the only problem is Howard is no use to the warriors, so another team would probably have to get involved to make that trade happen... I also think you have Francis and Outlaw backwards...as it would probably take MLE money to get Francis here, while both Outlaw and Carroll are going to get somewhere around the ballpark of 3mil contracts. I would target someone like Hill instead of Brown as well...Brown doesn't really have the quickness to compliment yao. this is also assuming all our big guys are re-signed (deke, hayes and tsak) Byars/Spliter/Almond are all picks which improve depth for us. Splitter would be ideal, as Howard could become expendable. francis/alston/vspan/jl3 t-mac/hill/head battier/snyder hayes/howard/splitter/novak yao/deke/tsak -as you mentioned, head and howard become very expandible in this scenario. I would like to target a player like mike miller who can create his own offense and is a dead-eye from 3 (to compensate for the loss of heads shot). -sura's medical exception could also earn us someone in the Outlaw range (an interesting prospect). francis/alston/vspan/jl3 t-mac/hill battier/miller/outlaw hayes/splitter/novak yao/deke/tsak outlaw can play a little 4, as can miller if you want to go really small.
francis/alston/vspan t-mac/hill battier/miller/outlaw hayes/splitter yao/deke novak, jl3 and tsak could be off the active roster.
Ok since we are playing the offseason game this is what i would do. 1. Trade V-span + Sura to Sacramento for Ron Artest. Ya i know. But this team needs a bench and toughness in the worst way. I think we have enough good guys on this team to keep him balanced, hell i would make Battier his accountabilabuddy and the two never go anywhere apart. On the court Artest is a top level guy and plays defense so Gundy will love him. He doesn't have a great outside stroke, but he is a capable ball handler and can put points on the board. Supposedly Sacramento wants to get rid of him for anything since he hasn't helped them win and they are clearly rebuilding. Keeping Artest on a losing team is bad news. Sura and Vspan leaves them with only Vspan's contract to worry about, and gets rid of a team cancer. Vspan he can provide some minutes behind Bibby. Artest to Houston would push Battier to the bench as the primary backup for probably 3 positions (2,3,4). The presidence i see is that Van Gundy likes toughness and knuclkeheads, he had a post choke Spreewell. Morey will be looking to make a statistical splash, and just basketball wise there probably isn't a bigger bang for the buck. The thinking would be that we have enough good personalities on this team to keep him in check and a coach that is used to bad attitutudes. His contract is just 21million over the next 3 years so not brutal. 2.Trade 1st round pick to San Antonio for the rights to Luis Scola The downside to this move is we have to use part of the MLE to sign him, if not most of it. Yet that being said this is a Power Forward(4) that can come in and play right away. He has the size and intelligence and experience to earn playing time. He is a Euroleague star and an olympic gold medalist. He understands teamwork and winning like almost every Argentine in the leauge. He would most likely check Hayes for minutes and probably end up starting by the end of a season. This is a player in his mid 20's that is coming into his prime, not a young kid looking to develop. 3. Trade for Marcus Banks from Phoenix. Phoenix signed this guy to a 5 year 20 mililon contract and regretted it as he didn't fit in their style of play. They have been wanting to unload his contract so bad they are offering some of their 1st round picks to a team willing to take him. He earns 3.9 million next season and with Sura already traded to the kings a combination of Snyder and Novak or simply resigning Tsakalidis to a 1 year deal for 2.82 million will get the deal done, then phoenix can cut him. We might have a trade exemption big enough from the Tsakalidis trade to get it done. We not only get Marcus Banks but a 1st round pick in this draft (i doubt its atlanta's pick) but it could be 24th overall. Banks isn't a great backup point, but he is better than anything else we have. He is also big, thick and is a GREAT defender at the point meaning Gundy will love him and he will earn playing time on this team. With the pick from Phoenix (#24) we could draft Morris Almond from Rice to bring more scoring and smarts off the bench. Yao-----Mutombo---Howard Scola----Hayes------Novak Artest---Battier------Snyder McGrady-Head-------Almond Alston---Banks-------Lucas This still leaves the LLE that we would have to maybe sign a vetran, possibly a steve Francis if he were bought out, otherwise this lineup looks alot better to me. There is a backup point, a bench and a real power forward who has size. The backup 2 and 3 would be dominated by Battier while Hayes would eat up alot of big man minutes and can play some center when Yao goes out as he has done before letting our team run. A second backup center wouldn't be a bad investment since Mutombo is getting long in the tooth but otherwise this seems like a team that could advance through anystyle of play and dominate on the defensive side of the ball. This is a move that leaves us still under the Luxury Cap, we keep 14 out of 15 high character guys and the 15th is easily the 3rd best player behind Tmac and Yao. This set of moves almost maintains the identity of the team of being defensive minded first. You could have a 5 of Yao, Battier, Artest, Tmac and banks and basically shut anyone or anything down.
