We have some great trading commodities this offseason and should use them to make our team better. LAMAR ODOM We have a very tradeable KT, the approx 5th and 15th pick in whats looking to be a pretty good draft and several SF's around the league that are looking elsewhere. I still think the ideal commodity would be Lamar Odom. Point 1: The Clippers have a Glut at SF and they LOVE Miles, Maggette and Q.Rich (SG or SF) so he is expendable. Point 2: The Clippers have a great bench, but are relatively thin when Brand or Olowakandi are out. Obinna Ekize is just not going to stop anyone. There is the possibility that Olowokandi may leave, but I don't think that they would take Cato's contract but the 5 spot could get them some size with a few big power guys coming out. They also are going to need a point with McInnis probably leaving. There are several solid points coming out this year including Williams and Wagner. Point 3: With A guy like Odom on our team it will also mean less time for the little dribbler. Odom can play point-forward ala Pippen and Grant Hill, so we can play Steve and Cat w/o the ball. I almost see Odom as a better creator than Steve and doesn't need to score that much to be effective. If we have a guy like Odom that can create, we won't need for Steve and Cuttino to drive and have our 3-man sit in 3point land ALL DAY. So his 3-pt fg% is not that relevant. I just hope Rudy can develop a system of this nature. SCENARIO 1: Lamar Odom and change to Rockets for Kenny Thomas and #5 Pick Sterling gets his Cheap Backup, Can Draft another center or a center backup and limits his glut at SF. Maybe he can even get a Point Guard in a deep PG draft. We can then use the Toronto Pick to get a Backup Center. SCENARIO 2: Lamar Odom and Olowakandi for Rocket's pick (5) and Toronto Pick (14), KT and S&T Willis. With the price for Center's as high as it is, Olowokandi might ask too much so willis would do better as a Veteran Leader that could be had for little and could help bring along the center they pick in the draft. SCENARIO 3: Lamar Odom and Olowakandi for Rocket's pick, Cato, KT and Cuttino. For those Two, Cuttino is expendable. Sterling would love his and KT's cheap prices and it would offset Cato's contract. Imagine: Olowakandi/ Griffin / Collier Taylor/ Griffin Odom/ Rice Toronto Draft Choice/ Torres / Francis Francis/ Mooch DAMN! That is a team! Clips Cato/ Draft Choice Brand/ KT Maggette/ Miles Cat/miles/qrich Q.Rich/ Draft Choice The Clips are athletic but get very little spacing because no one is scared of their shooters (especially when McInnis Leaves) and I know Q isn't a point, but he has great playmaking abilities and this is a point-rich draft.
I'd love to get Odom! Odom! Odom! (although we need a center; who doesn't?). He's about to undergo surgery on his wrist, though, so let's see how that goes before we try trading for him.
I also definitely think the final piece is Odom. What we need to offer the Clipps? Depth. Dooling isn't doing it for them. Mooch and Mcinnis would be an excellent backcourt for them. Mooch and Mcinnis woul likely make a joint 9M or so, which is good for one spot with that much depth. Also, they definitely ARE thin in the frontcourt with Miles playing backup minutes behind Brand and Kandi. Since Kandis emergence as an excellent C, I don't think anyone can match what the Clipps will/can offer him. Perfect elements: #14 pick #5 pick Moochie Norris for Lamar Odom Keyon Dooling I'm not done. For the 14th pick, nbadraft.net has Amare Stoudamire. I think someone will pick him u earlier though. Still, if he's available, they can also take Drew Gooden or Chris Wilcox with the #5. Then, what do you have? They're out of problems. The 2 piks will have small contracts, making any money that was going to be given to Odom expendable in other contract negotiations. Their team? Kandi/Stoudamire Brand/Gooden Miles/Maggette Piatowski(dunno why he starts)/Q Richardson Mcinnis/Moochie That their team last year (this year) with excellent froncourt depth and better PG position. Dooling didn't play much, if at all, and the same goes for Odom. Us: Cato/MoT&Griff MoT/Griff(till he breaks out) Rice/Odom(till Odom proves he should start, Rudy's rule) Cat/Torres Francis/Dooling With the depth we have, we won't need to worry so much about Odom's injury, because he won't be pressured to be the man anynmore. He can take it easy. As for Dooling, his minutes will be limited till he shows he can play the NBA game, because if Francis isn't handling the point, then Odom will be. I'm confident that the combination of the following will boost us into top 5 status: - Ballhandling pressures taken off Francis - Scoring pressure taken off Odom - Ability of Odom to run the fastbreak - Mobley's much improved 3-pt shooting (Key component) - Cato's improved play, and willingness to play through injuries We're definitely better than Minnesota. Portland maybe. Jazz definitely, Sonics definitely. Clippers, debateable. Suns definitely. And finally, look at how young we'll be....
