ESPN Insider: Trade Suggestion - Eddie Jones for Rice, Nachbar

I would rather hold on to what we got right now. We have a bunch of players who need to reach their potential. (Griffin, Yao, and even Steve)

If one of those players ends up having a break out year, we are a lock for the playoffs.

Griffin: If he can play more like Camby and less like Horry, I think he will be our PF for the future. With JVG, it is quite possible that we could end up seeing Griffin setting up around the basket for rebounds and put backs, rather than camped out at the 3-point line cooking Marshmallows.

Yao: Needs to be more consistant. He played very well in his rookie season in spurts. We need him to give us 18-8-2 every night.

Steve: Steve doesn't really have to do anything. At the end of last season, before Rudy went down, Steve was avg. 18pts-8ast-6reb after the all-star break. This means we know he can play the point. What Steve needs is a new offense. JVG needs to stay away from the ISO, and work on setting up plays where the rest of the team is cutting to the basket and trying to get open.

Steve / Mooch
Cat / E. Pike / Hawk
A. Griffin / Nachbar / Rice
E. Griffin / Mo Tay
Yao / Cato

If anyone should be traded, it should be Cato. He has great value at center, and only one other team in the NBA actually has a true center. (Lakers)

 

Mo Peterson. I would like him.

Desmond Mason. I would LOVE him. He's cool...and a good boy. And he can dunk. He knows two guys from Houston very well..Rashard and TJ. I would love to have him as a Rocket. OR how about Michael Redd? But Milwaukee really sucks.

 

One thing I forgot to mention was that whichever PG/SG backup we sign, he should be a defensive specialist (perimeter defense) since that would really be more or less the only weak point I would see on our team by then. Our shot-blocking would be truly scary with Yao, Cato, E. Griffin, Kirilenko.

 

I'm teetering on whether I'd do the Rice + Nachbar for Jones. Would Miami throw in an unprotected 1st due before Jones's contract expires? That might clinch it for me. I don't care how fast the Heat are rebuilding, IMO they are still Lotto bound for at least two more years.

My only issue is...now who starts at SF? Is this the depth chart?

1) SF / MN
2) EJ / CM / Pike
3) AG / EJ / Pike
4) EG / MoT
6) Yao / Cato

 

I'd do this trade IMMEDIATELY! Getting Kirilenko locks up our 3 spot for a long time, even if Boki doesn't turn out to be the monster we all thought he'd be. Kirilenko would be a GREAT fit here, especially under JVG: plays great D, is very efficient with his shots, and can complement Steve/Cat with his stability. We lose Moochie (I know everyone wants THAT!) and lose Rice's expiring contract, but take on Brian Grant's hardnosed PF playing.
Utah gets a good player in Eddie Jones, filling their need for the minimum salary level. Though they lose AK-47, they get a good defender who can also play to complement Harpring and maybe even mentor DeShawn Stevenson. They should also get a 2nd rounder from the Rox and a first rounder from the Heat to make it somewhat more even, as well as maybe some cash considerations.
The Heat get rid of two pretty bad contracts, getting Rice's expiring contract and Moochie's bad contract, as well as a scoring 4 in MoT who has a more reasonable contract than Brian Grant's.
LET'S DO THIS TRADE ROCKETS!

Good call on Tierre too!

 

SJC -

Ameachi is a non-issue.

IMO, there is no way Utah will give up AK47 for Jones. Kirilenko won't even top $1m this season. They'll find an offense that works for Harpring and Kirilenko before they'll lockup an additional $11+m for 4 more years. We on this board may have written the Jazz off for 2003-04, but you can bet Sloan hasn't.

 

Don't they need more salary? Also, maybe there is a chance to sweeten that deal for them somehow?

 

Amen.

Btw, Kirilenko isn't going anywhere. They'd trade Harpring before him. He's a 21 year old shot blocking athletic freak who isn't close to reaching his potential yet.

Oh yes, I'd like him on the Rockets.

 

You're all complaining about Eddie Jones being a player who's old, injury-prone, with an unreasonable contract, whose defensive skills are fading fas...

No way we'd give up Glen Rice for him!

I mean come on. The comparisons to Posey are pointless - Posey won't be seen in a Rockets uniform anymore. It's almost as if some of you guys are having trouble getting over a breakup or something. My advice? Get over it.

That being said, I would have to think long and hard before making any decisions concerning this deal, and I'd probably turn it down. Plus, something tells me JVG would be a reluctant to add a member of the Heat to the team. Though Glen might want to go back to Miami.

So I guess that's it.

 

I would trade Moochie and Rice for Eddie Jones if the Rockets could get the Heat to do it. I believe this would keep them under the luxury tax and we would get rid of Moochies contract which is going to be dead weight since the Rockets will likely cut him anyway.

I would actually prefer if the Rockets were going to do a deal with the Heat that it would be for Grant.

