The extra 10 million in salary above the luxury threshold is taking into account our first rounder....and possibly a free agent signing using part of the MLE. Not all of the money over the threshold would be coming from Taylor's salary. We'd still have a few people (Barry Wesley) coming off the books this season even if we never traded for Moochie/Baker. But yeah, you get the general idea. The trade was purely a salary dump in order to make room for Yao's new contract.
It will prove to be a smart deal for Rox - TAylor had no D and was not going to flourish here. I wish we could cull-glean - get rid of- a few players and cherry pick talent to surround T mac and Yao with. After seeing Rafer recently I hope we keep him. The money we are spending on Howard and Swift could get us a very good 4
Not only that, but his offensive game seems to have regressed, and he never ever could rebound very well considering he's undersized. He looked dreadful during the Knicks-Rockets game and I've watched him a few other times and he really looks bad. This guy is no better than Juwon Howard and we saved a lot of money by dumping him. Also, dont forget that his attitude was an issue toward the end of his stay here.
Per Geeimsobored "he never ever could rebound very well considering he's undersized" I never could understand why he could not be a more effective rebounder. He seemed strong enough-just lacked the "want to". Even if he could have gotten position and got 7 or 10 rebounds a game would have contributed. Wussy I guess.
There's a difference between a 7 rpg guy and a 10 rpg. And there's a difference between Mo Taylor and a 7 rpg guy. Some guys have better basketball instincts than others. Some guys are natural passers, and it has nothing to do with any physical tools or desire. Mo Taylor is just a bad rebounder; Swift has the same problem, but because of his length can at least get the "jump ball" type boards. They just don't know where to be.
That's weird. Works for me. Basically it says the knicks aren't going after K-Mart. http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/39060/20060209/knicks_will_pass_on_k_mart/
It's a sad case how much the Rockets have spent on the 4 since Barkley retired-and have little return on investment. Howard is probably our most servicable 4 and he is no defensive force. He has a nice, but somewhat streaky jump shot. He can rebound some, but not consistently-certainly not a power type player. Stro is a physical force with a 42" vertical leap- I have heard, but does not have the instinct for position. Van Gundy is a very good detail coach who with repetitve task teaching could help Stromile. Watch how PJ Brown Schools us next time we play the Hornets. He is old, and will shine like an elite player. We are not competitve at that position and it hurts Yao not having help. Oh to have a young Otis Thorpe again....
