yeah but how long was he here for? i barely consider him a rocket and he wasn't a significant part of this team's plans......Cato was here for a while....it's crazy how we really haven't had a big man who stuck like that who stuck around in over a decade, the closest two were cato and ..................................................................................................................dream (didnt want to mention them THAT close), and well Horry.
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Some of you guys are missing the point with the Chris Paul thing. New Orleans would not want Yao in a trade for Paul, that would defeat the whole point of trading Paul. The only reason they would trade Paul is as a necessary evil that allows them to dump 2-3 bad contracts and shave $80-$100 million off their books over the next 2-3 years. Yao is signed to a max deal and wouldn't make sense then. If they want a max contract player on their roster, they will keep Chris Paul. All trades in the NBA are not about basketball. Many of them are business-only trades done for financial reasons. How do you think the Lakers got Pau Gasol? Not saying Paul will be traded, just saying that a team like New Orleans or Phoenix or whoever IS the type of team that might make a trade where they give away a superstar level player for nowhere close to equal basketball value because they want to dump salaries. That is what Morey was talking about when he said that the Rockets are in position to take advantage of this. MANY teams in the NBA are losing money right now and care more about cutting salaries than they do about winning.
Unfortunately, I foresee yet another screwing over of the Rockets this summer by the same team that has done so each year the past few seasons . . . Portland. The Blazers have more young talent and a decent amount of cap space (even after the Darius Miles debacle) to take back more salary than they trade away. That, combined with the bottomless pockets of owner Paul Allen (who makes Les Alexander look like a pauper), means that the Blazers could be MAJOR players this summer in trades with cash-strapped teams. After the Darius Miles incident, Portland is having to shift its focus to the trade front. Also, just to clear up a few things, I think the most sought-after contracts this summer will NOT be plain old expiring contracts, but rather PARTIALLY guaranteed contracts in their final year. For instance, the Mavericks have a valuable trade chip in Jerry Stackhouse's contract ($7M, but only $2M is guaranteed). This would allow a cash-strapped team to INSTANTLY shed $5M+ in salary rather than having to wait another year for it to come off the books. San Antonio has two such contracts this summer in Bruce Bowen and Fabricio Oberto. If you were a cash-strapped team, would you rather trade for McGrady's $23M expiring contract and basically waste a roster spot or waive him; or would you trade for Stackhouse and Dampier's combined $19M in expiring contracts, only have to pay $14M of it, and still have a serviceable center to defend and rebound? Also, wouldn't you also rather trade for Bowen and Oberto, waive them, and instantly save a TON of money? Again, for those who are looking at McGrady is simply a massive expiring contract, these partially guartanteed deals look a lot more enticing.
yeah that's their yearly alley oop, which is the point, we haven't had someone who can do it game after game, who doesnt need to pump fake as much or who needs to gather themselves after a rebound. Landry has his moments, but he needs an opportunity to open up most of the time
Lets talk about a deal that is actually possible. Robbing Brandon Rush from the Pacers. The Rockets wanted him in the draft, I wanted him, so now lets go get him. The guy is a stud in the making.
I think the draft lotto also helps the rockets out a lot in terms of lookings for some bigman help. Griffin will push a couple of guys out of clipperland and thabeet will push probably darko or maybe even gasol.
Incorrect. As is, the Hornets are losing money with Chris Paul currently making ~5 million this year and a two really bad long contracts (Peja and Chandler). Next year Pauls extension kicks in and he will make 15 million, which essentially puts the Hornets further into the hole. If the Rockets offered up Yao for Paul and Chandler, they essentially get to keep a franchise player (Yao) while dumping thier long term liabilities (Chandler).
Can we talk about more realistic trades? I don't see Hornets ever moving Paul even if they could get rid of two bad contracts. 2009-10 salaries Peja Stojakovic $13,392,000 Tyson Chandler $13,200,000 Chris Paul $13,722,567 Yao Ming $16,378,325 The trade wouldn't work and even if it did, you really wanna be above salary cap by 20-30 million when Im not even convinced that the team would be better. Peja is horrific and Tyson can give you about 8 points per game.
