Damn, now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised at all if we went after Croshere. But to start the 3 or the 4? To start the 4 would mean good-bye, Mo. And yet to keep Mo and Croshere would mean Croshere guarding small forwards. How does he fare against the Michael Finleys of the league? TRADE: Cato and ~23 or ~24 for CROSHERE. There is a BYC issue here, I think; Croshere would be a 75% BYC trade. Indiana could take on approximately 4.5 million for him. But there are ways to get around this, I suppose. ------------------
I'm hoping we can make some trades to make our lineup look something like this: C-Woods/Dream/Cato PF-Davis/KT SF-Anderson/Morris SG-Mobley/Forte PG-Francis/Mooch/Colson I think that is a #5 seed. ------------------ Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion
Forte would be a steal with the 22nd pick. ------------------ President of the Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford,Larry Hughes, and Charles Woodson fan club.
I know that the Rockets would improve, but the other teams would have to slide down a bit for the Rockets to be able to get home court advantage in the 1st round... Maybe Utah slides down? If Webber leaves Sac, and goes to NY or somehting, then I see us leapfrogging them... I guess you're right after all... But too many things have to go our way for it to work... One thing for sure, is that we will make the playoffs with that lineup you projected... I see anywhere from 50 to 55 wins... Our depth would be drastically improved... ------------------ "Awesome baby!" Dick Vitale
I like NIKEstrad's prediction to a "T". Trade for some tough SOB's who have range and defense and it actually is a possibility too b/c the rockets have expressed interest in both players. [This message has been edited by rocketteen (edited April 19, 2001).]
How does everypone else fare against the Michael Finley's of the league? ------------------ President of the Anal Retentive School for Jerks Hey, I wanted to be president of something, and I swear everyone took every other presidential position already.
ROX-Doesn't Dallas use Finley as a 2, with Bradley-Howard-Nowitzki up front? Anyhow, as heypee talks about zone, having a couple of strong 6'9'' guys with a center, who take up space, and at least Croshere is a strong rebounder would be unpleaseant to face. A Cato for Croshere trade (add in salary pieces) makes too much sense. ------------------ "That's been a lifelong dream of mine." -Vince Carter, after laying it in on a breakaway, much to the Vancouver crowd's displeasure.
You really are trying to get rid of me, aren't you. Please, no Scuzzbag... ------------------ Turn Lives Protrolls.com!
Not really, His stock has fallen considerbly. He might not even come out this year. I just meant a athletic two that could spell our main guards. ------------------ Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion
RunninRaven: Yeah, after I posted the "how does [Croshere] fare against the Finleys of the league?", I thought, well, everyone gets smoked. Although it seems Shandon shut him down sometimes. But we might not see that happen again if Shandon walks. I also don't want to do anything at all to help Minnesota. The Timberpups need a center in the worst way, which is why they're going out in the first round. Let's not help them out. And Nikestrad, It does make too much sense. Pacers get what they need. Rocks get what they need. Better to spend 7 million dollars per year on Croshere than Cato. Certainly Cato won't develop much behind Hakeem, who should return to the Rox lineup. I can see Mo re-signing for a first year salary of just over 5 million. We need to re-sign Mooch. Bullard can take the veterans minimum when all the other dealing is done. Our situation at center depends, obviously, on how (or if) we deal away picks, Shandon, KT, Los, Walt, etc. Croshere and Mo alongside the centers would finally give the team size to compete in the West. ------------------ [This message has been edited by ROXTXIA (edited April 20, 2001).]
I'd like to believe that Dream, Mo, Moochie, and the Bull are all coming back next year. I think Shandon wants to try something new, and I wish him the best of luck. Sorry guys, but I don't think we'll be able to unload Cato & his cato-strophic contract. We don't really want 3 first round draft picks, because first rounders get more money, and we're trying to save as much of that as possible. Maybe we can trade a couple of them for something, or trade all 3 for Atlanta's high draft pick??? You know, if we save some of that salary cap room for next year, we may be able to land Vince Carter when he becomes a free agent. He has decent range, so who knows, he may excel with the new rule changes. Carter & Mo & Franchise would be a pretty killer combo. ------------------ Founding Father of the Refs Suck Club
If we lose out on Webber (knock on wood) I would much rather go after Antonio Davis than Maurice Taylor. He can't shoot like Taylor but he can get you 14 and 9 each night and can block shots. ------------------ President of the Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford,Larry Hughes, and Charles Woodson fan club.
