Let's say Swift accepts MLE.....then what? Then that along with Head is pretty much our offseason. The chances of us landing a really significant longterm piece with the LLE is pretty slim. Hell, finding someone that can crack the 8 man rotation with the LLE isn't all that realistic, unless a good player takes a severe discount to come here. I don't know why people think we can solve all our holes in one year. It's not as if Wesley and Barry can't hold down the fort at sg for another year. And who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and we can add another perimeter player for expiring contracts before the trading deadline. But even if we don't, we'll still have the MLE next year as well as another 1st rounder, and another year of development for Spanoolius, so the outlook certainly isn't bleak. Assuming we sign SS that is.
He could start on a championship team, but that doesn't mean he makes this team better as a starter. He's a solid roleplayer, but Wesley is a better fit than him because ... Wesley is a shooter Wesley can d up guards Wesley can handle the ball smart player He brings what the rox need to the team. Now let's see what Williams does - Plays d on sfs and pfs. Doesn't make mistakes. Bleh. Good bench player, but not what the rox need from a starter to help out TMac and Yao. And I know gucci said trade MJ + for a starting sg, but I'd like to see that deal done 1st before doing a deal like Wes for EWill.
Man..STROMILE SWIFT PLEASE SIGN WITH HOUSTON! I really hope he does. But yeah I agree that Swift isn't enough. First priority is to get Swift please! ALso resign Mutombo and Barry. We're keeping Head. The rest of the guards can be traded (except for Moochie haha). We need to find youth/quickness/defense/shooting/ballhandling and yeah just good all around athletic guards. Add some quality backups. And we're good!
I’m not arguing here. I just want to know how come he is able to state his own opinion about a PF.....but I’m not allowed? And since when is it wrong for “fans” (rote word of fanatic) to become emotional? He brought up SS and I simply replied to what was said. In regard to the “joke” statement: I have been around this board since it first started. If there is one thing I have quickly learned about this place; the people here are rude. I have seen it said about so many different players that they were jokes that its not even funny. They may not used the exact words but the essence of what they said was there. Now, I think Cat Mobley should be an option if he would have us back after we sent him packing. I also wouldn’t mind seeing us go after someone like Doug Christie or Dunlevey (Golden State). I think we need someone young to T-Mac a breather. I would like Christie because of his size and defensive ability. But you also have to consider his: 1. Age 2. health 3. and his inability to shoot reliably But what he brings defensively easily takes care of that problem.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but teams have until October 1st to make these cuts. That's a long time to wait, though I'm sure many teams will make them much sooner out of the goodness of their heart. I wish the deadline was more like August 1st to allow more planning but I guess it doesn't matter since most free agents and most trades will probably have happened by August 1st anyway. Besides Michael Finley, Allan Houston and some other obvious cases, it's hard to know exactly who will be available.
what apost said, plus there is no guarantee that any of those cut-ees would come to Houston for only the LLE. The good ones like Finley and Jalen would probly get MLE offers from some teams(if they actually are released, we have no real idea at this point who is going to be, only what we consider "likely"). It would be a big bonus if they could land a player of that calibur with so little investment, but it's not something we can really count on as an option at this point.
Agreed. I like the Wesley for EW deal because it would give TMac a very good backup, something we didn't have last season. But I think it's more important to upgrade at SG first like you said. I just put "could start if NEEDED" because you never know what could happen w/ injuries and stuff and EW is a capable starter. He's a good size SF that plays good D and can knock down jumpers, he's also those "no frill" type player that JVG loves.
Yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm an Eric Williams fan and think he could be a good presence on the team(esp on team d, to help out on mobile 4s), but I think if SS is signed then Wesley is stuck as our stopgap sg unless we can trade to upgrade. My ideal sg/sf to go after would be Mike Miller. He would fit so well here, but alas, I don't think he would be given up even if there was a firesale there. I'll probly mull over more attainable sgs after the pf situation is addressed.
I wouldn't mind Cat back either, but assuming we sign Swift for the MLE then we no longer have the MLE to play with, so I'm thinking we'd have to give up Mike James to get Cat back, and all things considered I think Mike James is a better fit. But if there's another way to get him, awesome. I like Christie a lot, but I'd only sign him for one year. That trade really made hima basket case from what I hear, plus he's lost a ton of speed over the last 2 years.
