[ClutchFans] Top 5 Teams For Rockets To Plunder in Trades

Incoming Players
Jared Dudley
6-7 SF from Boston College
5.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.9 apg in 21.4 minutes
Leandro Barbosa
6-3 PG from Brazil (Foreign)
14.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg in 24.4 minutes
Goran Dragic
6-4 PG from Slovenia (Foreign)
4.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.0 apg in 13.2 minutes
Amare Stoudemire
6-10 PF from Cypress Creek (HS)
21.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.0 apg in 36.8 minutes
Outgoing Players
Aaron Brooks
5-11 PG from Oregon
11.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.0 apg in 25.0 minutes
Carl Landry
6-8 PF from Purdue
9.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.6 apg in 21.3 minutes
Tracy McGrady
6-8 SG / SF from Mount Zion Christian Academy (HS)
15.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.0 apg in 33.8 minutes

 

I think this trade would leave us no room for keeping Scola after his current contract expires.
I want CP3 in return.
How many years is left in VC?

 

Vince Carter's contract actually isn't quite as bad as many make it out to be.

He is owed $16.1M in 2009-10 (not totally ridiculous for a player of his caliber), $17.5M in 2010-11 (not the easiest pill to swallow, but not insane), and $18.3M in 2011-12 . . . BUT only about $5M or so of it is guaranteed.

Come the summer of 2011, the Rockets would have several options with Carter:

(1) Keep him and pay his salary (not the most likely alternative)
(2) Waive him and just eat the $5M guarantee, cutting ties with Carter
(3) Re-negotiate Carter's contract to a more managable salary
(4) Trade Carter to a team desperate to slash payroll (sound familiar?)

Option #4 is the most enticing alternative. Carter's contract would probably be the single-most attractive trade asset from a financial standpoint, allowing a team to instantly shed over $13M from its payroll without having to wait for a contract to expire.

Sure, Carter's contract is big. But it's far from the worst option and may actually turn into a positive trade asset over time.

 

Notice the bolded part.

We wont be under the cap in the near future....nor can they be renegotiated downward.

 

Randon thoughts about players mentioned:
I'm a little nervous about T. Chandler....not sure he would be in my top5 targets. Of course, I would do almost anything to get Paul, but that's not very realistic. I like Monta Ellis a lot. Not sure Baron is the same player he was a few years ago. I'm even a little nervous about Stoudamire, but I would probably be willing to try it. I like Barbosa, but I"m hesitant. He's kind of streaky isn't he?

I really don't want to disrupt our team too much. We have a good thing going. I certainly think we need to make a move or two, but it doesn't have to be a blockbuster.

 

[EDIT: I didn't read the thread entirely, I see clutch already threw out my suggestion. LOL http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=4564909&postcount=135 ]

Clutch, great article, with lots of great research. I am going to look forwarding to reading more in this thread.

I also wanted to throw out a trade idea I posted in the 2009 Offseason thread here
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=4547909#post4547909

It would net us Chandler/Carter which would give us a backup 4/5 and a closer/perimeter scorer.

##

Fact #1: We know the Hornets are trying to move Chandler, to the point of giving him way.
Fact #2: We pretty much know the Rockets were interested in Vince Carter during the trade deadline, and it seemed like the Nets wanted to move him, but were asking for too much at the time.
Fact #3: It seems from Morey's post season interviews, that the Rockets are going to keep an eye on certain teams that are willing to "give away" talented players because of "economic issues."

To me, right now the Rockets have a nice core of gritty players, but lack more front court length and someone that can be a "closer" during games, someone that can score off the dribble to keep us from having cold stretches. I think the defense is good enough, we just need to improve the offense, offensive efficiency.

I think any trade with Tmac would be a 'blockbuster' so it is more likely it would be done during the summer with the types of players moved.

