There's no way the Pacers trade Granger period, let alone for an aging and broken star like McGrady, so you can just forget about that notion. Larry Bird might not be the best exec in the league, but there's no way he trades 26 PPG on 45% from the field and 40% from long range for the likes of McGrady.
I, too, am very proud of this team. It's been an entertaining ride this year - I wish it were still on... The Big questions. 1. Ron Artest - do you re-sign the guy? You re-sign him, or you SnT him. He is an asset. He's probably 'worth' a 3 year deal for $27 million. The problem is that most of his skills are covered in Battier who is a much better team and overall defender and plays within the offense - Interesting, and true enough. Battier is probably at the peak of his value so he should be considered trade bait! (Heresy.) 2. Tmac - They have to move his $23 million dollar contract to a cash strapped team to pick up some players that the other team doesn't want or wants to rebuild from, something like Monta Ellis and Turiaf or Maggette - that won't fly in GS. But its parameters need be explored. They'd insist on AB, too. Too much. Too much! ...or Granger and anything from Indiana Granger is NOT being moved in Indy. Not. Being. Moved. ......the Rockets have to move Tmac this offseason, that is when his contract is most valuable...once the season starts it flips to can he play anymore...and I don't think the Rockets want to be the guinea pig that finds out. Is TMac more valuable in July - or in February. That is the question. 3. Von Wafer - He's built to be instant O off the bench. 3/7.5 sounds right to me. The problem comes when another team comes in and offers the same money or a bit more and a starting spot, if you are Von, you have to take that deal Except no team will be offering a starting position. No team. The medium questions. 1. Yao Ming - What can you do to keep him healthy? Answer that, Bill Walton, and you win the MegaLotto!!! 2. AB and Lowry - they both got valuable experience in the playoffs and AB particularly had success against HIGH caliber teams. Will the team continue to let AB grow into the scoring PG that this team needs? will the team go after a veteran PG like Bibby, or Andre Miller Maybe Miller; Bibby is done. Felton or Sessions, maybe? - 3. Backup Center - Got to sign someone like Chris "birdman" Anderson to come in and add some athleticism and defensive pressure to relieve Yao. If that person can also shoot like Robert Horry, even better ! This will be a tough assignment for Morey, we have gotten a lot of effort smaller guys, can we now get an effort..bigger guy? Answer: Elton Brand. (Plus Dre. Bye-bye McG.) The small questions. 1. What to do with Joey Dorsey - Interesting that the Griz, reportedly in love with the (local and cheap) guy didn't have him included in the Lowry deal. Hmmm???? 2. James White - here could be hope. I wish I knew??? 3. Brian Cook - OMG he has a players option? CRAP ! Expiring - good trade bait. This team is on a teeter totter, it could go either way... the West leaves little margin for error, year on year (game on game, see: April the last day). In Morey we trust...the man has earned it!
My thoughts on each player Artest - really just depends on the price tag. 6-7 mil per year is about what I'd look at. Anything more and he should walk. T-Mac - I don't see this as a problem. If he can bring something in a trade, then good for us. Otherwise, he comes off the books next year regardless. In essence, there's nothing we can really do about him Wafer - I don't think the market is high for him. And I feel Morey would rather look for the "next" Wafer rather than pay him big money Yao - He needs to pull a Shaq. That is, put off surgery until the start of the season(to ensure no national team duties. Miss the first half of the season. Then use the 2nd half to get back in shape. Just in time for the postseason. Unfortunately, if he can't do that, then we're kind of screwed. AB/Lowry - What's there to do? Like them or hate them, the Rockets aren't going to trade either one(unless for a superstar) or bring in another PG. They're going to let him play until at least the trade deadline. Backup center - Can the Rockets find someone better than Hayes/Dorsey on the market for pennies? I doubt it. 7 footers generally command way too much money regardless of ability. But this is where Morey can work some magic... hopefully.
i know the popular thing to say is "ron will be looking for big money." i ask... who will be offering it this summer? IMO, ron will either sign a 1 year extension in order to test a better FA market in 2010, or he will sign for less money than he's making now for a longer term deal. i think the most he will be offered this summer is MLE from a bunch of teams. i think morey will wait to see what the highest bid is for ron before determining what to offer him. if it is MLE then he can start negotiations with that, maybe outbid just a bit putting him around $6M that DD said he might offer. about tmac, i think splitting his contract into 2 smaller expirings is the way to go. the rockets did this years ago when trading mo taylor ($8M expiring) to the knicks for weatherspoon ($4M expiring) and moochie ($4M expiring). moving tmac for 2 smaller expirings, lets say at around $10M a piece, makes it much either for the rockets to let one of those come off the books and look to move the other for a player to can create on the sing and score. overall i think the warriors make the best trading partner this summer. they have plenty of scoring wings to choose from, and they also have a great shot blocker in turiaf.
