Chron: Rockets standing pat? Just tinkering? Not if they can help it.

HTR99 · Jun 19, 2009

Shroopy2 said:

The Rockets not standing pat comment, and the "We're not seeking to trade Tracy McGrady" comment goes against each other. Not standing pat mean's they're gonna consider all the trade-ables they can. It really doesnt matter if its the Rockets or another team instigating the talk if the Rockets dont mind closing a deal.
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This is how I see it as they're not conflicting statements. The Rockets not standing pat simply means this current constructed roster is not what we'll see for the upcoming season. We're not seeking to trade Tracy McGrady is self-explanatory. You're limiting your definition of trade-ables to T-Mac who is a massive expiring. If your looking at the expiring side of it, the list includes: Barry, Cook, and Scola. If you take the other side of this player has upside or fills a need - that's everyone not named Yao (Les will never trade him for obvious reasons).

The Rockets will never mind to close a deal as aggressive as DM is. If you trade T-Mac its never going to yield a superstar and its not as though it ever would. Some deals will bring us smaller expirings which could possibly get a star. As more and more reports come out for what DM could get, the more it seems likely T-mac will stay as DM isn't dumb to fall for those deals.

saleem · Jun 19, 2009

HTR99 said:

This is how I see it as they're not conflicting statements. The Rockets not standing pat simply means this current constructed roster is not what we'll see for the upcoming season. We're not seeking to trade Tracy McGrady is self-explanatory. You're limiting your definition of trade-ables to T-Mac who is a massive expiring. If your looking at the expiring side of it, the list includes: Barry, Cook, and Scola. If you take the other side of this player has upside or fills a need - that's everyone not named Yao (Les will never trade him for obvious reasons).

The Rockets will never mind to close a deal as aggressive as DM is. If you trade T-Mac its never going to yield a superstar and its not as though it ever would. Some deals will bring us smaller expirings which could possibly get a star. As more and more reports come out for what DM could get, the more it seems likely T-mac will stay as DM isn't dumb to fall for those deals.
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What would be the incentive of a team to take back a big expiring contract if they can possibly get a star with their smaller expirings? The only reason I can think of is hoping to see McGrady getting back near his best again.

Marcus Bryant · Jun 19, 2009

saleem said:

What would be the incentive of a team to take back a big expiring contract if they can possibly get a star with their smaller expirings? The only reason I can think of is hoping to see McGrady getting back near his best again.
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that's even less possible than your brother Jamal winning 20 million dollars over night.

tycoonchip · Jun 19, 2009

Bay Rock said:

Very interesting article. It is news to me that McGrady's contract will be paid by insurance until he starts playing again.
_______________________________________________________________

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/06/rockets_standing_pat_just_tink.html

Nice little celebration in LA. Mark Madsen was not there to dance. Shaq was not there to rap. Chevys were not turned into kindling.

The good news around here, however, is that the Rockets did not celebrate.

It has been natural to wonder if the Lakers' championship would leave the Rockets dangerously proud of their post-season. They are the only team to take the Lakers to seven games, the only team to lead them in a series and the only team this season or last to beat the Lakers when facing elimination. (They also went 6-2 this season against the three other Conference Finals teams.)

The Lakers clearly became the NBA's best team. The Rockets pushed them there.

"Houston was a different story altogether," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They were fast, they were very driven, team-ball play, they did a good job in spacing out the court, getting accomplished what they wanted to do. They had two defenders to throw at Kobe (Bryant) in (Ron) Artest and (Shane) Battier, and so they were a really worthy opponent, pushed us to seven games.

"I thought that really made us the team that we got to be in the playoffs. We understood what we had to get accomplished, and we did the job from that time forward, played good basketball."

The Rockets could tell themselves they are worthy contenders.

They are, however, not fooled.

The Rockets were whipped in two of those Lakers games, including Game 7. Their strengths do match up well with the Lakers, just not enough to actually beat them.

If there had been concerns that the Rockets would settle for the hopes that Yao Ming would stay healthy and their young talent would grow into something greater and that all that would be enough, those concerned now seem unfounded.

The Rockets have been remarkably aggressive in talks around the league since their elimination from the playoffs. Leslie Alexander's admission that he might be "predatory" in hopes of taking advantage of others' financial problems seems to have been a call to arms for GM Daryl Morey.

