Looking long-term, Rashard Lewis would require one more maximum contract, in addition to Francis, Griffin, Ming and maybe Mobley. He's also one more guy who will be concerned about getting enough shots, points and playing time. Be happy with what we have. Pass on Rashard (again).
You can say the same thing about the people who wanted Rashard, even though HE hadn't proved a thing when he was drafted, and hadn't shown anything at this level. He was straight out of high school, so what's the difference between him and Nachbar?
I can't figure out why anyone would be stupid enough to trade Griffin AND Nachbar or just Griffin for Lewis. No one thinks we could trade Nachbar for Lewis and no one ever said that. We should leave this team alone and let them grow together. Lewis wants the max...Lewis isn't a max player...With Lewis on the court, are there enough touches for everyone? I think not...Nachbar is just as happy or even more grateful to be a Rocket than Lewis would be. He can shoot the ball and is athletic plus he isn't going to cost us much, so why should we get Lewis? And no, Lewis is not worth Griffin period...Griffin has so much potential and Lewis is about topped out
I read the list of available FA's and the only guy that was interesting to me was Bruce Bowen. A defensive minded guard would be a good change of pace off the bench.
The difference is Rashard has proven it at the NBA level. It is certainly plausible to say that Rashard is better now than Nachbar will ever be. Not certain, of course, but very possible.Lewis averaged 17 and 7 and shot a good percentage for a playoff team. That's pretty decent. It's kind of sad that we don't have money for him, but we do for Cato, Rice, MoT, and Moochie.
would a maurice taylor and glen rice for rashard sign/trade be feasible? (or maybe cato, but he's a damn good backup center to yao, and i dont think seattle would take him) those are some big salaries, and i am a huge huge fan of mo taylor, but i would trade him for rashard, that leaves houston with: pg: francis, mooch, maddux sg: mobley, (oscar torres? tierre brown?, maybe even some maddux here?) sf: rashard, nachbar pf: griffin, kenny thomas c: ming, cato that looks pretty damn good if you ask me. one hell of a starting 5, with kt, nachbar, and cato off the bench. that is a GREAT 8 man rotation.
Lewis WAS NOT proven at the NBA Level at the time he was drafted. And why is it plausible to say that Lewis is better then Nachbar will ever be? And the Rockets had Cato, and Moochie bird rights when they signed them, not sure about Mo.
He is proven NOW, and Nachbar isn't. Now is all that matters. Sorry, I wasn't clear on that. As for Bird rights, I don't understand your point. We also had cap room before we signed them.
Rashard has proven himself that is is a quality NBA player, but definitely not a MAX player. Besides, I think Nachbar would be just as good of a ROLE player for less money. Remember, there is never enough room for STAR players on any one team. If you consider Stevie, Eddie G., and Yao Ming to be the future stars of the team, then you need role players and depth on the bench to be Championship contenders. Therefore, it would be wise to calculate the future cost of maintaining your stars and filling the bench. IMO, we don't need Lewis anymore, unless he's willing to play at MCE. Here is where I agree with you. Rockets need to find ways to move Cato, Rice, MoT simply because they are overpaid for their contributions. If we could free up the $$, we could go after other players that could contribute off the bench, especially on the Defensive end.
The only way the Rockets should acquire Lewis is if he signs for the MCE or in a sign and trade where Seattle takes either Rice or Mo's contract off of our hands.
But I don't think the Rockets are willing to give up Nachbar and Griffin for Lewis, he isn't worth it. And the thing about the Bird rights is that the Rockets had cap room, but not enough to get Lewis. Do you think that even if the Rockets hadn't signed the players that the Rockets could sign Lewis to the max!? I seriously doubt it. Lewis isn't worth signing to the max, and he isn't worth losing Nachbar, who may end up being a very good player, and Griffin who could be a franchise player.
I agree Lewis is not a max player. I never claimed that. It does irritate me, though, that we can pay MoT 8 mil, but not Rashard. I hate the idea we can't sign a good player because of other bad contracts. As for Nachbar, I just think it's questionable to assume he will be as good as Lewis. Don't misunderstand. I am ABSOLUTELY not saying Lewis is worth Griffin and Nachbar. I'm not insane.
Point taken. But here is an interesting scenario. Taking a 4 year career avg. in Points, Rebounds, FG Percentage the breakdown for Lewis and MoTaylor goes as follows: Lewis 10.5/4.8/45% MoTaylor 14.6/5.4/47% If there was a S&T between the Rockets and Sonics for these players, that would work out. The Sonics need a PF to replace Vin Baker anyways and the Rockets would beef up in SF position. That still leaves us with KT and EG at PF. How does this sound as a possible way to acquire Lewis?
I don't think the Sonics would do it, due to Taylor's injury. I certainly have no objections, though.
This was all speculation on ESPNInsider's part. I don't think the Sonics would be interested in Nachbar. They need 4's and 5's. They already have Radmanovic. I don't know what spot he played last year, but he seems a small forward. But no, I wouldn't give up Eddie Griffin for anything less than an All Star.
The Big Four are untouchable. I would be willing to give up anybody else for Lewis. Francis Cat Lewis Griffin Ming This starting line-up has the potential to be the best in the history of basketball!(If Griffin and Ming play to their potential) WOW. This group has eveything. Penetrators, shooters, rebounders, passers, shot-blockers, athleticism, potential, size...
I'm suprised none of you have mentioned the possability of getting Greg Buckner. He's a younger, stronger, more explosive version of Bruce Bowen. I personally think he would be an excellent addition to the Rockets (even though I think he'll sign with the Sixers).
I think we all can agree that Lewis is not a max player, but the funny thing is that Lewis now realizes he's won't be getting max dollars. In all the articles I read about this years free agent class, the money is not there and the players know it. Everyone (who has money) is saving their money for next year's class. The only team that can pay him more than 6mil a year is the Sonics but it doesn't seem like he really wants to play there. The Rockets have one of the highest MCE's at over 5mil (avg. team's MCE is 4.7mil). That leaves him w/ 2 options, Seattle or Houston. Lewis could sign w/ Houston for the MCE for 1 or 2 years. After Rice is gone, we'll have 9mil to play with and eventually (2-3yrs from now) Taylor and probably Cato will be moved somehow. That way we could get Lewis for a good price and I'd take that. Or even we could move Rice for him if Seattle is willing to eat his salary to dump it in a couple of years.
