i think this plan is entirely doable. BOLD, but doable... first, i'd gut the entire coaching staff...with the exception of moving rudy up into a cushy front office position. why? this staff is antiquated. they are perfect for a veteran team with a truly dominant, top 5 skill level player that commands double and triple teams in the post. i've heard rudy say that his philosophy is essentially to get the ball into the player's hands that has the greatest mismatch, thus forcing a double team, then swinging it to the open man. that's his basketball philosophy...and it works fine when you have a top 5 skill level player. however, he (and the staff) are in a position where they need to make the "whole" > "parts" and they are clueless how to do so, especially in the face of zone defenses. second, i'd move cuttino mobley. i love cat to death, but i realize that his trade value - now that yao ming is aboard - will probably never be higher. his scoring average will inevitably drop. his defense has probably never been better than the excellent level he's been playing at lately. and he has a friendly contract. move him for a backup one and a draft pick. i know, i know...we could get more, right? well sometimes you have to subtract in order to add...just bear with me.... third, i'd couple either motay or moochie (or both if possible) with cuttino for ONE player - not multiples. preferably a specialist. my ideal situation? mobley, motay (or griffin), moochie, and a pick or two (if necessary to sweeten the deal) for antoine walker. walker's ballhandling and range would complement yao ming very well and relieve steve francis of some of his duties in the half court. fourth, i'd offer posey the MCE for 2 or 3 years...if he says no...adios. if he says "yes" he's my starting 2 guard. fifth, i'd look for a big bruiser at the backup 4 to spell antoine and give the offense a different look. it doesn't have to be a superstar...in fact, i'd prefer a role player in the mold of kurt thomas or othella harrington (both knicks...and the knicks will need a legit center with mcdyess coming back next year...hello and goodbye to kelvin cato) sixth , i'd scour the waiver wires to fill in parts. this is something the rockets have been piss poor at lately, imo. there is no way you don't make an effort to sign keon clark or jimmy jackson this past offseason. seventh, i'd sign steve smith to play the 3 for now. the spurs will NOT be resigning him, he's automatic from the arc, is an absolute STANDUP CITIZEN, and won't command much on the open market. seven moves later, you're left with: PG: steve francis; backup pg SG: james posey; steve smith/bostjan nachbar SF: steve smith; glen rice/bostjan nachbar PF: antonie walker; eddie griffin (or motay) C: yao ming; kurt thomas (or othella harrington) is that a championship level team? no...not yet. it lacks some size down low and needs front court defensive help, for now. but that team is free of some of the ridiculous contracts we have now. it also is a team with starters that have demonstrated the willingness to share the ball, move, and (excluding posey) be a threat to stroke the outside "j". and, with smith and rice's short contracts and griffin's (hopeful) development, we'll have some parts in the near future to move for a frontcourt defensive player. as for the coaching staff, i'd bring in (if at all possible) avery johnson and someone that's a reputed disciplinarian like van gundy to work on the team's defensive approach. that's what i'd do.
edit's broken! on the second point, it should read: second, i'd move cuttino mobley. i love cat to death, but i realize that his trade value - now that yao ming is aboard - will probably never be higher. his scoring average will inevitably drop. his defense has probably never been better than the excellent level he's been playing at lately. and he has a friendly contract.
Antoine Walker? This guy is the most undisciplined offense player on the face of the planet. If you want a guy that starts jacking up shots just for the hell of it, he's the one. No.
RIET, you could replace antoine walker's name with "cuttino mobley" and have a lot of people agreeing with you.
FIRST OF ALL. I love it. I like planning.. Anyways. FIRST IDEA!!!! PERFECTOMUNDO. I love it. We need an entirely new coaching staff. Sure...Rudy can stay as head coach. But he needs some help...some teachers and playmakers and good live analyzers and scouts. THEN....okay. Wait a second. ANTOINE WALKER?!? I watch him with the Celtics...sometimes he's great and has triple doubles. But sometimes...he is just horrible. But wait a second.......ANTOINE WALKER, STEVE FRANCIS, AND YAO MING?!?!?!? Yahoo!!!!!!! Mobley 5.0 million Norris 3.6 million Mo Taylor 8.0 million Draft Pick : Priceless? Antoine Walker : $12,375,000 Well it would have to be Mobley and Mo Taylor. Norris is useless. No one wants him. Mo Taylor is getting better and better and would dominate in the East. Mobley is a great guy too. He and Pierce would be best isolation combo in history...better than Ray Allen and Brent Barry. We would have to add at least one 2nd round draft pick. Posey? Sign him for less than $3 million a year. No more than that. There are plenty of better players. Then try to get some other players for the MLE. Like Jon Barry, Voshon Lenard, Dion Glover, Adrian Griffin, Eduardo Najera, Walt Williams, Popeye Jones, Earl Boykins, Erick Strickland, Avery Johnson, Eric Piatkowski, Eddie House, Michael Redd, Radoslav Nesterovic, Lucious Harris, Kenny Anderson, Pat Burke, Jeff McInnis, Jim Jackson, Speedy Claxton...and other players that are about the same level and are fairly cheap. Waiver thingy is nice idea. But...Steve Smith...we could get him...but depends on how much he wants. We can do all this stuff...but most important fix for the rockets is COACHING.