Working trade idea

HOUSTON gets: Tyson Chandler, Vince Carter
New Orleans gets: Bobby Simmons (expiring), Joey Doresy (cheap front court player)
NJ gets: Tmac (expiring), Brent Barry(expiring)

That trade actually works in the ESPN Trade Checker. Now, there probably would have to be some "pot sweetening" (maybe for both teams) and I am willing to do that. I would begrudgingly throw in Carl Landry (instead of Barry or salary matching him with another player). I wouldn't want to throw in Lowry or Brooks unless I knew there was a PG option to follow. I might throw NOH a conditional draft pick or something.

But bottom line, this trade gives us front court length in Chandler. He can play the 4/5. And at reduced minutes might even make him more effective. He could even play with a "running group." Carter gives us a scoring wingman who isn't overly demanding with the ball and can hit shots from range. He is a closer. Might not be the best leader, but right now the "leadership" is Battier and Yao.


Chandler's contract has 2 more years on it starting next year. That's not too bad. If he bombs, you could flip him as an expiring pretty soon. I think that's the kinds of players Morey targets, it always keeps his chips alive. Carter's has like 3 more years on it. A little longer so you take more of a chance. But I think it's a calculated gamble. Les would be all over Carter's sizzle factor as well.

Anyway, bottom line is we take advantage of New Orleans and NJ's willingness to part with talent for cap relief. Which is the type of thinking I think Morey would do to improve talent.

You would have a roster looking like this

PG: Brooks/Lowry
SG: Carter/{Artest}/Wafer
SF: Battier/Artest/White
PF: Scola/{Chandler}/Hayes
C: Yao/Chandler
{Not including Cook(expiring) or Landry here as they could be part of the trade}

Your bench rotation of Lowry/Artest/Chandler would be dynamite! That's old school Adelman Kings when they had that great bench depth. You could also use a lineup of Artest at PF with Chandler at C in a running lineup. I think you can win a championship with that lineup considering the climate of the NBA right now. Same good defense, but more of an offensive punch.

Anyway, am I nuts? Or is this something that could be massaged a bit to work out?

 

Agree about Chandler, I do like him alot next to Yao but not at his salary. I love Monta Ellis, I think he's the only player that can go tit for tat in a scoring duel with Tony Parker, although Parker is more of a pure pg and Ellis is more of a small 2. Ellis is just unguardable period. Stoudamire would be the blockbuster prize for any team. A frontline of Yao, Stoudamire and Battier would be very imposing, getting Amare would definetly add to Yao's longevity in the league.

 

This is nuts how the Finals haven't even started yet, and we're all already looking forward to the next season. I can't wait to see how this all plays out, and see the deal we ACTUALLY make. I really have a feeling Morey is going to pull something out of his bag of tricks and surprise us all.....again.

 

i know if amare stoudmire wants to accept his role and play with yao ming that would be great..BUT, amare complained about not getting enough touches and basically complaining about shaq being on the block and him not getting enough touches..and yao probably just as slow as shaq and yao needs the ball in the post to be effective...i just dunno how amare would like that :/

 

Yao's way way slower than Shaq.

 

If we make the Phoenix trade, perhaps we can also trade with Portland to fill in our hole at the 2. They have been interested in Battier and could use his veteran leadership. It would be tough to lose Battier but it might be the best in the long run. I would propose Battier for Outlaw and Fernandez.

Yao/Amare
Amare/Scola/Hayes
Artest/Outlaw
Fernandez/Wafer
Lowry/Barbosa

We could move Artest to the 2 and Outlaw at the 3 for defensive situations.

 

clutch: i don't know why i never considered this type of scenario before - that would be absolutely huge to land two major peices without taking back any loose garbage in the deal.

considering our collective reaction upon learning that he had acquired artest for basically free last year, you almost have to expect daryl to orchestrate a trade of this sort this year.

as stated above, vince carter's contract isn't nearly as bad as it appears at first sight. i would honestly much rather prefer a scenario that snags us chandler + guard rather than the suns package.

 

great article... Is there anybody here wants to trade Yao? With all the money that the Rockets franchise is getting because of Yao, I don't know if Alexander is dumb enough to let him go...

