When the Rockets trade Francis this summer, they should do so and get the players that can really help this team not only make the playoffs , but become a contender in the west. When looking at the west, the top teams will still be pretty young or young enough to be there for at least 3 or 4 yrs, so the idea is creating a team with some staying power. Very seldom does a team get equal value for a all star type player, but in a rare scenerio, the Rockets could do that because of the situation thats coming about. !st order of and main target: Tracy McGrady Some would think this is impossible getting a 24 yr old stud, but this is the yr and Franics is the player that can make it happen. Could it be McGrady for Francis straight up? Probably not. What the Rockets could do is offer Francis,Mobley, and maybe even even another throw in for McGrady, Lue and a throw in. That throw in could be anyone from Cato to Nachbar to Taylor for Hunter to Gooden to Howard. No matter who you have to , make it work. Francis and Mobley for Mcgrady and Lue and whoever. The next order of business is frontline help. This is a dicey situation because you might have to deal with the devil (Jerry West). I'm pretty sure Pau Gasol will be off limits, but it remains a mystery why he hasn't signed a long term extension and this is the yr he is supposed to sign one. If that makes you stomach quesy about getting Gasol to pair with Ming and McGrady, go after his side kick, Stromile Swift. He's seems to be ready to become a pretty good player now after 4yrs. He's long ,athletic and improving offensively. the trade exception can get it for you since the Grizz are unsure about his return. He's 23 or 24 yrs old and still has room to grow as a player. Now what you have assembled is a team with 2 stars in Ming and McGrady and complimentary players such as JJ,Swift,Lue in the starting 5 to go along with either Taylor or cato, pike,nachbar,spoon and a bench player to fill it out. What you have done also is gotten younger and added that perimeter player who would defer to Ming , but when needed could rise up and get a great shot late in the game similar to what Kobe did. Many will laugh at the chance of getting Mcgrady or scoff at the idea of retooling a possible playoff team, but look at Sacramento and what happen to Orlando when Shaq was a free agent. The 1st Kings playoff team was .500 and had a core or Divac,Webber,Williams,Maxwell,Delk,Martin,Barry,Corliss,Pollard an a Peja who was coming off the bench. They played well but lost to Utah. The nest season, they felt they need to upgrade from Max and Abdul wahad so they went and got Nick anderson who gave them nothing , but Peja found more playing time. The next season with raised expectations, they really needed offensive upgrade so they traded Corliss to free up time for Peja to start and traded for Christie and signed B Jackson. The team was right on the cusp and ready to roll , but quickly found out that Williams wasn't ready for prime time. The next move was trading Williams for Bibby who was a good player in Vancuver, but people other than pure hoop knew how good he was. What happened was that everyone found out he was a steady good shooting ball handler who was clutch and almost propelled the Kings into the championship. The next yr, they seemed even more ready to run the table, but injuries to Webber and the orest of the team derailed that thought and they lost to the Mavs. Fast forward to this past offseason and instead of standing pat, they acquired a quality player and future center in Brad Miller by trading away Clark and Hedo. Webber has played only 2 games this season and they still have the best record in the league. The message? The kings have traded or gained personell every season since making the playoffs eventhough during those yr they won 50 games 4 times. They're trying to win the ring, not just make the playoffs. Shaq and the Orlando situation. Everyone thought that Shaq was going to retire a Magic, but he looked and saw a injured Penny and lost confident Nick anderson and a 1 dimensional Scott. During that season, he went through situations with the coach that soured and when the Lakers can up with the cap room, it was a easy choice. It took Orlando till 99 to become even a blip on the radar again and that was after getting T-Mac. Which brings us full circle. McGrady is tired of trying to do everything himself. It wasn't as bad hen the team was winning, but since the team sux and is headed to the lotto, he'sll be ready to leave on the 1st thing smoking. What better situation can Orlando get for a player whom will leave and you get nothing for? In return or their all star, they can get a all star, Francis a quality player who plays well with him in Mobley and maybe even a big player in Cato or Taylor in the big man stavrved east. In return the Rockets would get a top 10 player, mcGrady who would appreciate playing with a player like Ming. The Billboard is always think Big. With thses moves the Rockets are thinking big and also thrusting themselves into the upper echelon of really good teams in the league. Make it happen.
