He fills a need this team has right now. In fact, he fills its two biggest needs which are size and shot blocking. So the team still has all the flexibility over the summer it had with McGrady except now it has a starting Center instead of a wing player who may or may not regain his starting spot in the rotation.
Doesn't make any sense by your previous arguments....your whole argument the past few months - maybe 6 months has been you can't just let T-mac walk because he'll expire and we get nothing. So now you are tradiing T-mac for another expiring contract? For someone else who is injury prone, older, and may only provide help for this year and take time away from Scola, Landry, Andersen, and Hayes? Or do you just want to get rid of T-mac eh?
Or why not think about the 04-05 playoffs when he torched Dallas in games 1 + 2 and nailed the gw in game 2? Bottomline, TMac has hit some big shots. He's clunked a few too. But he's also made good decisions with the rock as well as time winds down. He can and has made the pass off the pick and roll to open players. We know Ariza isn't somebody we want with the ball in the last 15 seconds. Brooks has a tendency to over dribble and get stuck. A healthy TMac is basically our best shot as a 'closer'
The problem is that there is no flexibility for the team if it allows McGrady's contract to just expire. As it's been stated on this board many times, the Rockets cannot just sign $20 million worth of contracts after McGrady's contract comes off the books. And O'Neal's contract is pretty much the same situation as McGrady's.
What a joke -- the Scola part, anyway. Scola's as good overall as O'Neal at this point. The McGrady/Cook part does make some sense. But this smells like 100 percent pure conjecture from a Florida columnist who wants to be provocative and please the readers. Doubt it has any basis in reality.
Maybe in bball textbooks, those are are biggest needs. But how many games have we lost this season because we lacked those things?
I agree! Andersen isn't looking half bad. And I'm really impressed with his ability to adapt to the NBA. It took Scola almost 2 years ... it's only been a few months and Andersen is seeming to play better all the time.
Not happening, horrible trade. DM always says he wants players that will help build the future...not something that would be a quick fix, which is what I see JO being.
boy oh boy what a stupid idea....if anyone thinks for even a second that this is a move in the right direction...seriously Jermaine Oneal??? Maybe if wed be getting the JO from 2003 but not washed up Jermaine Some Rocket Fans you guys are....we do not need a 4 (except for chris bosh)..we have 2 of the most talented hard-working 4s in the league in Scola/Landry
I'm with you on this one. I mean to get a center for this yr and still have the expiring is pretty good. I would also like to see if we could get wright for cook included in the deal. People that are saying O'Neal is a slight upgrade to hayes is just deaf,dumb,and blind. O'neal can still get a shot,post and is adequate rebounder,defender, and still has some legs. I like hayes and all with his hustle and low salary, but O'Neal is a better player.
A gentleman's exchange of Jermaine O'neal for Tracy McGrady is not going to accomplish goals of postseason success, as elusive as it is. Please consider this exchange: Trevor Ariza for Marcin Gortat and any additional salary that would be required to satisfy the desires of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The amount of sense this exchange makes, is siginificant. Further I will go to speculate that Darryl Morey acquired Trevor Ariza for the express purpose of showcasing him prior to Decemember 15th, only to exchange him for MArcin Gortat (Darryl Morey's first choice).
More than one. The Rockets total rebounding on a night in, night out basis is fine, but that's because they offensive rebound so well. They don't exactly dominate on the boards, especially from a defensive rebounding perspective. They're currently 26th in the league in defensive rebounding, which is why despite being 4th in the league in offensive rebounding, they are only 14th in total rebounding. Block shots is worse, where they're 27th in the league in blocks per game, and second worst in blocks given up. I'd agree with you, these aren't the sky is falling stats. They find other ways to win. But these deficiencies certainly contribute to their losses. Against the Kings, just as one example, they were outrebounded 54-35, allowing Jason Thompson to have probably his best game of the season. If you can't see the rebounding and guard the paint issues we have at times, you're not watching. I'd agree JO is older, injury prone, and not a great defender anymore. I wouldn't jump on this deal. But if the trade deadline comes, and there's nothing better out there, I see no reason to pass it up, ESPECIALLY if the Heat throw in their first rounder (though I don't see why they'd do that). Jermaine is putting up very solid stats, considering how many people think he's garbage. He's a positive plus/minus player for the Heat. He is a high FG% shooter at this point. He has a decent PER measure. I see no reason not to try and win as much as possible this year, considering the start. If the team was just going to be mediocre, I could see this not being a smart move. But it's looking increasingly like the team will slip into the playoffs...might as well try and make it exciting. If you could follow up this trade with, say, a trade of Battier/Dorsey/Taylor for a Kevin Martin, you'd have a really potent team (though I can see the argument for keeping a Battier). Finally, while I don't think the team would want to re-sign McGrady after this year, if O'Neal came over, stayed healthy, and turned into a solid backup big man, then you would have the ability to re-sign him, albeit at a much lower salary in the off-season. Does that hamper David Andersen's development? Maybe, but who cares. If you could also re-sign Scola, your frontcourt, with a healthy Yao, includes Yao, Scola, Landry, O'Neal, Andersen, Hayes (I think Chuck would have to be re-signed as well). That's what you need come playoff time or another injury to any of them. Hope Chase, Ariza, Brooks, Landry and Lowry continue to improve, draft well again (if they got the Heat's pick, as of today they'd have the 18th and 20th picks), pick up a solid MLE player, and you enter 2010 with a chance to make some real noise. And if you don't like that plan, you can always fall back on the let everybody who expires walk and go after different player options.
Ugh I want to get somesort of young value back.. Not an injury-prone expiring bigman who sux my peniss
Maybe I'm missing something here. Is Oneals contract expiring after this year. Otherwise, he's injury prone, and he'd take minutes from Scola/Landry who both are way more productive than Oneal. I don't think anybody else in the league is producing more points at the PF position than Landry/Scola. Another thing is everyone keeps talking about how Mac might not fit with the current rockets style and how he would take minutes from Budinger....whoever we get for Mac is going to have to have minutes too so....
