It was a mistake...no doubt. We wouldn't even need Artest if we had Prince... That said oh well, move on. No reason to dwell on what could have been.
Why blame Morey for this MaybeMiss? The owner swore to McGrady that he was NOT going to be traded. IF TRUE, what's DM the GM to do?
True. Agreed. but it is not Morey's mistake. It's Alexander's. he has a man crush on Tmac. anyway, seriously, after watching billups in the first two games. We would be a contender as much as Lakers if we got billups and anyone of wallace/prince. we will have a serious shot at championship.
I know for a fact, prince was never part of any deal. I don't have to list my sources either, lets just use some easy logic. Iverson has better production and has been healthier than tracy with a year shorter on his contract yet the deal for him was billups and mcdyess vs billups and prince? Even if dumars wants to turn the teaam over, it made sense to trade billups because of stuckey. Who would be the target to replace prince who at the 3? Prince is their youngest starter on their team, yet you want to get rid of him. Like clutch said, u have to be careful because there are a lot of front office people that read this board. Like I said before, prince was not part of the deal.
i said in the other thread, the tune here will change if/when morey is able to trade tracy for some young building blocks. no thanks on the 32 year old billups and the remaining $40million+ on his contract. he isn't good enough to get us past the lakers and that contract would have strangled us indefinitely.
Maybe the Rockets biggest mistake but not Morey's mistake. For now all that you can say is the Rockets biggest mistake because you don't know what truly happened. What if Morey worked that trade and then Les say no way! What if Detroit backed for some odd reason. We don't know the inner workings of the rumored trade so stop bashing Morey.
His contract wouldn't have been a big deal because I think billups is going to be a good old player like cassell. He's a smart, heady guy, that uses his size and strength well. He's always been a good shooter. He makes about 10m per, so it wouldve been billups and wallace, that wouldve been ok. That wouldve opened the door for the rockets to trade rafer for something or even combo rafer and someone to get another wing player. Im not going to crush him on that.
IMO billups is overpaid. Sure he would help us this year's playoffs but I don't like being committed for extended periods. Tmac contract ends in one year so we can decide what to do seeing how things go. We cut cut him, or resign him, so we have that flexibility. Plus, in fairness to Morey, at the time the trade was offered we didn't know Tmac's situation would be this bad. Just last year Tmac was a critical part in our 22-game winning streak and during his tenure in Houston he gave us plenty of superb performances in playoff games(of course minus passing the 1st round). Pulling the trigger on such a huge deal has to be thought out carefully and thoroughly. On pure versatility and what he brings to the game, Tmac is head and shoulders above Billups, literally and figuratively. Of course Billups looks better now, but that is because Tmac is injured and nobody could have predicrted it would be this bad. I also don't like the fact that Billups is turning 33 this year.
If the Pistons really offered Billups and Prince for T-Mac then yes, it was clearly a mistake in hindsight. Who knows how these negotiations go though? I trust Morey to make the correct decision, and without knowing more about the situation I don't think anyone can say he made a mistake.
let's get one thing straight, there is no such thing as an easy roll to a championship...especially this year, not with the lakers still around
Again I ask: source? It makes sense, the promise being the "non-starter" Feigen referred to. In retrospect, obviously that's a great move because McGrady looks to be done. But I think a very small minority of Rockets fans would have been happy with a McGrady for Billups deal before the season. I liked Billups a lot, but I remember a number of posters felt he was over the hill and ready for a dramatic slide.
well there's no legit source on either end. we can't assume there was a deal in place rejected by our owner/front office, either.. and therefore can't call this a "mistake" on their part if you need a source
We will never know what was actually on the table unless Morey comes out and says it. If it was Billups, then yes, in hindsight, that would've been a great deal. But, at the time it was offered, the season full of anticipation and Morey really would've shaken the core of the team by doing that. That's not a trade you make unless you are absolutely sure of it.
From what I've heard, it was just a very brief discussion the Rockets had over the phone, and Dumars wasn't even directly involved. Probably just trying to get a feel for what McGrady's value was. Looking at the salaries, it couldn't have just been McGrady for Billups + McDyess -- could it? Were the Pistons enough under the cap for that to work?
feigen did say there's something we absolutely we couldn't accept. wonder what was. "non-starter"? could it be ab or landry?
To those saying he is overpaid, I really REALLY disagree. No such thing as overpaying a guy who makes you a serious contender. Billups would have solved this fronting problem day one. Our defense would be UNBELIEVABLE with him and Battier on the court at the same time. Also he makes everyone around him better. Billups WITHOUT A DOUBT has been the best PG in the playoffs. If we traded Tmac for him straight up and still got Artest, we'd be just as good if not better than the Lakers or Cavs. Picture the defense, the domination as Billups would solve the fronting problem...who knows how good this team would have been. If it would have gave us one championship then we watch as the age takes its effects on Artest/Yao/Billups...so what. If you can get a championship you take that chance. The sooner we trade Tmac for some building pieces the better.
Correct.The Pistons didn't want to give up Hamilton. Billups was on the block,he was after all traded for Iverson very early in the season which is unusual.
If I remember correctly this trade was just a RUMOR.. But..I'll get rid of T-Mac for any bag of chips..
Les absolutely killed it, since he couldn't let go of Tracy. The length and amount on Billups' deal was also a factor. This was before Artest entered the picture, and our lineup would have been: Billups - Alston - Brooks (Von Wafer) - Head - (Barry) Prince - Battier Scola - (Landry) - Dorsey Yao - (Deke) (unsigned/not on the roster yet) It would have added pressure with removed leverage to get deals to happen. Not saying things would be impossible, but Rip instead of Billups would have been much easier for us to take back, both in committed salary obligations and in roster balance.