PeteTheCheat, Good analysis and I see what you're saying. I'm not suggesting my deal is the best in the world for GS nor am I suggesting GS couldn't get any better offers for Harrington, however I still think they could use Howard. Granted, Howard doesn't exactly fit their run & gun offense but he's still a competent all-around player that could provide some depth/cap relief in exchange for Harrington's pricey contract. GS is a lot thinner than people realize. Their starting line up of Davis/Ellis/J-Rich/Jackson/Harrington is only supplemented by three players (Barnes, Pietrus, Biedrins). Biedrins backs up the 4/5, Pietrus/Barnes all back up the 1/2/3 spots and everybody else essentially rots on the bench. There is a lot of uncertainty about their bench in the future since Barnes and Pietrus are both free agents and they're only a Biedrins injury away from being forced to play Foyle. Now, that's no knock on GS either but people are getting a little obsessed with the idea that GS is some Phoenix-level team depth wise when in reality they run an 8 man (sometimes less) rotation. As for the MLE, I agree that Francis will most likely end up getting a deal in that range. However, since he is coming off of a max deal and eventual buyout, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that after all of that he could sign for the "hometown discount" in the LLE range of $2M or so. Supposedly, he wants to be back in Houston pretty bad. Outlaw is a unique talent that I happen to really like with the problem being that he's a restricted FA. Since Portland has a log jam of swingmen on their roster, i'm sure he's viewed as somewhat expendable but I still have a hard time seeing him let go for a deal in the range of $3M a year. Carroll is another player that I think could be a perfect fit on the Rockets. Aside from being a deadly shooter and surprisingly effective all-around scorer, he's very underrated defensively and with good size to go with it. He's one of the smartest players in the league that is rarely responsible for any bonehead mistakes. He started in Charlotte, I would think if we were to lure him away from his current role we would have to spend a little more than perhaps we would like. But given the way we've spent our MLE the past few years, the idea of perhaps slightly overpaying a DEPENDABLE bench player like that really doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. Jacquescas, If you could find a way to obtain an All-Star caliber talent like Artest for the likes of Sura's dead deal and friggin Kill Bill, sign me up. Otherwise, I think Sacramento falls out of their chair laughing at that proposal.
Sacramento has been trying to move artest all season for basically nothing. He hasn't helped them win, they are obviously rebuilding and Artest on a losing team will lead to an explosion. Ron is gone in sacto and like Randy Moss was traded for a 4th round pick in the NFL, Artest will also be gone for next to nothing.
baller, I really liked your choices of Carroll and Outlaw as well... Outlaw is a very interesting prospect. I was following him for fantasy reasons as his block per minute numbers are pretty solid. this year it looks like he added a baseline 15 footer to his game, and considering his age he still has alot of untapped talent. Unfortunately it's hard to really gauge his production because Portland have him such sporadic minutes. he is someone I would really like to bring in for the right price. Carroll is a gamer plain and simple. he isn't great at anything in particular but he can create a shot for himself and shoots the 3 at a decent % (which would probably only improve with more open looks because of yao).
Comparing NFL and NBA trades isn't possible. Trading Randy Moss for a 4th-round pick would be like Vince Carter getting traded for a conditional 2nd-rounder. Apples and oranges. Artest would still require at the very least our #1 and Head or something along those lines.
les was interested in acquiring artest before but somehow i don't think he is any more after those animal cruelty charges.
1) Sign Chris Webber with MLE This could be the single most important move for us if we can pull it off. T-Mac is gonna have to work some real phone call magic to get it done but he is a ver good pitch man. It would open up some many things for us especially for Yao if Webber can hit the midrange shot like he is doing right now in Detroit. Think about it Yao will not have face double or triple teams if opponenrs know that C-Webb can consistently knockdown open jumpers and even extend to the 3 point range. 2)Trade Rafer Alston + Juwan Howard + 1st Round Pick for Mike Bibby Hard to give up that pick but we could real use a true pg like Bibby and that will create so much on the offense if we get a playmaker besides T-Mac to handle the ball. Sacramento is trying to build over and with Bibby's off year Kings aren't getting much in return from anyone else. Face it when the best player on your team asks to be traded especially in an off year, You'd be luck to get any thing of quality in return ie T-Mac, Vince Carter, Iverson. Draft pick is what Kings are gonna get in the end. These 2 moves would solve alot of our problems and we could really be effective with an 8 man rotation of Bibby, T-Mac, Battier, Webber, Yao, Chuck, Deke and Head.
