I read that free agent negotiations begin monday. Does anyone know who , if anyone, the Rockets are looking at signing? Also, what do they have to offer free agents?
Also does anyone have any insider info who will be let go from the current roster? The current roster......I just saw we have 18 players already....isn't NBA has a 15-player limit??
Keep in mind that 5 players are free agents (Tierre Brown, Langhi, Oscar Torres, Wizard and Willis). The limit for the active roster at the beginning of the season is 12, plus 3 on IR. Until that time, I don't think there is a limit. I seem to remember that Orlando had more than that on their roster (and under contract) going into training camp a couple years ago. Dwight
Since there is a slim chance that we can trade for Odom or Lewis what do yall think of signing Michael Redd? He played the three for Milwaukee and having he and Bosti at the small forward position would be nice.
Lil Francis-- a) Michael Redd is a 2, not a 3. b) After a great year last season, Redd will demand big $$$. c) We are all stocked up with guards on our roster. I actually wouldn't mind bringing in a name the Sporting News threw out there (then dismissed) - Johnny Newman. Sure, the guy's almost as old as dirt, but he started for the Mavs last year, is a solid defender, can hit the open shot, does not need the ball to help his team, and can provide solid veteran leadership from the bench and in the lockerroom.
Out of those 5 players the only one I give a chance to make the team is Oscar. And that is just slim. No reflection on Oscar it's just that the Rockets are so young and they could use a veteran to come in and help on and off the court. There is a good chance they can come up with a solid player. The name of the game now is dump salary. As much as everyone complains about the Rockets players salaries with 49 mil in salaries this past season we were 20th in the league. NY has 85 mil in contracts. Teams are considering trading high priced players just to avoid the luxury tax. So if that means you have to give up a decent player with a high salary player with a long term contract and take back a high priced player, but with only one year left on his contract you do it. 14 mil man Mutumbo becomes a valuable commodity because he only has one year left on his contract. So alot of teams won't be resigning players unless they are absolutely sure that player is important part of thier future. And if the Rockets lose W.Williams 5+mil, Willis 3mil(?), M.Maloney 2.5mil, plus the rest of the minimum contracts at about 1.5 mil their team salary drops below 40 mil and under the cap of course with all the players raises the actually won't be and with the rookie contracts they'll be under 50 mil. So they have some room to pick up a player with their MLE. And a player like Rashard Lewis is not completely out of the realm of possibility. The Sonics have to be convinced Lewis a big part of thier future otherwise they might let him go. They have seven players under contract for next year and Jerome James will almost for certain take all of their MLE so they are very leary of giving Lewis the max. And unless the do or at least pretty near it they will lose him. And with the only other team interested Chicago bulls only 5 mil under the cap(still a sign and trade is a real posibility ), there is very little room for him to easily move to another team. So he may just drop in the rockets lap for the MLE it's a longshot but not impossible. If they don't Lewis they may decide take a quality veteran like FA Byron Russell. He is a guy with a good attitude and talent that could help our young team. The only the other possibility is the Rockets trade a player like Moochie or KT for some player under contract. (not likely) And then finally they can resign torres for a little more than minimum.
langhi is as good as gone. after drafting nachbar, wiz is not needed. maddox was picked so we didnt have to sign brown for a 3 year deal that he would want. willis wants to be on a winning team. one that will give him about 18 minutes per game too. that gives us: ming-cato-collier griff-moT-kt rice-nachbar-Tmo cat wink-mooch-maddox we still need another SG. we will wait to see if we can get a vet with our mid-class exception. someone like john starks maybe? if not, os is our man.
once you think about it, we should keep willis to help ming out. He can make him stronger and teach him a better jump hook.
once you think about it, we should keep willis to help ming out. He can make him stronger and teach him a better jump hook I think Rox should let Wiz, Tierrie and Lankey go. Keep Willis as a coach to help the big men. I think Cato, Eddie and Ming will all need a big man coach..though Mr Mean should be able to shoulder some burden there Getting lewis would be good (only if he is coming on MCE)..else A Byron Russel would be a good pick-up
Hopefully the Sonics are stupid enough to tie up =seven year-maximum money with Rashard Lewis, That ends speculation on him coming to Houston. I would like to pick up johnny Newman- he could help us - very consinstent and very cheap.
