LittleY, I very much doubt Brand will make 14M on his first MAX contract, if it is, indeed, a MAX contract in the first place. I'm thinking if he is re-signed, it will be for around a starting salary of 10M. No one will ofer Brand the MAX. But regardless, his MAX is well below 14M to my understanding. His MAX is EXACTLY the same as Francis' if I'm not mistaken.
I thought Francis was going to be making $13,000,000. I guess he will be getting about $12,100,000 next season. If Elton Brand earns about the same as him....since they were both Co-Rookies of the Year..and are both stars...maybe he will EARN around $12 million too. If that is true...the annual payroll would be $56 million!!! They would be making less than our current roster will be making next year... BUT...we would only have 11 players. We can sign WangZhiZhi and Rafer Alston and some NBDL guys. I wish...
Any 2 undrafted guys or minimum contracts will do since those 2 players will never play.. With a line-up like that expect Francis, Yao and Brand to get 40 minutes every night.
Steve Francis, Moochie Norris Cuttino Mobley, Juaquin Hawkins James Posey, Glen Rice, Terence Morris, Bostjan Nachbar Eddie Griffin, Maurice Taylor Yao Ming, Kelvin Cato, Jason Collier. VS. Steve Francis, Jeff McInnis Derek Anderson, Juaquin Hawkins Toni Kukoc, Terence Morris, Bostjan Nachbar Elton Brand, Maurice Taylor Yao Ming It is conspicuous to see that the 2nd team is MUCH better. They do not even make that much more... The point guard position is a little stronger. The shooting guard position loses some talent...but is okay. The small forward position is not as great with a variety of guys...but it has one solid veteran...and two developing players who will get a lot of time to play. The power forward position is DEFINITELY BETTER. The center position loses depth...but the remaining center that we will keep, YAO MING, will continue to get better. Texas Dreaming...
Um, not really. You do realize that Bender is 2 years older than Eddie, has 4 more years experience, yet puts up worse numbers? Never mind the fact that the plan has been to groom him as a SF, despite his 7-0 stature. Personally, I wouldn't be too dissapointed if we got Donyell Marshall out of Eddie, provided he reaches it in a timely manner. 14-9 out of the PF, plus Eddie's ability as a game changing shot blocker is not bad at all on a team with Francis and Ming. If you don't see the flashes in Eddie, I'm sorry, you're missing out. I don't understand some of these bashings at all. As far as his high FGA, and low assist numbers, watch the games- he's taking open shots. They're not off-balance shots, or heavily guarded. Right now, his game is based on outside jumpers because a.) he's 20 years old b.) he's not 7-6 c.) our offense consists of 2 high scoring guards. He's probably another offseason away from being able to establish position with consistency, possibly two, but if you watched him in college, you'd know that the set outside jumper was hardly the primary facet of his game. Personally, I think he's the best post-entry passer on the team (which may or may not be saying much). To me, it's just so much of his game right now is hindered by a temporary limit of not being able to muscle with others inside. He does have some post moves inside- recall the Portland game, where he spun out of the double team baseline for an easy turnaround, which he displayed in summer leagues and in college. His rebounding is ok, and is getting better- we're one of the top 5 teams in rebounding with him at PF, so it can't be hurting us that much. It's pointless to have these knee-jerk reactions after games like the Sacramento game. Our starting big man tandem was a 22 year old rookie, and a 20 year old sophomore. Their starting big man tandem was a 35 year old with 13 years experience, and a 30 year old with 9 years experience. Put that in persective. Their average age was 11.5 years older than ours. They had 21 more years of combined experience between them than we did. Webber and Divac also happen to be 2 of the craftier players in the league. There is not a single other team starting a big man tandem with only 1 year of NBA experience. There have been and will be growing pains for both of them, but Eddie does not have the advantage of being 6 inches taller than most of his matchups. I don't see the use in comparing him to an older, more experienced small forward who still puts up worse numbers than him.
Griffin isn't bad... It would be nice if he and Mo Taylor could both combine for about 30 points and 10 rebounds per game. They could split the time next year. I can see that happening next season....
By the way that Eddie played the first halve of the Rockets & Clippers he looked GOOD! But who in the Rockets didn't!
Well I still think nothing is going to happen in the offseason. Trading Glen Rice and a draft pick to Portland for Derek Anderson and Jeff McInnis would be great. We would get a good shooter and big guy...and a good backup point guard who makes less than Moochie. Trading Kelvin Cato for Toni Kukoc would be great. We would get a good veteran who has a lot of playoff experience and still can shoot. Trading Cuttino Mobley and Eddie Griffin for elton Brand would also be nice. Elton Brand is young and can be one of the top power forwards in the NBA. Being with the Rockets would be awesome. BUT NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN. I think the Rockets are going to try to keep this team together. Francis is improving as a point guard every game...and is kinda maturing. Mobley is learning and adjusting to the new offense. Posey is fitting in and can be perfect for us if he can shoot like he did against the Clippers on Tuesday. I think they will resign him. Griffin is very young and can develop along with our team gradually. He just needs confidence and practice..and more strength. Yao will just be himself. He'll hopefully learn how to face different defenses. And we will be great. Moochie will still be us. And he'll still be our point guard...making $3.6 million. Hawkins will be older but is a very energetic and I just love his defense. He can be even better if he makes the one shot he takes in the games that he plays in. Rice will be with us for another season. It will be his last. He can still shoot. When he's doing good...and if Posey is doing good...we can be very good. Mo Taylor will still be with us. He's a great backup power forward. Cato is just crazy and awesome. Love his rebounding and blocks and alleyoop dunks. Tito Maddox may be waived...but he is fast and pretty energetic. He just needs to learn how to make a layup without getting blocked. Terence Morris...I hope they resign him. He never gets to play...but he can shoot. And he can become a good role player. Bostjan Nachbar...maybe he will start playing next season. It will be tough with the other three small forwards playing... JASON COLLIER WILL BE GONE. Our team looks pretty good...but they just have to be consistent. Rudy Tomjanovich will probably be back. It would be nice to make some additions...good additions...like Lamar Odom or Brent Barry.
Yep Aint NOTHIN gonna happen! If they didn't do it last season they won't do it this season1 Since it's gonna be too many changes and it's gonna mess up team chemistry!
Eddie Griffin are going to be like a "softer" Rasheed Wallace. He has similar skills as Sheed, but he's not going to be as powerful dunker as Sheed. But Griffin definitely got the skills to be as good as Wallace. In a couple of years Eddie will be like Sheed. In two years the haters are going too hate them selves for hating on Griffin.
