I'd say Bradley's a 10 on the dork-o-meter...funny stuff, Doc. I'm with Achebe on what to do--which is basically to keep our options wide open and see what happens with the cap space this summer. If we can land Webber, then great. If not, re-sign Mo and try to get Marc Jackson. I think regardless of who we get to fill the 4, a center is top priority in the draft--of course I'd be willing to stand down on that if it means we are able to trade up and get a Griffin or even a Wallace, but otherwise I think we can pick up Terence Morris or Richard Jefferson a little later in the draft after getting a big man, provided we shift some of the conveyed picks around (hopefully at least one will be conveyed--the Orlando GM said that theirs will probably be given up this year) Shandon I'd like to keep but at no more than 5-6 mil a year if he opts out. It would be ideal if he didn't opt out, then we would have even more flexibility for Webb or Mo/Jackson, and then the year after that, with our core locked up, we could give him whatever he wants...provided Les doesn't mind paying the luxury tax, which I don't know he's commented about yet. ------------------
Prempeh: He did. Les wants to avoid it. ------------------ "Dream another dream, this dream is over... Dream another dream, this dream is over... Dream another dream..." - from the Van Halen song, "Dream Another Dream". Fitting, isn´t it?
Trade Hakeem without gaining a Cap albatross. If that can't be done and he has a bad attitude, keep him on the IR until the end of the season. Trade Walt and Cato. Best Offer. Picks...Cash...whatever. They have some positives, but their salary is too high for what they have to offer. I'd rather spend their money on one good FA. Get Webber if you can...Marc Jackson if you can't...Anyone to help the inside game. That's my Dream world. ------------------
Crash, I would have no problem trading Cato to the Mavs if thats what they want. You said in the other thread also, that they would refuse to trade Bradley b/c they like him so much? Fine I can live with that, I'd have no problem waiving him so the Mavs could have him back like the Rockets did with Augmon. The whole point of this deal has nothing to do with Bradley or Laettner as they are just cap balancers; the point is getting a young frontcourt talent in exchanged for Dream that is still on a rookie contract. If Cato can be dumped in the process to free up further cap room, even better. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
Thanos, You forget one critical point. If we agree to a deal with Vacouver, there is NO WAY Mo Taylor is a Rocket after this season. ------------------ Nederland 2002 Rocketman95 on board. Check out his latest game recaps.
Actually I like the idea of Bradley for Cato. I would be willing to make that trade just for the cap room it would creat at the end of the year. Cato is scheduled to make what? 6mil next year? Its a trade that would work for both teams. ------------------
Ace: We could offer him thee 4.5 mil exception, and by packaging a combination of Walt/KT/Los/Cato we might free up space to offer him more than that. The other year, he gains his bird rights with us. Many of you guys may see Mo as a mercenary, but i happen to have faith in the kid and how well he is fitting in with our core. (bet you liked that, Cat) I stand by scenario and team #2. ------------------ "Dream another dream, this dream is over... Dream another dream, this dream is over... Dream another dream..." - from the Van Halen song, "Dream Another Dream". Fitting, isn´t it? [This message has been edited by Thanos (edited January 17, 2001).]
A summary of everything I've read over the last few weeks with my comments (poor and not in-depth compared with many out there): The Rox look good--they're young and still coming into their own as a team. Taylor is looking stronger and more aggressive and the team is giving alot of energy when they play. But we can't STOP other teams, yet. One thing I do like is their speed and (growing) tenacity. Our D would be greatly improved with a Bradley-like presence in the middle, but can he run with the offense? A good thing about Carlos is his ability to flow with the guards and get dunks. Anybody who can do that, and mesh with Taylor, be mean in the middle and plug up any drives is a good center for our chemistry. Cato is too injury prone, and has yet to show any of the above with consistency. The way I see it the Rox' offense depends on a balanced flowing attack. Put another 50 pounds on Rogers' frame and we'd be doing well in the middle. Get two blown-up Carlos's and we'd really be doing well. As for the 3, I like our lineup, but I can see a tall defensive stopper who is quick to back up Shandon and possibly start in certain situations. We don't have an adequate backup at the 2 either, except for Francis with Moochie at the point, with Shandon and Cuttino starting together. I could also see a strong 3 of the above qualities starting with Shandon being the swingman backing up at both the 2 and the 3. He could be a great 6th man, but deserving of 30 minutes a game. The real question is how much of an upside does Rudy and CD see with our lineup? If Mo is willing to stay then why give up a strength when we have other weaknesses to fill, even with Webber on board, before we could win a championship? Don't assume that Shaq and Kobe are going to split up the Lakers--I think winning will be enough for them, at least it's more than likely to. Unless we can fill up our weaknesses now, allowing us to make a go without Webber in our sights, then I say we should keep the cap-space, postpone the decision until after the season, and then the decision should have to be made quickly in order to avoid losing Mo and getting nothing in return. He's alot to lose. [This message has been edited by Gypsy (edited January 17, 2001).]
