[Denver Post] Rockets Still interested in Wells...

The posters woofing about not wanting to give up a #1 pick crack me up. We've got a team with 10 ppg Shane Battier as the 3rd scorer and a huge talent drop-off after Battier. Wells for a protected #1 is a steal.

Van Gundy isn't going to play the "kids" we have now...what makes any of you think he's going to play next years' 1st rounder? At least Van Gundy will play Wells. Whether VG allows Wells to post in the low block is an entirely different issue.

 

Frankly you can give JVG a top 8 pick and he would trade it away for spare parts.

We might as well give it to SAC and get something for our pick rather than letting JVG either trade it for nothing or let the player rot at the end of the bench.

 

the MLE is over 5M. His worth is more than the MLE.

If Houston wants him below market (4.2M), then they have to add on the years. Houston does not have to keep him the entire contract. He is always a trade asset because his contract until his value goes above market value.

I think that's what Bonzi is saying by saying it's in Houston's court if they want to sign him.

Signing him for $2M is a no brainer even if it's for 1 year so I don't think that's an option w/ Bonzi unless everything else falls through for him.

BTW, you can't sign and trade for a 1 year contract.

 

Yes you can. It's already been discussed in this thread. The SnT must be for 3 years but only the first has to be guaranteed. The out years are player or team options. If it's a SnT,then Wells' Bird Rights transfer from SAC. There are no Bird Rights with the MLE signing.

 

Getting Bonzi for a protected number one or Luther Head would be freaking awesome.

but I ain't holdin my breath.

 

It OBVIOUSLY ISN'T. Otherwise he would have signed a contract for more than that already. His market value IS WHAT THE MARKET WILL GIVE HIM, and the market won't give him more than about $2 million. His "worth" is what the teams think he's worth, NOT what he thinks he's worth.

 

Wow! "On" vs. "In"?!? What semantics! Pretty clever... *yawn*...

Anyway, anyway, how bout this Bonzi guy, huh!?! Would be some addition!

 

no his offers are low right now because he or his agent played hardball and waited too long

if teams knew from the start they can get bonzi for 5mil then they would have made offers during the beginning of the FA season

sacto knew that other teams can offer something close to what they offered at that time they made the offer.. how much did cat get from clippers?

36m/5 years is reasonable for bonzi is reasonable while 60M/5 years for nene is not..

but you're right.. seeing what others can offer ti him right now, the smartest for the rox is to only make a better offer than all the other teams can

 

if charlotte wanted him, I assume they can offer more than 2 mill

 

Is there any deadline on this Bonzi negotiating/signing saga?

 

Let's just say I thought last years roster was an improvement over the year before's roster and I was excited about that roster. I was wrong, but a lot had to do with injuries. I just don't get same feeling this year with or without Bonzi. Yes he will be an improvement over what we have, but we keep trading #1s for pieces we already have. We'd are stacked on the wings, but we have some real "?" at the pf, backup c and pg positions.

I like Battier but I see him as a SF and someone who puts up decent stats and hustles (kind of like a talented Ryan Bowen) but McGrady plays SF and is he worth our #8+?? - ok - I'm sorry I went there again - serenity now - serenity now. Now if we trade another #1 in a deeper draft for someone who can't hit the outside shot, take Howard's job, gives Yao a good breather, takes Rafer's job, ie. doesn't fit what really need, then I think we need to keep shopping or take our chances in the draft.

The reason I wouldn't object to losing Luther is because he doesn't fit what we need - he's a too short sg at a position where Bonzi and Snyder play. Maybe next years pick will net us a pf/backup c or a pg to take over Rafer's job in a year. Who knows, but with the unknown there is hope. With Bonzi and Snyder, how much can Luther help?

Personally I see our roster as kind of a mess right now but I still will follow and I still have some hope that my feelings are all wrong.

Sorry to be in such a "down" mood, but I'm not sure about this 06/07 Rocket plan and I don't see Bonzi (a low post sg) changing it.