 

As stated by Morey and Les, YAO IS THE ONLY UNTOUCHABLE ON THIS TEAM!!!

So, NO.

 

I like the deal for the reasons you stated plus it allows the team to basically keep the team intact. Not onl that, it protects the team against scola's contract demands after the season. To me, jackson is a better player than ron. Jackson has a ring, is better of the dribble and a better decision maker. Maggette as the savior is not a good move, but maggette as part of a 32 mins wing rotation with shane and jackson is pretty good. He gives the team something they haven't had since francis and that's a guy that will attack the rim and get to the foul line. I'm a night owl and I've watched a lot of west coast games, maggette is a very efficient offensive player. A lot on this board will call him a ballhog, but how is 12 shots in 31mins ballhogging? Not to mention he's getting to the line 8 times a game. Not to mention he shoots over 46%. Turiaf is what makes the deal a go. Of course, I wanted him last summer at the expense of landry. If they do this deal, it makes it even better to get him and still have landry. He's 6'10 with long arms, high energy, great instincts.On a poor warriors team, he still challenged shots at the rim. He can be a exclusive back up to yao for 18-19 mins per. Also,he played in the triangle and that translates to him understanding motions of this offense. Not to mention, he won't hamstring your offense like chuck and deke. Lets also be real, he gives the rockets leverage against scola. As bimathug pointed out, scola will be a rfa after the season. Some team might offer him 7m per for 5yrs. That might be more than what the rox are willing to match. They can sign a guy like hollins this yr for cheap as a 3rd big and if someone offers scola that deal I laid out, they can let him walk, start landry, rony backs him up and have hollins backup yao. Flexibilty on the court as well as financially is always a good thing.

 

because they wouldnt want to trade them for nothing. In Landry and Brooks, you get cheap contracts with tons of talent...

 

as tempted as those players sound I honestly believe the Rockets should just stay put and don't do anything except resign their own players. The season showed how much players grew up. Now add in McGrady with Ron and Yao and you have one powerful team.

The young guys proved to coach RA that he can trust them and rely on them when he needs answers. Guys are only going to get better and the chemistry is only going to get stronger.

 

Chandler makes me nervous - didn't he fail a physical? What's wrong with the guy health-wise?

 

Deuce, great analysis, and I think in terms of this hypothetical you laid out, your "fact #3" cannot be underscored enough. Vince Carter and Tyson Chandler are two guys who we have on record last year as their teams not only trying to trade them, but trying to give them away for free. there was the offer to portland where NJ was willing to include 2 draft picks just to unload carter. any of these other mega-deals see you probably losing both brooks and landry. considering that we went 5-2 this season against 3 of the 4 conference finalists, and swept an NBA finalist, i would really have to like our chances going into next year adding vince carter and tyson chandler to this core for nothing.

i'm pretty confused reading through this thread with regard to the sentiment favoring a trade with the bucks. even setting aside how horrifically overpaid michael redd and richard jefferson are, neither fill this team's biggest void in needing a guy that can create at the end of games. i don't know why anyone would want to waste our big trade chip on michael redd...

with regard to the phoenix hypothetical, my rule is typically that if presented the opportunity to land a young superstar, you make the deal and not worry about the short term roster ramifications. however, i'm not so sure amare is a superstar and the eye injuries concern me. add in the fact that we already get considerable production from our 4's, and that while barbosa is a great transition scorer, he isn't a playmaker by any stretch of the imagination, and you can see why i wouldn't be too excited with a phoenix deal. it would be "interesting" but it's not a no-brainer. barbosa is better than brooks, but he's not the guy whose hands you want to be putting the ball in. i'm not sure this trade would improve our team but i wouldn't be completely against it.

 

Good catch. I meant that the Rockets could waive Carter, pay him $5M under his old contract, then try to re-sign him to the full MLE, since they would lose his Bird Rights if they waived him. Vince might not go for it, but he'll be 34 by then and probably won't garner big time money. Plus, the Rockets could always threaten to trade him to the Clippers if he doesn't agree to the new deal.