when the rockets are involved in trade conversations with other teams, it is the (small) contracts of those players that provide exceptional return on their salaries that become the grease to make deals. that's the name of the game in the nba - return on investment. for every Yao, you need two or three high ROI guys in order to win in a salary cap restricted league. the balance of youth and veterans is also the balance of value versus proven performance. the teams that win are usually the teams that maintain that balance, within the framework of contract management and fiscal responsibility.
We are in complete agreement on fiscal responsiblity. Les Alexander has to make money or the team eventually folds. However, with the exception of Yao, I would listen to trade offers on anybody else. I'd like to keep Artest, Brooks, Wafer and Scola but it depends on the trade. I just don't want any mediocre players whose athletic ability is limited by age or injury or whose best years are behind them -- IOW, a false value like Shane.
then we totally agree on those points. my earlier post was that the real issue on this team is not the moneyball guys, but rather the contracts issued to low ROI players like tmac. as much as you might think Shane is a false value, he is not a liability like tracy @ his current contract is. tracy currently has negative value. meaning that you'd have to give up something desirable along with him in order to move his contract. people have long called me a hater for my opinions on tracy. but he is the real problem on this team. his play, his attitude, his contract . . . he's a liability in every way. and again, tracy is not a "moneyball" guy. morey would never bring in a player like him if it were up to him.
However, we need some large -- not bloated -- contracts to make serious trades. We probably are best served by letting T-Mc's contract run out giving us more cap room rather than taking long-term contracts for more role players. With T-Mc's $22M off the books, we can acquire two young, athletic $10M players coming off rookie contracts -- and still save money.
Exact trade ideas should go in the trade idea thread. BTW, this trade idea is so bad it needs to be flown over in the trade thread.
I think teams would like to have those guys, but they're not going to bring a high quality talent back. Battier cost us a lotto pick. Scola ihas worked out, but we had to take 2 contracts back that has us against the lux tax. I like brooks and were he was picked. Landry isn't special. The lakers have Josh Powell who is the 9th guy, Milsap who is better, the mavs have bass who is equal, and the celt have powe who is just as good. All these guys were 2nd rd picks and their a dime a dozen. I just don't understand how we can have 4pf's that are basically clones in terms of body and ability. How can a gm not look at height? Dorsey was suppose to be nba ready, yet he can't even perfom as well as hayes in the d-league. Moneyball may work in baseball when you have 25 players and a minor league, but the nba is about difference makers.
interesting thought. you may have a point there. morey has been proven very good in making bargains, and imo his draft choices have been good, too. but it remains to be seen if he can actually construct a well functional and balanced team. in the next couple of years we should know, i guess.
why not trade Yao? If you still build your team around Yao, you will fail again. Players must go: Rafer, TMAC, Yao, Battier, Hayes, Head, Barry, Deke.
first, your wholesale change idea only applies in nba2k9. second, this team has never been built around yao. it's always been a slogan on paper, never implemented. and i'd like see them do it for once, before yao becomes a scrub as he ages.
Too bad we can't afford Marion... If we were able to give Artest+head/filler for Marion, it would be a perfect fit. Great defender. Athletic. Good shooter. Tough player. Blocks, steals, rebounds, does everything type of player. Oh well.
Actually we saw a little glimpse of a team built around Yao when McGrady and Ron went out. I thought we did pretty good and that was being done with Yao and some bench-players. I think Ron has a place on a Yao-centered offense but McGrady has to go. I'm just drooling on what package of players for $22m/yr.
As bad as Artest played, I want to keep Artest for his competitiveness. You guy saw what happened yesterday? At least Artest cares and tried. The major problems are Alston: need to explain? T-mac: must go, cancer of our team. Battier: no-factor offensively What we needs: PG upgrade: Hinirich is enough. Scorer and playmaker: hard to get, I know. If we can somehow get Hinrich + Hamilton, I will be happy. Start: Hinrich, Hamilton, Artest, Scola, Yao Backup: AB, Wafer, BB, Landry, Mt
I can trade yao just like any other player and feel good about it. If you build around yao, you have to do it right with the right players. 1. Camby type, tim thomas type or both. At the 4 with yao, the guy needs to be a long,athletic,rebounding,shot blocking guy and a tall 3/4 type who can stretsch the floor with 3's and put the ball on the floor. This to me is the most important componet.
What the hell are you talking about? Did I say trade them for Kobe or LeBron? All I said was anybody on this roster should be tradeable. I was responding to somebody that said they would keep Wafer, Landry, and Mutombo. L2read.