 

You do know we are being borderline sacreligeous talking Utah moves in the Rox GARM?

Yes, they need more salaries...but why would they tie it all up in 1 player? Especially for 4 years! (EJ was all they received in your trade).

According to the CBA, a team must spend 75% of the salary cap. If the cap is $43.8m (Coon's estimate) then the minimum expended would be $32.9m. By my estimate, the Jazz have 10 current contracts totalling $27.5m. IMO, they would be further ahead to round out the team with a small signing (they have the rights to Raul Lopez) and some 1 year vet mins so that they could be huge FA players next summer (as opposed to Jones for AK).

 

I would pass up on Jones with his big contract.We need a tough PF and an upgrade at the PG spot to backup Francis.

 

I do this deal only on one condition: Jones is our starting SF.

if he's supposed to be our starting SG, i hate it.


why would i pay someone 14M to not be any better of an SG than mobley at 6M. and why would i essentially render the piat signing moot b/c now all 96 guard position minutes are filled. and why would i take the hole at SF, and turn it into the grand canyon by trading away the probable starter and the guy we hope eventually does live up to his potential and is the starter?

reasons i do it if he's our SF.

1. the only reason i really want rice's contract to give us freedom from the LT is to find a suitable SF. mission accomplished.

2. he does the two main things i want from our SF, he can play defense and he can shoot 3's.

3. his contract would expire at the same time as mo and moochie's i believe. perfect. i don't know if we'd have any cap room even with about 28M in expiring contracts, but i'm sure something could be worked out and that could be a fun summer of cap room and an awesome team with francis and yao in their primes just as this summer was for SA with cap space and a prime duncan and good team (although it didn't work out as hoped, it was still nice).

jones always plays sg, but i don't think he'd have much problem adapting as we'd still just ask him to play good D and hit 3's with the occasional slash. we have the jvg comment about the 2 and 3 being interchangeable so that works out. although i believe jones is only 6'6 and thus may be a little undersized to play sf, just as cuttino is slightly undersized to play sg, i don't think them each being 1 inch short will hurt us and it would definitely increase the overall starting lineup talent level.


so if we're bringing him into fill out the sf hole (i don't know how much better we can realistically do with rice's contract in a trade), be an old veteran for this team as it matures, and give us cap relief in 4 years as we're peaking, i'd do it.

if we're bringing him into replace cat, move piat to pine riding land, and leave a gaping hole at sf, i don't do it.


so please rockets, choose option A if you do the trade.

 

The guy to go for here is B. Grant folks. Trade Mo + Rice for Grant. Then trade Cato for W. Person(7 mil, 1 year left on contract).

 

That is the only one I would think about, and only if they threw in their first round pick next summer (which is not out of the realm of possibility, because it saves cap space, and because Riley is not real fond of rookies). But still, that is a lot of contract to take back. I think everyone is underestimating how difficult it is to move high salaries in the NBA right now, and how many teams want to do it. Look at how many teams were calling Utah to take their players off their hands, and offering picks to do so. Jones has a severely negative trade value.

 

31 is hardly "aging". Dream and Karl Malone didn't win the MVP until after they turned 33. Jordan played at a competitive level until 40. Reggie Miller plays the same positon and at 38 is still one of the better shooters in the league.
j

 

Bring it to the house Eddie!

 

I'd do that trade in a second. F*** the luxury tax.

 

Francis/Moochie
Mobley/Piatkowski
Jones/Griffin
Griffin/Taylor
Yao/Cato

I agree. This is a good team to me..I would rather give them Taylor instead of Rice. But if we have to give them Rice, maybe we could ask for some cash or a future 2nd rounder.

I don't know what y'all are complaining about.....luxury tax! Oh no...most of the top teams pay luxury tax. Les loves Miami anyways and has season tickets and MAYBE wants Eddie Jones as a Rocket. Who knows...maybe he has a good relationship with Pat Riley and can work something out. It's not our money. It's not like we will die if we go over the luxury tax. And we can always move our overpaid players like Cato and Moochie and Taylor for expiring contracts or to places like Utah. I think this would be a good team. But really...it's not going to happen so don't worry about it. Has any trade on ESPN Insider ever actually occurred? Anyways..I think Les would be willing to pay luxury tax to get someone he really wanted. Not Jones though.

 

hate to back HeyP up, but here some exact quotes from the OT victory at Miami this past season (i just happened to be watching it)

From the game at Miami in the past season, when Bill and Calvin were talking to Cat after the game, his exact words on Eddie Jones were

“Eddie’s my mentor, he raised me man, so it’s kinds hard, you know, but I had to get physical with him”. “ We play each hard everytime, even in the summertime, so I just love playing against Eddie, he brings a lot out of me”.

but damn he salary, age, declining play and injury proness and ridiculous. we have enough eddie's on this team