cipherous, I am unaware of eddie's ailments, but my bigger point is simply that rice's contract expires on its own... we don't need to throw away an additional talent like mobley just to acquire a different expiring contract. The fact that Rice's contract will expire next summer makes him a great asset. The fact that Mobley has a great contract for his output makes him a great asset. It'd be completely ridiculous to pair these two together for friggin' Sprewell. We have bad contracts like Moochie and Mo Taylor. Wrap Mobley around Mo's cankles and see if somebody bites... stick Cato in Moochie's frobasket and see if somebody wants him. Or sure, pair them all together, but not for a win like "an expiring contract". Sheez.
Spree and Rice's contracts are the same? (length) It doesn't look like Ford will be available at #4. With the Russian guy pulling out, and Milicic looking at another season in Europe (contract problems), 'Melo goes #2, and either Ford or Bosh become #3. Considering Denver is at #3, they have Hilario, Tsika, and Camby, I think they're WAY more likely to take Ford at #3 than Bosh. I'd love to have Ford come off the bench though. What I definitely would HATE to see is this team making a push for the playoffs with their brand new rookie PG. Traditionally, it takes PG's 3 years to actually reach their potential, so I don't know if I'd want this. Also, a PG that can't shoot worth a lick is NOT what we need. He'll get eaten alive by other PG's, and once teams realize that they can post either him or Steve up at EITHER spot, they'll have the easiest time picking apart our offense. Like I said, I'd be more than willing to do it, if he backs up the 1, and Steve backs up the 2, while we get a good veteran SG. If he's ready at midseason, start him. If not, he can be our spark till he's ready.
TJ Ford + Steve Francis would be the worst defensive backcourt in the L. Why does everyone think offense, and totally forget about D? 5-11 & 6-2 in one starting unit is just too short. The 6ers w/ 6-0 Ivy & 6-3 Snow have plenty of defensive problems even though Snow plays bigger than he is on D. Does anyone really think Stevie can do the same job defensively as Snow? Let's be realistic. Those guys would invite an endless post-up party by opposing guards. As for Spree, any trade that isn't a one-for-one straight up for him isn't worth it (Rice for Spree)...same goes for that defensive sieve A. Houston. As for Sprewell's name, yes, that's his name, but his nick is Spree.
Sprewell really repulses me. He probably should have been facing criminal charges for some of the stuff he did. I can't believe the player's union actually filed a grievance on his behalf. As if being banned for a year isn't appropriate when you physically attack your coach. For other stuff that he's done, he'd have been fired in any normal occupation. No thanks.
It is possible that Spree will go to the Raptors for the #4, which probably would be TJ Ford. Spree for #4
The Sprewell trade is crap. francis4prez already explained it. Just because we now have a coach who used to be in NY does not mean that ESPN needs to come up with a new CRAP trade where NY rapes Houston every other day.
How come everyone is talking about spree...kurt thomas and Charlie ward are key players we need so we dont have to use moochie as a backup and kurt thomas would be a nice upgrade at the pf position with EG backing him up...also spree contract is up after 2 yrs so that would be better then getting allen houstons big 100 mill contract....to me, i think this is a good trade and would be good for our team...throw in hometown lee nailon and this would be a really really good trade
Kurt Thomas would be a good option at the 4 next to Ming, in the enforcer role. Charlie Ward has an expiring contract that next cap room, and can play as serviceable backup in a pinch. Spree has some defense, and his contract ends soon. There's some value to these guys. The question is price. If the rockets can move some of their bad contracts, why not? Cuttino and Rice are good contracts, so no deal. NY would have to take one of our problems - Taylor, Cato, or Moochie. I'd be very happy to do Taylor, Cato and Moochie for Spree, Thomas and Ward. They get a C, a scoring pf, and a point. They don't need Cat, with A.Houston stuck there. Rice is the other optional piece in play. The thing is, the team only improves a little in the deal, getting a banger and gaining cap room later. Surely CD is trying to land a bigger fish first, with this as a back-burner kind of option .
I would not do this deal. Mobley is younger, is in a better contract position and his overall skills are on par with those of Sprewell. Plus we can use Rice's cap space to fill other needs.
Why is everyone so high on TJ Ford? Is it because he's from a Texas school? This guy has a lot to prove before he's a legit NBA player. Can you say Mateen Cleaves???
T.J. Ford I believe will go the way of Wizards Juan Dixon, not spectacular, not great, barely good enough to start on a team that has nothing good at all at point. Short quick pgs are great in college, look at Juan Dixon, but in the NBA, you have faster bigger guys that will simply crush you. Do not be so high on Ford, he is not worth all you are willing to give up.
If we get Latrell Sprewell, I would seriously think about following another team. Also, if we are going to do trades, we need to trade guys with bad contracts like Moochie, Mo Taylor, and (possibly) Cato. I say possibly on Kelvin because he actually has, lol, become valuable. Also, I would be looking at the Clippers, specifically Brand, Odom (ugh, I can't believe I am typing his name), and Jaric. Getting these NY jabronis like Sprewell, Allan Houston, etc is NOT an option in trying to get the Rockets back to the playoffs.