great post lee... very interesting .. I would love to have Tmac on this team and then build around Yao and Tmac.. If we can fill in the gaps with great complimentary players and a few young developing players (Boki type) that can hopefully fill in the spaces when they get the chance. I dont know if I would like TLue as a starting PG. anyways Yao and TMac sounds awesome.. that would make for an awesome combo.. I still think we need some pure shooters but it always helps to have someone be able to take it to the rim. J
The thing about Lue is that he's used to feeding the post by playing with Shaq, he's a very good on ball defender ask Iverson and he's capable of hitting the open shots. With T-Mac and Ming, compliment is the word just like Kenny Smith,Avery Johnson and Tony Parker.
the rockets w/o francis a lottery team, rockets w/ francis in the playoff hunt. a couple years ago the rockets did not have francis , and they were crap, people are going to find out sooner or later that mobley is garbage, i agree we need a good point guard, but getting rid of francis is not the answer. francis needs to be the 2.people say he can't shoot, well what is iverson's field goal percentage. the point being that mobley can go and the rockets can still be a playoff team
leebigez, while I feel McGrady would be a HUGE addition to this team, I just dont see us getting it done this offseason. I feel the Magic will work this offseason to put together a solid team to surround McGrady. I dont think they will give up on him this offseason. However, I feel that he MIGHT be up for a trade before next year's trading deadline because McGrady can opt-out of his contract after next season and leave the Magic for nothing. So I feel trading McGrady is the LAST RESORT and would be done near the deadline. I feel the Rockets will make their moves this offseason and it will be too early for the Magic to go to their last resort move.
Before they got Francis, the Rockets had been to the playoffs every year since '92. (i'm not saying that because they got Francis they got worse -- obviously that has to do with the retirements of three Hall of Famers). But your statement is simply not true.
Unless the Magic can get Okefor if he comes out, what can they do? They have 2 max players, one of which doesn't play in Hill. The longer you hold onto a player leaving, the less value you will get. To the other poster about Francis and the Rocket a couple of yrs ago, this team will not go 2 and 16 without Francis. Are they a better team with than without francis? probably not. Replacing Francis with McGrady and this team inproves leaps and bounds. McGrady is 3yrs younger and 5" taller and would appreciate playing with Ming much more than Francis or Mobley. I hope it doesn't happen, but if Francis were to get injured, the Rockets would be closer to .500 than if Ming couldn't play.
Not really, Duece. McGrady is not playing w/ passion in Orlando. I consider him a top 5 player, and no top 5 player will let his team go on a 19 game losing streak.....in the East Plus he has 1 year left on his contract. Think about this, right: Magic will be in the lottery. Lets say they pick up Okafor, or someone similar. We can give them a whole backcourt, who dominates the East, Francis and Cat, for McGrady. Now they have Francis, Cat, Okafor, Gooden etc......Not shabby eh? Now are we giving up too much? probably........but We pick up B. Barry w/ the MLE. Give him a deal for about 4 mil a year for 3 or 4 years. He is your pg who can shoot the 3 and run the break. Then we try to use the TE for Rasheed. Or someone else who is available. Trust me, we shall use the TE on someone good. It wont be wasted. Cato or Mo would have to be traded. Our lineup: Barry McGrady JJ Rasheed Yao Dynasty
Honestly, I dont know what they can do. I agree they are kinda screwed. But I just dont see them making the move this summer. I see them at least "trying" to make a move. Clearly the draft will be huge for them.
steve and cat for tmac and lue is too much. orlando doest have a lot of big contracts so to make something work we would probobly have to take howard. a trade like steve, cato, boki for tmac, howard, lue may work. i feel like there will be other deals that fit better than this will.
A somewhat realistic lineup that I could see blending in well with Yao. 5: Yao obviously 4: Mehmet Okur: has a Brad Miller type of game. Can contribute 15/10 without needing any plays called for him. No room for him in Detroit with the Wallace boys and Darko. Maybe the 6.9 TE would be enough to get him. 3: Jamal Mashburn: can be the go to guy when needed, but is also a great 2nd option. May be available since the Hornets seem to play better this season before his return. 2: Stephen Jackson: Proven to be very successful with a great big man. Also has shown this season he can play even without Duncan. Very cheap contract and could probably get him for very little. 1: Brent Barry: a tall point guard that can consistently make the 3 and run a fast break. Free agent: could be had for the MLE This lineup would make it pretty clear that Yao is the centerpiece. A very tall lineup (shortest is Barry at 6’6) making to easy lob it in to Yao in the post. All four players can consistently knock down the outside shot making it more costly for the defense to double Yao. None of the players need the ball in their hands to be effective on offense.
