I know they don't have any players that we really need, but they do have a $4.5 mill medical exception that has to be used in the next 9 days. Hear me out, before you dismiss the idea. The Knicks are jammed up with the salary cap & can't seem to make any trades that would help them (that just breaks my heart ). The Rockets, on the other hand, have a very deep roster & could use this opportunity to get some cap relief & pick up a future #1 pick in the process. Based on the last few games, Yao has established himself as the real deal & will most likely remain our starting center from here on out. Moochie has seen his role & PT greatly reduced this year. I really can't see us acquiring any player that would significantly improve our team. Our current roster is 2 & even 3 deep at every position. What a difference 2 years, a lot of injuries, & some very shrewd personnel moves can make. C: Ming/Cato/Collier PF: Griffin/Taylor/KT SF: Rice/T-Mo/Nachbar SG: Mobley/Hawkins/Mickeal PG: Francis/Moochie/Maddox The purpose of this thread, is not to trade for a star player, but to put our team in a financial position to compete for the available free agents in the future that could help our team, while not significantly weakening our current roster. It also, will help to keep us under the Luxury Tax threshhold. Here's the initial trade proposal that I would offer the Knicks. Houston sends Cato/Moochie/Chicago's Drew obligation to NY. NY sends Ward/Doleac/protected future #1 pick to Houston. NY gets a legitimate starting center (which they desperately need) that has finally started playing with some heart, a veteran PG that, when given starter's minutes, can be very effective, & what amounts to 2 high second round draft picks from Chicago, in exchange for a protected #1 pick & a PG that they've been trying to trade away in the past. Houston gets a veteran backup PG to replace Moochie, a solid backup center to replace Cato, a future #1 pick, & a trade exception that can be used closer to the trade deadline or allowed to expire. The financial benefit of this trade for the Rockets would be that we could reduce our team salary by about $3 million now & another $1.6 mill, if we let Doleac walk at the end of the season. Also, Ward's contract has a player's option for next year & is also the last year of his contract. Thus, dropping another $6+ mill off the books for the 04/05 free agency period. Maddox should be ready by then, to assume the full time backup role, or we could resign Tierre for the minimum. I'd also try to include Collier in the trade, so that we could get the entire $4.5 mill medical exception, but with his latest injury, I doubt they'd bite on that. If we choose to use the trade exception, we could package it with KT &/or Mobley to, either acquire a solid player or an expiring contract & future draft pick. I think this trade or some derivative of it, makes sense for both teams. Houston C: Ming/Doleac/Collier? PF: Griffin/Taylor/KT SF: Rice/T-Mo/Nachbar SG: Mobley/Hawkins/Mickeal PG: Francis/Ward/Maddox NY C: Cato/Knight PF: Thomas/Weatherspoon/Othella SF: Sprewell/Nailon SG: Houston/Shandon(bwahahahahaha) PG: Moochie/Eisley/Williams NY won't be a great team, but with Cato at center, they will be much improved. Let me leave you with a thought on what we could do with the trade exception. Houston sends Mobley/KT/$4.5 mill trade exception/NY #1 pick to Golden State for Jason Richardson/Fortson. Okay, so this trade attempts to trade for a star player, but I had to try. Or, we could make a trade for a solid non-star SG & a future #1 pick. Something like Mobley/KT/$4.5 mill trade exception for Battier/release of our #1 pick next year. Just some idle thoughts.
These two suck terribly. What star player are you talking about? The only one in this trade that I see that comes close to being a star player is Mobley.
Nope, this is weak. Cato is doing a great job, and Moochie is a point guard that this team would rather have. Our roster is good as it is for now.
Why do trades at this point? Unless we can bring in Duncan for moochie, no trade will really help us at this point.
The thought process isn't bad...I'd be on board for a deal that sent Moochie and KT out the door for cap relief and picks, but not Cato. We need him. There will be nights when we need his big body (think Shaq here). Even now, I'm anxious for Cato to get back on the floor. When Ming goes out of the game, opponents seem to throw a party in front of our rim. Cato has shown this year that he can play good defense and rebound the ball. When Ming leaves the game, that's exactly what we need.
Keep cato. Damn good backup. Send moochie. Have a three team deal with the Mystics and Minnesota Lynx.
I'd think about it, but I have no idea about Doleac's skills. I like how you are trying to get us in a better salary cap situation and getting rid of high cap/low skill players.
Doleac has a good outside shot and can rebound to some extent but isn't a physical defender.He also lacks any real low post moves.He does have better hands than Cato but he really doesn't fit our needs.
I think when Yao is not in we play alot of PF's at center. Sometimes MoT, sometimes EG. I think if we could get Collier playing time and let him be the C off the bench when c's on the other team are to big for our PF's that would allow us to....... Houston trades Cato and Mobley to NY for Sprewell. Sprewell plays good D, and looks to get others involved. I know we all have reservations about Spree but we could use his intensity, and defense. It works on realGm but I'm just throwing it out there. I like Hawk's D but he is just not the Ellie guy in my opinion that this team needs.
