As things are quiet on the Antoine Walker front, and there doesn't seem to be any interest in SAR on either side, Stromile Swift has obviously become the rockets primary target, and television reports have suggested the rockets have offered their full MLE to him. Let's pretend Swift comes to his senses, and decides to sign with us for the MLE as Memphis remains absolutely dead set against doing a sign and trade with us. Obvioulsy, the rockets would look like this: Yao/Mutombo (assuming he's resigned) Swift/Howard McGrady Wesley Sura/James/Head That will leave the rockets with those 9 guys plus the expiring 2006 contracts of Weatherspoon, Baker, Norris, and Ward. That is a total of 13 players. So with that mind, what should be the next course of action? We've debated ad naseum the power forward situation, and now with Simmons off the board, and their MLE used up, what would be the rockets' next realistic options in this hypothetical scenario?
Well I would think they bring back Barry to back up Wesley. If they can then find a SF worth signing for the minimum that could gve T-mac about 8-10 mins of rest per game it would turn out to be a good off-season. With the addition of Swift and Head and then the return of Howard, I think that puts the Rockets above the Mavs and right behind the Suns going into the season. With all the expiring contracts we have I would think CD would be able to get another shooting guard here at the trade deadline to really give this team a chance to come oput fo the West.
Lets say Swift accepts MLE.....then what? Then we get Cato back....We will have resigned all the focus of our disdane back to the Rockets....and we will have done it willingly! Please say no to Swift!
Depending on just Swift and Head to make this team much better than last year would be a mistake. We still must replace our starting backcourt, especially Wesley. I love Jon Barry, but going into the season starting Wesley with JB as the backup is totally unacceptable. A better and bigger starting SG could swing over to SF to give T-Mac his small amount of rest. If we sign another player like DerMarr Johnson, can we make Ward, Baker or Moochie disappear with a buyout to create a roster spot?
If people think that Swift is enough, they are wrong, with Mcgrady playing the 3 we have one of the worst backcourts in the league. We need Swift and one other solid 1,2 or 2/3.
I would be shocked if Wesley, James, and Head are all on the roster by the time the season starts. Too much redundancy. Either James or Wesley are likely to be traded for a taller 2 guard that can hopefully be our defensive stopper. With Swift and Howard coming back, we probably will not need to rely on our backcourt for as much offense as we did last season. And I also wouldn't be surprised if Mutombo is let go. Swift is capable of playing some backup minutes at the 5, so we probably shouldn't get into a bidding war for Mutombo.
If the Rockets were lucky enough to get Swift with their MLE then the Rockets would turn their attention to the backcourt. They would probably try to trade Wesley (expiring) and perhaps someone else for a more atheltic and taller SG. They could also use their Lower Level Exception to sign someone like Greg Buckner.
Add in Wesley's expiring and that's around $21 million in expiring contracts. I think we should do a S&T with Seattle sending them 2 expiring deals for Daniels and somebody they want rid of, like Fortson. Or we could do a S&T with Antonio Daniels, giving them either James, Ward, and our 2006 #1 or Spoon's expiring and our 2006 #1 for a resigned Antonio Daniels. If we got Daniels for as little as Spoon's expiring plus the pick, that would still leave us with around $15 million of expiring contracts to get a good 2 guard with. We'd have to eat somebody else's contract. Perhaps a resigned Mobley and Kenny Thomas' bloated deal for our expirings???? Then sign one of the lux tax cap cuts for the LLE and resign Barry and Deke. AD/Head/Sura Cat/Sura/JB TMac/JB/Bowen Yao/Deke Swift/Howard Spares: Badiane, Chuck Hayes, Finley/Kittles/Ratliffe?/whoever?
How do you know that? How many points does he average again? How many rebounds is it? This guy is a joke. We may as well keep our MLE or use it else where. When finally found 2 teams to unload the Cato and Mo Taylor crap and now we are loading our wagon down again with a 5 yr vetern whose only accomplishment is potential? Potential? I will see all of you back in mid January when you all realize we just signed a Cato/ MT clone. (for the quote machine IM talking about Swift sucking!!!!)
