Dude, you didn't address anything in my post. It doesn't matter how much money Les is willing to spend because we have NO caproom to offer for billups as a fa. All we have is a MLE and it is extremely naive to think he'll come here for that. And as far as a sign and trade ... like I said, we have nothing the Pistons want outside of Mac and Yao. A late round pick and bench players that equal at least 10 mil a year will not get it done. It's just flat out ridiculous to even entertain the idea.
It's unfair to judge Billups based on this one series. He made some bad plays, but I still believe he's got a lot left in him. He definitely has the resume to show for it. Daniel Gibson played in brains out in the Eastern Conference Finals, but it would be ridiculous to say that he's going to be the best PG or SG in the Eastern Conference b/c he showed such great poise and mettle on such a big stage. I'm not taking anything away from his performance, but you can't judge on this one series. He'll be a solid spot-up shooter, but he's not going to put up 31 every night. Likewise, Billups has done plenty to earn a pass for not playing his best in this series. With that said, I'm definitely glad the Pistons lost and he didn't play too well b/c that I feel like those 2 things increased the chances of us getting him (in terms of the likelihood of his leaving Detroit and getting less money for his next contract, although I'm pretty sure this "less" is negligible and the contract will still be a substantial amount). I also want to show a <a href="http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=2963045#post2963045">link to a post by ooliverb1</a> (he started the Battier for Lewis thread). I think he makes a good point here. To add to it, I'm not saying that Billups wouldn't need his fair share of shots, but at least those would come with him creating many of them after bringing the ball up. With Lewis, we still don't have someone to be a catalyst to the offense. I love T-Mac imitating a PG, but the fact of the matter is that he isn't one. Someone needs to start the offense, and Rashard isn't the one to do it. Sure, he'll score (something we need), but he doesn't fill that absolute need for a PG.
OK, Billups - Great PG, which is a much needed position. Tough. Great, great, great leader. Good playmaker, great floor leader. Plays really good defense. One of the top 20 players in the NBA right now. Did I mention that he's a great leader? Lewis - Soft small forward with an aversion to defense. Not much of a creator, but a good shot. Hometown boy. Possibly one of the top 50 players in the NBA right now. I'm having a hard time with this. Can someone help me?
This is like a "Jessica Biel vs. Jessica Alba" thread... i.e. a discussion about chicks/players we have no chance at getting with. Inevitably, somebody will mention how Jessica Biel's broad shoulders is a real turn-off... umm... hello?
I guess I was still confused on how the salary cap and everything works. I was under the impression that you could just sign players and go over the cap, then pay a luxury tax for every dollar over (similar to baseball). But with a little research, I found this not to be true (<a href="http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#20">link to explanation</a>). I'm still confused b/c how the hell does is Dallas so far over the salary cap?? (<a href="http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2010">link to Mavs' roster financial breakdown</a>) I would love it if someone could explain this to me. Nevertheless, I don't think it's ridiculous to entertain ideas. As impossible as it seems, there are some things that could go right - If Billups says there's no way he's going to sign with Detroit or if he really wants to come to Houston, then a sign-and-trade could still work. We have some expiring contracts (Sura, Tsakalidis, plus some smaller ones), a first round draft pick to offer, Shane Battier (whom the Pistons may see much value in if they're wanting to get back to playing good defense and slowing down LeBron. Sometimes, we underestimate how much NBA execs love players like Battier)...Or there may be a third team that sees some value in Rafer and believes he had a down year, but can pick it up with their team. Ok, I know I'm reaching here, but c'mon. I mean, if Billups wants to move on and still contend for championships, Houston may be his best option. He can work with the brains at the Detroit front office and make this work somehow. He's made plenty of money at this point and he may not go to a mediocre team that offers a lot of money. I know this all sounds ridiculous, but isn't the point of offseason threads to entertain ideas? Again, I say: <b>Keep the hope alive!</b>
I choose Billups, because we need a PG and he is great, but is almost impossible that the rockets get him.
Maybe we should start a tipjar donation to Clutchfans if Billups signs with the Rockets without trading Yao or T-mac?
Billups is of course better. He is better defender and he is PG (we need a solid PG). It would be perfect to take Billups but Rashard of course isn't bad too.
That's only his 1st year in Detroit so I don't think he would go. Pistons may move Prince or Billups, maybe Sheed
As much as I love Rashard Lewis and wish we would have gotten in 98, Billups fills an immediate need and a would be a good fit. When you consider this, plus the fact that Rashard is really a SF like TMac, you'd be asking him to play a significant amount of time at PF, or be moving TMac to the 2 guard. Neither situation is ideal, and neither solves our biggest needs (other than legit 3rd scorer). That being said. If Rashard is "available" (meaning, willing to come, and we can work out a trade), and Billups is not, definitely pull the trigger!
I was wondering if anyone would say this. I thought Chauncey and Rip were directly at fault for the Pistons losing the series. Maybe that's just me. But the truth is, they get the accolades when the team wins, so they shoulder the blame when the team loses. Even Chauncey thinks he did bad... link I say we go for TayTay... lol of course I may be biased.
I'll address your question as to why some teams have gone way over the salary cap: I'm sure you've heard of the term bird rights. Basically, if a team has had a player signed to a contract for 3 years, that team can ignore the salary cap to give him a raise up to a max contract(usually somewhere between 10-15 mill). So if Novak, VSpan, and Lucas all blow up over the next couple of years, we can resign them each at the max when their contracts run out and then our payroll we start skyrocketing as well. But the rox really haven't brought in much cheap talent worthy of pay raises like that since, eh ... Mobes I guess, and we were somewhat cheap with him too. And as far as Detroit wanting Battier ... um, they have Prince starting at sf for them signed to a pretty big contract. Battier coming off the bench really doesn't help them all that much. And if Billups wants to go to a contender, there are other places he can go. Really the rox aren't even contenders right now, just another maybe playoff team. The only hope you have for Billups coming here is that he loves Houston so much that he'll come here for the MLE and leave at least 15 million on the table. There's no reason to believe he has that much love for Houston and no reason to think he doesn't like more money over less.
And I'm going to give you the same rebuttal I used in that thread against that post because it's a poor agrument. As far as the number of shots, the Adelman Rockets will not be dead last in the NBA in fastbreak points and near the bottom of the league in FGA's. There would be enough shots for either player to be effective. That said, the poster pointing out we had 0 chance at Billups and >0 for Rashard was 100% accurate.
granted pg is a more pressing need. but if you answer from the perspective of what you will have to give up to sign these guys (considering signing them straight out is anywhere from unlikely to impossible), then Rashard is the better choice. Assume Rashard can be had for Battier + #26 pick to Seattle. Billups could not be had for that price. Any S&T involving Billups would either be the previous offer plus additional talent further gutting our already thin roster. In this scenario we would also most likely be taking a bad contract back in the deal...like mohammed. ...the other scenario would have to involve T-Mac, plus some additional talent to us on Detroits end... neither of these scenarios for Billups are particularly appealing to me, and don't necessarilly make us a better team. therefore you gotta go with Rashard...
