ummm. ok Rockets pursue Posey, pass on Maddox, Morris By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle The Rockets began the free-agent bargaining season by adding to the list of free agents and reaching out toward the one of their own they most want to keep. The Rockets opted not to pick up their option on the contracts of guard Tito Maddox and forward Terence Morris, their second-round picks of the past two seasons. General manager Carroll Dawson said both players were invited to play for the Rockets' entry in the LA Summer Pro League in Long Beach, Calif., beginning July 10, with the opportunity of earning a place on the team's training camp roster. Maddox is expected to play for the Rockets in Long Beach, but Morris could try to hook up with a team providing a better chance of offering a roster spot next season. The Rockets began their pursuit of free agents by contacting 6-8 forward James Posey's agent, Mark Bartelstein. No contract figures were discussed. Bartelstein said Posey has received interest from Chicago, Orlando, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Portland. "We talked, but we talked to a bunch of teams," Bartelstein said of the Rockets' interest in Posey. "There is a lot of interest in him because of his age (26) and the things he does." The Rockets also went to work pursuing free-agent coaches. With Michael Jordan's failed bid to buy the Milwaukee Bucks over, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy renewed talks with formerKnicks center Patrick Ewing about joining his staff as an assistant coach
Yeah but he's got a poo baby. I don't get it. Why would we let Morris just walk. HELLO. Can somebody tell me who is on our team now? I have: Yao/Cato Taylor/Griffin Rice/Nachbar Mobley/ Francis/Moochie That's NINE players. We'll be excited to retain Posey. We have slots. Can I count? Where are all of our players? Who are our players coming up? HELLO. Is Malick Mania this potent? Can he be the missing two players?
Chill out. Its July 2nd. I think the new coach is going to need a little bit of time to figure out who wants to add to the team.
It's July first in Mountain buck-o. But that doesn't matter. Morris was a contributor. I'm pretty shocked we'd let him walk. Besides, what is Steve going to do now to help out his pals in Maryland? Make us sign up John Waters as the new Small Forward? John Waters is a sick, sick man.
didn't we give up a first rounder to get Morris? Hopefully this means they are gonna give Boki his shot then.
John Waters would be great on the Rockets, but I fear he may be past his prime. I'll be sorry to see Morris go. He just seemed so solid last year, so reliable. I didn't always like seeing him shoot but I never worried about him holding down the fort at the 3 or the 4. I'm surprised he's going and I wonder if there's more to that story. I'm guessing they're liking having those slots open. JVG probably wants that freedom to bring some new guys in. And even if nothing happens with free agency, a Rice trade could equal at least two roster spots. I mostly expect Hawk back too. Seems like a Van Gundy style twelfth man.
my advice , DONT sign Posey. Since other teams want him ,especially Portland,he will want more than hes worth. We already got suckered in by Norris,Cato,list goes on and on. Forget Posey. We will keep Mobley as the 2,and Boki/Rice/FA as the platoon 3. I hope we let Posey walk and Collier. Add Badiane(cheap and desire). Add a Jon Barry. Add Hawkins or Hollis price. Thats 12 dudes. Kick off Norris or put him on IR. francis/price mobley/barry boki/rice/vet minimum FA griffin/taylor/badiane ming/cato
Okay so Maddox is gone, what happens next season when Mooch plays like garbage again? Surely JVG wont put up with Mooch's act like Rudy did. Im curious to see who the 3rd PG/ backup PG by December will be. Im sure JVG will bring in a Vet or if hes smart he will bring in a "real" backup PG to town. I think Charlie Ward might be the man, he would instantly upgrade the 2nd units talent level. I thought T-Mo could be a nice role player for this team. But Id much rather have Posey and some Bostjan PT than another SF. He can find a team that he can potentially start for if he plays well he could probaly never get it here, it make sense for both parties. Okay Ewing talks are back in the work, I know thats a huge relief for alot of yall
Your that confident that Boki can go from hardly ever playing to starting? I don't know well really nobody can really answer, as theres nothing to base it on. But its a huge risk to let a defensive minded SF go and than plug in basically a rookie.
I dont want the rox staff to waste time negotiating with greedy agent of Posey(all agents are greedy). I believe in a definative cutoff point. Lets say 4.5 mil /yr for 4 years(18 mil over 4 yrs) TOPS. If his agent wants to negotiate or want more,hang up the phone rudely and say "bye-bye".My gut intuition tells me "contacting Poseys agent" is about negotiating. If Posey really wanted to be here,and I mean REALLY wanted to stay here,his agent wouldnt be talking to bulls,orlando,portland. Sand I HAVE seen Boki play. I saw three preseason games and two regular season games. He looked better than Rice in his limited minutes. Besides,Posey isnt regarded as a excellent three point shooter,dont we need our small forward to space the floor with shooting outside?? Signing Posey will come back to haunt us. Besides,with the zone defenses, good man to man defenders are almost obsolete now like Posey. Good coaching is where its at.And we have that in JVG.
I hope that he (Boki) gets a chance to shine. I look back at other rookies last year, many of whom suck, and they got way more playing time than he did. Just look at what's his name....that transparent guy on the lakers...
Tito hasnt proved to be NBA quality, but TMo has, I hate to see him go. I dont see him playing summer league for the Rockets because I think hes proven his potential, someone will pick him up and he will contribute in the NBA. By not keeeping Morris , the Rockets are confirming they are still planning on bringing in free agent vets for back-up positions.. as was rumored on CC net some time ago.
Morris being gone doesn't matter to me too much. As far as Posey, I would give him 5 million at the most! And someone else is probably going to offer him more than that. I think the Rockets should just let him walk.
I agree somewhat, don't want to re-sign Posey for that much either. I would like to give Boki the starting nod, yes it would be risky, but teams start rookies all the time.
Those 4pts and 2rbs really helped us this past season..... Why the hell is everyone getting their panties in a freaking wad about losing TMo?!?!? brick brick brick..... We need those slots open for the free agents we are likely going to sign or trade for. I want us to sign vets, not more younger players like TMo.
OK, I know this is just the optimist in me, but is it possible that we are trying to clear salary space for a trade or signing. Then pick up those contracts (don't care about Maddox, like Morris a lot) at camp. They were invited to come back. Where do we stand salary wise with just the signed players? I beleive that Posey, as a free agent, counts 1 1/2 times salary till signed. But even at that, it is still probably lower than what it will be. Does the qualifying offer have any meaning for this type of calculation?
Because everyone saw the marked improvement in his shot, which was his only question. I said it last yr even when we drafted Nachbar that in a perfect world, Morris was the best all around sf that we had. During the time he played, and even after the Rockets got Posey, i still thought the same. I would have like for the Rockets to bring Morris back to battle with Nachbar for the 3 spot in case we didn't resign Posey or he and his agent price themselves out of the market. Tito sucked anyway.