Okay then, how about this trade? Houston sends Mobley/KT/Collier/trade exception to Seattle. Seattle sends Barry/Potapenko/this year's conditional #1 pick to Houston. Brent Barry would be an upgrade over Mobley at SG.
Sounds better. But I am still against wanting to trade Mobley now. Who says he cannot change his game...in my opinion, he is still a huge asset to this team, even if he might have made a million bone-headed mistakes in the past. Barry is four years older than Mobley. If you check out his career stats, you will notice that he never averaged more than 3.6 assists a game until last year. He benefits greatly from playing with Payton. Until two years ago, his fg % wasn't really that much better than Mobley's. Mobley's salary is comparably low for his performance. I believe he could have gotten more elsewhere, but he really loves Houston and he is a positive character who is popular in Houston (except that some of us hardcore fans get really mad at him when he has one of the brain lapses he seems to have in games from time to time). I say don't trade Mobley, not even for Barry or Artest.
I'd love to have Brent Barry on this team. But Seattle is playing well now and wouldn't trade a passing SG for one that doesn't. Keep on thinking, though, Hottoddie. Grist for the mill.
Barry is playing well because Payton is his PG, and he, along with Mason and Lewis, are great fastbreak finishers, feeding off each other. I have some doubts if he'll do well with the Rocks, because the system is different. Somehow I think he's an upgrade over Cat, but maybe just a little. It's the system that has to change, I tell you. Rudy can't allow this semi-mutiny happening.
I would like to see Ward in a Rockets uni. I know there are a lot of people who are on the "Ward sucks" bandwagon, but he would be a good fit in the backup pg spot. He is a pass first guard with a decent outside shot. We need more of that mentality at the backup pg than Moochie's.
No mention of the Rockets, but... Don Begs for 7 Feet of Support NY Daily News - 11/25/02 Don Chaney remains optimistic that Scott Layden will upgrade the Knicks' roster by next week, preferably with the addition of a talented 7-footer. That shouldn't be a problem. "I'm not talking about a player who comes in and sits on the bench," Chaney said yesterday. "I'm talking about a player who's talented enough to get into the rotation." From his conversations with Layden, the Knicks president, Chaney said he understands there are plenty of power forwards available, but not any quality centers. "We've got power forwards," Chaney said. "We have an overload of power forwards. I would like to see a 7-footer who can play. That's on our Christmas wish list. "There are some interesting concepts. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something can happen." Layden has until next Monday to trade a $4.5 million exception before it expires. The Knicks got the exception as compensation for Antonio McDyess' season-ending knee injury. The Knicks are interested in Memphis forward Stromile Swift, who could be obtained for the exception. The Grizzlies would prefer to move power forward Lorenzen Wright, but the Knicks are turned off by Wright's contract. Portland is looking to move point guard Damon Stoudamire, but the Knicks would only take him as part of a bigger deal. Latrell Sprewell continues to be shopped but it's unlikely he will be traded before Dec.2. A more plausible scenario would be for Sprewell to be dealt before the February trading deadline. "I want to keep him here," Chaney said of Sprewell. "But you have to understand it's a business. Not just Latrell, anybody. If a great a deal comes along, you have to do your job and what's best for the team. I think we all would like to see him here. There's no question about it." Chaney added that teams are trying to fleece the Knicks because they know Layden is "eager" to make a deal and "right now, everybody is saying this is a bargain deal. We're not going to fall for that." Said Layden: "This will be a busy week, I would think. Believe me, we've talked to every team about the exception. "But we'll use it if we think it can make the team better. We're not going to use it foolishly or use it unless we feel it makes it better. "Because of that deadline, we're not going to just waste a move."
There is not a player I would want off of their roster. Sprewell....I would not touch with a 10 foot pole. Talented ..yes Headcase....most assuredly yes
Les, CD and Rudy should do what is in the best intrest to this team. What that is I am not sure, but I back them 100%. Up to this point we have gone after talent that can create shots on there own, without keeping an eye on how the zones would affect these players. This is why I was against keeping Moochie over D. Jones. Jones is a Galveston kid and he can shoot from the outside, but what they saw in Moochie from 2001 will not work these days with all of the zones being played. The zones is the main reason we have Rice. E. Brand is on my Christmas list. Last year M.Elie said on the Jim Rome show that hw thought that Brand would be a Rocket, now this was predicated on trading the top pick, which I am glad we did NOT trade the pick.
I wonder if the Clips are going to try to re-sign Brand this summer. Brand has continued to prove that he is the real deal despite all the questions that were raised about him. Its absolutely crazy that Brand has improved his rebounding and shot blocking totals EVERY season he's been in the league. This season he's averaging 12.1 RPG and 3.14 BPG. I was skeptical of Brand when he came into the league, but he has proven a lot of folks including myself wrong. Brand is the real deal. I'd give Griffin/Mobley for him w/o batting an eyelid.
man...we dont need to trade moochie.... you people just dont understand that....and looose cato.. Rudy can choose not to put him in...in the crutial periods of the game like the 4th quarter..now that rudy knows that moochie will not come through in the clutch in the 4th....he knows now not to bring him in, in the 4th...steve will be there...i am sure he will have better days..get off his back..we just need to step up on D.