Isn't assuming that we can package Walt, Cato, and Rogers (all scrubs when in terms of contract relative to performance) as bad as assuming we will get Webber? I seriously doubt that Mo would sign for the exception once more, specially seeing the lack of good free agents this coming offseason. Mo is showing to be quite capable, and I could see a desperate team taking a gamble by signing him to something better than one year/4.5 million. Just my opinion... ------------------ Nederland 2002 Rocketman95 on board. Check out his latest game recaps.
This is what I'm thinking. Waiving Hakeem has no purpose. We will still pay at least 14 million to Dream, and be giving up a top 10 (top 5 in my opinion) center that would be vital to a Western Conference playoff run. Not to mention have to see him in another team's uniform, which we may as well delay if it's inevitable to happen. I also wouldn't be interested in trading him just for players in the last years of their deals. We wouldn't be gaining caproom, we'd just be giving up a legend. Unless that player was Webber, there's no way getting guys in the last years of their deals would be worth it. But Webber won't get traded, he could flat out say "I'm going to be somewhere beside Sacto next year" and they still wouldn't give up on their championship run and trade him. The following are the only guys I would consider giving up caproom to get (some don't make lots of $$$, but we would probably have to take on a big salary to make the trade work): SAR, Rasheed Wallace, Lamar Odom, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter. Carter, Duncan, and Bryant are absolutely untouchable. Shaq won't get traded to Houston, a package including Hakeem would pale in comparison to offers from east coast teams who would be offering everything for guaranteed Finals trips for the next 8 years. Ditto for Kevin Garnett, especially since the T'Wolves would never be willing to watch KG tear up their division for the rest of his career wearing another uniform. Wallace is untouchable as long as the Blazers keep playing great ball and Kemp remains a good but not great player, but if they falter despite strong play from Kemp, they may be willing to do something desperate to land a potential Shaq-stopper. That leaves Odom and SAR. SAR comes with Big Country, but in my opinion it is worth it if we don't have to give up multiple first round picks. The Clips would have no interest in Hakeem, but maybe a 3 or 4 deal involving Boston sending Walker to LA could be worked out. Just throwing something out there Anyway, most likely, Hakeem will stay a Rocket. As far as free agency goes, pull out all the stops for Michael Finley and Chris Webber. Finley seems doubtful, but I'd say the chances of landing CWebb are in the 10-30% range. Taylor should be let go if we sign Webber. Our draft goal should be to get one of the high school centers or Yao Ming. Sign Hakeem to a two-year, 10-15 million dollar deal to allow the young center to grow. I am not in favor of signing Marc Jackson. I don't think his prospects are any better than those of Cato or Collier, and our goal should be to land one strong center, not 3 solid ones. A guy like Shawn Bradley would be a good piece if we had to send Cato and/or Collier to Sacto for Webber. Hakeem should be a Rocket for life, or traded for a star. No other options. Build around that. This may not be the exact topic of this thread, but it seemed like the most appropriate thread to post it in. ------------------ [This message has been edited by Rebuilding4theNewBuilding (edited January 17, 2001).]