 

No, I don't think so... Bonzi Wells said he hopes something can get done in "48 hours" (yesterday), but who knows? I

 

I am confused... are you saying all that about Bonzi?

 

I know what you mean about the weakness at the 4, but the more I read about Shane Battier, the less I'm worried about him playing there with Howard.

 

Bonzi on a 1 year deal is about as good as it gets at this point. gives us a solid starter at the 2 and more rebounding help

 

So, if I understand this correctly, the Rocket's options for Bonzi are:

1) MLE 2.1M for one year, with 2 years player options. One year rental, where he plays hard, with Bird's rights, to get bigger paycheck next summer.

2) TE trade, signing him to 26.9M 5 year contract, with 3 years guaranteed, other 2 years options (4.2M+4.7M+5.3M+5.9M+6.7M=26.9M -12.5% increase per year).

3) TE trade, signing him to 14.2M 3 year contract, with the first 4.2M year guaranteed, other 2 years at player option, with ability to sign with someone else next summer.

Don't you think he wants #3, so he can play hard this year, and get his real value next summer, and just in case he get's injured, he gets a nice paycheck?

I don't think I'd want to trade a #1 pick, unless we knew we were getting him for the longhaul. I'm hoping SAC values the TE, and a #2 pick.

 

Yes, he is. He's concerned about giving up the '07 first rounder for someone who doesn't fill some of the other needs of the team. It's a legitimate concern. I would think twice about it, myself. A 2nd rounder should be enough for a deal like this, but who knows how far the Rocks will go for Bonzi? For sure, if there is a 1st rounder involved, it better be protected.

 

I agree they retain bird rights in a sign and trade but as you partially explained the SnT can have opt out clauses in it but must be for a minimum of 3 years. And if a player opts out after the first year he wipes out all Bird rights as well. Correct me if I am wrong but that is my understanding. And if that is indeed the case then he must stay for the extent of the contract for his Bird Rights to take effect. Which just so happens to be the same minimum time requirements for a team to acquire Bird Rights under MLE or any circumstance.

I still think Bonzi would sign with a first year option because if he has a decent season at least he would be able to sign the full MLE with either the Rockets or some other team and if he has a sensational year he may get more from a team with cap space. Of course if he sucks or gets injured then he would at least have a few mil guaranteed.

 

Well let that not happen again. Considering we made a mistake, I guess we should do it again?

However, I would send the 4.2mil Trade Exception to Sacramento along with an 08 lottery protected 1st(id want the pick to go to Sacto as soon as possible from 08 because of our decline from the '10 season + will make our pick more valuable). I'd try to get a 2nd back.

Or deal a 2nd rounder and the TE for Bonzi. As long as Bonzi is here for a 3-4 year contract, I am happy. It'd be unsatisfactory to trade a 1st for him for 1-year rental and bird years, cause it's not like he's restricted where we can match the offer. I doubt we will paay a significant 7mil, we'll pay at right about MLE price and we are just 'another' option. We need more security if we were to deal a pick, is all I am saying.

 

I would think he will fit quite a bit of our needs along with Battier. Battier will take a good chunk of Howard's minutes, leaving Howard and a back up 4 and he can also play some 5, giving us team a smaller team out there and giving Yao some rest. Rafer is a serviceable point guard right now. I hope he has improved on his shooting, but with Bonzi coming in, Luther and Vspan can spend more time backing up Rafer than worrying about starting at the 2. Remember that Snyder was a starter (yah in Utah, but at least he has experience there) and with with coming from the bench, we can get a good 8-10 points from him. I feel with the addition of Bonzi, it will take a lot of pressure off of the Rookies and new additions.

Rafer/Luther/VSpan/JL3
Wells/Snyder/Vspan/Luther
TMac/Snyder/Battier
Battier/Howard/Hayes
Yao/Howard

I think if we get Bonzi, we would be very deep.