Yes these are desperate times so something like this is only realistic considering the way this off-season is going so far. 1) O'Neal has an identical contract to McGrady: 1 year 23 Million 2) Both are coming off injury plagued seasons. So neither team is giving up the better player or has an advantage in this deal. Miami's Take: The Heat already have their PF of the future Michael Beasley and a decent backup Haslem. What they are lacking is a wing player alongside Wade to share the scoring load and create his own shot especially after they traded Marion. This is a low risk move because the similarity in contract length between T-Mac and O'Neal. Best Case: If it works they get get a trio of Wade/T-Mac/Beasley to play as a much more balanced team with good scoring at each position. Worst Case: The Heat bench McGrady and ride out his contract exactly what they are looking to do with O'Neal. Perhaps even a buyout could be reached if T-Mac is declared medically disabled and Heat save money to avoid or offset luxury tax. Houston's Take: We need SIZE on the frontcourt and its getting extremely hard to find a decent replacement for Yao even in free agency when guys like Gortat are commanding huge money. This is a low risk move for us because its basically a contract swap with the Heat. Best Case: O'Neal is going to play next year that we know, but to what extend is uncertain. This undersized makeshift froncourt of Scola and O'Neal could buy the Rockets some time if Yao manages to make it back next spring. Worst Case: We keep him on the bench and use in limited minutes but essentially have his contract come off the books next summer just as we would with McGrady. Lineup Brooks / Lowry Ariza / Taylor Battier / Budinger / White Scola / Landry / Hayes O'Neal / Dorsey Before commenting please remember one thing: Neither team is planning to keep their player beyond next season. This is basically two teams helping each other out to make things work. Probability: 75% of chance of happening.
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I don't see what we gain from this. The goal is not to win games next season. It's to rebuild the team for future seasons. We should use McGrady's contract for that.
i dont think it gives us a chance at the championship short term or long term. i'd rather not win meaningless games and still miss the playoffs. if we're going to the lottery, we might as well go for a top 3 pick. the only types of players i care about acquiring are 25 and under. even if that means having no one on the roster over 6'9. roster spots need to go to young players only. it's what's best for the future.
Unless we don't play AB, Ariza, Scola, and Landry, I don't see us losing enough games to be in the top ten losing teams next season. That being so, I don't think we should try and hinder our team next season. Unless we are going to be within the top 5 losing teams, it's dumb not to make moves to better the team. I'd test out the Oneal trade. Maybe it works, maybe it doesnt. Either way, we have nothing to lose.
Problem is that O'Neal was Miami's center this year. He started 58 games at center and only 3 at power forward. Trading O'Neal leaves Jamal Magloire as their starting center. I don't think they're going to go for it.
Even if we don't play anybody over 6'9 there are still 10-12 teams that will finish with worse records than us. I'm appalled so many are not only throwing in the towel, rather WANTING us to lose as many games as possible next year. I'm not saying we need to get older, or that we should trade for JO. Maybe just, "Hey, let's keep trying to win." The Draft is vastly overrated in terms of quickly turning a team around, unless you have a bevy of first-rounders, or depending on the depth of the draft (which is always subjective) a top 3-10 pick. Neither will be the case for the Rockets. Have some faith people. [Reminds self not to use logic when evaluating bi-polar offseason posts]
yeah i agree with durvasa, what difference is Oneal going to make? What, the difference between winning 35 or 40 games? If he's not going to take us over the hump to win a ring or a building block for future seasons, then what's the point? 5 games isn't worth it, especially when that's pushing us further in the lottery.
J. O'neal has been falling off pretty rapidly -- but somehow -- how ever remote that we could work something out he might fit in Houston. I would having coming off the bench behind Scola though - unless O'neal was playing center and that could certainly be the case.
it's not like we're hoping we tank the season and just give a crappy effort, we know we're going to get a good effort every game from these guys, but it makes more sense to let our young guys develop than going out and getting rent-a-players just to win a few more games when those games won't make a difference in race for a ring
The point is that if we are gonna go after center anyways we might as well go after o'neal for tracy because in that trade we wouldn't have to give up any value and still have the expiring contract...
I'm glad you're not the GM. There is a difference between making moves that 'hinder our team next season' and NOT making moves that are completely counterproductive and serve no purpose in the overall grand scheme. For whatever reason, you've chosen not to grasp that distinction.
Really now. Did you know that we were the 8th worst team in the NBA in the 05-06 season? And that we won a meaningless game towards the end with Yao playing to "achieve" such heights? Why is this important? Because if were, say, the 6th or the 7th worst team that year, Brandon Roy would now be a Rocket rather than a Blazer.
Valid point but right now Morey hasn't said anything or made any moves to make you think we are throwing in the towel and tanking for a top 3 pick in next year's draft. Also factor in McGrady's trade value is pretty low elsewhere when you can't get a blind Amare. The offers for T-Mac so far are Kirilenko from Utah, Curry from New York or pretty much bad contracts. From the way things look like right now most likely McGrady will not be traded and we will just let his contract expire. My suggestion is that we can do the same thing with O'Neal, he is expiring next summer as well. This is a salary swap. You can still trade O'Neal in Febuary near the trade deadline if you want just like many are suggesting we do with T-Mac. Look Rockets aren't going to just throw away the season this early in the cycle. Right now Morey is working day and night looking to salvage this disaster and his priority is to put out a lineup of players than can still appeal to all those season ticket holders and luxury box owners. Also our veterans Scola and Battier do not deserve to have to play for a tankjob team when they have played so fiercely and with so much heart on our team. Les just spend 6 million on unproven 2nd round picks, the last thing he wants is a terrible season with low attendence and declining revenue in this reccession. This is a business at the end of the day so no matter how bad the cards you've been dealt, you still go out, put on a straight face and try to shuffle things around and hope desperately something sticks. This move just might do that and even if it fails there is no collateral damage at all.
The center we're going to go after is one we can pick up for the minimum. That's sufficient for the coming season. We should use Tracy's contract for something better than a 1-year rental that serves no benefit down the road.
Why don't we think of it this way... When Mcgrady returns he would likely be motivated to earn another contract and prove his worth... This could also result in more wins not to mention it would limit the minutes of developing players at that position... We don't have a center to develop so O'neal wouldn't hurt in that aspect as much as Mcgrady would...
The fact that we are already in the luxury tax are makes it unlikely that we would sign another contract... What is more likely would be acquiring a contract through trade.....
Valid point. But I'd rather use Tracy's contract (plus others) and knab a big-time player that will be part of core for the future. Not Jermaine O'neal.