I like the idea of Kurt Thomas as a PF better than I do as a backup C. Steve Smith and Glenn Rice are essentially the same player. Why have two of them? Smith isn't even getting much PT with the Spurs now that Jackson is there. You want to increase passing, but want to sign Antoine Walker? The guy takes an insane number of shots and is a weak rebounder. Mo Taylor may not quite be as offensively gifted, but he isn't as much of a ballhog either. Plus, Walker has a pretty insane contract if I remember. If this team wants to make a really gutsy move, I would suggest offering Kelvin Cato, Eddie Griffin or Mo Taylor, Cat and the Chicago obligation for Ben Wallace and whatever bad contract(s)Detroit wants to move. Why? It would give Yao the necessary enforcer that he needs, and would make us an awesome team defensively to make up for the hideous defense of our PGs. Do I really think Detroit would do this? Only if Wallace's offensive deficiencies hurt them in the playoff. If they do, we should make the offer even if Detroit laughs at us. If Wallace turns out to be a major postseason warrior, we can forget it. We need to face the fact that we're stuck with Moochie until he's 3/4 through his contract. Nobody is going to take him right now after this season. But down the road, he might be worth something when his contract isn't so glaring.
also, antoine is (when properly motivated) a very good and willing passer. he is frequently in near triple double territory. Assists per game: 4.8 RPG: 7.10 PPG: 20.2 his achilles heel is his shot selection...true enough. but on that celts team, it's only he and paul pierce to do the scoring (much as it was for mobley his first few years in houston). i'll take my chances that he'll curb his game (as mobley has tried to) when playing with francis and yao ming. the difference is that he, imo, fills a greater need at the power forward spot than cat mobley does at the shooting guard. he brings more to the table (for the rockets) than mobley would...especially if you can bring back posey at the two.
I agree with you RIET. He jacks up shots...but the thing is....THAT'S HIS JOB. The whole offense is for Walker and Pierce to jack up shots. With the proper coaching and with Yao Ming and Steve Francis...Walker won't go as crazy. He would be a great thing for the Rockets. But also same with Mobley...
KeepJuaquin: i'd have both smith and rice, because neither is capable of playing 35 minutes per night. plus, rice's contract is up after next year, which enables you to either let him walk (freeing up money) or trading him for help in other areas.
I agree with you too...but Ben Wallace doesn't make that much. All four players for Ben Wallace...we would have a lot of money left over. AND...Pistons don't have any bad contracts!!!! Heh. But Ben Wallace and Yao Ming...wow. Man..the Pistons would be an awesome team too with all those additons. They would have another 2 shooters...and actual inside presence on offense...and a Ben Wallace wannabe...who can be as good as BenW. I like that trade too.
All interesting ideas but the coaching staff is not going anywhere... Its hard to just start trading/moving players around... I do believe that Cuttino Mobley may need to be moved... I really believe its time to move Stevie to the 2guard... Keep Posey at the 3... Add either a vet. PG(through a trade) or NBA draft(We need a true PG-Stevie is not a true PG)... Will Nachbar or Griffin develop??? (This offseason is huge for these guys)... Griffin has not shown me any development in the post(he just shoots 3's)... Nachbar needs the same time we're giving Griffin... They are young but by year 3 you should have a good idea of where a player in and Griffin is coming into year 3... I like our big men but I want an enforcer(Larry Smith, Otis Thorpe type guy)... Not many out there... The hustle guys... I don't see any except Joaquin Hawkins and James Posey... I'm not going to start calling names to trade for but I'll give you my strategy I'd use: PG True PG(vet. or Rookie), Norris SG Francis, Mobley(I know we are paying the Cat some money but unless he's traded-he'll be the best 6th man in the league), Hawkins SF Posey, Rice, Nachbar PF (an enforcer), Griffin, Taylor C Mingh, Cato I'm sure it looks wierd but its the way I would go... Adding a true PG and a physical big man(preferrably a PF)... I assume Collier is gone and not sure about Morris... I don't think you move many players just because this team is very young and have only played together basically one year... Francis, Mobley, Norris, Rice, Griffin, Taylor and Cato(Collier) are the only holdovers from last season... The new guys were Maddox, Hawkins, Posey, Nachbar, Mingh... Its frustrating how this season is ending but you still have to look at the bright future Yao and Steve have... Just add around them, balance out the team... We have the 2 guys to lead us we just have to add the right players around them...
