If ward is soo good, as many of you are hyping him up to be, then why doesn't phoenix keep him. Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves. There has to be a darned good reason not to keep ward
Both Penny and Ward would be ideal pickups. They would immediately raise the low IQ of this team, which is, IMO, our biggest detriment. We have too many guys playing critical roles that just don't seem to have a clue all too often.
See my previous post, it is all about money, they can save 4 million for the buyout and another 4 million luxury tax over the cap, almost 8 million total save for cutting him. Ward doesn't worth 8 million, is it a darn good reason?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=may_peter&id=1700913 "Local boy Stephon Marbury knows the pressures of the New York media. The Knicks needed a point guard, even though they had three of them. Two of those fellows (Howard Eisley and Charlie Ward) are now en route to Phoenix and one of them, Ward, will likely be waived within a week." http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/story?id=1700822 "How? McDyess' $13.5 million, Ward's $6 million (the Suns will buy out Ward this week, saving another $3.6 million) and Tom Gugliotta's $11.7 million all come off the books at the end of the season. Add in the $6.4 million Eisley is slated to make next season and the Suns are looking at around $36 million in guaranteed salaries next season. Add in cap holds for the two first-round draft picks they own, and that number swells to $39 million. Sources in Phoenix claim, however, the Suns are probably not done dealing. The team will try to move a pick or two along with a salary to get closer to that $35 million number. "
I want to add: I like Wilks' game, I like his composure and he pushs the tempo pretty well. But man, he just can't shoot the ball, he can't even make those shots that were wide wide open. Also, he is a little too short, kind like Earl Boykins but can't shoot the ball. Do you seriously believe he is our long term back PG?
Whether Wilks is actually better than Moochie or not, it was apparent that Jeff Van Gundy didn't think he was. If he thought Wilks was better, he would have played him. Obviously, everyone will have their own opinions on these things. Myself, I will trust the coach's evaluation. Why isn't Phoenix keeping Ward (assuming they don't): he's worth $1 million easily, but not worth $6+ million. They have to cut him to get the savings. If the Rockets were receiving him in trade, I'd be clamoring for the Rockets to cut him before his contract became guaranteed. It's possible for them to cut Ward and then re-sign him. But, Ward would get a choice in where he plays in that scenario.
Ward is a solid defender, a good shooter and a veteran PG with 10 years NBA experience. He is better than Wilks and would be a great pickup for the veteran minimum as a backup PG. He would not make a huge difference to our team but would be nice to have kinda like Pike. He is not worth more than the minimum but some team will likely pay him more. I just hope its not us. I think the Suns will cut him. They are obviously in the salary dumping mode and his is the easiest to dump.
It wouldn't surprise me if the darn Spurs ended up getting him. He has a ton of playoff experience, plays good defense and can stroke the 3. He would fit perfectly with the rockets and spurs.
You my friend have no clue about Basketball. "They would immeduately raise the low IQ of this team" Dude, you can have the highest IQ possible but if you cant play/or put the ball in the bucket it dont make a difference. It doesnt take a scholar with a PHD to play this game. Although we do bonehead stuff at times, I dont question the IQ of our ball players. Thats apples and oranges on how to judge someones game or lack thereof..
I've played HS and College B-Ball, and remain a huge fan of the the NBA and international games. I would venture to say I know something about B-Ball.
JV - Van Gundy favors vets over rookies (training camp invitees). Van Gundy asked Moochie to get in shape and participate in drills prior to the pre-season camp. Moochie obliged. He even cut his hair. The job was Moochies to lose and that's what he did. JVG will now extend that same luxury to Wilks. Wilks is probably not the long-term solution and his jump shot is suspect. But at least Wilks can push tempo. The fact that Isiah picked Moochie over Ward to get the Knicks to uptempo ought to tell us something about Wards ability to force tempo. And in case you haven't noticed, the Rockets have increased their leads with Wilks on the court over the past two games. Is Ward worth $1m? In one of your points you proclaimed Moochie as better Wilks and based that upon trusting Van Gundy's evaluation. If you are going to have that trust in a Norris/Wilks evaluation, then I expect that same amount of faith when the Rockets pass over Ward in favor of Wilks. Right? You can't have it both ways!
JV - While your stat line concerning Wilks is spot-on, you can't deny the fact that the team is something like 24-2 in terms of points scored in those 17 minutes or so. Likely just a fluke, but maybe not. Any positive differential would be good for a so-called "3rd string" point guard. We'll see if the trend continues tongiht.