Re-uniting TMac and Miller would be awsome. A TMac/Miller/Swift/Yao team would be ridiculous. But like you said, I don't think the Grizz would give him up, especially to us. Posey would be a good addition as well. We all know about his defense and he is a pretty good shooter too. I'm sure the Grizz are gonna look to package Swift w/ atleast one of Posey/Miller/JWill/Wells.
I like Miller, much like both of you, but aren't you forgetting T-Mac's increased effectiveness when guarding small forwards? We get Mike Miller, and McGrady is back to guarding 2s, which I don't think JVG wants to do. Just a thought.
If we get SS and resign last years vet FA (except Bowen) we have already had a great offseason. If Head can do anything, Sura, Wesley, James, Barry and Head can hold the fort in the 1-2 spots. Then we look for bargains/flyers with the LLE or look for really advantagous S&Ts (something like Wesley + 1st for Cat, or James + 2nd + filler for AD, hell yes) over the course of the entire offseason. If nothing is there (bargains/good value trades) before the start of the seasons (past October 1 cuts), so be it. But I am fine going into the season with this group. If there is a major problem we can make a move before the deadline with all those expiring contracts we got. Like how we got James, the Suns got Jackson, the Spurs got Nazr--all vets who integrated quickly and really helped their teams strecth run and playoff performance. Patience. IF we get Swift for the MLE, we are in fantastic shape. We should be very screwd, calculating and patient in looking for guards/back-up 3 from there. But if we lose out on Swift, than Walker, than Marshall, oh dear.
If Jerry West were to step down tomorrow, and the new managments decides to do a firesale, I wouldn't mind doing the following. Expiring contracts James or Sura for Mike Miller Swift Posey Cardinal Tsakalidis We'd pretty much have to take on Cardinal and Tsakalidis to make Memphis willing to do this trade. But Posey(if he's in shape), Miller, and T-mac would make a pretty potent swingman combination, and we would finally have a quality supporting cast and a bunch of depth around Yao and T-mac. Of course it's really just wishful thinking. I doubt West would be willing to pack it in already. And he probably wouldn't make this deal if he was still in charge.
I'll take Posey with Swift and dump some of our expiring contracts. Swift needs to face the facts that teams with cap space are going after 2's and 3's. If a guy like SAR takes the mle, and he's way more accomplished than swift, then he might have to do the same. I hope Glover plays like he did his last yr in atl, that would be good.
No. First, the Rockets gave Taylor big money because Hakeem had just come off of the cap and been traded to TOR. The Rockets were under the cap and used the space to sign Mo to a big contract. With a maxed TMac and maxing Yao for 2006-07 and beyond, we will not have significant cap space for a long time. Secondly, the Rockets are over the cap and limited to MLE $ until some form of Bird Rights are established. Full Bird takes 3 seasons. Once Swift or any other FA the Rox sign this summer has had 3 years as a Rocket, they can then receive a substantial bump in salary and get a 6 year contract extension.
If the Griz are doing a long term salary move start with JWill or Cardinal, and maybe throw in Tskaliades. Wells is going to be declined unless they get something well worth it in return (trade to team under cap so they don't have to take any salary back plus a pick?). They are not just going to trade him for equal salary + junk, they might as well just let him go, so forget him. Posey only has 2 years left at about 6 mil a season. He is an asset not a liability. Battier, Miller and Gasol are signed long term for high dollars, but all are starting quality players that other teams would want, they are assets as well. So if you want to pair Swift with junky contracts in a salary dump move--JWill, Cardinal, and Tskaliades are the guys we are talking about
first thing to do after SS is signed is to tie up our own loose ends. we need both Deke & Barry to come back. Try to sign them both to the vet minimum, which is a decent enough amount for players with 14 & 13 years experiece respectively. Put in a "no trade" clause so they know they're not fodder... secondly, we try to get some other players with the LLE or a LOW sign & trade. We could raid Seattle offer nothing but expiring contracts for Evans (offer either James, Baker or whoever not including Sura). He'd be an awesome backup & make us deep at 4 & 5 while providing extra insurance against Howard's health. As a long shot, I'd love to pull a trade to get us the Ls nutcase - Ron Artest. Big risk, but a potentially huge payoff.