Walker is a glorified E.G. He lives on the perimeter. We need a tough defender with a strong low post presence "to watch Yao's back." Someone like O.T.
mo taylor and cato for tim thomas and jason caffey. I know they have big contracts but know how to win play with heart .get rid of posey not fit in ,back up point that can play some defense whitney, armstrong, pargo, L hunter, ward. All are free agents and worth a look. I think its a fair trade for both teams plus they have D mason at small foward so they maybe looking to move thomas. with rocket offense i think they need 3 three point threats for offense to work after the trade rockets will have five with francis mobley griffin tim thomas rice and get a tough physical 4/5 low post defender with exp and aggresive arond the basket I know im the only one on this board that likes collier as a backup for ming but he has range can rebound.
I have already suggested AW's bombing as a way to open the middle for Yao. I believe AW will be available.
TIburon. Good points. But your roster would never be possible. We can't keep Mo Taylor as a 3rd stringer. But other than that...we need a true point guard. But it still won't help...his job will be to bring the ball down the court and throw it to Yao...or MoT or Mobley. It won't be different. Only if the coaching staff is changed... Antoine Walker may be a perimeter player. But so what? He is still better than Eddie Griffin and Maurice Taylor. We don't need a really tough defender at power forward. Walker, Yao, and Francis. Just don't think. Imagine. They would be great. Then get someone like Doug Christie or Ron Artest or Eduardo Najera or Raja Bell...or keep James Posey. Antoine Walker...I change my mind though. Mobley and Mo Taylor would be enough for Antoine Walker. No need to sweeten the deal by giving them our picks... IF YOU WANT AN ENFORCER WHO DOES NOTHING BUT ENFORCE AND CANNOT SHOOT...then we need to try to get PJ Brown or Brian Grant or Kurt Thomas or Antonio Davis or...BEN WALLACE. But I still don't think that will help at all. We are already OR WERE one of the league leaders in blocks and rebounding and opposing field goal percentage. We still have the same team...they just changed... And we need a shooter. Even if we don't make any big trades for big stars...I would be happy if the Rockets acquired some players like Eric Piatkowski or Jon Barry or Jim Jackson. WHAT WE NEED MOSTLY IS GOOD COACHING. Of course...the best thing would be to get Elton Brand. "mo taylor and cato for tim thomas and jason caffey." Sure. Tim Thomas is great. Jason Caffey..never seen him play. But we could get Toni Kukoc or Marcus Haislip instead of him. Get rid of Mo Taylor. He's a good player. But Tim Thomas is an even better player. And Mo makes too much. Cato...you know. He's way too overpaid...and we don't need his services anymore. The Bucks need Cato. They really don't have a good center. They have three crappy ones who are all undersized. Cato would be great for them. They need rebounds and a shotblocker. Tim Thomas. Wow. I would love him. He wants to play at the 3...we wouldn't need to resign Posey. Instead...we could resign Kenny Thomas!!!
How does Antoine Walker offer more range than Cat? Walker is shooting around 32% from 3 Point Range. To put that into perspective, that's worse than both Cat and Griffin. And he takes almost 8 per game. This guy is not Ray Allen.
Reit:- They are crazy of course! "You said it all"... NO! Verse:- Just not a very scientific Trade. We need to use our brains to get this one just right!
2 things... Steve Smith is the exact same player as Glen Rice. Also, Bos will never ever trade Antoine Walker for another SG, seeing how they already have Pierce. They would only trade him for a PF or C in return.
I know I have posted this in another thread but I just wanted to get some feedback being that this thread is hot. Before I start, I just want to say that this is indeed a long shot pipe dream but it could happen because PARTS of it have already been rumored to happen. Here goes. First, we watch Jason Kidd bolt Jersey for SA via free agency. (Rumored to happen) New Jersey isnt exactly pumped for recieveing Parker in return so they sign Gary Payton away from the Bucks. (Rumored to happen) If Parker isnt involved in a sign and trade deal fro Kidd and is still in SA, we swing a deal with SA sending Mobley to SA for Parker and a player to be named later. Parker's contract is much less than Mobley's so it would probably work cap wise. Now I know what your saying, But what about Ginobilli. Well, I will tell the truth and say I dont have a logical answer for that except to say that Mobley would provide solid depth at the position. If Parker goes North in the Kidd sign and trade and the Nets sign Payton, we swing a deal with Jersey sending Mobley to Jersey for Parker. It is no secret that the Nets would like to upgrade the shooting guard position and Mobley would do just that for them. Again the deal would probably work cap wise for the Rockets because Parker has a smaller contract than Mobley. However, I dont know Jersey's current cap situation but I assume its good being that they have enough money to re-sign Kidd. The reason why I want Parker is because he knows how to run a offense and keep the big men involved in it. He has done a good job of that in SA with Duncan and "Tha' Mermaid." With him manning the ship at point and Franchise at shooting guard, we coulc have one of the best backcourts in history and this team can finally start winning some games. But once again this is a long, drawn out pipe dream. But who knows, this is the NBA and it could happen!
