ESPN: Rockets will not match Grizzlies offer sheet

Then if they knew they would not pay Posey then why let Tmo go? They cannot make up their minds. The Dennis fella says they want to send the right message to Boki.

 

Mo plays decent defense on big men. Our option is Griff and MoT is much better at bodying up than Griff. Hell Malone used Griff. Mo was the only option of defending him.

Plus I remember Mo was getting better at the end. I recall one game he had like 13+ boards.

Just because he hasn't been strong at something in the past doesn't mean he won't get better.

We'll be fine w/out Posey. I have faith.

 

I think that the Rox really believe that Boki is the future at the 3. They are a tall slender, slasher who can handle the ball to man the 3. Hopefully Boki is that person. But I have to agree with letting JP walk for 6 mil per year. He is not worth it IMO. Sadly, I think that he may have thought that there was no way the Rox would let him walk. He may be going to Memphis and not really wanting to.

 

Someone said:

If Cato continues his play of last season, his contract becomes almost a bargin. Only on the West playoff teams is he not the starting center.

Which is sweet, because that means we are a playoff team!!!

MoT is overpaid, and I can't believe there is debate on this matter. Where does he rank among league 4s? There are backups who are better than the Giant Softie.

Actually, now that I've asked it, where does he rank? I doubt it's in the top 20.

Malone, Diggler, CWebb, Duncan, Wallace, Brand, Radio Rahim, PJ Brown, BGrant, Donyell Marshall, JOneal, Kurt Thomas, Antoine Walker, Stoudamire

There go the top of the headers. Is he better than Keon Clark? Malik Rose? Tyson Chandler? Van Horn? Swift?

Mo T is better than Vin Baker. I can say that unequivocably, but after that the waters become murkier. Chandler, KVH, and Swift probably, but Rose and Clark bring more to their teams. Anyone rather have Mo T than Chandler though?

 

Rox don't really need Posey, but I'm not too high on the idea of getting Piatkowski. Really, I would rather have TMo than him, he's younger, taller, plays better D, more explosive, and he can hit the shot just inside the arc consistently. He's gotten a little better each season, and I think if he's given some time he'll increase his learning curve. Hell, I wouldn't mind having TMo start and Nachbar back him up, I think that would be just fine.

 

This sucks!
We have to match this offer. I think most people here underestimate the value of a guy who plays his @$$ off every night. I think most people here respect the great Jerry West's judgement of talent. If he thinks he is worth it, then he is worth it.

 

If the Rocks have no trades planned....The Rocks need to sign Posey and Pike. That way our team would actually improve from last season....not take a step back. If we lose Posey, I have no idea what the Rocks mean by makin a "big splash." This is very dissapointing but I haven't lost faith completely yet. Im still confident that the Rocks will have something or already do have something in the works. At least I hope.......

 

Bottom line is we reap what we sow. You look at the bloated contracts that we have already namely : Moochie and Mo Taylor, and the fact that we are almost in Luxo tax land, the prospects of matching any contract is very slim. If I am Posey at this point in my life I would be looking for the money and an okay team (Memphis will not be in the gutter for very long mark my words). If I am the Rockets I would love to keep Posey but at the same time I have to look at the big picture. I blame CD for the B.S. contracts he has given in the last two offseasons. I think he is learning that you have to have a plan when writing these contracts. I love that they finally have realized the monster they created by the other B.S. contracts, but I hate that we had to lose Posey for CD to realize it. Posey was right when it was rumored he said, "He is better than alot of people on the team that makes more than him." The contract that we offered was a slap in the face to him im sure. CD needs to take note from the likes of the Spurs GM (whoever he is). Stop making promises to these roll players. We will never be a big player in free agency until we can unload these crap contracts we have. So dont hold your breath about a big splash because when you look at the numbers it just can't / won't happen. The only hope we have is through sign and trades (I Think). And if Les gets extra money from the Toyota naming rights (does he?) then maybe he will go into the Luxo tax area cause that will offset his loses. You also have to ask yourself, do you really want to pay Luxury tax for a 3rd/4th option player like Posey? He is a very good player no doubt, but I can only justify it for players like gary Payton, Karl Malone etc. Its easy for us to say he's an idiot from a fans perspective. There is one thing for sure now, I think Mobely is now off the market since Posey is gone.

 

There is no reason to rag on ownership and CD. It's not their fault. With the cap being where it is, it's not worth going over the threshold for a guy who can't shoot that well. I say forget about Piat and let Boki start. That way there is money available to maybe re-sign Eddie next season.

 

Well, So if we don't sign Posey we sign Pike.
Here are the Pike's stats, are better than that I thought:


YEAR TEAM G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
94-95 LAC 81 11 14.9 .441 .374 .783 .80 .90 1.60 1.0 .46 .19 .78 1.90 7.0
95-96 LAC 65 1 12.1 .405 .333 .817 .60 1.00 1.60 .7 .37 .15 .69 1.30 4.6
96-97 LAC 65 0 11.5 .450 .425 .821 .80 .90 1.60 .8 .51 .15 .71 1.30 6.0
97-98 LAC 67 35 26.0 .452 .409 .824 1.00 2.50 3.50 1.3 .76 .18 1.19 2.00 11.3
98-99 LAC 49 38 25.3 .432 .394 .863 .80 2.10 2.90 1.1 .90 .12 1.08 1.80 10.5
99-00 LAC 75 23 22.8 .415 .383 .850 1.00 2.00 3.00 1.1 .59 .17 .76 1.90 8.7
00-01 LAC 81 40 26.5 .433 .404 .873 .70 2.30 3.00 1.2 .57 .23 .94 1.50 10.6
01-02 LAC 71 64 24.2 .439 .466 .894 .60 2.00 2.60 1.6 .58 .17 .90 1.50 8.8
02-03 LAC 62 26 21.9 .471 .398 .828 .70 1.80 2.50 1.1 .53 .15 .90 1.50 9.7

LAst year stats are interestings. We need shooting so this could be a great SG backup for us.

