IMO, on the new look Rockets, MoT is expendable - he does exactly what J. Howard does, only worse, and thus off the bench. Yes, we do need bench scoring from somewhere, though I don't see why Swift couldn't provide that, as, in almost 10 minutes less a game, he only scored 1 bucket less (I do think MoT is a more natural scorer, but Swift seems nearly as good with a more well-rounded game I'd much prefer coming off the bench). James, Booth, etc. are all wastes of air - if Seattle wants to keep them, that's fine. Granted, this all depends on getting Swift, but for the life of me I still can't figure out why we wouldn't at least try. 60% of the people on this board are infatuated with Tskitavili for some reason while Swift, who has actually been productive in the league and is still very young also (24), is still out there to be had.
The assumption was you'd have to give up Taylor in addition to the TE to entice the Sonics to give you Daniels, who would start at PG for us, and who was as productive as MoT was last year, imo.
Also, getting this thread back on track somewhat, keep in mind that when healthy and given playing time in Toronto, Keon Clark put up 11.3 ppg and 7.4 rpg. Though that was his best scoring year, he put up at least 7-9 points in other years with less PT, always while being a strong rebounder. You're lineup would be: PG: Daniels, Lue SG: McGrady, Piatkowski SF: Jackson, Griffin/Nachbar PF: Howard/Swift C: Ming/Clark That seems like a very strong lineup to me - certainly a solid, deep, athletic, DEFENSIVE frontcourt, which is very important, and a good backcourt highlighted by the best scorer in the game (and top 1 or 2 most rounded players in the world). And remember Daniels is 6-4, which means he's the smallest starter on our team, and with JVG our backcourt defense is probably very solid as well.
Well, as I looked into my crystal ball, it told me this: Keon rhymes with Deion... and Deion sanders was a great defender...and he played CB...and CB is spelled almost like CD...which Les has a lot of at the bank...and Hakeem used to go to the bank...and Hakeem once played with Sleepy Floyd....and JVG looks sleepy all of the time...so..... Well, you can just draw your own conclusions.......
Because Memphis will probably match anything offered to Swift, and will use the entire 15 days. This is bad because our MLE money is tied up for 15 days as remaining FA's get snapped up, and if they are and Memphis matches on the 15th day, we're stuck with the MLE but no FA's. Memphis WILL take the 15 days, just to hurt our chances at FA's - remember, we're both fighting for similar spots next year. From what I've heard, the Memphis owner has no problem spending money, but logically, how much are they WILLING to spend? Cardinal, Swift, Miller, Battier, Posey and J-Will are all signed long term with Watson, Gasol and Lorenzen Wright expecting paydays soon. If they sign Swift to the full MLE, Gasol to the MAX and Watson for around 4M, then in 3 years their payroll will be (with just the players mentioned) around 55M with no marketable stars. They would be in bad shape because Hubie is probably retitiring after this coming season, then they'll have a bunch of players signed long-term to be 7th or 8th men - their values will drop fast and they will become liabilities rather than assets. Unless Jerry West can find a way to swap these guys for REAL stars soon, Memphis will be paying a LOT of money for a yearly playoff loser that brings little improvement every year. I'd be worried - with so many trades going down for stars recently, how many are really available for trade in the near future?
I wish we could fill our needs with the vet minimum, the TE and trades. I'd love to force West to put words to action and pay Swift the MLE. Sweet revenge. And if he doesn't do it, we get a nice 4/5, depending on matchups. On topic, I wouldn't mind Clark for the vet minimum.
Sane - that's my thought. Signing Swift should not be a priority to Memphis, especially after throwing money at Cardinal. I understand they will likely match anyway, but maybe not - and you never know unless you try. Rockets should sign him tomorrow - if Memphis matches, there will still be the Jim Jackson's of the world available in September.
I think Clark is worth more than the vet min, specially that now big guys are much needed everywhere, I would say, a three year 8 million dolllars is reasonable enough.
The thing is that there are only 2 players in Free Agency that we would like to have - Damon Jones and Mike James. Chances are, if we wait that long, they'll be gone and there won't be anyone left to sign.
If the Rockets really want Stromile Swift, then they should make the offer and watch Jerry West sweat. If he matches, he's screwed for salary in coming years. If not, it's payback for Posey. However, I don't think the Rockets really want Swift or they would already have made the offer and the 15-clock would be expiring.
I agree completely. IMO signing James or Jones has to be priority #1. Truth is, MoT or JH make a better back-up center than anyone we have as a back-up 1 if Lue starts, and I don't really want Lue to start. We need to make sure we get Jones or James even if it take most of the MLE for a 2 year deal, or .5-.7 of the MLE for 3 to 4 years.. Then take the rest of the MLE, the 1.6 exemption, or the TE to pursue a defensive presence big or another swingman (Eric Williams). I sure would like Clarke if he would sign starting at 2 to 2.5 mil, but we can't offer more than that, or go for Swift for a 6 year full MLE, unless we have a trade in place for a 1. Clarke would give a more athletic and defensive presence at the 5 than MoT or JH--maybe the 2nd unit could even do some running. If Clarke falls through--likely because I think some team will overpay for him, we can always look for an emergency center we might be able to squeeze spot minutes from whose value is down due to injuries, age or other questions-- Corie Blount, Pryzbilla, Scot Williams, Tskalides, Hunter, etc. With Shaq out East, it really isn't that bad to have to play Mot and JH at the back-up 5 though the extra defensive presence who could do some of the things Yao would do defensively if he were in the game would be nice. I am mildly dissappointed Booth was had for the injury prone Fortson, I'd given them the less injury pronce Spoon and a #2 pick OR the TE for Booth because he would have made an ideal 15 minute per game defensive replacement for Yao.
