Why would either Martin or the Rockets want to do that? Martin needs to show he's got talent for his next contract negotiation. And, players want to play, in general. For McHale, it's better to have a guy than not have him. He can choose to give Martin minutes or not depending on where he's useful. For Morey, he'd rather have Martin play to be a part of the team or to improve his tradeability. Other teams will be concerned about a player out with an injury for so long and/or questions about his talent and mental toughness. It is in everyone's best interest that Martin play and be given the necessary support to succeed.
I'm not speaking like that at all. They're more competitive and play harder. That's it. It's about effort. Martin had a tendency to slack off here and there, like some vets do. Younger guys don't know any better and fight even when they're down 10 with 2 mins left. Anyone else not see that the team is in games, at the end, more often now? I guess it's just the word i used that's irking you. I could have said we don't need him anymore. Or we don't need him as much. Or the role he'd play is worth a lot less than what he's paid. I get that a guy with his talent should always be able to find a place on any team, but with this current team i can't see him being used like he should be, where he'd be worth his salary. They'll be paying him 12-13 mill to play like he's paid 7-8. It's a waste of cap space and this team can't afford that. I've actually said pretty much the same thing about Lowry. Trade him. I haven't said he doesn't fit specifically, but i guess i could have. However, the big difference is you won't be saving as much money at the pg spot, so to me, that's why Martin's departure makes more sense. Again, i think you're replying to me with others' posts in mind. I've never said Martin should just be tossed aside. I don't believe in forcing talented players, him or anyone, out just to get rid of them and/or trading them for peanuts. I believe he still holds value and we can get something significant for him, which would help the team more as a whole. It's true, Camby will help cover Martin's weakness....but that's still going to hurt the overall team defense. Its better to remain strong defensively at the two with Lee, let Camby focus on his man and general roaming, rather than giving Camby even more defensive responsibility. At his age, he's not as effective at flying around the paint and can't always play big minutes. I don't believe bigs will be completely unavailable. I know they're not readily available either, but circumstances change throughout the season and offseason for teams. Look at what happened to Pau, Nene, Mcgee, and even Camby. Things will change come draft day and free agency. There's like an 11 million difference though. Wipe away the financial side of basketball and I'd agree with you 100%. However, we need to improve as a whole and still watch out for salaries, The team can afford to have Bud sit in the corner an get back his jumper, it can't do the same with Martin and his salary.
