Ignore what Swift has to say about the Rockets. He's blowing smoke. Free agents always say nice things about the team when they're visiting.
I'm cautiously optimistic that we are gonna make a splash @ the PF position. Something tells me it could be sooner than later before we miss the boat. Get er' Done CD!!!
I wouldn't want Juwan to retire, but it happens, it's not the end of the world. I would hope we would get the medical exception, and then we would have more financial room to spend on power forwards.
Dude's definately not coming here. He said the bottom line is really what matters, and there you go. We will simply not be able to offer him more than other teams, and at this stage in his career, he's looking to get paid. Simple as that. Let's please stop posting Stromile threads with the assumption that we have a chance at getting this guy, because we don't. No way West does a sign and trade with Houston, and no way Swift takes less money to come to Houston. I hope his comments bring all the speculation to an end. And personally, I say good ridance. He hasn't proved he deserves that kind of money anyway.
so...what team has the cap space and the desire to bring him in? and....it isnt a foregone conclusion that we couldnt work a s/t with the Grizz...we would just have to take on someoen they are trying to get rid of like WIlliams... that said...if he really expects to get much more than the MLE..he's dreaming...there just arent any teams that are far enough under the cap that will give him that kind of money.
Mo Taylor thought he was going to get big money too....and he didn't and had to settle for the MLE....could happen with Stro too. DD
what i took from stro's comment was this: he would like to play in our city, with our coaches and players. he said going to a winning team is important. the bottom line is money. he wants to see what the difference in offers are before making a choice. if other teams only offer 6-8 mil a year then i think he would take a little less to play for a contender, and his favorite team. if he gets a few 9-12 mil a year offers then there is no way he passes on that.
Maybe I'm too optimistic. But the Rockets were Stromile's favorite team when he was a kid; that doesn't entirely go away. Granted, if some team ponies up more cash, he could go that route. But I think he wants to be here and CD has his hands full to get it done. It isn't as if Stromile can say, "Yeah, I've always wanted to be with the Rockets; we've been holding discussions since April and I just hope..." Or whatever. Just depends on what other teams offer and if we will have to take on Jason Williams' contract to get Stromile. Which isn't such a bad thing. Jason Williams gets too much money and he's no Steve Nash but he's pretty decent, and a real PG who can take some of the pressure off McGrady. But that would be a big trade, and CD...well, I hope he's taking his vitamins and getting his rest.
Well, we better hope it comes down to "who has the better MLE offer," because his gross pay will be more in Texas. To a money-grubbing, unproven "star" like Stro, this could make all the difference in the world.
The more I think about it, we should just sign Swift with the MLE with the promised option of no less than 2 more years with the equivalent raises (have his Bird Rights). Basically offer a 7 year deal starting at the MLE rate with the last 2 years player options. This is where following through on the Shandon and MoT deal/commitments, even though we new SA sucked by the time his 2nd contract came around and MoT probably wasn't quite worth that either, pays off.
I'm not completely sold on Swift. Seeing his motivation is money isnt really appealing. And reports that he didn't like the way Fratello coached even though the grizz made the playoffs. I dunno. If Jerry West isn't fighting to keep him or making it public that he wants too should raise a caution about wanting for the Rockets. I just think the FA we bring should not only have the physical attributes that we need but also the attitude and basketball intelligence. When you also hear reports of Swift low IQ on the court I just think we might make another Cato mistake. Sure Cato would get some rebounds for us and block some shots but the one knock about him was he just looked clueless on the court. Look at the Spurs you see a team made up of very smart players. Their starting 5 are very heady. Duncan has alot to do with that but also their FA and draft pick ups. Partly why we had a huge turn around last season was we pick up some smart players which we had before. I think we can key our turnaround last year to Barry and Wesley pick ups. Getting players along those lines but younger would be more beneficial in the long run.
Since he's coming off his rookie contract, Swift probably wants some long term security. It's probably going to take around 6 yrs, $42 million-$48 million to sign him up, given the inflated market right now. Hell, guys like Etan Thomas, Adonal Foyle, and Hedo Turkoglu got those kinds of contracts last summer. Either way, unless we're willing to take on a Bonzi Wells or Brian Cardinal, I don't see this trade getting done. The fact that Memphis is in our division makes it that much tougher. I get the feeling that Swift will probably end up in NY, as the Knicks have been a dumping ground for teams trying to shed bad contracts.
1) Its all about the money to the majority of the players...you are surprised somehow or the other about that? 2)VG is not a unknown quantity to the players in this laegue...if he is afraid of a tough coach...he wont come here no matter what. 3) West isnt fighting to keep him cause they dont need him as a starter and they knew he would want more money than a backup to Pau is worth....combine that with their cap problems and you know why they werent bringing him back 4) the famous BB IQ knocks I have seen always seem to come from internet postings...which I learned along time ago are more often than not crap...Internet posters for the most part will repeat to death any little thing that they hear without knowing if it is true or not.... IF there was any REAL doubt about his intelligence....VG would not be tryin to get him...you should know that by now.
just a thought: lets say stro doesn't get any offer more that 7 mil a year and he decides to play here for the MLE. if juwon has to retire, his contract (3 more years) comes off the cap and we get an injury exception with which we sign finley. the anual trade with the knicks could send wesley for JYD. yao-deke-baker stro-JYD-spoon tmac-LLE finley-JB sura-james-head-moochie-ward i would be very pleased with this offseason.
5 mil verses 6-8 for several years adds up to a crapload of money. I doubt he would choose the Rockets and give up 10 mill over 5 years. He's only 25, and is looking for his payday. I could see a vet giving up that kind of money, but not Stro.
Some people here are just damned negative. Sure, if Stromile gets a big offer, it would be from a suckhole team like Atlanta. And Atlanta would have to come through on that alleged trade for Starbury before they even have a chance to win EVER. And even that isn't saying too much. New Orleans can pay. But they suck too. Charlotte can pay but won't. The Clippers don't need him. Cleveland might make an offer but they might have to trade Drew Gooden in the process and Memphis already got rid of Drew Gooden. (Still a possibility.) CD's pulled off some solid trades before. He usually can't draft worth a crap, unless it's a no-brainer (Yao), but he can make trades.