The Hornets are in serious trouble. They already had to borrow money from the league this year...an estimated 13-20 million dollars. They had a team salary this year of $67,043,811 for 15 players. Next year thier projected salary is $75,667,605 for only 10 players! In 2011, they have $66,482,147 projected for only 8 players!!! So you have this "buisness" who is already in the red by atleast 15 million increasing thier costs by a minimum of another 8 million dollars. Check out this snippet: "The New Orleans Hornets are going to be in a very rough financial situation next season due to the poor economy. Their salary cap is expected to drop to $57 million next season, and the luxury tax threshold is predicted to be set at $68 million. Every dollar that the Hornets spend over that number will penalize the organization." The amount of money they stand to lose next year is staggering. Trust me they will be desperate to give away Chandler or Peja and if no one will just take them, then they are going to have to move Paul as an incentive because they just dont have any other assets. If the economy doesnt drastically improve and my math is correct: 8 million increase in salary for 2009-2010 for LESS players 15 million current operating loss (as surmized from emergency loans needed) 7 million luxuary tax penalty _____ 30 million dollars in losses for the Hornets next year for a team already borrowing money this year. Here is another good article: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/02/16/how-a-lower-luxury-tax-could-kill-10-nba-teams/
This is what will happen this offseason: Incoming Playersthe key is players that hustle along with FG% and 3ptFG%) C - Zaza Pachulia(Back up for Yao) PG - Steve Nash(Experienced PG to run offense and mentor Kyle Lowry) SG - Leandro Barbosa(Replacing T-mac and brings deep playoff experience) First Round Draft Pick in the 20's Outgoing Players: SG - Tracy McGrady PG - Aaron Brooks PF - Brian Cook Resign Ron Artest and Von Wafer if possible. If the resigning doesn't go as planned look to trade for either a Richard Jefferson, Raja Bell, or Rip Hamilton. (these notes come directly from Daryl Morey's Blackberry)
Absolutely un informed. Denver was STILL a bad defensive team WITHOUT Camby. It was when Billups came in that their defense changed. get your facts right.
This trade is a pipe dream, but the Wizards are financially strapped: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ovpaeg
Guys I suspect are on the block or FAs that won't be fiercely retained: (includes plenty of undesirables) Vince Carter, Bobby Simmons Bibby Okafor, Diaw, G Wallace, Radmanovic, Nazr Mohammad, Diop Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon Wally Z Rasheed and Iverson, Tayshaun Prince Monta Ellis, Biedrins, Crawford, and Jackson Troy Murphey, Mike Dunleavy, Rasho, Jeff Foster, Jamal Tinsley (lol) Zach Randolph (nononononono), Baron Davis (nononononono), Chris Kaman, and Marcus Camby Antoine Walker (lol), Darko (LOL), Marko Jaric (HAHAHA) Jermaine O'Neal, Blount and Haslem Redd, Jefferson, Bogut, Gadzuric, Charlie V Mike Miller, Cardinal Peja, Chandler, Mo Peterson, Posey, and Daniels Larry Hughes, Eddy Curry Brand, Dalembert, Andre Miller Shaq, Jason Richardson, (Nash) Andres Nocioni, Beno Udrih Shawn Marion Arenas, Jameson, Etan Thomas, Mike James, Songaila Guys I'd look into from that list were I GM: F/Cs for size and depth behind Yao: Okafor, Diop, Murphy, Camby, Haslem, Gadzuric, Chandler Other: Hinrich, Wally, Miller, Redd, , Richardson, Marion
I was thinking of this too, because if you consider partially guaranteed contracts and team options, Dallas has more money to play with than we do. On the flip side, they don't have nearly as much young talent, so it would be interesting to see where exactly the equilibrium between finances and basketball exactly ended up landing. If it's a pure dump - we can't beat Dallas. ****It would be a great resource for upcoming discussion if someone was willing to compile an exhaustive list of every team's expiring/partially guaranteed/team option assets, their cap/tax status, and their young talent. if chris paul is on the block, i want to know who is equipped to make the best offer. i personally don't have the time at the moment for such a task, but it would be greatly appreciated if someone was willing to put forth the effort.
thanks for contributing such invaluable insight into this discussion. i like the direction this thread is going so far. i suggest that you go play in the kiddie pool for the time being and hone your skills in some of the other threads while the grown-ups converse.
not sure if anyone posted this article yet but Morey and Les give some insight on what the plans for the summer could look like... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6432334.html either way we are in a good position moving forward...im excited allready!