The Rockets badly need a more athletic, quick, mobile power forward on the team. A player that can chase the likes of Radmanovic and Dirk out on the perimeter. Teams with those perimeter oriented 4's are killing the Rockets this season. Kind of wish the Rockets hadn't released Terrence Morris. Could have used him for a few games. Yao and Cato make the front line too slow. my suggestions: Stro Swift Troy Murphy Jonathan Bender Donnell Harvey Walter McCarty Chris Crawford All good players that can either start or come off the bench in case of matchups.
I'm a Donyell Marshall fan, but I'd want to play him at the three. Marshall or Harpring suit me very well at that spot. I've also mentioned Vladimir Radmanovic in other threads, as a guy we might be able to get, for a shooting 4. Troy Murphy would be great; but I don't see how we'd get him. Stro Swift is intriguing; I'm not sure what kind of deal you can make with Memphis. Maybe wait till next year for a power forward. The market is bad. Get the point guard and small forward this year, and maybe a strong shooting, passing 2. Brent Barry and Vlad Rad would be a nice package for us; esp. for Taylor, or even the TE.
Is McCarty going to be a free agent? He could be a good tall defender who might be cheaper than some other guys to get. Marshall can shoot well and is a good rebounder but he is a subpar defender.
Deuce, It's HIGHLY doubtful that Rasheed will sign for 6.9M a season long-term, and it's highly doubtful he'll sign ANYTHING between long and short term (his age). Meaning, he either goes for a 1-year MLE offer or a big offer - he will not lock himself up @ 6.9M, unless it's a 2 year deal with an option to opt out. However, I don't understand why you think the Pistons would say no to Pike andhis 2.5M. It's a superb deal, everyone was happy when we signed him to it. It's a small price to pay for one of the best shooters in the entire league, especially considering they just traded Sura and could use some help at the backup 2 and their shooting in general. They don't need as much space as you THINK to re-sign Okur. You don't think they're goin to sign him to more than 7M do you? I sure don't, in fact I know Dumars wouldn't do that. Not when Okur hasn't shown consistency and Darko Milicic is waiting in the wings. Taking on Pike and the 6.9M is two assets, however, you make it seem like they're stuck with Pike or something. If Pike were an FA, you dont' think he'd get 2.5M from some contender? Just because he didn't do well for us doesn't mean he lost his shooting touch - that doesn't just happen. If they let Rasheed Walk, they'll have enough to re-sign Okur and find FA's. But we can make it easier by giving them the space as well as an FA and who knows, maybe we'll sweeten it with a future 2nd rounder or something. One thing's for sure though, Wallace won't be lured here with JUST the 6.9M.
Sane, I got the impression that if the Pistons' renounced Wallace they would have close to 7M in space to resign Okur. If that is indeed the case then if they take back Pike in the trade that cuts into that 7M and leaves then with what, around 5 million? They are back to MLE monies again. I figured Okur will sign for around 7 million. That's what I think the market will pay. Now, if we can send them Pike and they STILL will have 7million then fine. I am all for that! I just dont think that is the case. Perhaps GATER can give us the cap details. If we send them Pike (2.5) and the TE then we can sign Wallace to around a 9.4M contract which I do think he will take. I agree he probably wants more than 6.9 but I am not sure how to get it done unless the Pistons CAN take back Pike and still have 7M left over for Okur.
Well, to be honest, I'm a little fuzzy on the Pistons cap situation as well. I was under the impression they'd have around 10M after renouncing Wallace. If your scenario holds, then you're absolutely right, in makes no sense for them to take back Pike, leaving us with only the 4.5M to offer Rasheed. Either way, I'm thinking Houston is a PRIME location for Rasheed Wallace. He's great with Steve and Mobley, JVG is obssesed with him, and Yao is just about the most team-oriented franchise player in the league. We're a Rasheed Wallace away from stepping on the Wolves, Mavs and Spurs. I mean, come on, look: Yao/Cato Rasheed/MoT JJ/AG/Pike Mobley/Pike Francis/Marc Jackson That's assuming Rasheed comes here for the 4.5M MLE, and also assuming that we don't use the trade exception. This is the kind of line-up where I would be comfortable with Francis at the point - these are all players that Francis respects as scorers and all these players are good passers, meaning we can run a lot more of the offense through the frontcourt. Somehow, we have to land Rasheed Wallace. CD absoultely MUST make it work. If the Pike scenario doesn't work, I suggest acquiring Al Harrington and Scot Pollard for Cato and Pike, then turning around and trading Harrington + 5M of the TE to Detroit for Rasheed. Pollard is performing very poorly for the Pacers, so his value is low right now, while Cato could be a monster for the Pacers in the East. Pike could play valuable minutes behind the ageing Reggie, since they have no backup 2 and and overload at the F position, this would help them tremendously.
