Drafts arew considered weak because of the lack of potential franchise players. Rockets aren't looking to buy into the lottery so it doesn't affect them.
First Rockets need to sign back Artest and Wafer. I know some people were disappointed with Artest shooting but he was still a great player who brought offense, defense, and intensity. He was a leader for this team. Wafer was the biggest surprise of the team and was our best bench player. If Adelman would play him more then he could average 15+ ppg. Then, we need to trade T-Mac. I love T-Mac but his time in Houston is done. We don't need to trade him for another star but just for a couple of good role players. My idea is T-Mac and Brian Cook for Brad Miller and John Salmons or T-Mac to Cleveland for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovich. Chicago Trade: Reason Houston does it- We get rid of T-Mac and Cook which is both good. We get Brad Miller, who can back up Yao or play PF next to Yao and shoot the three. We'd also get John Salmons who could take T-Macs spot at shooting guard and would allow us to let Wafer walk. Reason Chicago does it- They get two expiring contracts which would give them room to sign one of those big 2010 free agents that they want. Lebron, Wade, Bosh. Theyll have room for them. Its not like theyre getting **** though in this trade. If T-Mac can stay healthy, he will be able to help Chicago make another playoff run. Brian Cook may not be that good of a player but he takes place of Brad Miller as the big man 3pt shooter. Im not saying Brian Cook is better than Brad Miller cause hes not at all. Im just saying that they could use him in the same situation. Cleveland Trade: Reason Houston does it- Get rid of T-Mac. We get Ben Wallace, who will take Dekes spot as back up center and would be a nice addition for our defense. Sasha Pavlovich has the potential to be a good player. He would be a nice guard to have coming off the bench. Cleveland gets rid of Wallaces huge contract and get another star to play next to Lebron. 3rd, we need to sign another backup center for Yao. We NEED two back up centers. Two good backup centers. Then we need to sign a veteran PG who doesn't expect much PT but is more of an insurance player in case Lowry or Brooks goes down. I hope our roster looks something like this next season C: Yao Ming/Brad Miller/Chris Andersen or Zaza Pachulia PF: Luis Scola/Carl Landry/Chuck Hayes SF: Shane Battier/John Salmons/James White SG: Ron Artest/Von Wafer/Brent Barry PG: Aaron Brooks/Kyle Lowry/Anthony Carter That looks like a very solid team to me. With Darryl Morey at GM, anything is possible
You guys are such haters.. putting official means nothing.. Obviously, I know that there isn't going to be ONE thread for the offseason... just put a general thread together for these next few days.. News and Trades and what not are going to get their own threads..
I don't even understand your argument. Of course its an issue after Yao and Mutombo get injured. But that's true for any team when you take away their two biggest players and they have to face one of the biggest front-lines in the league in a playoff series. With Yao and Mutombo available, size would not have been an issue any more, so I don't understand why you want to make that the focus of our offseason. Getting bigger is easy, as long as guys don't keep getting injured. Improving the offense is the important issue, and the much more difficult challenge.
Yeah, he would have gotten LESS if the Bobcat's hadn't made an offer. Plus, concern about Wafer's maturity is probably just as big an issue was Carl's knee was.
Try picking up either Marvin Williams or Caron Butler. I know Daryl Morey was trying to get Caron in the trade deadline. I wonder if we could pick him up in the off-season. Caron is a great scorer, defender and is very versatile. Maybe we should trade Tracy for him since he's a juicy expiring contract. Caron could play the 2.
As fantastic as that postseason was, we're very much at a serious crossroads this summer. Too think that "hey, add Tracy and Yao and we make the WCF and perhaps beyond!" is foolishly optimistic. -The McGrady soap opera of this season puts his place within the team very much in doubt. -The chances that McGrady will return to his 2004 form after microfracture surgery are grim at best. Whether he can average 17 ppg or return by Christmas are big question marks. -The third dimension of this is whether McGrady has any intent of remaining with the Rockets past 09-10. -Then we have Yao, who could be on his way to an early medical retirement. The harsh truth is that human bones aren't made to withstand 310 lbs with a 7-6 frame. Too much pressure and stress on the bones of the lower body. It's not bad luck. It's not a poor medical staff. He's just not going to last for many more years. -We rolled the dice that Artest could be an insurance policy on two stars that struggle to stay on the court. The gamble wasn't a bust, but it's clear Artest's time as a primary option has past. Worth keeping? Sure - but in no way worth stretching our finances. -Scola has emerged as a true block in the foundation. Not an All-Star, but the kind of role player that lifts a team from average to contender. Battier is just about as valuable, though he's somewhat overpaid. -Brooks and Lowry are passable at the point, but Brooks has to develop as something more than a shooting guard and Lowry needs to shore up aspects of his game as well. At the moment, they're both above average backups. -Landry and Hayes are nice options off the bench at PF, both are good values, but both are limited by their 6-6 size. Two years straight we've seen Scola and the smurfs try to get by as our frontcourt, and as admirably as they play, we can't ignore this issue. -Wafer would be a nice SG off the bench with his offense and aggressiveness, but his commitment and mindset are issues. Again, I'd say resign him as long as the deal is reasonable. -Deke, Barry, and Cook probably won't be on the roster. White and Dorsey may or may not ever crack the rotation. So where do we go from here?