With the Rockets, it's the other way around: improving as a player will give Wafer then chance to play more minutes and increase his value. Remember when Yao entered the league, he was much thinner (especially his upper body) and quicker, and had passing skills that were never utilized by the Rockets? The team immediately got him into the weight room so he could get strong enough to take the banging that NBA big men get. Then JVG came on board and made a HUGE point that under his system, Yao would be a low-post guy ONLY, and he forced him to get even bigger and learn to be a bully down low (well, as much of a bully as Yao can be). And for the most part, it worked: Yao became a beast under JVG and was a reliable low-post threat. His passing and defense suffered, though. Now that we've had half a dozen years to see the results of this approach, I think it's time to acknowledge that it's no longer working. It was great to have a monster low-post guy, but the league is no longer a league that values that as much as it once did, and it's arguable that the extra weight Yao is forced to carry is causing or at least exacerbating the problems with his feet. I think, especially under Adelman's system, that Yao should lose 20-25 pounds and become more of a high-post center. He's got the passing and shooting skills for it, and it's not like his low-post game would suffer that much. With his strong, thick lower body and his knowledge of low-post play, he'd get pretty much the same results when he's down there. But he'd also benefit from being quicker again. Sure, the big centers would be able to move him out of the block -- but they're doing that NOW. And a quicker Yao would be better equipped to handle the fronting tactics that have proved to be the ONLY method of stopping him. So drop some weight, work on the quickness, and let Yao showcase the FINESSE SKILLS that make him such a special big man. Bingo. As fun as it is to think about roster moves, for the first time that I can remember, I no longer WORRY about them now that Morey has shown what he's capable of. Forget Yao, T-Mac, Artest, etc. -- Morey and Adelman (and Les, to an extent) are the real keys to the Rockets getting a ring in the next few years.
LOL.... The people who say Granger is not being moved are not looking at Indiana's financial situation. They are nearly broke and have talked about folding up as a franchise....so they might HAVE to trade Granger....and then include contracts like Tinsley and Dunleavy or Murphy...just to stay in business. DD
Basically this team needs guys that are durable and capable of staying healthy. Artest is relatively durable, but he can't handle the load on offense like he was asked to do in the playoffs this year. Moving T-Mac for the combo of Stephen Jackson/Turiaf/3rd player would give us a scoring wingman that would take the burden off Artest. Meanwhile, Turiaf would be a nice, albeit overpaid backup center. I'm less bullish on Vince Carter since I think he's past his prime and could break down at any moment.
Danny Granger or Joe Johnson would look great in a rockets uniform. Of course, it's all hopes and dreams right now. Nonetheless, if what DD says is true about Indiana, i hope morey can pull it off.
I am not saying they are trading Granger, just that they are cash strapped and may be forced to consider it. And who knows how many franchises are going to be cash strapped...we know Indiana and Sacremento are.....I would take Kevin Martin too. DD
I strongly disagree with this. Any team that trades for T-Mac is looking for his expiring contract, not for years of him playing with that team. T-Mac will be making over $23 million next year, and he is not projected to be in playing shape until halfway through next season. If you trade for T-Mac in the offseason, you: Pay him $23 million in salary for the year Get one-half season of him playing for your team Get his $23 million salary off your books at the end of the year If you trade for T-Mac at the trading deadline, you: Pay him $12.5 million in salary for the year Get one-half season of him playing for your team Get his $23 million salary off your books at the end of the year Clearly, the second scenario is much, much better for a cash-strapped team that needs the salary dump. His contract is most valuable next February, not this summer.
Do you have a source on that, Corby? Because I haven't heard anything about an official projection for his return. Microfracture surgery recoveries for NBA players range from 2.5 months (John Stockton) to never (Allan Houston and others). McGrady's surgery is said to have a relatively short recovery time for a microfracture procedure, based on the part of the knee that it was performed on. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but the only projections I've heard for his return were all here on CF.
Bad idea for the team. Yao doesn't have drive ability to go with his peremeter game. We don't need another Battier without 3 point shooting on the team. And opponents will be very happy to see Yao playing that way. In stead of one and a half guy guarding Yao without bal, now they only need half a guy guarding Yao with the ball. Yao's peremeter game can only be used in special situations, as a surpsise to oppoents.
Morey is a wiz, I believe I read/heard somewhere that he wants to "buy" lottery picks this off-season so I wouldn't be surprised if he creates something out of nothing. IMO, all the Rox need is a backup for Yao, preferably an athletic big man who can block, rebound, and jump out of the gym such as Wilson Chandler and a solid starting vet. pg. I'm telling you guys, the Knicks have a load of talent that the Rox could def. use. I really did not like Lowry's performance in the Lakers series. I feel he should have been able to create more charity shots with his aggressiveness in the paint. I know you can pin some of this fault on the refs. for not blowing the whistle but part of the blame has to be his due to not putting himself in a position to create contact. Billups has this sweet pump fake (so does Paul Pierce) that always creates free shots for him and this is what I mean by putting himself in a position to get free shots. If it came down to it, I would trade Lowry and Landry for someone like David Lee (I know that is basically swapping forward but Lee rebounds a lot better and can score too!) and Duhon. Hell I would give them AB and Landry if they wanted it. Golden State, Clippers, Nets, and Wizards have some talent that could be had. I am sure they would be willing to made a viable deal too.