Assuming for fun that we could swing that, what about McGrady's back? Is that a long-term issue, or is it just a temporary thing? Back problems send up red flags for me. But getting McGrady based on talent is a no-brainer, if it could be pulled off.
Better deal than this? You are too greedy. Orlando won't even take this trade. Tmac>SF, Howard is a decent defender and much better offensive force than cato, Lue has more experience than boki.
The reason I threw in Lue and Hunter is 1 for salary wise with Hunter and with Lue his experience in feeding the post and knocking down open shots. Will he ever be a creator at the pg spot? No.What he can do is like what Derek Fisher does and Kenny Smith and Avery Johnson did. Not to the ball, knock down the open 3 or jumper and play solid defense and in control. He's a younger than Francis, has championship experience and could let T-Mac and Ming create for him on offense. Lue is a career 386 3pt shooter and has better than 2:1 asst:to ratio. Getting rid of Francis and Mobley and getting T-Mac and Lue improves that ratio instantly. In the West, you can never get enough big guys. Hunter is long and wiry who can do what Cato does, rebs and block shots.
Most people know that the Lakers are Shaq's team, but when you need a big shot, who normally takes it? Its the same with T-Mac if he came here. Ming would make his job a whole lot easier and both would have matchups favorable. T-Mac would probably score less, but be more effecient at it as well as getting Ming the ball in scoring situations. When the team need a clutch shot, the Rockets could run a pnr with T-Mac and Ming and get a high quality makeable shot at the end of games. With the subtraction of shots from Francis and Mobley now going to McGrady and Ming, i don't it would be a conflict at all.
How great would it be to have Mike Bibby? I have a good feeling that if this Sacramento team fails at winning the title they may decide to re-tool and hopefully that would give us the opportunity to try and snatch away Bibby. Bibby is the most ideal PG in the league for Yao. Nash would be somewhere up there, however, in a JVG style offense I'd place my trust in Bibby. Also, I love his long-ange and mid-range game. We've seen him averaging 8 assists with Vancouver, and he averages over 5 assists with under 2 TO's for Sacramento. That's incredible. He also has tremendous playoff experience, and has shown to be clutch. If I were building from scratch, I'd take Steve any day... But to build around Yao, I'd trade Steve for Bibby without blinking. MacBeth, Oakley would be nice, but that's my opinion. A few more feasible alternatives would be Avery Johnson, playing minimal minutes and acting as assistant coach. K-Mart would be a different type of leader as well, I'm sure he could get Yao charged up. Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis have leadership qualities that would benefit Yao. Vlade Divac coming off the bench would be wonderful. On the Spurs, Avery used to be the motivator, Bowen helps a bit, and Manu is picking up a lot of the responsibility in that area now. Yao PJ Brown Rashard Lewis Cuttino Mobley Mike Bibby 6th man: JJ That's the team I'd like to see. Not beyond the realm of possibility if you consider that our trade bait includes Steve Francis, 6.9M TE, Kelvin Cato, and (hopefully 6th man of the year) Mo Taylor. Well, it would take some real convincing on CD's part, but it's not impossible. Besides, we could head into luxury tax land, because that team is sure to challenge for the championship.
Whats funny is back in the day, i used to talk about what a quality pg Bibby but everyone used to talk about Francis dunks and Bibby on a losing team. A few yrs later and the implementing of the zone and Bibby going to a good team, now everyone wants him. How quickly things change. The same is said about Brand and other playing on poorly coached ,poorly visioned teams. If Brand or Bibby was offered now, how many on this board wouldn't want the Rockets to jump at the chance?
Very interesting stats Gater. It's odd that one of the league's top 2 or 3 defensive teams can't do better than 25th in the league in points off turnovers and 29th in the league in fast break points especially when you consider that the Rockets have Francis and Mobley at the 1 and the 2. And it's not like this team isn't trying to run when the opportunities present themselves. I would be interested to know what our FG% or turnovers on the fast break is comparatively although that may be an impossible stat to find.
