I think ol Crazy Eyes would make sense for the Rox. First of all he played for JVG, so thats another piece towards his master plan of reassembling the old Knicks. lol Thomas is a tough defender, can spot up for an open J, and you know he wont back down from anyone. He's got the strength to D up the Malones of the West and the quickness to not let guys like Amare run around him. Essentially the enforcer we need but who can hit an open J and score in the low post. Only problem is, I cant think of anyway we could get him. He just signed a new contract but Isaiah has not ruled out trading him anyway. Maybe get Kurt for Mobley and MoT or Cato? The Knicks are always looking for big men who dont actually suck and Isiah's newest acquisitions Nazr Mohammed and Vin Baker have definetely sucked after a strong start. Allan Houston is having knee troubles so they might be enticed if Mobley is offered. If there are issues with the cap and matching salaries or whatnot, they can always ship Shandon Anderson or Moochie Norris back to us LoL (hey without the Batman and Robin act, maybe Anderson would do better a second time around.) We can then try to get Brent Barry with the exemption and move SF to the SG. I think we also need to get another guard to spell our starters because we have absolutely no depth in that department. Maybe Antonion Daniels if hes available? This is a lineup that I think would be an improvement over our current one. BTW, why does everyone think that SF and JVG cant adapt to each other? JVG had Spree with him in NY, remember? And they got along just fine. You'll see, SF will be JVG's fave player eventually . PG - Brent Barry SG - Franchise SF - JJ PF - Kurt Thomas C - Yao What are your guys thoughts on it? You think this lineup could take us all the way?
Thomas is nice, but he had a huge contract (4y/30M extension) that is way too high. Plus, he began to break down this season. Antonio McDyess will be nice fit if he can stay healthy. We should made a run at him this summer, if he cannot stay heathy, then he will simply retired and won't affect our cap a bit.
7.5m per for a big man who has shown that he can produce offensively in JVG's system and is known for his defense is not too bad of a price. Plus its a 4 year contarct not an albatross like MoT or Cato's 7 year contracts (let me know if I'm wrong on the lengths). I'm not really interested in seeing McDyess on this team, he couldnt play defense when he had good knees, I doubt he'll be able to do it now. He had his share of blocks but, they were mostly the kind from the weakside that he got from his athleticism once in a while when ther other guy didn't know he was there.
How do you figure that he won't affect our cap? Any guarenteed money would count against our cap. How do you know that he'd retire? What if he does the exact same thing that Olajuwon is doing? He just doesn't officially retire and keeps collecting full pay. More likely, instead of retiring, he'd be another Grant Hill and keep attempting comebacks. That being said, I agree that if McDyess was even remotely healthy, he'd be a great fit. You'll have to guarentee his money, so the only way that it makes sense is if it's for a relatively low amount and for only a couple of years.
It is up to our GM to be creative regarding the player's contract. Buy out clause, number of games incentive ... and so on... whatever give the orgnization the best flexibility in the future. When CBA first came out, lots of GMs did not realize the importance of Cap to the future of orgnization, lots of players were overpayed at the time. (Cato, Mo, KVH, SAR, Z and so on). Right now everyone is reallize the importance of cap, given the injure history of Mycdyss, I don't think he will be given the lengthy contract with loads of gurantee money. I could be wrong though.
well how much are we paying cato and motay....? I would love to have kurt thomas as a powerforward for us. I would however think twice before trading the cat for him though. I'd like a tall point forward to play smallforward to fill in the shoes for cat if we do trade him.
Kurt Thomas for the mle? yeah, I'd do that. Kurt Thomas for the 6.9 trade exception? I'd think about it. Kurt for Cato? Probly. Kurt Thomas for 7 mil a year + good players? Hell no. Ridiculous.
It is up to our GM to be creative regarding the player's contract. Buy out clause, number of games incentive ... and so on... whatever give the orgnization the best flexibility in the future. There also are rules about what you are allowed to do and not allowed to do with a contract. You can't write a buy out into a contract, they can only be mutually agreed upon at the time that both sides want to divorce themselves of each other. Of course, for a true "buy out" to happen, both sides, the player and the team, have to agree to the buy out. Most times, there's no incentive for a player to give up guarenteed money. Now the other possibility is a team option, so that they can get out of the contract early. This is allowed to be written into a contract. But, there is a restriction that the team option can only be for the final year of the deal. I don't think that anybody will suggest giving McDyess long term money, but whatever amount he is signed for will be guarenteed. Nobody, other than total scrubs sign non-guarenteed deals in the NBA.
