After signing Mobley, Brian Grant is the most pressing need.

vince,

Tell us how your option #2 of signing B Grant as a free agent is doable. Give us all of the salary figures and show us how the Rockets will be able to do it.

Mango

 

i know im in the minority here, but i dont' think grant is worth two #1's. he just doesnt impress me. Now, if we're talking about rasheed wallace , thats another story.

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"Don't they get cable in Canada ?" Keith olbermann, after watching hakeem block terry catledge's shot 5 times.

 

Actualy I've been thinking along the same lines. It seems to be somewhat realisticon the surface, especialy given the recent history of deals between Houston & Portland.

The big roadblock I see is Brian Grant himself. Brian Grant is a free agent ONLY if he decides he wants to be one. I can;t possibly see anything other than a sign & trade. When Grant signed with the Blazers, he had an offer for more on the table from Sacramento, but didn't care about being the man & wanted to win right away. So, the only way I see him deciding to be a free agent is if this situation has changed, and therefore signing him would require more money than the Rockets supposedly have under the cap.

As for the Blazers perspective, if Grant wants the money, they are once again struck with the problem of too many young, expensive frontcourt players. It might benefit them to consolidate their deep bench, save some money and hedge their short-term bets with some investments in the future.

So, what would we give them to help the accomplish this? This is another problem.

Portland seems to always be unsatisfied with Damon Stoudamire, and Greg Anthony is a free agent. If we had a defensive-minded, athletic, young point guard to trade that might work, but we don't.

Portland's small forwards are you know who, Detlef Shrempf, and Stacey Augmon. Maybe a young small forward would work, but we don't have one of those either.

Therefore, as far as I could tell, the meat of any deal would have to be future draft picks, probably at least 2, given the 2 first round picks Atlanta sent the Clips for Lorenzen Wright in a sign and trade. We would then match Grant's estimated $6-9 mil salary using the $4.5 mil exception and either Walt Williams or Carlos Rogers, as these are the only players with sizeable short term contracts.

Unfortunately, I am willing to bet that Portland would be able to get a beter offer for Grant, assuming that he decides to declare for free agency at all.

 

What's the infatuation with Brian Grant by Rocket fans. Brian Grant is playing like **** right now and for that matter all season long. He came off knee surgery in the summer and looks like he's lost all of his explosiveness. He has a history of injury problems. Above Average offensive player. Good rebounder and low post defender. He does have trouble scoring and covering the bigger and taller PF's in the league. For a player whose career averages are just 11.9 ppg and 7.6 rpg, I think 2 # 1's, Bryce, and Walt is a little too much for this guy.

 

I'm in agreement with gr8-1 and Da Man about Grant. Sure he's a warrior and he plays hard, but he's already 28 years old, he's injury prone, he's never averaged over 14.4 pts/game , he's never averaged double figures in rebounds and he makes alot of money. He's a nice player that any team would love to have. Just not at the price that's been suggested.

 

I would love to land Brian Grant. Rebounding and low post defense is exactly what we need, especially in this conference. And who knows, maybe Grant could become better offensively iff he becomes more involved in the play calls. Besides, we got KT fore the O. MAYBE i would even be able to give up 2 1sts.

Take Bryce, please.

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"Whooaa." - Ted

 

Vince:
1. If Williams or Drew was was used as trade bait, how could either show up in your projected lineup.
2. 2 first round picks and Williams or Drew? Portland is barly using Grant - that would be a little too much to give up.

 

It'd be great if Houston could do a sign-and-trade involving Grant, Williams, and Thomas.

Grant's scoring average on a Portland team loaded with talent is mis-leading. After watching him (dare I say) out-play Malone in last year's playoffs, I'm convinced he would be a great addition to Houston.

 

Thanks for shedding some light on the subject of Brian Grant.

I am part of the group that are in support of picking up Brian Grant. I am appreciate the comments by aelliot, gr-8, and Da-man. Thanks for providing some sound reasons against acquiring him.

I agreee that he may be injury prone and this season he has not looked his best. But damn. That should work in our favor contract wise. Regarding his age, 28 years old is not old.

Plus he has Rasheed Wallace in front of him playing like a superstar. I am sure this has cut into his playing time and confidence.

