My one issue with Morey, is that if we are re-building and swinging for the fences at the same time, we may run the risk of not having all of our resources dedicated to one goal. Maybe you can do both at the same time because we have shown we intend to have a "farm system" and played a lot of young guys last year (meaning for the Rockets). And maybe this will directly link to high levels of success. Who knows? With Yao coming back (and assuming we add one rotation veteran) someone is going to go. Or Hill and Budinger won't have the minutes they probably deserve (assuming they don't get traded). Not to mention Jermaine Taylor is something we probably need to evaluate at the NBA level. And most likely a first round pick coming in. maybeWe are one player away. I think it probably has to be a guy that is better than Yao, Martin and Brooks. I just don't think we will get Bosh and I really hope Morey doesn't blindly chase him. If it doesn't look like a good chance, don't pursue it. I like the Kevin Martin move because it is actually pretty fiscally sound. I don't think it gets higher than about 11 million and I think he will show tremendous value this year. I think we need to look at guys that are somewhere in the 12-15 million range and see what we can come up with. Bosh may just be a bit too expensive, albeit I would take him if he wanted to come here because you have to take that chance. Even though we need a big guy, my mind keeps coming back to upgrading talent wise at the SF. Even though its taking on money, you throw Ariza in the deal and cuts into that money taken on quite a bit. You have to make sure though, that this SF you bring in is able to be your primary perimeter defender (assuming Brooks and Martin are also still here.) I really think we need to look into players that have 2-3 year deals and say no more than 15 mil (for kicks give or take a bit) And like I said, you get rid of Ariza. I don't know, I honestly think I would be worried giving the max to all but about 5 guys in the league.
Why? Morey has proven its very easy to get quality role players from free agency, the draft and trade. Its not easy however to get a proven workhorse to put you over the edge. Every single guy we have, save maybe Jeffries is underpaid. This affords us the luxury to overpay a guy to put us over the top. All in all, Bosh may not be worth a max contract to every team in the league, but if we get him, that puts us at legitimate contender status and thus he IS worth that amount of money.
DM is a fantastic value shopper, but I think maybe he is looking to reach to get something that will put us over the top. I think he'll make a good decision, I just hate having to wait. If he trades down in the draft, we'll have to wait even more to see something exciting. Grrr!
Lars I agree, and I said above that if we had the chance, we pay the max because we have the chance. I am just saying the more likely scenario, not to mention cheaper in dollars and assets maybe to go this route. I don't know of many max guys (if any) that are up for trade (unless they are considered terrible terrible contracts). I said in
That's some criteria: Small Forward Better than Yao Primary Perimeter Defender Not making max money On a 2-3 year deal Can be had for Ariza Yeah, I'll stick with the Bosh hysteria.
Gerald Wallace is who we need to be compete with the Lakers/Celtics... Aaron Brooks Kevin Martin Gerald Wallace Luis Scola Yao Ming
With a basketball team, you must look at marginal value and not total value. Because there are limited rotation minutes, there gets to a point where simply adding more bodies just doesn't cut it. i.e. having 3 Aaron Brooks together doesn't make them the same as Deron Williams. Having 5 Budingers doesn't mean you don't need a Lebron. Morey's not swinging for the fences. He's basically built a roster that has reached the point right under the star level. Scola - almost an all-star Brooks - almost an all-star Martin - all-star caliber who can't stay healthy Yao - Star caliber who can't stay healthy Battier/Ariza - while not stars, are necessary components of a rotation for defensive values A non-max guy is nearly worthless to this team because they don't really represent upgrades. Hence, Morey basically either go for a Bosh or Amare or a top 5 pick, or he sits on his ass and hope our players develop.
Like meh said, this sort of deal doesn't represent a legitimate upgrade. Looking through the rosters, it seems only Danny Granger would push us to another level from the SF position. Ariza Lowry (S&T) Hill 2011 NYK Swap 2012 HOU Pick 2012 NYK Pick Cash for Granger Ford Hansborough Doubt it, though.
If you are going to develop players, then it's useless to keep Yao, Scola, Battier, or Ariza. You trade for draft picks and young talent to rebuild. If Morey isn't swinging for the fences then he's not as smart as we give him credit for. I think he's built up the assets for a trade. The only blow out is if he can't pull it off, that's a might lose your job kind of thing.
Wallace has def shown he can stay on the court for a full season, Granger not so much lately. I think Wallace would fit in nicely here, so Im kinda with you Knote. I wouldn't be disappointed with Granger by any means, but I like what Wallace brings on the defensive side along with his rebounding. I feel like we need to get a little tougher and Wallace fits the bill.
My thoughts as well... With Brooks and Martin, we kind of need a beast at the SF, imo... It does not get more beastly than Gerald Wallace. I went to about 20 NBA games last season, and he was before the most impressive player I saw. Wallace and Scola would terrorize teams on defense and hustle...
I kind of agree with the principle, but I don't think it has to be a max guy. To start with, we can improve by getting decent players at backup C and backup SG (clearing minutes for Bud at SF). I would like to see Joe Johnson plus a high draft pick (#6 would be nice).
Here's something fun: 1) Lowry/Budinger/Ariza/Hayes/Mike Harris/2011 NYK Swap/Cash for Granger/Ford or G.Wallace/D.J. Augustin/Diop 2) Hill/Battier (Buyout)/Anderson/Taylor/2012 NYK Pick/2012 HOU Pick/Rights to Llull/Cash for Buyout for Bosh 3) #14 pick for the Thunder's #21 & #26 picks 4) Resign Battier Brooks/Ford/Minimum Player Martin/Battier/#21 - James Anderson Granger/Battier/James Anderson Bosh/Scola/#26 - Larry Sanders Yao/Scola/LLE - Brad Miller/Larry Sanders Championship
I would never consider Bosh as better than Yao, only a different quality player playing another position on the same team.
Didn't you already trade Battier away? You have him playing two positions! I hope you aren't planning on the other team buying him out. Reminds me of the forgettable Michael Keaton movie, Multiplicity. I could live with most of it; hopefully we can get Bosh cheaper than that. You don't have to list "minimum player" in your lineup - just don't mention them. Also, I guess you meant MLE as the 3rd center (counting Scola as 2nd). that's another complaint - we need a better backup C. Please don't move down in the draft, DM.
I love the idea of gerald wallace. He is an upgraded version of ariza who hustles. He would bring the defensive mentality back to this team. Could you imagine wallace, scola, yao on the boards. that rivals odom/gasol/bynum. I think i am in agreement that this is the kind of level of move that this team needs. great idea!!!
Wow...some really bad suggestions up in here. I dont see us winning a championship by adding more rookies. Gerald Wallace doesnt put us over the edge either, close, but not enough. I see us needing a good rebounding 4 who can spread the floor and knock down the 3pt shot.
I agree that we've reached the saturation point with role players, and I think that was one of Morey's goals last season. He exceeded my expectations. I don't know if Morey can pull off getting a relatively young all-star, but all signs point to that being his main goal now.