I'd be interested in Kurt Thomas, but the length of the contract is a concern. For one thing, the four year extension doesn't begin until after next season, I believe, since Thomas still had a season left on his old contract (just a player option that he didn't exercise). I don't know if there's an option on the last year of the extension, but if not, Thomas will be 37 before it's over. I'd still be interested in getting him, but I agree that $7 million at his age for five years is a bit pricy. I'd still be interested, but I wouldn't want to give up core players like Mobley to acquire Thomas with that contract. Not unless he's the last piece for a championship contending rotation
I can't imagine Kurt Thomas on the Rockets uniform. He is just to costly for the franchise to absorb. No thanks!
I just dont think its possible to get any good players in here who are already under contract without giving up something good, and face it Mobley is the one who would draw actual interest who wouldnt be as vital to the team as SF or Yao. People will say that the Rox suck when Cat is outta the lineup, thats because we have no other SG around. Bring in any SG even half decent and Mobley would not be missed as much as people think. I would like to see him on the team but on the bench, unfortunately, This roster cant go all the way in its current state, and Cat is the only one with a good combo of contract plus age and skill who is a viable option to be traded. If not Kurt, then someone who is a little younger, but not too young. We dont need a Chris Wilcox, we need someone with some experience in the league who can play fundamental D and wont go crazy with his shot selection
I agree we should trade Mobley. But I think we shoud try to get a true point guard and move Stevie to SG.
From what I understand (listening to and reading stuff from people inside the NBA) Kurt Thomas is only about 6'7", and so his size might be a detriment, especially in the West. Granted, KT did OK for us as a 6'7" power forward. Defensively, he got steals and such, and could outmuscle a lot of guys, but taller players just seemed to shoot over him. If Kurt Thomas were younger, and hadn't been signed to an overpriced deal, then maybe.
People don't realize we are one piece away of being a real championship contender. Did you see we winning championship with K Thomas as our PF in the next 3/4 years? He is a nice PF, he can help us win some games, but he'll not push us to the top. You do the big trade or sign the important free agent only when you think that they will be the peices of the puzzle. If you cannot find that player, you wait for other opportunity to come by. Mycdyss can be that final peice if he is wealthy(big if). If he want a long term contract with loads of money, then say no to him. Sheed, K-Mart, Camby, Odom, those are PFs/SFs that will bring us to the top. J Smith, K Thomas, no.
Sheed and K-Mart are gonna command top dollar as FAs, we're capped out. Odom is the best player in Miami, Camby is injury prone. Mcdeyss has never played in a "system". His entire career has been about freelancing and running around and jumping over people, with his recent injuries he's lost much of his athleticism. He also sucks defensively, he will not flourish in JVG's system, simple as that. Mcdeyss wouldn't be the answer even if he was healthy I'm talking about people who we can realistically get, not fantasy players. Heck why not mention C-Webb too while you're at it? The best we can do given our cap situation is make upgrades and hope to surround SF and yao with talent that can maximize their skills a la Derek Fisher and Rick Fox for the Lakers when they won 3 in a row. Not everyone has to be an all star for the team to win, this isnt rotissierie basketball. It's the real thing
I've seen Kurt Thomas play in real life about two rows back of the Knicks bench, he's taller than Elton Brand who is 6'7" and he's got a hard nose for defense. I dont think he should be underestimated
You may foreget how good Shaq and Kobe is during those 3 years. Can Yao and Steve Franchis reach their level, maybe, but not within 1-2 year, we don't know how Thomas will be then. As good as Shaq and Kobe are right now, they still need healthy Malone and GP to compete in western conference. If we want to compete for Championship in the next 1-2 years, adding a star quality player is a must, unless Yao suddenly become the best player in NBA, which I can not see happen in the next 1-2 years.