I think a change of teams may be just what the doctor ordered for Grant. There is no question, when healthy, that he is a top notch defensive power forward. He can rebound and play defense with the best of them. I think we need some one like this to negate the excellent offensive minded power forwards in the West.

I am still of the mindset that if we acquired Brian Grant that he would turn it around and have a good season for the Rockets.

 

I like Grant a lot. 28 is just not that old, probably about the same age Otis Thorpe was when we traded for him. It turns out he's played in 78% of the games in his career. I don't know if I'd call that a pattern of injury or not. He's played in 95+% of his games 3 different seasons. Also, when considering his career numbers, he's only averaged 30 minutes a game over his career, in fact the year he put up 14.4 points, he only played 30 minutes a game. I think he's an outstanding person and an excellent player, in fact the kind of person he is may be worth an extra million or so right there. Having said all that, I see virtually no chance of the Rockets ever getting him.

 

Point: Grant's scoring average on a Portland team loaded with talent is mis-leading.

Counter-Point: Ok, how about his scoring on a Sacramento team that had very little talent?

Was that (Sacramento) when he first entered the league? He's developed into a better player, now.

 

He's gotten better offensively? Then how come his scoring avg and fg% have gone down each year in Portland? A guy like Grant should have his scoring average go up on a team like Portland. He'll never get doubled on that team and he should get plenty of easy baskets off penetrations.

Grant is a good player. It's just that if you're going to give up 2 first rounders (including a lottery pick) and a couple of players, then you better get a first tier PF.
Grant isn't it the upper ranks of PF, he's a second tier level guy.

[This message has been edited by aelliott (edited March 08, 2000).]

 

The Grant I have seen this year is a shadow of the Grant battling in the playoffs last year against the likes of Malone and Duncan. In fact Grant has been nowhere to be seen in the critical minutes of some recent Portland games, this is troubling. Either he has physical issues (as Da Man alludes), or he is in Duleavy's dog house, or a little of both. With Wallace there + their SF depth + the young Oneal, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Blazers try to get what they can for him in the offseason.

Disregarding salary issues for a moment, before commiting something really valuable (starting with our own pick this year and/or Mobley) for Grant I would want to make sure I thought his head and body are "right" for the near future. I am not saying I know either way, but the Grant out there this year just hasn't looked anything more than an adeqaute starter or good back-up. Last year he looked on the verge of becoming an elite PF.

[This message has been edited by sir scarvajal (edited March 08, 2000).]

 

Any way to get Bo Outlaw? He'd fit right in. So would Rashard Lewis and Michael Olowakandi.

 

i would love bo outlaw and michael olawakandi but rashard lewis is not a guy to go after unless he'll take the minimum because thats what he is worth, and brian grant has lost a step or two or three or seven since his surgery this summer. to be honest with you he looks like oliver miller (playing wise).

 

Grant's scoring average on a Portland team loaded with talent is mis-leading.

Ok, how about his scoring on a Sacremento team that had very little talent?

I agree that he may be injury prone and this season he has not looked his best. But damn. That should work in our favor contract wise.

I don't think it will effect his contract whatsoever. His deal with Portland pays him alot, but he's got the option to opt out of the contract after this year. I can't believe that he's going to take much less money just to get more playing time. He's got a chance for a title in Portland. Somebody will pay him the maximum, which is fine. I just don't want to give up a lottery pick and an additional 1st rounder for the right to pay him the max.

I like Grant a lot. 28 is just not that old, probably about the same age Otis Thorpe was when we traded for him

Thorpe was 26 when we traded for him. The difference is that our best player at that time was also 26, while our best player today is 22. Also, we didn't have to give up a lottery pick,another 1st rounder, plus players for Thorpe, we just gave up Peterson and McCray.

It turns out he's played in 78% of the games in his career. I don't know if I'd call that a pattern of injury or not. He's played in 95+% of his games 3 different seasons.

Let's look at recent history. Everybody agrees that he's playing at half speed this year. In the 3 previous seasons he's played in 133 of a possible 212 games. That's 62% of the games. Over the same period Hakeem has played in 175 of those 212 possible games (that's 82.5%). All we've heard for the last few years is how Hakeem is broken down and can't stay healthy. Well, he's in his mid 30's and he's playing in more games than Grant who's in his late 20's.