Novak was a nice little project for us to work on... good shooter, just never developed much of anything else. After giving up Greene and our first rounder next year for Ron, its probably not a bad idea to stock up on some more picks. Who knows, maybe Morey can turn that pick into 2 picks like he did this year.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VTbm4VhO8L4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VTbm4VhO8L4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> I don't see how we couldn't use freakish athleticism like this on our team??? lol
Those of you who say this wasn't a great deal...it's better than just straight cutting him and getting nothing in return; which would have happened otherwise, because he's not making the team over Hayes/Harris/Brooks or even Head once we sign landry and Mutombo.
I liked Novak, but he was just too much a defensive liability for a contending team. He'll do much better in LA, I'm sure, at a lower standard. It's not much, but we WILL get a 800k TE out of it, which will either help us under the luxury cap, or to pick up some other player that fits better, like at C, and the 2nd rounder will help for some smaller trade. I think Morey is just collecting chits, and has something in mind, like he did when he got BJ. The salary cap THIS year ended up at $58.680 million, and the luxury tax at $71.15 million. It has gone up each year, so this literally could be the difference between us going over or under. Anyone know what our salaries are after the Artest trade? I've seen everything from 61-71 mil, and don't know what it really is, since <a href="http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html">Patricia Bender</a> hasn't updated for 08/09 yet, and I always consider her the most accurate. She has us at $69,445,134 for last year.
Too bad, I was hoping we would keep him, but Feigen has known that we would do this for weeks and kept hinting at it in his blog, so it's no surprise. I wish him well on the Clippers, hopefully he gets enough playing time so that he can present himself to the league and get a decent contract after this year.
I wholeheartedly agree: this is another Morey trade turning nothing into something; working extra hard to get even the tiniest asset back when he could just have easily not picked up his option this year. Wasn't there an article awhile back that stated Morey was about to decline Novak's option, before hearing that teams were interested in picking him up as a FA, so he reversed and exercised the option just so he could trade him in the future? It may not seem like much, but that kind of dedication to go the extra mile has to make you smile a bit; there's no Stat-geekery involved here, just shrewdness and having a good ear around the league.
Clippers don't hold any TEs so it's likely he's being dealt as a minimum salary player which doesn't generate any TEs.
Oh man! This brings back memories.... It was against the Clippers two years ago that Novak invited me on to the court to sign my Rockets hat and I almost got tackled by security since I did not know that you are not allowed to step on the court even if the player calls you there (I guess Novak didn't know either ). But if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been standing in the tunnel by the visitors locker to get all the other Rockets and Rocket legend Sam Cassell to sign my hat and to get to see Yao Ming up close. Today is a very sad day! On the other hand, WE GOT ARTEST!
Rockets 2009: Hold Grizzlies 2nd round draft pick. Traded own 2nd round draft pick to Spurs. 2010: Traded 2nd round draft pick to Minnesota. Clippers 2009: Traded 2nd round draft pick to Blazers 2010: Option to swap 2nd round picks with Nuggets
i think luther head is still more valuable then novak ever was. and yet people keep bashing on luther. just because he joked in the playoffs doesn't mean hes a 0 value.
i don't think that that was a great move. i'd have kept novak, especially over harris. novak has proven that he is a sharpshooter. even if he can't do anything else. players on the very end of the bench should be specialists. that's the way to go. role players who play their role perfect. novak is such a guy while mike harris isn't. no knock on harris, he's a good guy, but i just can't imagine that he'll get any playing time now with artest. novak on the other hand could be a player that comes in at the end of a game when you need a 3 or something. a great situational player. trading novak only makes sense if harris couldn't be moved.
