Heat Continue Discussions With Rockets For Alston 7-25-07

Ya. I was trying to be generous in my assessment. But blunt works.

 

Let's wait and see...stranger things have happened...remember the Baron Davis trade? Also, who in their right mind (this means I am excluding Isiah Thomas) would trade for Kenyon Martin?

LA wouldn't give up Bynum for Kidd, so I doubt that.

 

Just look at the Kurt Thomas trade.

 

The reason is that if it did work out, we would be one of the favorites to win it all. Think Antoine Walker and Rasheed Wallace.

Also it would be different than the sacramento and Indiana situation because Ronnie wouldn't be one of our top two players. Artest was the main reason Indiana won over 60 games in Indiana and went to the ECF.

Battier is a very good role player and you know exactly what you are going to get but Artest is a all-star that has all of Battier's intangibles plus the ability to cause a matchup nightmare with anyone playing against him. There is only other player in the league that his combination of power, speed, and ball handling and that player was crowned the next MJ when he was a softmore in highschool. Did I also mention Artest was once the DPOY.

If the kings offered it, we would have to take the chance because it would probably give us a 50-50 percent chance of winning it all and thats what its all about.

 

I was actually thinking the same thing, Carl. The Rockets already have Mike James locked in long-term as a starter/6th Man offensive sparkplug. Plus, I would hate for the team to fall into the trap of turning into an "old" team over the next 1-2 years. The team should hold onto at least one (if not both) of Luther Head and Kirk Snyder for the future.

Unless Bonzi is playing extremely well (in which case he'd be indispensable), I'd hope Morey looks to trade him around the deadline and give his minutes to Head or Snyder. The team will need to get a good look at what Snyder can do, anyway, as he'll be a restricted free agent next summer.

 

There's no reason to trade Battier. You have no evidence to suggest he couldn't play in an uptempo system. He's just as good a lockdown defender as Artest, but a much better locker room presence and well rounded teammate.
Adelman already has to deal with the egos of Stevie, Mike, and Bonzi. You're going to add Artest into that mix? Why?

Another thing..Artest doesn't space the floor near as well as Battier with the 3 ball. Shane is pretty consistent with that shot and can be clutch too.

Also, Artest will choose to be a FA next year, bank on it. Dude is not going to sit around Sacramento when he could be playing in MSG. The last the the Rockets need at this point is multiple contributors all becoming FA's next year. Steve and Bonzi is enough to worry about financially.

 

Another thing about the Battier - Artest trade is that Artest is a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. You already have 3 other potential bombs in MJ, Bonzi and Francis in the team. You do not add another bomb. You look for stability and steadiness. You do not trade away one of your most level headed and calm pieces.

 

I agree. Keep Battier. Artest only if we get him for players we don't need.

 

Snyder/Alston for Artest

 

Are you serious?

Even Morey can't pull that off.

 

sorry dude...battier is not as lockdown as artest. battier's man on man D is overrated

 

Well I tend to think Artest does a better job on D when he bodies up on someone or keeps them from posting up. Battier does a superb job of distracting a shooter in motion or being properly spaced away from a playmaker to avoid penetration.

So, yes you're right that Artest is a better defender on certain aspects of the game and so is Battier to the same degree. Is Artest sooo much better defensively to warrant trading away Battier? I doubt it. Just my opinion though.

 

Artest for Battier?? Make me laugh - no thanks, would rather hold onto Battier. We have enough nutjobs for Adelman to deal with - we don't need to add the King of all nutjobs in Artest for the poor guy. It is almost like some of you want to run Adelman off as soon as possible. Makes me wonder if you guys are Gumby lovers.

 

Artest may be better on D once his man has the ball, but Battier is far far better at denying his man the ball in the first place.

And what makes the opponents' best player work harder? Just having to work hard trying to score, or having to work hard just to GET the ball? I think the second one is probably more valuable, as it directly translates into less shot attempts.

 

not only is Artest crazy, HE'LL ONLY BE HERE ONE YEAR.

 

Very good point. Denial of the ball leads to frustration on the part of the player, the team, and the coach. It forces a new strategy. If they persist, its more likely the player will make a frustrated foul or hoist up a dumb shot just to get something off. If people watch Battier, they'd see an active defender who purposely tries to force a new play by denying the ball.

 

You are out of your mind! Artest was a good idea before we recieved the unbelievable fruits of this offseason. Now Artest can only hurt as a player who wants the ball too much when we have plenty of guys who can score. This is a High Risk, Low Reward move it could blow up in our face very possibbly and it is not like we are a desperate team. Wake up and start thinking like a GM not like a fan who just reaches out for glitz and glamour.

 

If we get Artest, Rockets would be an All Bad Boy team. Artest, Wells, James, SF3, and let also get Rasheed Wallace, so these guys could surround the only two nice guys Yao and TMAC left in the team.

 

A team can handle 1 psycho (Bonzi) but if you put two psychos in the same locker room (Bonzi and Artest) they have a tendancy to breed.

The two players on the edge of psycho... Steve and Mike J. will be the first to fall.

Now if we could trade Bonzi + Spare Guard A,B,C, or D for Artest that would be something.

 

No way i would trade Rafer for Doleac. Doleac is garbage.