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

I saw a message posted on my school bulletin board that the Rox signed Wells for two years and the announcement is coming. He says his source is a credible inside scoop so take it with a grain of salt. I'm not believing it until I see something official.

 

its nice to hear the rumors moving into contract negotiations.

Obviously the best case scenario is to sign Wells outright with the 2.1 million remaining on the MLE and take the TE into the season and use it to improve the roster once we really know what we are missing (a 4?) Teams are more willing to take on TE's during the year when that cap space is only a few months away.

 

Maybe I'm being too pessimistic, but I would think that Bonzi would say he is "negotiating" with several teams right now, since what kind of money he can get has to be one of his deciding factors. Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

It's even nicer to hear rumors that he's been signed to a two year deal, LOL.

I gotta ask, and perhaps this isnt the thread to do so, but I don't get the desire for a 4. We have Battier, Howard, Hayes, and Novak. I see the backup one as a concern as Sura is injured, JLIII isnt ready, and Head/Span are combo guards. I also see the backup 5 as a huge concern seeing as how Deke is Yao's only backup (this is why the swift trade hurts), and he's not made for playing long minutes. But, the four is one of the departments im most confident in.

 

Any one see this yet?

Free agent guard Bonzi Wells arrived in Houston Monday to meet with Rockets General Manager Carroll Dawson and head coach Jeff Van Gundy. An eight year veteran, Wells says he could sign with Houston within the next 48 hours. “I could. I definitely could. It’s up to the organization. I would want to sign depending on how everything worked out,” Wells told FOX 26’s Mark Berman. Wells knows wherever he goes he would probably be signing a one-year contract. “Hopefully we will have good news for each other. We are going to be talking about the situation and the possibility of me playing here (this) year,” said Wells. “Houston would be a good spot for me to make my home. They have a great team. Hopefully they will give me an opportunity to come here and play my game.” During his career, Wells has averaged 12.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists a game. “They already have what they need with Yao and Tracy McGrady. Hopefully I can come and be a good teammate. With Yao and Tracy there that would make my life a whole lot easier because I would have a whole lot of open shots and the lane would be wide open for me with those getting most of the attention.” Wells, who played most in Sacramento last year, acknowledges that Denver and Miami are also possibilities if nothing works out here in Houston.

 

it was posted a couple of times in the middle, around page 10 or so...

 

I "smell" a story coming, good or bad, something is brewing. I can just feel it. The board is in "holding breath" mode. Can you sense it? It is a cheap thrill, but it is all we have at the moment.

 

I'm quivering, but maybe it's the Viagra.

 

You know it's coming.....NEWS!

 

I don't see any reason as to why he wouldn't sign here if it's down to us, Miami, Charlotte, and Denver, and Denver doesn't want to exceed the luxury tax. He's not getting any playing time in Miami with Wade, Walker, and Posey entrenched at the 3, and Charlotte is just god awful and can't offer a penny more than we can.

He can come here and play 35 minutes per game and be the 3rd option we haven't had since...well, since the "Big 3". And yes, signing Bonzi Wells justifies the Battier trade because it gives us that legit starter we desperately needed to realistically contend. (I still wouldn't give CD credit because Wells essentially would have fallen into his lap...just like Yao and McGrady did, but that's a different topic altogether...)

So yes, I think he will sign here and I think that would make us legit contenders.

 

This could be a big move for our team and will make up for the loss of James and will give us insurance, which we didn't have last year, when Tracy went down. With the addition of Wells the team could take a lot of stress off tracy's back and it's ability to be playing 'WIN NOW' becomes a strong possibility!

 

T. M. I! You are creeping me out like that Swolley-D guy! I wish he would change his name, not much mystery there.

 

i think i would have an erection if our 2nd unit had Bonzi in the post instead of JuHo. imagine V-Span penetrating, kicking it out to Novak for the 3, or throwing it inside to Bonzi posting up his shorter defender, or kicking it to JuHo for the elbow shot, with Freaky Deke (& Bonzi) there to get an offensive putback.

compare

V-Span/JL3
Head/Bonzi
Bonzi/Novak
Chucky/JuHo
Deke

to previous years' 2nd units, like

Brunson
Bogans
Bowen
JuHo/Chucky
Deke.

that's a bigtime upgrade, IMO.
that's not mentioning the fact that we'd have something like

Rafer
Snyder
TMac
Battier
Yao

or some other combination starting.

if we get Bonzi, expect the rest of the NBA to finally take notice of us.

 

How much can charlotte offer, they are probably pretty far under the cap

 

I hope, if we do acquire him, last year wasn't a farse. He has had run-ins with every coach he has played under and a distraction in the locker room until last season. Surprise, surprise, last year was a contract year.

I'm certainly not in the Bonzi camp (actually can't stand the guy), but I'm not blind to see that we would be getting a very talented player at a great rate.

Hard to pass up a deal like that.

 

Pro:
Under the cap, can outbid everyone else.
Brevin Knight for straight up trade (4.4M/Team option next year)

Cons:
Charlotte are losing money
Adding Bonzi won't get them into the playoffs
Morrison will get game time over Bonzi at SG
Wallace will get game time over Bonzi at SF

 

Battier is more a 3 than a 4 and can't be expected for heavy minutes there. Novak is a rookie who is more of a 3 than a 4 as well. Hayes is undersized and has very little offense and Howard is only getting older.

 

Don't you twist my name, doc.

 

Fox w/ Berman just ran yesterday's interview. He's going to meet with Denver and Miami, I think.

 

My thinking on this Bonzi deal is this: Offer Sac the TE and a 2nd if they want something tangible in return. Since Sac will get ZERO for Bonzi otherwise, a 2nd (especially in such an allegedly 'deep' draft like the upcoming one) should be enough to get it done.

This will be the perfect scenario, because on the one hand, if Sac takes that deal, then we get Bonzi for probably the next three years at least, and he will be very trade-able if the chemistry does not work out (a-la Quitten).

On the other hand, if Sac does not bite, then we do NOT offer our 1st; instead, we simply offer Bonzi the 2.1 mil and let the chips fall where they may. If he takes more money from the Bobcats, then all we have lost is a pure mercenary with a history of being a headache. Kind of like the MJ deal - hindsight is 20/20 after all, and MJ turned out to be a psycho, and we almost got stuck with the guy for like the next five years. Talk about dodging a bullet! Same deal with Bonzi, IMO, if he simply jumps at slightly higher cash from Charlotte.

Besides, we would still be in good shape.. after all, the common wisdom around here for months has been that we never had a legit shot at Wells anyway, and we would still have our #1 in a deep draft next year, AND still be free and clear to pursue someone like MoPete next year.

I am not all that keen on one-year rentals. Randy Johnson and what's-his-name with the Mets kind of spoiled that for me. And we ALWAYS give up too much in this town for the rentals, so I am permanently leery of getting burned.

So give the TE and a 2nd, that would be fine. MAYYYYYBE a lottery-protected #1 for a few years as well, maybe. Or the rest of the MLE. Under those circumstances, if the guy signs here and it turns out he was just angling for the cash later, then we have found out if the guy fits, if he is worth bigging on, and we have not given up too much up front.

So do the deal, but do not overpay.

(And don't put too much stock in the 'JVG won't play rookies anyway, so trade the #1, who cares?' people.. if we have a high #1 next year, JVG won't be coaching here anymore anyway, so the #1 definitely needs to be a keeper.)