If we want Antonio Daniels for any reason we better hurry up as the Lakers are getting closer with Daniels I think. Assuming the Rockets could get Swift for the MLE I would be all over Wesley or James in a Daniels S&T for a little over the MLE to outbid other "MLE only" teams. Seattle will be in the market for a backup PG to Ridnour and James is a good fit there. Adding Swift and Daniels to the Rockets would be a homerun offseason. I am not holding my breath on that though. If the Rockets could get Swift, we somehow would be able to upgrade our guard spots. Certainly a lot easier to upgrade the guards than it is to add another solid PF.
sofine81 i know that because cato sucked. and its impossible for someone as athletic and aggresive as swift to suck that bad. and this is all based on irrefutable guessing.
In Mid January your signature might look like this..... "Hated Van Gundy at first, but I stand corrected! Hated Stromile Swift at first, but I stand corrected!"
Cato is a player that'll give you around 6-7 points in about 25 minutes. Swift is a player that'll give you about 10 points in 21 minutes (he'll score more with more minutes). He is much more potent that Cato offensively. He also offers much more than Taylor defensively. If the Rockets got Swift, a player that plays on both sides of the court, for the MLE (5 mil a year), when we used to be pay Taylor/Cato +8 mil a piece to only play on one side of the court, I'd say that's a pretty darn good bargain.
The comparison doesn't mean anything because the Cato & Motay contracts were monumental mistakes. They were given based on "potential". We've discussed Swift's first 5 years ad nauseum but calling him "a joke" is going too far. Sure he will contribute more than Cato but just being better than Cato isn't good enough. He needs to be better than Juwan Howard, earn significant playing time, show much improved scoring and rebounding numbers than he has before and cut down the frequency of fouls and turnovers.
In case you hadn't noticed, there are plenty of other threads in which to debate the merits of signing Swift. This thread is to actually discuss things other than Swift. I was hoping to not have to deal with the same quickly-getting-old debate in here. Anyway, I'm hoping we can pick up Buckner. If not, re-sign Jon Barry and try like hell to make a trade for a guy who can start at 2 and is big enough to play 3 occasionally.
If Swift signs for the MLE then I say that we sign a Finley or Houston with the LLE, and then go into the season armed with our 21 million in expiring contracts to land an impact guard. Our expiring contracts will have a lot more value as we approach the trade deadline than during the summer. Every year there are a few teams that falter and will look to dump salary before the deadline. For example: Boston: If they aren't contending by December, then Pierce will be gone (if he isn't gone by then already). If you're losing anyway, might as well bite the bullet and rebuild all the way. New Jersey: Again, if these guys aren't in the playoff hunt, then I could see each of their big three; Kidd, Carter, Jefferson being shopped. Golden State: It's only a matter of time until that payroll gets out of hand. Once again if they are out of the playoff hunt, then I could see them moving a decent player or two (JRich, Dunleavy, Murphy, Pietrus) if the other team takes Foyle or Fisher off their hands. Memphis: If things go south, then I wouldn't be surprised at all if Jerry West resigns or is fired. If that happens, then I'd expect a full scale firesale. Then just about anyone of their roster outside of Gasol could be up for sale. Utah: If the Jazz don't get it going then Boozer will probably be on the block. We could get in on a 3 way deal, or pick up boozer for ourselves if Swift doesn't pan out. Lakers: They might be willing to deal Odom and Mihm for Yao.... Um sorry, got a Charvo flashback there. Frankly they might actually be willing to deal Odom and Mihm for cap space. With them gone they could make a run at Peja in 2006, who seems absolutely perfect for the triangle offense. And I'm sure there will be some suprise team that falls apart that you wouldn't even suspect. No matter what, I'm sure that if CD aggressively shops his expiring contracts then we can land another piece, or maybe even the final piece ala Rasheed going to Detroit.
In case you hadnt noticed your name doesnt say moderator ANYwhere in it? I would love to know where you get off saying that. Duece said, " In Mid January your signature might look like this..... "Hated Van Gundy at first, but I stand corrected! Hated Stromile Swift at first, but I stand corrected!" I sure hope you are right. Im a Rocket fan more than I want to be right. So, if we sign him, heres to his success. Now talk about whatever you want MR Drexlerfan22
