I've seen threads either mentioning Billups (see the thread on Wang Meng's article) or Lewis, but not both. <b>Which player would you prefer on our team next season?</b> It would be incredibly difficult to get either player, but with all the talk about the potential for a sign-and-trade for Lewis, I've been wondering what we would do if presented with the 2 options. Personally, I want to see Chauncey here more than I do Rashard. (I'd love to have both, of course, but that's an impossibility.) <b>Mr. Big Shot</b> is only <i>30</i> and would bring so much of what we need to the PG position. With the Pistons' loss in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row, I could see Billups leaving Detroit as a FA. Everything panned out perfectly in terms of Detroit losing and fans becoming increasingly critical of the PG's play in the series. He's accomplished as much as he could in Detroit and I believe it's time for him to move on. He would immediately make us a title contender and give us that X-factor 3rd option. Rashard is a great player, and I wish we had just drafted him originally, but as it stands now, the Rockets are better served to fill the PG position with a proven winner than a slightly younger SF (albeit a damn good one). I really hope Morey looks at the possibility of acquiring Billups first and foremost. It sucks that we can't negotiate with FA's until July 1st. But I would love to see what Billups could do bringing the ball up and being a vital playmaker in Adelman's system for T-Mac, Yao, and himself.
I'd LOVE to see Rashard FINALLY come home, but we need a PG too desperately. And T-Mac just won't cut it.
It's not even close! Billups every day of the week and twice on Sunday, especially if it's the same type of money being offered to both. Billups' overall impact on this Rockets team would be huge, while Rashard's would be minimal and is likely to hurt our team defense, regardless of how many points he gets on the other end of the court. I would much rather have a Billups...
the position the rockets need the most help at is the pg position.IMO...getting rashard at pf is a huge upgrade from da chuckwagon but we can probably also get a good pf in the draft...plus rafer has thrown up so many bricks he can build a house with them. ........but we have a better chance of getting rashard lewis, chauncy would be nice though C-Yao F-Rashard F-T-mac G-Snyder or head G-Rafer C-Yao F-Chuck F-Battier G-T-Mac G-Billups
And how exactly are we supposed to get Billups? We have no money to sign him and have nothing Detroit wants other than Yao/Mac. gah.
Billups chance to join the Rockets - 0%. Restricted FA. Pistons are going to match any offer starting from 11-13 mils. Lewis chance to join the Rockets > 0%. Unrestricted FA.
I believe that is incorrect. When he opts out of the final year of his contract, he will be an unrestricted FA. I am not 100 % sure, though.
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=129749&highlight=wang+meng (It's not a great read, but it definitely focused on Billups, which is why I referred to it.) If he really doesn't want to be there, we could do a sign-and-trade. Or...even though Les is notorious for not paying the luxury tax, he also loves to win as much as any other owner in the league. If such an opportunity presented itself, he might be willing to fork over the cash. I mean, this franchise has done <i>very</i> well for him financially (especially with the huge market from Yao in China). http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#16 Are you <b><i>sure</b></i> about that? http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_ekstrand/04/16/free.agency/index.html http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070517/SPORTS03/705170425/1051 http://www.insidehoops.com/free-agent-rankings.shtml I didn't say it would be easy ("It would be incredibly difficult to get either player..."), but it's not impossible. I really hope you're wrong and he is an unrestricted FA this offseason. At least we'd have a shot. But if he is restricted as you say, then you're right - there would virtually be a 0% chance of signing him...unless Isiah Thomas takes over as GM for the Pistons and does something stupid like his track record would suggest.
The one thing stopping us from acquiring Billups is that Detroit does not have a young superstar PG waiting to fill his spot which makes offering Battier seem kind of pointless. As for the choice between the two, Billups is clearly the better choice and fit for this team, but as far as assets go, Seattle has more to gain by trading with us than Detroit would.
Oops! forget billups opts out. He's a unrestricted free agent then. But detriot's intent to match the offer is obvious. Detriot doesnt have any real backup PG w/o billups.
We have no chance of getting billups and as far as i'm concerned thats a good thing. Also, we don't have the money he wants if he ends up like ben wallace and if not he will probably resign with the pistons. Living near detroit, I've watched almost every pistons game this year and vs the cavs(this happened more then once) with less then a minute left with the game left billups chucked up a three pointer at the start of the possesion only to miss. I'm not saying that he is a bad player but he makes bad decisons on the court for a point guard. I would rather have rashard lewis on this team. He doesn't need many shot attemps like billups to be effective. LETS BRING LEWIS HOME!!!
Neither do we. And the choice is Billups', not Detroit's. If he feels like he has nothing more to prove in Detroit, why not come to Houston and take on a new challenge and fresh look? You can't rule this out based on the idea that Detroit wants him badly - heck, <i>every</i> team would. PG is one of the most important positions on a basketball team, so we need to go after Billups, then someone like Bibby*, who also has an ETO (Early Termination Option), then maybe Rashard. Having him would be awesome, but we really need a PG and PF. Unless Rashard can prove that he can play the 4 position effectively, I don't know how we can ignore those 2 key positions. I also want to add that I agree that the choice of Billups seems obvious, but I brought up the question b/c: 1. Some seem to disagree and want Lewis over Billups. 2. If it is so obvious, I want to see less hoopla about a sign-and-trade for Rashard and more hype to bring in Chauncey (without hurting Rashard's feelings, of course). Because again, yes to Rashard means a no to a premier PG. *I am not saying getting Bibby would be an easy feat in any way either...I know he's got way more guaranteed money waiting for him than we could ever offer, but he's the next best thing to Billups at the PG position, and you can always <b>hope</b> (<a href="http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=2950980#post2950980">see previous post</a>). He did love playing for Adelman in Sacramento's heyday.
I'm going to go with Billups here. Getting Rashard Lewis would be taking a step back because the SF position is not the one we need to fix. And NO, Rashard cannot play at PF. I would like both!... but that won't happen. Just think: Billups, T-Mac, Lewis, Chuck, Yao. Yeahhhhhhhhh.
ugh... I'm no stats expert, but do we REALLY need to find out how much shot Billups and Rashard pulls up every game? I don't remember Billups as a volume shooter at all. and what is a Rashard not shooting the ball good for?
If Billups signs for 10 million, go for him man. Steve Nash the second (based on contracts). I rather have a floor general making everyone better rather than another person who uses too many touches.
I would prefer Billups much more than Rashard as well, but I think we need to realize this: in order to make a sign and trade, we almost HAVE to include our 1st rounder as part of the trade package. Since the NBA draft happens before FA signing can start, we'll either 1) take a risk and select a player for Seatle @26th, or 2) take a risk and select a player for detroit @26th, but not both. IOW, are you sure we could afford to risk our only 1st round draft this year, select a player detroit would want and betting on the extremely unlikely event of a sign-and-trade with them happens? I don't think that kind of gambling is acceptable at this point. On the other hand, a SNT with Seatle is at least likely enough for me to stomach such a gamble...
I would go with Rashard even though Billups fills a the PG hole. Rashard shoots it more efficiently, scores more, and has a better 3pt % than Billups. His PER is also higher. Rashard adds significant size to our team, as he is 6'10. The tallest rotational player (besides Deke) behind Yao on our team is Tmac at 6'9. That is pretty damn sad. Even though Rashard may not play PF, he adds significant length to our vertically challenged team which will help us defensively. The playoffs are all about mismatches, and Lewis presents a huge one for opposing teams. Also, I don't know if you guys noticed or not, but Billups wasn't really Mr. Big Shot this playoffs. He made some mental errors and generally played subpar this time around. If the Pistons let him go, it will be partially because his game has slipped.
