I don't know much about crack. But I have a strong opinion that anybody...poster, Adelman, Morey, Les...that won't trade Battier for Acie Law and a rotational player is sniffing way too much glue.
No doubt, imagine you could get an athletic PF or a starting PG for Battier and then sign Grant Hill? DD
Pretty much agree with your intitial post DD. I would trade TMac if we could get a few players to make it worth it, but I don't think Morey and co will even consider throwing his name out there ... Battier should be shopped around hard for a great sg, pg, or maybe pf. I want Tmac back at sf as well. Head should be traded somewhere while he still has some trade value. He's backup fodder and he's not really worth much more than his rookie contract which will be ending pretty soon. Hayes - quality backup if the price is right. Howard, Alston - get rid of if possible Novak, VSpan, Snyder - keep to see if Adleman can do anything with Lucas - get rid of. I mean, come on.
Battier and Sura for Diaw and Banks...Sign Hill with the MLE...S&T for Devin Brown and LLE. Rafer/Banks/Vspan T-Mac/Brown Snyder/Hill Diaw/Hayes Yao/Jake Still leaves us with Howard/Head and the pick to move around...What say you?
You would have been a great debater in the fourth grade. I'm smart and your dumb, nah, nah, nah. I get so sick of posters that slam anyone who dare suggest that we trade one of our good players. I'm a Rocket fan for the long haul. Each year that we give 2-3 year contracts for mle's we don't get closer to a championship and doom ourselves to the same viscious cycle. If we could get expiring contracts and high draft picks for T-Mac I would do it in a second and take my chances on a better fit free agent in 2008/2009 and hitting on some draft picks. In the mean time with Yao, Battier, and some decent filler we could still go to the playoffs and get bumped in the first round. What the hell, that is what's going to happen by sticking with the status quo and adding a couple more mediocre players and their 2-3 year contracts. If we can't get decent value for T-Mac and/or Battier then don't move them, but you gain nothing by not at least shopping them. Even Yao should not be untouchable for the right offer.
OK your point is a fair one I just disagree. Did not mean the harsh tone but I really believe we are just a piece here and there from being a serious contender so I get pissed when someone says blow up the team or trade Battier for an unproven college player.
In your opinion, what are the chances we could swing a deal with Atlanta for one of their bigs (Josh Smith)? Any chance in hell that they would take Rafer considering their ongoing deficiency at the point guard spot?? And possibly even a package for their 11th pick to draft a more NBA ready 4??? They're well under the cap...but I'm not sure if that makes them more or less available for trades, considering they can spend more on the free agent market (a possibly landing spot for Mo Williams).
Ok my reason to not rebuild is because I think when healthy Yao and T-Mac are top 10 players period. I think Battier, Alston, Span, Hayes, Snyder and maybe even Head and Novak can all be rotation players. Sure the Rockets need a little push over the top but this group I mentioned is young and can win. What is the red flag that convinces you we can't win a title and we must rebuild?
These trades are not any fun- Let's do a blockbuster- Houston trades- Yao Ming and VSpan and J Lucas III Seattle trades- #2 pick in the draft, Ray Allen, Nick Collison, and Luke Ridneur (With the #26 pick Houston selects a PF or PG) Houston Starting lineup Nick Collison-C Kevin Durant -F Tracy McGady- F Ray Allen - G Luke Ridneur- G I wouldn't risk that trade in reality, but that was me getting out of the box for a few seconds.....
MAN.. I can't believe how can you think about trading for YAO for someone whom you hope will become LIKE YAO.. We all have seen how DOMINANT he can be .. I guess anyone who considers trading YAO for a draft pick, or for any other player does not know anything about basket ball.
I hate to say it (I'm a HUGE T-Mac fan), but I'm also on the rebuild now side. And this isn't because of the Jazz series - this is a long time coming. It's like Yoda. He got old and realized there was nothing he could do to prevent the Republic from collapsing. So he just sits on Dagobah and watches the end of one era and the beginning of the next. That's what I see with the Rockets. This team is very talented, but it just seems like even the most extreme actions will only delay the inevitable for extra year or so. But we have a chance to get Luke Skywalker NOW. And if things DO happen like that and the team keeps trying with little MLE contracts, by the time we find our Luke, Yao (Obi-Wan) will be ready to pass the torch. While I don't know if the moves I suggested are the right ones, they ARE in the direction I've been thinking. For me, nothing short of re-signing Bonzi, trading Head/Howard (or both, possibly) for Ron Artest, and picking up Franchise if his contract is bought out is worth it this offseason. There's just too little out there, and I think this is the best case the Rockets have. We're not getting Mike Bibby. We're not getting Chauncey Billups. We're not getting Sam I Am (as much as I miss him). So I guess all I can say is to live in the present and stop dreaming.
No one outside of Yao and T-mac are worth very much on our team - this is proven out by the fact that none of them really contributed much during the playoffs. So the first priority is to find a great number 3. Not a number 3 scorer. A great number three. A scorer, defender, penetrator - who can serve the role of a Manu Genobli. Ideally in the shape of a point guard. To do that, we should put Shane Battier, Luther Head, and anyone else on the trading block. I'd rather us be a crappy team with three great players and a bunch of terrible scrubs then a good team with two great players and a bunch of mediocre scrubs. Think long term here. Head has the most upside in my opinion. His shot is improving - he'll never be a point guard to be sure, but why would you do that. He'll never be a great finisher either. But he's thrive in a motion offense where he'll get lots of chances to catch and shoot jumpers - his specialty. VSPAN is just an unknown - much of his success depends on him. Same with Novak. It's really up to them. Deke is just too old. Juwan is useless to use and probably anyone else unless there's an injury and they are desperate for a pf. Rafer is not going to interest anyone since all the good teams are set at the pg position and no average or below average team would want a poor-shooting 30-something year old point guard with no upside. So we're stuck with him. Syndar doesn't have much value to anyone either, he's just upside if he actually tries to develop. Jake is just bad. No value there for us or for trade. JL3 is also worthless. So that's leaves us with Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier. Both undersized, neither of whom will ever become any better then they are right now. Trade them while they have value. Some team that's desperate for a pf and has too many pg's. Who? I have no idea who would bite. Maybe some team that has drafted a pg and willing to part with a vetern pg for building for the future. Throw in Rafer if you have to. Throw in head. Throw in whoever. Good luck making a deal - but you never know, there are suckers still out there.
I'd shop around McGrady for the best possible deal. Sign Mutombo to a lifetime contract. Bring back the blue jerseys and THIS COURT <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9O5lbmfm1t8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9O5lbmfm1t8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
I know you said Acie Law caliber but I would have to think long and hard if we were able to trade Battier for Law. Of course I would want something else in return as well but I would love to get Acie Law in the draft. Like you I would much rather see TMac at the 3 than at the 2. Regardless if Battier is on the team or not next year I would prefer McGrady starting at the 3. Possibly with Bonzi starting at the 2.
Chicago needs a big in the post to score on teams like Detroit. And they've got a giant Ben Wallace contract that's hopeless to move. And they've got a score of jump shooters whose shots fall more often than T-Mac's. I doubt there's anything on the Rockets they'd want aside from Yao.
If we were to trade T Mac then Phoenix is the best place for him. He deserves to win a championship! If the Rockets could get Barbosa and Diaw we would be only a playmaker Point Guard away from being a serious contender . The big question is Morey thinking big or is he going to tweek the roster and give us more of the same. Coach A will do no better than JVG without several significant changes in the Roster.
