Could Luis Scola be next on the trading block?

First let me start by saying that this is not a Luis Scola bashing thread. Luis is one of my favorite players in the league and if he retires a Rocket I would be thrilled. But there are other factors involved with the team that if examined point to the possibility that Scola could be traded.

Why other teams might want trade for him:
1st Scola is not a franchise player but he is a borderline all star player. This means he is probably brought up by other teams looking for good power forwards. He is a very good player but certainly not un-touchable.

2nd He comes cheap for the remainder of the year and is a great value for almost all-star like production he gives.

3rd Any team that trades for him has his bird rights which would almost guarantee that they could keep him if they want. If not he comes off of the books at the end of the year. As good as Luis is I would have a hard time seeing anyone letting him walk.

Why the Rockets might be willing to trade him:
1st Carl Landry. If the Rockets think Carl Landry is ready to start and could be an all-star player himself they may feel that trading Scola is the only way to get him into the starting line-up. This was basically the scenario with Brooks and Rafer last year. The Rockets were ready to see if Brooks could start but felt like they needed to get rid of Rafer first.

2nd In order to get something of real value back in a trade you usually have to give something of value up. I don’t think anyone on the Rockets is un-touchable at this point so if the right trade were offered I would think Scola might be one of the pieces the Rockets would offer up. When his production is combined with his salary then Scola is probably one of the most valuable trade assets the Rockets could possibly pair with Tracy Mcrady in a trade.

3rd Scola occupies a position of abundance. By that I mean the Rockets have two players at the power forward position the Rockets feel could compete with any other power forward in the league. They could give up one and still have a very good player at the position. Having both Scola and Landry is nice, but it is kind of a luxury.

What we know about the Rockets is that they are looking for a special impact player. It appears that they have conceded Tracy McGrady was a failed experiment. As good as Yao has been we all know about his chronic health issues. Chris Bosh is the name that the Rockets seem to be most enamored with but who knows if that is even a possibility. The point is the Rockets will have no chance at acquiring a true impact player that can take over a game in the closing minutes by offering Tracy McGrady alone. We will have to give up someone none of us wants to give up in order to get that type of impact player in a trade.

I am not advocating trading Scola but he is the older of the two between Carl Landry and himself. He is the less athletic of the two and I don’t think the organization feels that Landry has reached his ceiling yet as a player. I think most people believe that Scola has already max out his abilities. In the end I think Daryl Morey is a very shrewd GM and will not just give someone away as valuable as Scola. At the same time I think there are reasons that he has not renewed, extended or negotiated a new contract for Luis. He would be much easier to trade at his current contract then what ever he gets on his next contract which will likely make him less valuable to other teams due to the fact that he will likely be making a lot more money.

Sorry for the lengthy post but I thought it was worth discussing. As I said earlier I am a big Luis Scola fan so I am not advocating a trade just looking at the possibilities.

 

As I said in my first post I don't think TMac by himself gets back an impact player. I believe someone would have to be teamed with him (maybe two players). I don't know if any of the players I would want would even be available in a trade (Amare, Bosh or Al Jefferson) or even if the Rockets would want them. I'm just looking at possibilities and I think Scola is the most tradable and his value is likely to go down once he gets his raise. Just speculating.

 

I think there are a lot of people over valuing TMac's trade value. I think a lot of people think we can get back an impact player just based on TMac's expiring contract and the hope that he can return to form of a few years ago. I just don't see it happening. I do believe that at least one polished player and maybe even an additional up and comer would have to be thrown in to get a true impact player the Rockets could lean on at the end of games or during scoring droughts.