there is no doubt that moT is the odd guy out. kt and griff have the PF position locked down. i don't think that anyone will trade for a player averaging 6 points and 3 rebounds with his salary.
If the Knicks are dumb enough to take Mo Taylor, Glen Rice and Jason Collier for Sprewell, by all means do the trade. Spree can play two guard and small forward and run the break like a fiend. As The Cat mentioned, Sprewell also brings defensive intensity. There are obvious character concerns, but the Rockets won with Vernon Maxwell, for Christ's sake. Just getting out of Taylor's contract is enough for me. It means the Rockets can resign Kenny Thomas and still have enough minutes to develop Eddie Griffin.
I think Sprewell would straighten up some when he is on a good team. He wouldnt really have any pressure. Francis, Ming, Griffing, and Mobley would help him with the pressure.
Spree has two years left. Mo T has 5. Cato has 4. We rent Spree for 2 years where he starts at the 3 with Steve and Cat and plays mean d. Rice can't. I'd also want Kurt Thomas and swap Moochie for Charlie Ward. That dumps 3 long contracts for bench players, gives us defensive-minded players for the present, room to bring in other players in the future. Spree Kurt T Ward for Cato Taylor Mooch is a winning deal. Not as good as getting Odom or Miller, sure, but, hey, when opportunity knocks... dump those long contracts. We don't need backups with big long contracts. They can have Rice, too, of course.
i think this deal would be great only if we could somehow guarantee that sprewell won't be a cancer and will be a positive in the locker room. i know rudy t is a great players coach but this would be a task for him. also i think we need to keep cato if we are considering any deals. i know cato's contract is way too much and too long, but we need him if we expect to have any success in the playoffs. you need big men and he can body up against shaq if we had to play the lakers. anyhow....francis, mobley, and sprewell would be a pretty sweet 1,2,3 but they might get 3-point happy at times and that would kind of suck. just need to make sure they are always driving and passing.
I agree with The Cat. The whole character issue isn't as big a deal as people are making it out to be. Iverson might be as big a 'cancer' type player as it gets, but no one in Philly gives a damn because AI can ball. So the more important question is if Spree can still play like he used to, or handle the SF position. If he still has something left, then a 2 yr gamble is worth it, in my opinion.
