if we can pull this trade off, we need 2 take it and RUN!!! i would try 2 move vspan b4 luther but either way works 4 me. TAKE IT AND RUN!!!!
No they were just dumbasses when they moved webber. Kenny Thomas's contract is long and gigantic. Williamson's contract just expired and they traded Skinner. But that KT contract is absolute murder to their cap for a guy who sucks at basketball. Our trade on the other hand is a no brainer. You do that deal the first chance you get.
As far as the rumored Artest deal, if I was the Rockets I would try to move Head, Alston, Lucas, Snyder all before Spanoulis. Spanoulis is an extremely talented point guard IMO. I really feel that he can be the starting point guard on a championship team once he gets acclimated to the NBA. Head is totally one dimensional, Lucas is a 3rd string PG and that's about where he is in terms of the NBA. Snyder is nothing but a backup wingman that you use for defensive purposes and rebounding. Rafer Alston is a solid backup pg and a good piece as a 7th or 8th man on a championship team. But that's all he is. Spanoulis has loads more talent than Alston. So basically I don't see the logic in throwing Spanoulis in on the rumored deal. It seems pretty clear you just give expirings/expendable players without much potential and that low first rounder for a headcase like Artest. I have no doubt that Sacramento is asking for Spanoulis as he's far and away more talented than guys like Head, Lucas, even Alston. But the Rockets should have to add him to get that deal done. Really Alston or Head should be more than enough, other than that Morey would be showing his inexperience. I know a lot of fans think Spanoulis is garbage, but it doesn't matter to me. I've played the game in all sorts of levels and fashions for years, and Spanoulis absolutely jumps out at me as being exactly the kind of point guard you always wish is on your team. As for Artest or AK47, either would be great. But if there was in fact any way of getting AK47 for Battier, the 26 and say Alston (they need a solid vet backup pg), then I would definitely rather have AK47. And actually now that I think about it, that's a pretty good deal for Utah. PG James/Spanoulis/Lucas SG Wells/Head/Snyder SF McGrady/Novak PF Kirilenko/Hayes/Reed C Yao/Mutombo That's pretty much the best lineup the Rockets have had in a long, long, long time.
Thank Jesus, Joseph and Bob Dole. <a href="/nba/rumors/post/Houston-unlikely-destination-for-Artest?urn=nba,36646">Houston unlikely destination for Artest</a></h4> <p class="date">Friday, Jun 15, 2007 3:00 am EDT</p> </div> <div class="bd"> <div class="small"><img src="http://f3.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_rumors/ept_sports_rumors-925588233-1175096036.jpg?yml7BQ9C6mM.tiR4" alt="Ron Artest" border="0" height="160" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="160"><p class="credit">Getty Images</p></div><p>The <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/hou/">Houston Rockets</a> would like to add a power forward. Or maybe <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3339/">Ron Artest</a>, who would give the Rockets the scoring they want from that position, but rebounding and defending a power forward would be a problem. </p><p>And there's the baggage. The Rockets have tried to acquire Artest a time or two over the years, but he has gotten into even more trouble and that could keep Houston from trying again to acquire him.</p> <p class="source">Source: <span class="source-link"><a href="http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2007/06/rockets_get_a_s.html">Houston Chronicle</a><a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2007/06/rockets_get_a_s.html"><img src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/nt/ic/ut/bsc/newwin12_1.gif" alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="12"></a></span> </p>
Sigh... Something needs to happen quick, because we've got 11 days until the draft and all of our rumored deals involve trading the pick.
We have long and probably great summer so something just has to happen. There are a lot of trade rumors and a lof of good FA.
Artest is a great player, but not the best fit for us here. For those of you thinking we can start Artest at PF, we can't. He is neither a good enough post defender nor rebounder to play that role next to Yao. We got murdered on the boards against Utah and it'll get worse against teams like San Antonio. Sure, he looks good on paper, but we'd have to move Shane to use him effectively and I don't think that's a great idea. Shane's a much better shooter and almost equally capable defender. And if we start Artest and Hayes together it only leaves one zone-buster (James) on the floor. Maybe we can move Shane for a better shooting PF, but we really rely on high percentage 3pt shooters to give Yao space. Shane's contributions outweigh the needs for a fourth scorer. If we can get Artest for our rumored package, I'm all for it. But I won't be surprised when we get severely outrebounded our first few games and start clamoring for a solution. Those who thought Shane could handle the PF spot last year know exactly what I'm talking about. Artest is no different, it's the same problem.