at this point in his career is webber even an upgrade over juwan? he sure isn't quick enough to guard PFs anymore, which is why detroit is out parading him as a C...the uptempo style of play the league is moving towards pretty much makes it essential for our PF to be mobile, especially with a big lumbering guy in the middle like yao. same thing with bibby...he just doesn't have the legs to put the effort in at the defensive end. sure, there are some definite positives...he's a seasoned vet with deep playoff experience and his 3-pt% would probably look great playing along side tmac and yao. but for his asking price (considering teams like cleveland are going to be willing to severely overpay for him), the positives surely do not outweigh the negatives.
Offensively, Webber is a significant upgrade over Howard with his ability to hit the jumper and his passing skills. Defensively, they are about the same, both slow afoot and a liability in combination with Yao on the defensive end. I'd take him if the price is right but I think P.J. Brown would be a better fit.
You're all delusional if you think we're acquiring a big name this offseason. Our main goal is this offseason should be acquiring a quality guard (1 or 2 or both), who is not spectacular, but can spot-up shoot and defend.
Are you kidding me? Give me one, just ONE reason why Detroit would let Webber go after this season. (I happen to bet that the EC championship cup is theirs to lose) Give me another why Webber would ever want to leave Detroit. ?? Nothing doing. If something along the lines of that happens, Webber would well have had signed with Houston instead of going to Detroit. Brother, get real. Travis Outlaw is an idea. Stevie... A flyer. Carroll... Funny how we ditched him in the preseason... Only if we trade Luther, which is something I REALLY wouldn't want to see. Chucky Atkins, anybody? I still want to trade up for Acie Law. Well, okay. Even if it takes Luther. How about Luther plus a second round pick or a future first and our first for something like the10-15th pick? And please resign Chuck. And a 6-10/6-11 athletic defensive big... Imagine: Yao/Deke/Jake Chuck/Juwan Shane/Travis/Novak T-Mac/Snyder/Carroll Rafer/Acie/JLIII/V-Span
The idea was contigent on the fact that I think Detroit is not good enough to win the championship. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't even make it beyond the Bulls in the 2nd round. You have to remember Webber will be a free agent and still be getting paid 20 million from Philly. I think if the Pistons don't win it all then C-Webb becomes fair game for anyone in the market. Clevland could be another strong possibility for him. Again I'm not dreaming or smoking from a pipe as I said a few months back when C-Webb was released we should have gotten him back then. It will take a good lobbying campaign from T-Mac and Yao but I can definitely see it happen. As for the Pistons they have 3 players with similar style Sheed, C-Webb and Dice and they are all finesse type shooting forwards. This will really hurt them in the next few rounds when their interior game will be exposed. Detroit misses Wallace and his presence on the D and they have no solution to a post game. Yeah Big Ben was no Shaq in the paint but he was always a presence. Finally I think the Bibby trade is imminent whether it's Houston, Cleveland or someone else it will happen this offseason. Sacramento papers have reported a few times this year that Bibby has personally asked to be traded and he will likely by dealt near the draft. During the trade deadline Cleveland was trying really hard to land him but they didn't have any pieces to offer. As I recall Kings gm wanted a quality PG in return. Now the Rockets may not have top echlon pg but Alston is still a good enough pg and a starter on almost any team. I firmly believe Kings aren't going to get anything more than a quality pg plus a pick for Bibby with his off year and public demand of trade. I think if Rockets play their cards right then both of these moves can really happen but it will take some serious negotiation skills. Maybe new gm Morey can get us started on the right path with some good moves lke these.