You yourself along with countless others in this thread have suggested, in one way or another, that the Rockets need size and height . I'm not sure what YOUR argument is unless you're just looking to be contrarian, which just might be the case. What part of Mutombo being a temporary fix do you not understand? The Rockets were finally burned when this temporary solution broke down in round 1, which again left the team with nobody above 6'10" other than Yao. Mutombo's career is now over. Yao has been injury prone for a while now. Yet, the Rockets continued to rely on a 40 yr old half-season player to back him up. The Rockets have needed a legit, young back up C with some athleticism for a while now. Ignoring that came back to haunt the Rockets, especially this post-season and neglecting it will continue to plague Houston in particular against teams like the Lakers. Also, maybe in your rush to disagree, you overlooked my original post that said AFTER deciding what to do with McGrady, the Rockets need to concentrate on adding size. My guess is that T-Mac will be traded for offense, which would resolve that concern.
Someone posted the other day that we basically were screwed in the offseason with T-Macs injury and contract. They pretty much said that we need to wait til 2010 if we want to compete it was pretty legit. With that being said can the Rockets make any significant trades or get rid of T-Macs last year contract ? I keep getting different answers !!!!! I'm not talking about small Kyle Lowery trades but bringing in a true scorer ?
Guess i'll add my 2 cents to this. First I would resign Artest for no more than 8 mil a year. If someone is willing to offer more you have to let him walk. Second I would pass on Von Wafer. He is very one dimensional and his shot selection is very questionable. I really think James White has more upside than Von. Lastly I would explore trading McGrady to either the Knicks for a Eddy Curry and Larry Hughes or GSW for some combination of Crawford, Maggette or SJack. This team needs a playmaking wing player in the worse way.
The League's hypothetical 2009-10 luxury tax figure is $69.4M http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/index.jsp Battier ($6.864,2M) /+ Dorsey to PORTLAND for Batum + Blake ($6.018,76M) Blake + Brooks + Landry + Cook ($12.518,52M) /+ Dorsey to PHOENIX for Nash ($13.400,34M) + 2009 draft pick *Suns have only 9 players on contract incl. Nash McGrady (ca. $23M) /+Dorsey to NEW YORK for Lee (S&T ca. under $9M) + Mobley (ca. $18.4) *If Mobley cannot return. Rockets do not qualify for any exceptions but there could be insurance money involved. Is a valuable expiring contract, trade deadline asset. Then round out the roster with low-cost signings. Mobley + Lowry + Hayes ($13.470,996) are expiring contracts that could possibly snare a player like Richard Jefferson ($14.2M) at the trade deadline. The minimum NBA roster is 13 players. However, teams are given two weeks to meet this quota. A pro-rated minimum contract at the trade deadline after a series of 10 day contracts bookended with a fortnight's wait and in-between should keep the Rockets under LT. That is, if they do trade for Jefferson.
Um, yes they are. I don't have a link, but Morey said he has intentions to buy his way into the draft.
No, Morey said they were looking to buy/trade for a pick as high as in the twenties which is not the lottery.
Shane and Barry for Marion at 3 yrs and 8m per. Resign ron at 3yrs 9m, sign Split the mle between barnes and petro and lets roll.
Mutombo has been a good backup C for years, and he was very good in game 1 against Portland. I'd rather have him as my backup C with size than anyone else that was attainable, outside of Chris Andersen. It was just unfortunate that both he and Yao would go down, AND it happened when we had to face a team with unusual front court size (no team has a rebounding trio that can match Bynum, Gasol, and Odom) in the Lakers. Apparently you think the Rockets should have anticipated that, and invested in another center regardless. I can't blame them for going in another direction, when it resulted in the team winning far more in the regular season and playoffs than I would have expected given the injuries and inconsistencies from their "Big Three" (McGrady gave them nothing all year, Yao was done after game 3, and Ron slumped horribly on the offensive end after game 3). The complimentary players the Rockets put on this team did their part this season. Anyways, with Mutombo gone, the Rockets will look for another backup C. At least one addition, I'm sure, will be an extra 7-footer to replace what Mutombo was has given them the past several years. Dorsey could be another guy to beef up the front court, if he can turn himself into a good basketball player this offseason.