i went to the sonics-clippers game last night and i do not want olawakandi...he doesnt have half of the athleticism as cato. pouts alot when he goes to the bench and couldnt even move vin baker with his body. cato would be a much more servicable center in my opinion.
What I like about Odom: The fact that he is a playmaker at his position. He averages 5 assists a night for his career (5.9 this season in limited action), which would be right up there with Francis (meaning second overall on the Rockets). If Rudy T could develop an offense to work with Odom and Francis sharing those duties, it would make for a pretty fearsome attack ... Francis can focus more on having a scoring impact (I can promise that is what he is thinking right now and I'm sure the Rockets are thinking about it also) and Mobley can... well, Mobley doesn't have to change much at all. I don't have much faith in Rudy T to create an offense like this however. Watching Griffin become not much more than a tall three-point shooter has been frustrating. What I don't like about Odom: Isn't anyone concerned that if he's caught one more time with drugs he's out for a year? I may be wrong... isn't that the current situation with Lamar? I don't have much faith that this guy cares about his career enough to think about what a serious situation he's in (though I have no evidence of this other than it's happened twice already and haven't heard of him getting help to where I would think it would not happen a third time). Any team taking him would be taking on a big risk. Overall though I'm more interested in players that are going to have a big <i>defensive</i> impact on our team. Odom has averaged nearly a block and a half a night and a little over a steal a game for his career, so he could help. If Caron Butler will do that more than Odom though, I'm not sure I would push for a trade. Also, don't the Clippers have two lottery picks, or top 15 picks this year? Why would they want more? If they're smart they'll let Odom play up his trade value next season.
Has it occured to anyone that Odom does not fit the role of a SF in our offense? Also, the last thing we need is a guy who needs the ball in his hands to be effective. Now, go on with your fascination...
Good point. Not many teams are looking to trade a starter for a backup player. Yes, KT is a backup. Too many Rockets fans are overrating KT's trade value, when in essence he is a backup PF for most teams.
The Clippers Want DaJaun Wagner or Jason Williams, Which would be probably have to be a Top 3 pick. We would have to package our picks to LA for Odom, they then turn around and send their pick and our pick to a Team like Memphis for a Player and Their Pick. Of course if The Rockets luck out and get a Top 3 pick we may not have to give up our Toronto pick. I think the Question is, In this Draft full of superstar potential. Do we Take our chances on landing a marlin, or do we take our Two Lines out of the water and buy a fish? ...A Talented Fish with a Pot smoking Problem at that.
If I may, I'd like to alleviate these 1-yr suspension fears. Odom is no more close to a suspension than Francis. In a previous life, I was a Marketing Director for a behavioral health HMO. We had the Reliant Energy account, Entex account, a nuclear reactor accounts. All this was for helping big business establish legal and liability-safe substance abuse programs, more than anything else. The NBA has a very common such program, except for the fact they treat mar1juana with more leniency than other drugs. Odom is a mar1juana abuser. He is not subjected to the same CBA clauses used for their "Drugs of Abuse Program." There are specific guidelines separating penalties for mar1juana and "Drugs of Abuse." It is very well documented in the CBA's "Anti-Drug Program." Odom is a third-time offender. The first one was probably not made public; in fact, it is illegal to make them public. Third-time offenders are given 5 games suspensions (per Article XXXIII.9(c)) and required to enter the league's mar1juana abuse program. The Medical Director is allowed to append an indefinite amount of 5 game suspension onto this, if the player is "non-compliant for treatment." This CBA section is quite a few pages long, and there is no exact text to quote, but this paragraph probably best illustrates how "Drugs of Abuse" are treated differently than mar1juana. "Drugs of Abuse" are defined in Exhibit I-2 as: Amphetamine Cocaine LSD Opiates PCP imo, the CBA has no provisions for suspending a mar1juana user for more than 5 games at a time. <font size="1">That said, I wish I could alleviate the fears that Rudy and his coaches can offer an offense to Odom to play that Pippen couldn't figure out until over 3 yrs after leaving Michael. And let's not judge Griffin's development just yet, when Rudy has a PF candidate for Most Improved Player on his hands. The coaches did just fine with Griffin when you consider that he needs to develop Kenny, too, and how well he's done with Kenny. Griffin is fine; his confidence is fine; he got a good taste of how strong PFs are in the league; he can learn in the Summer.</font>
Good. I really didn't know if that was right or wrong... I had read he was close to a one-year suspension somewhere, but didn't know how valid that was. Thanks for the clarification. I would agree with this also ... but fact is: Rudy didn't do much for Griffin in this offense outside of get him open threes, and just because Kenny is a good power forward getting time this year doesn't mean Griffin didn't play at all without him on the floor or can't get inside with Kenny playing.