Just FYI, if interior defense is what you're looking for, Marc Jackson is not your guy. His scoring ability may be worth $7M or more to some team this summer, and his rebounding is decent, but he's not a good defender at all -- especially at center. Too short, too slow, and no long arms or vertical leap to compensate. Watch tomorrow night's game and you'll most likely see for yourself. ------------------
I say we should shop Hakeem around the Eastern conference, seeing as how there are so few real centers over there. I wouldn't mind seeing us pick up Theo Ratliff, or Tyrone Hill, or Antonio Davis. We need someone who can put some D on the court while yanking down some boards and posing a big block threat again. Chances of those teams giving up one of those guys for the Dream is slim, and his salary really screws stuff up, but it sure would be a nice scenario. ------------------ He who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
The options are: 1. Steve/Mooch Cat/Anderson Draft/Anderson Mo/KT Draft/Cato and have Hakeem's capspace. or... 2. Steve/Mooch Cat/Anderson SAR/Anderson Draft/KT BigCounty/Cato and be capstrapped for 4 years. or... 3. Steve/Mooch Cat/Anderson Draft/Anderson Webber/KT Draft/Cato and be capstrapped for a long time. Team 3 is the team that can win the Finals. But the probability of Webber signing is low. The worst option is 2, because the team is capstrapped AND cant win the big one. I would rather waive Hakeem, have the cap space, and have a strong draft. Remember, cap space is much more than just being able to sign Free Agents. The teams with capspace always come up in TRADE talks as well. Keep that in mind. ------------------ The next time I have meat and mashed potatoes, I think I'll put a very large blob of potatoes on my plate with just a little piece of meat. And if someone asks me why i didn't get more meat, ill just say, "Oh, you mean this?" and pull out a big piece of meat from inside the blob of potatoes, where ive hidden it. Good magic trick, huh?
Nomar; I think your team no2 was better than team no3, especially considering that Mo may want to stay for a year at league average and then hit his 7m/year payday (as outlined in NIKEstrad's thread), that lineup would be very solid in all positions except C, and that might be something that we could draft reasonably easily (a shot-blocking rebounder). ------------------
Shawn Bradley on the Rockets.. Oh me, oh my.. Looking at him objectively, I guess he does fit the Rockets' system. He could probably be counted on to snag 7-10 rebounds per game and a healthy handful of blocks. I don't know if I could stand the sight of the gangly, born-again stickboy in the Rocket pinstripes, though. ..ugh... ------------------ My dream job is to be a Houston Rockets towel boy.
I think Doc's reference to "Stick Boy" was just an example of what we need in the middle...rebounding and defense with little offense. ------------------ "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Gandhi
At least we know that if we were able to get Bradley, Walt would have to go. ------------------ Kenny Thomas had a foul called on him in the Western Conference Finals.
Shandon needs to stay. He compliments Stevie and Cat so well. He's a tough defender and when all three are out on the court we have a very quick and athletic lineup. I like Mo, I like him a lot. He will never be C-Webb, but if he played C-Webb minutes and took that many shots he could score 17-20/night. His defense isn't as bad as I thought, but he does get into foul trouble a lot. His rebounding is the problem. I agree, the Rockets need a big center who can pull 8-10 reb/game and blocka couple of shots, but so con most teams. I don't have the stats but I don't think there are too many guys who do that. When I watch other NBA teams, the thing I notice is the guys that are 6'8''-6'10'' and are athletes. We need someone like that. I watched Rashard Lewis last night and thought, "Wow, good thing we drafted Turkan." I think we can get a guy that fits this description in the draft. Can we move up to get Eddie Griffin? I go to the University of Pittsburgh, so I have seen a lot of Big East games and a lot of Seton Hall. Griffin is the man, he can do it all. As far as the center position goes, I don't think we will get what we are looking for in the draft. I think Lore Woods is too lean, and I don't think Haywood is quick enough. Its just funny how the type of center we need, is the guy we thought we had in Kelvin Cato. Whew, I hate long posts!! ------------------ - Beck Dream...bring back the goggles
For what it's worth, Beck, I'm just not that enamored by the C prospects in this up-coming draft. As you said, Woods is a Camby-clone, Haywood is a slow, plodding C, and the HSers (Curry, Chandler) aren't ready. Now don't get me wrong, in time, this will be a good to great crop of Cs and, for the NBA's sake, I hope a few of them end up in the EC. But I'd rather them go with a C-by-committee approach using Cato and Collier, and do whatever it takes to move up in the draft, and assuming that they aren't in position to draft him, draft Griffin, whose game and athleticism is very similar to that of (ironically) Shareef. I had a discussion with a friend of mine about the Dream situation and if he thought we should trade him or waive him. From the conversation, we did agree that if the Rockets are going after CWebb, then it's an all or nothing gamble. Either CWebb mans the 4 for the next 7 years in Rocket pinstripes, or the Rockets will be looking for a new starting 4. Mo Taylor will be in demand this offseason, and my gut feeling is that if/when the Rockets go after CWebb, Mo will be out of here on the first train. Now this doesn't mean that the Rockets shouldn't go after CWebb, because he's definitely worth the gamble. It's just something to keep in mind. ------------------ "ON-BEE-TAH-BULL!!", Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon, alumnus, University of Houston
