oooh foster would be nice. g.wallace is the best in the list above, but i doubt we could get a pf of his caliber. as for shooters, i think mo pete would do well. he has a lot of character, doesn't complain (usually) about PT, and seems like a JVG type of guy. not to mention he can shoot 3s like crazy and can also slash (reminds me of ginobili sometimes). also, since his value has dropped recently, rockets wouldn't have to dish out too much for him. he will definitely go undervalued this summer. mo williams on the other hand will be over valued in my opinion. he had a great year, but its kind of reminicent of mike james' year in toronto. steve blake is awesome!!! if youve seen that guy pass there is no way you wouldn't want him. great guy who would fit in here perfectly. and when hes confident, he shoots the 3 really well. dont think anyone else should be considered, unless you want najera which will get you mexican tv money sucks that the pf pool is so weak.
Out of all those guys on your list, only Mo Williams would make the team substantially better and would be worth the full MLE. But I doubt we have a chance at him armed with just the MLE. Eh, Stack would be good too, but again I highly doubt it would happen. I do like the Grant Hill suggestion. He could be a TMac-lite off the bench if he'd want to come here.
That's actually a good call... I've watched Jeff Foster quite a bit in Indy. He is a very effective rebounder and defender, but his offense is very limited.
And a little more athleticism too - across the board Stevenson is an interesting player......MoPete too.
I don't know if y'all saw the other thread, but I'm all for FRANCHISE getting the MLE. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=126051
will chuck have a big market if he becomes a free agent? do you think we can get him for cheap or at least with a bit of a discount since we brought him into the league? for his own good he needs to stay with passing superstars like tmac and yao who are pretty much keeping him in the league. don't get me wrong, he has great hustle, but his foul proneness and lack of offensive skills, i hope, should let us keep him for pretty cheap...
Let's just say ... Smush Parker has probably played his last season in the NBA. He has gone from crap to dung over the past couple of weeks. Even in the unlikely event that someone signs him, he's going to be buried far away on the bench somewhere and will probably get garbage time and nothing more.
the mere thought of stackhouse in a rockets uniform makes me cringe a bit.. but i have to say that he is a good scorer off the bench, instant offense who creates for himself and knocks down big open threes. and anything to weaken dallas would be great. if the mavs don't win this year, maybe he'll want out of dallas for a bit more money than they offer, but if they win, i don't see him leaving dallas..
