Amen. This rumor makes me a little uneasy. I'd do it for Rice and Mo T, though. I just don't want to pay Lewis the max.
Yeah, I'd only give up Rice, KT & Moochie. The rest of our team should be locked up. We need consistency and time for chemistry to develop, so no more player swapping. But seriously, look at our team if that happened (or regardless)...How are we going to be able to afford Francis, Griffin, Ming, Nachbar, Cato, Mo.... What if Nachbar blows up and is better than Stojakovic or Turkoglu? What if Ming becomes the best center in the L by far after Shaq retires? What if Griffin becomes like a mix of Duncan and KG? How the hell will be able to afford all of them. I want to enjoy next season, but it worries me with all these players asking for the MAX nowadays...
Can someone say in more detail what exactly was said on ESPN. This deal makes no sense. All the players mentioned are free agents. I assume they were just circulating (unsubstantiated) rumors on possible free agent signings. We know, however, that Lewis will not sign for the MCE, unless they cook up a Joe Smith type of deal with all the risks involved in it...
What Ric Buchler said was that the Sonics are so worried about Lewis signing w/ the Rockets for the MCE that they are looking at Marshall from Utah. That means we get Griffin for FREE! I wouldn't mind that. The 3way deal he was talking about involved Utah, Atlanta, & Toronto. If the Sonics aren't interested in Marshall, he would go to Toronto (sign&trade) and BRussel would go to Atlanta (sign&trade). He didn't mention the players Utah would get for them.
Lewis won't help us significantly. Even after getting Ming we need a banger in the front court and a backup for Mobley. I'm hoping that Steve and Moochie will run the point more efficiently this year and that we will finally be rid of our injury problems.
If I was the Sonics, I would happily take KT and Moochie, for Lewis. If the Rockets do sign him it would purely be to correct past wrong and not a reflection of our need. Here is Espn's take earlier today Sonics and Rashard Lewis are still worlds apart on contract terms. The Sonics are looking at a six-year deal in the range of $55 million. Lewis is asking for the max, which should gross him about $84 million over the next six years. But what's a $30 million gulf among friends? Still, the Sonics are beginning to make their push for Lewis. After giving him a few weeks to survey the field and come to the conclusion that no one was going to pay him more money than the Sonics, the two sides appear ready to talk. "It's easy to say there's no bigger priority for us than retaining Rashard," Sonics president and CEO Wally Walker told the Seattle Post Intelligencer. "He has proven himself to be a very good NBA player with a chance for stardom." So exactly what should a player with a chance for stardom make? "Determining worth is an inexact science," Walker told the Seattle Times. "We could look at 10 different contracts and say this is what a player is worth, but an agent can look at 10 and come up with another number. It's a process. You've got to look at cap room in a given year, and it's favorable for us this year because the cap is probably going to be flat from last year. ... You try to analyze everything and make him the best offer you can. The goal is to reach a number that both sides feel good about." Walker has flown to Houston to meet with Lewis along with general manager Rick Sund, but no one is expecting a deal to be signed on Wednesday. The Sonics have told Lewis that they won't participate in a sign-and-trade deal, leaving Lewis very few options. He could take a huge pay cut and go to a team he likes, the Rockets and Wizards are at the top of his list, for the mid-level exception or he can accept the Sonics' terms. There isn't a lot of wiggle room in between those two options. Given Lewis' interest in his hometown Rockets, bolting is always a risk. He could also try to sign a one-year deal with a team that will have cap room next season, and try to get more cash next summer. Lewis isn't the only free agent the Sonics risk losing. Center Jerome James is getting serious interest from the Knicks and the Grizzlies. According to the Times, the Sonics appear to be in agreement on James and want the 7-foot-1 center to return for a second season. However, Seattle spent $34 million on center Calvin Booth last year, and may be unwilling to do the same on James.
I'm not sure but I think he is referencing drafting Mersad Turcksan instead of Rashard and then trading Turcksan for a first round pick and then trading that first rounder to NJ for Griff. Now we still get to draft Griff with and we get Rashard. Of course there is no way that Griff was free anyway since we sent three first rounders and not one. In reality we traded Turcksan (who should have been Rashard), Prizbilla and Jefferson for Collier and Eddie. I think I confused myself
I love the summer time. Potential and handles and hops all mean something. The problem is that come November, they don't mean sh*t. I was thinking like all of you guys after the draft. I was like hell, this Snackbar kid must be the second coming of Larry Bird. I bet it will come down to him and Ming for the ROY. I love Peja, Hedo and Pau. We'll be champions now that we have our own European forward. The problem is that, while Snaki is probably going to be decent and maybe even good, but this is not anytime soon. I'd be very suprised if he gets more than 15mpg this year. Sure Rice might go down and that would push all the minutes up but this would not be the Rudy's ideal situation. I think that Lewis and Bostjan would make a great 2 headed monster. I'm sure when Rudy plays small ball, they can even hit the floor at the same time. They are both outside shooters so you could just give the hot hand more minutes. I would imagine 30mpg for Rashard and 18 for Snaki would be perfect. Hell, 18mpg might be way too much to start off with. His defense is going to be a major problem until he gets used to things. If we could get Rashard for Cato, Moochie, Rice, KT, or Taylor I say go for it. I would definitely not pay more than 6m/year in the first year of his contract. Sure that could be around 8-9 by the time his contract is in the final years but, he might be an all-star by that time. He's only like 21 now. I know that some of you feel like we have potential to be champions without him. So if our SF position was manned by Lewis and Snaki instead on Rice, Snaki, and Morris, would that make us better or worse? I say better and I say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
ESPN said that the Sonics are worried about Lewis signing w/ us for the MCE. We don't trade anyone. Thats how we get him for free (no players). The 3way deal involving Marshall has NOTHING to do w/ the Rockets or Sonics. That would go down if Lewis remains w/ the Sonics. Sorry for the confusion.
OK, that's just gamesmanship. The Sonics are not interested in Marshal. Here's what's going on: Lewis wants to come to Houston in a S&T, Seattle is saying we are not doing a S&T. Lewis is saying, "OK, I'll go there for MCE", Seattle is saying, "OK, go ahead, we'll find someone else, saaaaay, D. Marshall". Both sides are bluffing. Lewis is not going to sign for the MCE and Seattle is not going to go after Marshall. Let's see who's going to blink first. I bet it will be Lewis. A max contract starting with $4.7mil would be around $35M, which is $20 mil less than the sonics offer.
Sauce, I am with you. Over the weekend I was cracking my head on how to deal with all this talent. I could not come up with a comfortable rotation without leaving out serious talent. The best thing to do is move some of it out for better talent, a kind of one for two thing. KT, Morris, Rice and Moochie are available in my mind. Heck I would take Lewis and even go back and get my boy Dan the Man, if KT and Morris were taken.