Why do you feel that Artest would be a poor rebounder? Artest is 6'7" 260lbs. Battier is 6'8" 220lbs. By comparison, Duncan is 6'11" 260lbs. Artest has the size, quickness, and determination to be a good rebounder. Shane simply does not have the size. You also ignore the fact that other PFs would have to guard Artest. In many cases, they might go small and put in a smallish PF also. Then you force Duncan, Boozer, Garnett, etc to guard Yao. We should be dictating the mismatches, not the other team.
I'm all for Artest for the rumored package as well, as no team is going to give us a good PF for Vspan, Snyder, Sura and our pick. I want Artest not as our starting PF, but as our starting SF (Battier as our 6th), as that package wasn't going to net us a good 4 anyway. I say we do the deal (if it even exists, who knows anymore?), and continue to look for a 4 as planned using the MLE or a trade.
I feel acquiring Mike James as an additional scorer has taken off the pressure to get Artest. Artest is better than Battier but he doesn't solve the need for a 4 to make things easier for Yao IMO.
He was outrebounded by 0.5 rebounds per 48 minutes by his opposing PF. Not good, but not bad either. He did outproduce his opposing PF by 2.5 in PER per 48 minutes though. This was in 18% of his team's PF minutes. People have been clamoring for Haslem. He outrebounds PF's by 0.6 rebounds per 48 minutes. However, he is outproduced by 2.5 in PER per 48 minutes. In addition, it would probably take Battier to pry Haslem away from Miami while we can get Artest for peanuts. Also Haslem is getting beat by PFs in the East. Put him in the West and he looks like Chuck Hayes. Speaking of Hayes, he only gets beat by 0.5 in PER per 48 minutes by opposing PFs while outrebounding them by 4.5 rebounds per 48 minutes. This is in the West. Dare I say both Artest and Hayes are better options at PF than Haslem?
i think artest could be an interesting but succesful fit for us. he has the body of a potential pf (6-7, 260). he's an intense player, and would be a handfull 4 any team. at the 3 or the 4. no one is just going 2 push him around, and i believe that there r only a few players that could totaly dominate him in the post. and 1 of em plays 4 us. furthermore, chances r that if he does end up as our starting pf, he wouldn't be playing the role of a traditional pf. artest has an unorthodox offensive game, and an extremely effective defensive one. he would be capable, along with the rest of our cast, of making the opposition play our game. and no matter what type of game that is, adelman's game plan 4 us in particular (whatever that is), those r the kind of players that winning teams need. we need the versatility and fire that he could potentially bring.
Rebounding isn't about size, it's about skill. Eddy Curry is 7 feet 300 pounds and grabs less boards than Jason Kidd. Artest gets 6.5 rebounds in 37 minutes per game. That simply isn't going to cut it. Hayes grabs more than that in less than 23 minutes, Artest is bigger than him too. He's not going to be a good rebounder no matter how much weight he gains. We should be dictating the mismatches, but do it with our best players. That's Tmac and Yao in our case. Utah ran it through Boozer and Williams because they were their best players, plain and simple. If we start running the offense through Artest just to take advantage of a mismatch we will never win a championship.
You people are all complaints and no solutions. Are you a Democrat by chance? No Artest is not the ideal PF. But please name me a way to get a PF better than Artest without killing the rest of the team. Battier and Artest at SF and PF sounds better than anything else I can think of but I am open to any suggestions.
At what point do you people stop for a second a realize it's the TRADE that makes the most sense not the players involved. I mean can you tell me any team willing to take Sura, V-Span and Snyder for a quality player in return? I cannot name a single team and that is why you take the risk no matter what, Ron Artest is huge upgrade over these benchwarmers and DL players. If he becomes a distraction then so be it you took a risk and it did not work out but then again it was the best you could have gotten for your scrub players. I'm not a fan of Artest and his mental issues but if you can get a guy like that for so little then you have to roll the dice and take a gamble. Now if someone suggested Artest for Battier then I would say HELL NO but we are getting for players that don't even play any minutes for us. I say YES to that kind deal any day of the week. Stop and think for a second just look at the TRADE and not the players.
You're comparing apples and oranges. Artest spent the majority of his minutes playing on the perimeter while Hayes was in the paint. You're going to get alot more rebounding opportunities if you're that much closer to the basket.