Draft: Richard Jefferson (or Gerald Wallace), Michael Bradley (or Ken Johnson), Joe Forte (or Joe Johnson) FA Signing: Dream, Jackson, Taylor Trade for: SAR, LaFrentz Trade: Cato, Williams, Thomas, Collier Sign and Trade or lose: Anderson (if we s&t him, we'd be able to keep Thomas, but possibly lose a draft pick), Rogers Dream/Jackson/LaFrentz Taylor/Bullard/Bradley (or Johnson) SAR/Langhi/Jefferson (or Wallace) Mobely/Forte (or Johnson) Francis/Norris ------------------ the more I know, the more I know I don't know...
Draft- Battier (trade picks to move up) F.A. pickups- Hakeem, Eddie Robinson, Marc Jackson Players who won't be back by choice or trades- Anderson, Cato, Colson , Langhi 2001-2002 lineup Dream/Jackson/Collier - IR Taylor/Croshere/Thomas/Los - IR Battier/Williams/Bullard - Robinson can play the 3 too. Mobley/Robinson Francis/ Norris there is gonna be a premium on players that can shoot the mid-range jumper and 3 next year due to zoning. so I have feeling that Williams will stay put with Bullard. Los may or may not be here for some future consideration or packaged to Indiana. ------------------ "Their Tiger Kung Fu is strong, but our Dragon will defeat them!"
3 or 4 seed my @ss... That means we go ahead of about 5 or 6 teams... The only ones I see us leapfrogging are Minny and Por and maybe Pho... Assuming we have that sorry @ss lineup that you predicted... Croshere won't be enough to make a 10 game difference... If we get Webber, then yes we can be a 3 or 4 seed, but Croshere, and 2 more bench players won't elevate us to that level... ------------------ "Awesome baby!" Dick Vitale
What's wrong with WallyWorld? He is a very good, consistent role player for the TimberPups.... which is exactly what this team needs. ------------------ President of the Anal Retentive School for Jerks Hey, I wanted to be president of something, and I swear everyone took every other presidential position already.
Absolutely nothing is wrong with WallyWorld. I'd love to have him on the team. From what I understand, Rudy really wanted to draft him. But the Pups could get better offers than taking on Cato's contract. Maybe for a high lottery pick (Chicago, Detroit) so that a center can be drafted. ------------------
Draft: Shane Battier (Rudy's type of rookie -- senior, great defender, good three-point shooter, nice passer, all the intangibles). I can see the Rockets even packaging another pick to get this guy. While he's not the most talented player we could possibly get, he'd fit our system perfectly. Otherwise, I'd like to see the Rockets get Zach Randolph. He's raw but has the potential to be an All-Star. Big guy (6-9, 270) who can bang inside -- if he can stay out of foul trouble. Another guy high on my list is Rodney White. Also raw, but has amazing athleticism and can provide us with a big three. Free Agency: I have a feeling we'll lose out in the Webber Sweepstakes. I'd like to see us spread the cap room around if we don't get him. First, re-sign Hakeem for around $4 mil. His huge salary will come off the books and we'll still get to keep him. Next, see about keeping Shandon. If not, we need to enable ourselves to sign-and-trade him to a team over the cap (I think we can offer him 12-20% more than the average salary exception). Maybe package him with Cato to see what we could get. Keep in mind, I'd rather keep Shandon, but if he wants out, let's at least get something in return. Possibly trade Walt, Carlos, and/or Cato to clear more cap room. But don't do it for overpayed junk. As far as overpayed junk is concerned, I think Cato would be worth holding onto. Possibly re-sign Mo, but only for something reasonable (i.e., not what he'll be asking for). Re-sign Mooch and possibly Bullard (who will have a field day next year against zone defenses). I think the perfect free agent to sign at a reasonable cost would be Jerome Williams. He is a tenacious rebounder, good defender, and wouldn't mind coming off the bench. Especially if we have to include Kenny Thomas in a deal this summer, Jerome would be an ideal replacement. I don't want to see us go after Antonio Davis or Marc Jackson. Not because they wouldn't be perfect for this team (they would), but because their market value this summer will be MUCH greater than their value to this team would be. Ideal Lineup for next year: PG Francis/Norris SG Mobley SF Anderson/Battier/Langhi PF Webber/Thomas/Bullard/pick C Olajuwon/pick/Collier Another possible (sadly) Lineup: PG Francis/Norris SG Mobley SF Walt/Battier/Langhi PF Thomas/J.Williams/Bullard/pick C Cato/Collier/pick ------------------
I think it safe to assume that Cato is the exception to a great many rules... I don't think that Marc Jackson has as little heart or drive as Cato. That much you can tell just by watching the games the Nuggets played against us. Cato is hopeless, and I don't think the result would be the same if Jackson were here learning from Hakeem. I am not saying that he would become a stellar defensive machine, but I think it safe to predict that his defense will improve. ------------------ President of the Anal Retentive School for Jerks Hey, I wanted to be president of something, and I swear everyone took every other presidential position already.