I haven't really looked too hard at the Rockets' salary situation, what with that little thing going on right now called the playoffs, but for right now, here would be my rough plan for the Rockets offseason; I'll probably rewrite this again later after the Championship parade... 1. Re-signings: Dikembe for about $2.5 for 1 year, Chuck for 3years, $10M, not letting the door hit Bonzi on the way out: free. 2. Draft: I think that if the Rockets pick at #26, the majority of the players who will be available will consist of senior tweeners such as Alando Tucker and Jared Dudley, and Mid-Major phenoms such as Morris Almond and Nick Fazekas. My preference is for Rodney Stuckey out of Eastern Washington, or Herbert Hill out of Providence. I absolutely hate Arron Afflalo of UCLA, considering he's been rendered utterly ineffective by any sort of decent defender, and doesn't have nearly the three point shot to compensate. I thought that Splitter was staying another year in the Euroleague, and if he got drafted at 26, the money might not be there to tempt him over. If Brandon Rush or Marcus Williams fall, I would think BPA theory would take over, but I feel like if the Rockets actually draft anyone, they would take a Junior or Senior out of college. There are a number of trades I thought might be possible, all using Bob Sura's $1M buyout as the carrot. First would be with Phoenix, trading JLIII and Sura for Banks and the #24, and then possibly packaging the picks together to possibly get into the middle of the first round, where Jeff Green or Acie Law IV might fall. Miami will also probably be looking to dump Doleac in order to resign Kapono and Posey, and is in dire need of a 3rd point guard, especially if Payton retires. They might go for Sura and Lucas for Doleac and Simien, along with a swap of first rounders. I'm not sure how reluctant Golden State is to pay the Luxury Tax, but they're very near the threshold, and they still need to resign Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus. Perhaps by taking Sarunas Jasikevicius off their hands the Rockets can pick up their early second rounder (#36 overall). 3. Free Agents: For the second year in a row, I'll again trumpet my favorite non-Rocket scrub; James Singleton of the LA Clippers. He's getting no burn, but is really energetic and has good size for the small forward spot, to go along with excellent offensive rebounding prowess. He expressed desire for a trade this year from the Clippers, so I'd say there's a 0% chance of them retaining him. If Steve Francis gets bought out, there's no reason why he shouldn't be brought back to Houston for the MLE. It seems obvious to me he's pulling a Vince Carter to get out of New York, the same way he cried to get out of Vancouver. In some way, shape or form Rafer's minutes must be cut back next year, and I believe the best point guard on the market who would realistically sign with Houston is Francis. I'm very wary of signing Chucky Atkins to a long deal, as Mike James and Speedy Claxton should give everyone a good reason to not sign point guards well past 30. (Francis should at least have 2 more good years, which is the realistic window of opportunity for this team). Outlaw and Carroll are not realistic; their teams will try very hard to retain them. It would be like other teams trying to sign away Chuck Hayes from Houston; sure he's a free agent, but there's no reason why a restricted free agent who's valuable to the team will leave unless he's massively overpaid. I doubt that Webber would have much love for Houston after they chose Maurice Taylor in FA years ago, and if I had to guess, I'd think he'd head to LA or New York, setting up his future career after basketball. I'm not a big fan of trying to get a big piece like Mike Bibby; he has a very unmanageable contract, and the number of players required just to match salaries would leave the bench very, very bare (Spanoulis would really have to work to warm the entire thing by himself). Anyways, that's my rough plan; I expect it to be buried under pages and pages of draft talk before it becomes even the slightest bit relevant.
Trade Howard and Sura to the Clip show for Mobes and their #1, giving them cap relief (howards contract is 1 year shorter than Mobley's and Sura's is 2 years shorter) and us a reliable scoring and defending 2 guard plus the draft pick. Then try to get a decent PF in the draft (to replace Howard's production, maybe McRoberts? Splitter?) with the Clips pick and use our laters pick for BPA. Alternatively, package our 2 picks to move up and get a higher quality PF like Yi or perhaps Noah.
I think Pete Carroll was the one on our summer league team. His brother Matt is the one who was playing well for CHA...
it's an interesting proposal, but I don't think Howard and cap relief is going to earn us anyone's #1 packaged with a player
1) agreed...perhaps resign Tsak as well for extra insurance. 2) from what I've seen of the latest mock standings we should be able to get alot more value then what you have listed. The depth of this years draft could potentially have a very talented and seasoned player fall in our lap. personally, considering JVG's disdain for rookies I would look for a more polished overseas player like fernandez (g) or splitter (f), who could shore up our depth. honestly we are thin depthwise across the board considering sg/sf has become such an interchangeable position. BPA is the way to go here, screw position. trades are such a hard thing to forecast, it simply turns into waxing philosphical based on everyones personal preferred style of play. myself, I am enamored with mike miller. big guy who can shoot the three...I could go on and on but basically thats my guy. 3) I agree with you, BA point is the way to go. And if all goes according to plan Francis could very well fall in our laps. I remember having a debate with a friend after we had picked up mcgrady at what a thing of beauty it would have been to see francis and mcgrady run the break together...to think that it could become a reality is actually pretty exciting to think about. esp. considering you could even slot him in at the 2 with skip at the 1. runnin and gunnin rockets...now I'm just fantasizing... did I miss anything?...(can you tell I'm bored at work?)