Kenny and Oscar deserved to get an offer from Rocks. But I'm afraid KT might get better offer somewhere else!
Redd played alot of 3 last year because they have a guy name Ray Allen on the team. Milwaukee had Ray and Mike on the floor at the same time alot last season.
We should package Collier, Mo T, T Mo and Moochie for a perennially injured, pot smoking underachiever with big hair. Question is: where can you find such a beast? (cue crappy Will Smith song)
I dont think Michael Redd would be such a great fit here. He may play 3 sometimes but his game is that of a 2 guard. Redd is the type of player that needs the ball in his hands to score off the dribble. The guy is basically a 6-6 scorer. The addition this team needs imo is a veteran wingplayer that can defend, shoot and just ease in Nachbar. The player I like most for this role that was mentioned in this article and in another thread is Bryon Russell. I dont think the Jazz will make a serious effort to re-sign him as they are planning on keeping Marshall from what I have read along with having Kirilenko and Stevenson in the fold. Russell shouldnt command a large salary at all and would bring Finals experience along with a game that fits this squad. Also, I wouldnt mind trading Cato if this team can find a taker. I know most folks will disagree, but I wouldnt mind seeing Marc Jackson at the backup big man on this squad. Last season had more to do with Jackson being irritated with Garry St Jean than his skills having declined. If we could lose Cato and somehow get Jackson, I wouldnt mind that at all. Jax would give this team the banger they need as he knows how to use his 270 pound frame on both ends of the floor. In addition, he brings a solid mid range shot which Cato does not have and his contract is half of Cato's. I dont really care if Jackson cant block shots ie his vertical leap is bad; he understand the concept of position defense and does not get backed down on the post on a consistent basis like Cato. Playing defense down low in the trenches has a lot more to do with understanding, desire and positioning than being able to leap and block shots.
we will have the following players under contract: Glen Rice $8,800,000 4-yr; $36.00 2003-04 Maurice Taylor $6,500,000 6-yr; 48.00 2006-07 Kelvin Cato $6,048,000 6-yr; 42.00 2005-06 Cuttino Mobley $4,413,375 6-yr; 30.89 2005-06 Moochie Norris $3,600,000 6-yr; 22.7 2006-07 Steve Francis $3,473,520 4-yr; 14.12 2002-03 Eddie Griffin $2,011,080 4-yr; 9.42 2004-05 Jason Collier $1,280,040 4-yr; 5.94 2003-04 Kenny Thomas $946,920 4-yr; 4.21 2002-03 Terence Morris $490,000 2-yr; 1.00 2002-03 That is 10 players, with Yao and Nachbar we will have our 12, now just to find the 3 for the IR. Tito will probably be there, so that leaves 2 spots on the IR. I liked the thought of Starks, but he may be getting too old, but I'm sure he can still light it up at times. Even though if we get him we may just be replacing wiz. We would all like to see Rashard or someone of his calibur playing for us, but lets be realistic, most likely we will have that team and Tito, and 2 other players on the IR, one of which being Oscar, unless he simply demands toom much $$$. That leaves the question, who will the 3rd be? I'd actually like it to be Collier and have someone take his spot, but who am I kidding? This is Rudy we're talking about, and we all know he sticks by his players. Pugs
We don't need to do anything really: Francis - Maddox - Moochie Cat - Torres Ming - Cato Taylor - Griffin Rice - KT - Nachbar IR: Collier - TMo - Langhi Although if you want to get a three or two I think KT and Moochie could be great sign and trade bait for a Lewis
MManal, I'd love to see us trade Cato & acquire Jackson. I believe your analysis is dead on. Some other FA's that could help us are: Voshon Lenard (SG) Larry Hughes (SG)- If they let him walk, I'd at least take a look at him. Jeff McInnis (PG)- There's no reason why he couldn't play SG as well. Devean George (SF)- Will probably cost too much. Mitch Richmond (SG)- If he's healthy. He had an off year this year, but can still produce. Jim Jackson (SG/SF)- Nice shooter Chauncey Billups (SG) Terry Porter (PG/SG)- Older than dirt, but still shooting over 42% from the field & 3pt land. Ansu Sesay (SF) Dell Curry (SG/SF)- He's old, but still shooting a high percentage. Also, with the looming Luxury Tax, there are some restricted FA's that might be had.
