I generally don't post trade proposals, and I promise I won't make any more such posts until the offseason is over. But here are three trades I'd like to see the Rockets try out. 1. Glen Rice to Milwaukee for Toni Kukoc The Bucks have made so many crap trades, I really don't see why they wouldn't try another. I think Toni really wants to escape the train wreck that the Bucks are about to become. By trading for Kukoc we get an extremely intelligent, versatile veteran whose playmaking abilities could free Steve Francis to indulge his score-first mentality. Though he may be soft and fragile, I feel he's more valuable than Glen Rice. 2. Kelvin Cato to Memphis for Lorenzen Wright and Shane Battier Memphis is desperate for a tough center/enforcer. They have a surplus of swingmen, and Battier had a disappointing season last year. Still, he's a good shooter who doesn't make a lot of mistakes, and would certainly fill the void at the 3. Wright isn't the shotblocker that Cato is, but he'd be a more than adequate backup for Yao. 3. Mo Taylor and Moochie Norris to New York for Kurt Thomas and Charlie Ward This is certainly the least likely to go down, but with Layden anything's possible. I think JVG would like to see these guys in Rockets uniforms. Our new roster would look like this; PG - Francis / Ward SG - Mobley / Piatkowski / A. Griffin SF - Battier / Kukoc / Nachbar PF - Thomas / E. Griffin C - Yao / Wright If/when Toni goes down to injury, Griffin can slide over to the 3. Thomas can work at the 4 or 5, and Kukoc can (very) occaisionally play the 4. Ward would be a solid backup point, and Pike and AGriff could share time at the 2, depending on whether offense or defense is needed. No, there aren't any rumors of these trades happening. Chances are that none of them actually will. This is all just speculation and hopes.
Any one of those would be nice, but still unlikely. I just don't see the Rockets making any moves until after the season starts.
None of those deals make sense for the other team. Both Kukoc and Rice are FAs after this season and Kukoc is the better player. Milwaukee says no to that IMO. Kelvin Cato is not really an upgrade over Wright (Cato is better blocks wise and Wright is better on O with everything else being a wash). IMO, Memphis wouldn't want to deal Wright for Cato straight up, much less include Battier. Right now, Thomas is better than Taylor and Ward is better than Moo. Scott Layden is not that dumb.
dharocks since I didn't get to respond to your nonsense in the Francis on 610 thread I will interup your meaningless thread. Baring some trade that, in my opinion, would put us over the top, I will stick to my "42 wins TOPS" theory. I've never changed or altered my stance on that or anything for that matter, unlike you. And I see that you have gone and changed your post and removed what I didn't say. So "could I name said qualities?", yes! Do I need to? NO! The fact is, I couldn't possibly care less what elements you see in Francis that would make him a solid leader. The characteristics I am questioning are that of his mind for the game, his leadership ability and his overall character make-up. Dont hand me this "ballhog" B.S. as such that i've mentioned. I know damn well that I have not once said Steve was a "ballhog". Don't pass others negatives of Francis as mine. You are reaching by way of the holes in your post but grabing nothing but air. Also, truth be told, I have as well never said that I "dislike Mobley". In fact in a number of threads I have stated that I like Mobely's ability as well as others in which I have defended Mobley. So basically you whole post is inaccurate and of falsified propaganda. Futhermore to add to the garbage in which you have written I was never "convinced", as you say, that the Rockets would miss the playoffs. I insinuated there was an outside chance of missing the eighth seed, but once agian, "baring a trade" that i believe would get us over the hump. I will say it again for the second plus time; without upgrading our team we will lose more games to the powers of the west than last season(02-03). I'm not going to make any ludacris presumptions such as many of you that the Rockets with the current roster are a 6th seed or higher. So being a "realist", I hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
You're most likely right, but I really don't see were Toni fits in on the new team, with T.J. Ford running the point and Mason getting more minutes at the 3. I'd be surprised if Kukoc wasn't demanding a trade midway through next season, and suspect that the Bucks would only trade him for an expriring contract. You're right, but apparently West went after Dampier pretty hard. His numbers in similar minutes are quite comparable to Kelvin's. I'm still not sold on West as a GM - he overpaid Posey, traded Gooden and Gordon for Mike Miller, and had a bad draft. The reason I thought he might include Battier was the fact that Shane had a disappointing year, and for some reason West and Hubie really like Mike Miller. With Battier, Miller, Posey, Jones, Dickerson, and Person all playing basically the same position, I think they might be willing to part with Shane. Probably not. Probably right. But they've got five PFs with Othella, Thomas, Sweetney, 'Dice, and Lampe, and three centers with Knight, Doleac, and Vranes. That's really the only reason I think Thomas might be available, though if 'Dice can't play, he most certainly wouldn't be. Moochie for Ward is just something I'd like to see happen. Of course no one would be stupid enough to do it. It would be like trading Sprewell for Keith Van Horn - ridiculous.