So far, nothing has happened; nothing is close. Still, this is actually a pretty cool time to be a Rockets fan, if you are a fan of off-season fantasies. Sure, the Rockets don't have a draft pick. That means you can imagine them moving in at anywhere from two on. You can argue the merits of anything from chasing Ricky Rubio (!!!) to getting another second-round guy to stash in Europe.

OK, so they've tried to move up in each of the previous three drafts and didn't do it. Trying and doing are different things, but this is a buyer's market like never before.

That brings the real measure of how aggressive they would be willing to be, and the other fun of this offseason, if you get into this sort of thing.

You can imagine all sorts of possibilities, based on the value of Tracy McGrady's contract and situation.

With as much as half the league looking to make cost-cutting moves, no team other than the few with cap space attracts more calls than the Rockets.

There was a snippet that the Rockets are shopping Tracy McGrady this week. The wording of that, however, is laughable. That's like saying the producers of Law and Order are hoping to convince someone to put reruns of the show on cable television somewhere.

The Rockets are not shopping McGrady; they are picking up the phone when it rings, and it rarely stops ringing. (Teams always say that, but in this unusual case, because of McGrady's contract and the financial climate, it happens to be true.)

Morey would not say much on the topic.

"We're not seeking to trade Tracy," he said. "I've got to look at everything. That's my job."

McGrady's contract is huge ($22.5 million next season) and then it expires. Until he plays, insurance can take care of the cost through sometime next February. And teams all know this.

A team looking to cut salary, can send the Rockets a big contract, take back McGrady's for one season and pay him only a portion of that money. Plus, he seems driven to come back, and to prove something in a contract year.

Those things are attractive to the Rockets, too. The Rockets have improved enough to win without him, but when you consider their needs in a quest to move up a notch, they would need the abilities and strengths offensively that a healthy McGrady brings. And if they were to trade him, they likely would have anyone they take back at that price for years. That would be a marriage you'd go into very cautiously.

But let your mind wander. 'Tis the season.

There are many teams looking to make cost-cutting moves, including the Nets, Timberwolves, Hawks, Jazz, Wizards, Grizzlies, Hornets, Bucks, Bobcats and Suns. There are probably others.

The Rockets would only move McGrady for someone with the whiff of star on him. They are not moving McGrady for Larry Hughes and Eddy Curry, or something like that, unless Morey's mathematicians determined that the Rockets do not have enough mediocre players and need to remake themselves to be more like Isiah Thomas' Knicks.

They can't get an elite player in his prime. It would more likely be a former All Star still hanging on to some of that greatness, or an up-and-coming player with a chance. He would likely have some issues to consider, the way McGrady did with his injury history when the Rockets made that move.

The Rockets would not make that kind of move for someone with durability issues. They would not go for a one-dimensional (no defense) player. Most of all, they would not move McGrady just to get a couple guys to fill out the roster, who at most would be insurance backups.

They would, however, be willing to take on a bad contract. They cannot get value equal to the contract, but sometimes, that's the price of doing business.

This is where it gets interesting. The problem is that when you take out the elite players no one would ever trade, the guys that can't or won't defend and the players with injury histories, there are not much left.

Still, if you like to play GM, this is a good time to do it. A few months ago, most of it was silly. (There was never, ever, ever a McGrady to New Jersey deal on the table.) Despite the emotions he inspires, the Rockets don't need to move McGrady. He can be an asset as a player or a contract, and the trade deadline is seven months away.

The Rockets, however, seem willing to consider anything involving players shorter than 7-6, including one unusual bargaining chip.

They are, despite the seven-game series, a long way from Lakers. But they do seem to know it, and it is a good time to consider what to do about it.

• • •

If you are into this sort of thing and find yourself imagining what the Rockets can do, the Rockets have coveted players in potential trade talks, in order (roughly), based on ability/potential, contract and age: Aaron Brooks, Luis Scola, Shane Battier, Carl Landry and Kyle Lowry.

• • •

On the draft, with few exceptions, the consideration should be the best player available.

The draft should be a way to invest, especially for good teams that don't have a glaring hole to fill, and even more so for a team that traded last season's No. 1 and this season's pick.

It doesn't matter who can fill a need if a better player is there. Unless the guy won't ever be better than the guys they've got, especially young players already on the roster, take the better player.

This year, with the draft way out of whack in favor of point guards, that would mean teams with good points will be taking another. The Rockets have two young point guards, and it would take a special prospect for the Rockets to add another. Wherever they choose, however, they are with few exceptions best served in the long run to forget fit and pick the best player.
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Good read. Haven't read a nice article like that in a long while.