 

Taylor is overpaid, but not "grossly." Cato is making the market price of a 7fter who can rebound and play some D. The only grossly overpaid players we have are Moochie and Rice.

Rice's contract is up next summer. I am still debating whether we should trade him for something good now or hang on to him and get the cap room next year.

So that leaves just Moochie. Whoever said the front office is racist?

 

Oh, someone mentioned fat Rice is better than Piatkowski. Let's see their career numbers . . .

Name fg% 3p% fg% rpg apg spg bpg
Rice: .457 .402 .845 4.40 2.10 0.97 0.27
Piat: .438 .402 .841 2.50 1.10 0.57 0.17

Piatkowski is almost exactly as good a shooter as Rice. Rice has double the rebound and assist numbers but he plays twice as many mpg. And Rice is in probably worse defense too (no secret here). So looks like the only thing Rice is better is being fat?

Actually, I'm not saying Piatkowski is the same caliber kind of player as Rice in his prime. But I do think his skills are comparable to Rice at least at this stage.

 

I [was] as big a fan as anyone of James Posey, and I'm not bitter or anything about the Grizzlies or the Rockets pursuing Pike. Guys, come on, sometimes I do the whole *roll eyes* "why do they have to get a white guy" charade, but I would be ecstatic to get Piatkowski. The guy can shoot. Putting all racial biases aside, the dude can flat out shoot. And that's EXACTLY what this team has been lacking. So many holes will open up for guard penetration, because guys got to respect Pike. As much as I love JPo's enthusiasm, defense, and overall athleticness, we need a shooter.

 

anyone remember uhmm shandon anderson? and oh wait matt maloney? wait mo t? oh how bout moochie? all horrible contracts. thats why we cant offer posey one. posey is shandon anderson all over again. as stated before hes not the difference of us making the finals. let him go. CD screwed this up a long time ago not like this should be some news flash.

 

When Francis, Piatkowski, Griffin, and Nachbar are on the court, will that be the worse defense ever?

 

im excited to get Piat but we lose something that he doesnt bring, hustle and heart. He is matt bullard u guys...dont u see it? id rather have a hustler who does his role than a shooter who wants to shoot and not chase a ball outa bounds hoping to save it...

 

An avg. of $6 mil a year for 4 years is just a little too much, too risky for a player like him. Let's not be short-sighted on the value of Posey. The Rockets are taking baby steps right now... just making the playoffs is the goal for next year, not the championship.

In around 3 years is when we should really have reaching the Western conference finals as our minimum expectations. That is realistic with Yao and Francis as the core. Posey is a nice player, but can anyone here see him as the starting SF on a contending team? Having him with us is better than not having him, but not at that price. Someone posted earlier... it's not his salary in particular that is the problem, but it's how what we pay him will affect what we can pay other people in the future. CD got the Rockets into a mini mess with Maloney, Moochie, and Mo-T. I think he's trying to become more disciplined. I don't think you have to "buy" a champsionship. The Spurs were really planning on making a run *next* year while being fiscally responsible at the same time.

Let's say Boki is becomes a solid player. Do we really want a $6 million backup at the SF position? I don't think so.

Let's say Boki is a bust. No big deal. It happens with mid-first rounders. Again, if we sign Posey, then we are paying him a starter's salary whether or not he is capable of being a quality starter or not. I don't think we've seen enough of him yet to say for sure. The Rockets don't want to make another Matt Maloney mistake.

Now if we *dont* sign Posey, and I'm not a salary cap expert at all, but when Rice's contract comes off the books next year, I think we would have the cap space/flexibility to sign or trade for a true quality 3 if Boki craps out or get a quality 4 if EG doesn't improve.

Why Piat? If Boki plays like crap or if Rice goes down, then having Piat will be key. Whenever Rice was hurt last year, we didn't have one pure shooter available to suit up. Yao is going to be an even better passer this year... he needs someone out there who can consistently knock down a shot. Even if we get Piat, I can guarantee it won't be a 4 year deal unless it's for around the minimum.

Championship teams are not made in one off season... and what we do each offseason can affect what we can do in future offseasons... so why not wait and see? Posey is not essential to the Rockets' making the playoffs this year, which is what our expectations are. I'd argue that, in no particular order, the continued development of Yao as an individual, the development of Yao and Steve as the next super tandem, the development of EG as an everyday contributor at the 4 spot, how the team responds to Jeff Van Gundy... even how/if Moochie Norris bounces back from an off year are the important elements to the Rockets' success this upcoming season, not if James Posey is around...

 

That's Not Right!

If the Rockets can make efforts to keep Yao and Francis then why can't they make an effort to keep Posey?

Posey is a really good basketball player especially at the near end of the season.

 

Give him a few years or months and Posey can maybe someday be as good as Jordan. I think the Rockets are making a huge mistake in letting Posey go like that!

 

I would have loved to kept him too, but he just isn't worth that much. Plus we are over the cap, and would have had to pay even more if we wanted to keep him. If he really wanted to stay and win, he would have accepted what we offered him.

P.S. Posey will never be as good as Jordan!