Rice does have trading value, to teams wanting to unload bad contracts. Teams do not covet Rice, they covet the cap space he'll create. And with Steve's max deal about to kick in, I doubt Les is willing to pay the luxury tax to bring in another huge contract. And Deuce, pure rumor.
Aries, we are going to be title contenders next year and I like Moochie's role on this team which includes being a bit of an insurance policy should SF go down. If you view him as a policy then you would want to leave him alone. He is great in the locker room and help, and not hurt, our chemistry. I can think of a number of other things that could have a better impact on the team's fortune than moving Moochie.
We should try and trade for Brent Barry. He would be a good fit to backup both of our guards. He is a good passer and 3pt shooter.
Thank you, that's the reason Milwalkee traded for Payton, because, and I think they were idiots, they had to dump Allen's contract and blowup the team.
Back-up PG is not a major problem as long as Steve is a PG. If a veteran guy can give 5-12 minutes of decent ball within the framework of the offense whenever called upon and not complain that works out just fine. Yes Moochie is probably paid a little too much for what he does, but he really isn't a problem or a major team weakness for the role he does. As for no-J Bobby J, he was a worse gunner than either Mobley or Francis before he arrived at the Kings. A shoot-first, 40% FG shooter his first 3 years. Doug Christie's shooting has sky rocketed the last 2 years with the Kings as well--just not quite to the extent of Bobby's rise. Just goes to show you what playing in the Kings system with a front line with guys like Webber, Vlade and Peja will do to your shooting %. I say these things about Bobby J and Christie not because I don't think they are good players, they are good players in the Kings system. They play hard D, and their shooting is good enough that on on the Kings they are effective offensively as well. But don't expect if either is traded or signed by another they would duplicate their offensive efficiently, they most assuredly would not. Now Bibby's story is a little different, he was a pretty good shooter even on really bad teams, he can just flat out shoot. Of course his reasonably-talented-but-slightly-disgruntled-loser tag sure got changed to clutch-great-team-leader worthy of Dream-team-status pretty quick by moving from the Grizzlies to the Kings. Further, you can only imagine the damage (to the other team) a guy like Steve and even Mobley (yes, he a more natural shooter and scorer than Christie) would do if they played on the Kings.
I wish the Bucks could have dumped Allen's contract onto the Rockets! Imagine how good he would look in a Rockets uniform? Talk about stretching the defense! I am sure the Bucks HIDEOUS interior defense could use someone like Cato right about now. Need that a lot more then more swingmen/PGs.
The Bucks got the 1st or 2nd best PG in the league and a good young player in exchange for Ray Allen. That isn't exactly blowing up the team, it is potentially making their team better. Yes Payton is a FA, but he in all likelihood will stay because who else will offer a comparable contract than the Bucks will considering GP's age and the younger FA out there. Further, even if worst case scenario, Payton walks, they have Mason from it and a lower payroll. In sum it was definetly a good move by the Bucks. They are better this year with a good chance of being better from it over the next few years. It was more of a desperation move for Seattle than anything, though it might not work out too bad for them either.
The Bucks got a 34 year old player on the decline who the only way they keep next year is giving him the max. The Bucks got a 27 year player who is locked up for another year, and they have had the better results. Seattle got the best of that deal.
I'm ok with Mooch, but I do kind of wish he was better. I think this must be a bad year or something. However, he may just get to click at the right time, being pretty good off the bench, along with Rice and Mo. However, if we can get a pretty good pg without much in exchange, I would probably take it. Plus, Tito, in the time I've seen him, seems pretty full of energy. He needs to work on some things, but he can pass pretty well and...stuff. JMO.
A declining player who still happens to be the 1st or 2nd best PG in the league and who is averaging 21PPG, 8APG, 4RPG and 2SPG. A player that shows no signs of not be able to produce similar numbers the next 3-4 years. Now if someone else is going to offer a 7 year max deal, than yes Milw is in trouble, but who of the teams that can offer that kind of money and trying to build a future will do it for a guy that will end up being 42 or 43? I don't see it happening, I see GP returning to Milw for less than a max contract in terms of years, $ per year, or both. Bottom line is Milw got the best player and the one true franchise player in the deal even if he is older, and nice pick-up with Mason. Seattle was backed into a corner, at least they were able to get a very good player in his prime even if less than a franchise player.
pgabriel, The way you loko at things, the Mavs are a bunch of sissies, and the Rockets are just a bunch of overpaid players who like to showcase a lot and are only making the playoffs because other teams suck. It's like saying Shaq is just a really fat guy who doesn't block enough shots and isn't a good defender, and is a bad FT shooter. DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH! That IS true, but you don't only look at the negatives. Payton is the #2 PG in the league and will play wherever he has a chance to win the ring next year. Bucks are selling and unloaded Allen's large contract. No one got the better of that deal. Bucks were looking to sneak into the playoffs with better D, and wanted to reduce cap money. Sonics wanted to get younger. Everyone won.
Should we sign Tierre Brown? He is going to be with the Cavs for the rest of the season. Well....TIM HARDAWAY? Next season...we can get Jeff McInnis. He would be a good backup point guard.
WTF does your analogy have to do with the trade. Payton is old, and they didn't want to give him the money, that's the truth, I did look at the positive, Seattle got the better of the deal. Milwalkee might not even make the playoffs. Seattle got a player they can keep who's 7 years younger, who is an elite player at his position also.
If the rockets are looking to bring in a backup point to play about 10-15 minutes a night they need to get a veteran who knows how to play the game and one that Steve and Cuttino will respect and listen to. I vote for Avery Johnson or Mark Jackson. This team needs more veteran leadership.
Its funny the guy you say is "getting old" is right now better than the big prize as you claim who is in his prime. I also think it is a mild stretch to say Allen is "elite". Allen is very good certainly, but Kobe, Pierce, T-Mac, AI are all significantly better players--that makes Allen at best the 5th best SG with a big gap between the top 4. Payton is the 1st or 2nd best PG. If Milw gets Payton for another 5 years at around what they would have paid Allen plus gotten Mason I'll say they won the deal. We will see, this offseason will be important, but my hunch is Payton stays.