Rocket86 · Jun 19, 2009

Please do something, Rockets. Standing pat with injury prone players would be the team's downfall.

onreego · Jun 19, 2009

Outgoing:
Tracy Mcgrady

Incoming
OJ Mayo
Marc Gasol
#2 pick
Ritz Krackerz

Do those salaries match up? Although I dont even think Memphis would trade Krackerz for Mcgrady.

Raven · Jun 19, 2009

Has this been posted yet? Is this a legit twitter? Morey thinks this draft is unusually loaded with quality point guards.

http://twitter.com/dmorey

This is the deepest PG draft in a long time. Quality and quantity are high. Rule changes have indirectly driven the depth we are now seeing.
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battousai · Jun 19, 2009

great read, much better than what went on here for last couple of weeks.

I have faith in morey to get us the best chance to win a championship.

Tmac has the talent, but we questioned about his heart...

Kobe won the championship not due to his skills, bbut mainly due to his determination and heart. which tmac lacks.

leebigez · Jun 19, 2009

Jackson,Maggette and turiaf. He said they would be willing to take on a bad contract. The rox make that trade and they can let ron and wafer go and be 9m under the lt.

Joshfast · Jun 19, 2009

DaDakota said:

Smokescreen, Feigen does the Rockets a solid here, nothing more.

DD
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That's right on the money.

bigred77 · Jun 19, 2009

Is there really a legitamate chance that the Rox can trade T-mac + Scola OR Landry for Amare + Barbosa + bad contract the suns wanna dump. I mean I think the Rox HAVE to do that trade. I think that puts them neck and neck with the lakers in terms of talent in the West. If they did that, were able to resign Wafer and Ron, and have Dorsey or White contribute ANYTHING (I know thats asking alot) that would have to make them one of the favorites to win it all in 2010.

yao Dorsey Hayes
amare Scola/Landry
artest White
battier Barbosa Wafer
brooks lowery

Sweet Lou 4 2 · Jun 19, 2009

Great article. This is a must read for Dada and Tinman. Maybe this will get them to stop posting their junk for a while.

haoafu · Jun 19, 2009

Sweet Lou 4 2 said:

Great article. This is a must read for Dada and Tinman. Maybe this will get them to stop posting their junk for a while.
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How could cow stop making milk?

Rox_Hugh · Jun 19, 2009

No R Allen no trade!

DaDakota · Jun 19, 2009

Sweet Lou 4 2 said:

Great article.
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I believe it naive to think the article is anything more than Feigen being a Rockets mouthpiece.

DD

herro · Jun 19, 2009

does anyone else get the sneaking suspicion Morey is interested in Brandon Jennings?

Rocket86 · Jun 19, 2009

All things are pointing to a Rockets trade either during the Draft or during the off-season. Morey knows that He is just a few pieces away from a championship. Nobody expected the Artest trade, and it would not surprise me if Morey pulls another surprising move.

D-rock · Jun 19, 2009

jopatmc said:

Shane and Ron are great together as long as you don't let Artest handle. The Rox finally figured that out in the playoffs and forced Brooks to handle. It's too bad that Brooks isn't a better creator. I'd like to add a guy like Rubio or CP3 to Battier, Brooks, and Artest. That would be 30-35 minutes a piece for 4 guys at the 1,2, and 3............and would be hell for our opponents.
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Much as I would love either, the likelihood of getting one or the other is very low. Plus do not think Brooks is retained if Morey somehow finds a way to trade for Paul.

A guy that might be a more realistic fit/get for that lineup is Rudy Fernandez, not only is he a dead eye shooter but he is also a very underrated passer/ball handler.

Rocket86 · Jun 19, 2009

D-rock said:

Much as I would love either, the likelihood of getting one or the other is very low. Plus do not think Brooks is retained if Morey somehow finds a way to trade for Paul.

A guy that might be a more realistic fit/get for that lineup is Rudy Fernandez, not only is he a dead eye shooter but he is also a very underrated passer/ball handler.
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Rudy Fernandez would be great. Works great without the ball and his shooting would free space for Yao to do his low post moves. Defense is moderate. Great pick up if the Rockets can steal him from the Blazers.

Crudder · Jun 19, 2009

It seems like if we were to do a big trade, it would probably involve Tmac. However, if we do a trade to the Suns or some other Western Conference team that does not involve their superstars (e.g., Nash), then we risk the possibility of Tmac getting healthy for his contract year and playing against us on a Western Conference team that is somewhat more legitimate than before.

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