I certainly cannot disagree. I guess I simply expect stars to show up with their own playbook, and don't need a coach to give them one. I think Odom is more the type of player who will show up with a playbook on how to get his team involved than Francis. The problem with the Pippen-era here was Barkley and Hakeem both had playbooks that were proven to succeed and they were fairly compatible. Pippen just didn't have the personality, a fall camp or Nov/Dec to impress upon the Barkley and Dream that a little tweaking could work. I guess I just give stars a super amount of respect that they know how to play the game and will figure it out themselves. imo, NBA coaches provide player mgmt, and overall a lot less teaching/ordering around found at the college level. That's why Riley can't seem to coach anymore, because people don't listen to his yelling anymore...word is out. It's just a different take on who brings the playbook to championship teams...the coaches (despite the players) or the coaches and players mutually, or the players solely like Magic and Bird and Hakeem and Jordan who all got coaches fired for not agreeing with their playbook. So, can anyone honestly describe Francis's playbook? Odom definitely seems to have one. I trust our coaches to hand the playbook over to Odom to handpick.
Crispee, Thanks for clearing that up about the drugs, Clutch Scared me with that one year suspension deal. In regards to why the Clippers would want Kenny Thomas is that he gives them depth that also allows Brand to move over to an undersized center in case Olowokandi leaves and their draft Center needs time. Also Kenny has an outside shot which will open up the lanes for their slashers like Miles, Maggette and Q. I feel we can capitalize on the fact that everyone thinks their cheapskates and Olowokandi disrupted team chemistry this season and was recently fined because of his comments and berated by Elgin Baylor. It is rumored they love Miles and Q, therefore they will probably not re-sign Odom to a contract he deserves (falk is his agent I believe). They even might be able to trade the picks for some veteran help as well. One thing that worries me is the salary structure of the Rockets though. Francis will probably get extended this summer (crossing my fingers!) and we will have Mo, Cato, Francis, Rice (for two more years) and griffin in a few years making some serious money. Cat will probably also want a raise seeing how we have him as a steal. The format of champions has always been two of the best players in the league, and several role players. Francis, Griffin and Odom all have that ability but we would have some fat extensions coming due soon.
Odom is not the answer! Not because of his offensive prowess but because of the intangibles that he does not bring.(work ethic, professionalism..) Heck, this guy is always injured. It seems to me that there are many rookie GMs on this site that want another big name on this team but may not understand the repercussions. Rice is coming back, MoT is coming back.... The problem will not be offense, it will be defense. It is sad but when I think of defense, the only names that pop up in my head is Cato, TMO, EG and maybe KT. That is what needs addressing.
Lamar Odom is a pariah. He shoots a very low percentage (below 40% this season). He turns the ball over way too often (between him and Francis, we'd set an NBA record for TOs in a season). But most importantly, he does not play defense. These are three things that a Rockets SF absolutely cannot do. With Steve and Cuttino on this team, the Rockets' perimeter scoring is solid. Taylor is a decent low-post presence (not that great) who can also stick the mid-range jumper. Rice--if healthy--can nail the open look from deep or post up. Moochie and Griffin are also decent options on offense. The Rockets don't need to blindly go after talented offensive players. The fact is that Lamar Odom is simply that. Nothing more. Until I see him play a season of above average defense, I don't want the Rockets even looking in his direction, let alone giving up a high lottery pick for him. Hell, if the Rockets want to add athleticism at SF, they should go after Corey Maggette at a fraction of the price. While his upside is not as high as Odom's, Maggette's athleticism is unquestioned and he could be had for a fraction of the price.
