lmao. exactly. he may not be my first choice for the pick, but i would understand the reasoning behind it.
Let's be real. Money talks. If Memphis gives him the type of money he wants, he'll play there. Just like if Sacramento gave him the type of money he was looking for, he woulda resigned, as opposed to getting traded. Artest will sign to the highest bidder. Brooks/Hayes and a future pick will NOT net the #2 pick. Memphis is not that stupid. Some will point to the Gasol trade, but keep in mind they got roasted for that deal. They will not 'give away' the #2 pick. A Brooks/Hayes deal is basically that. The Knicks for example could offer a David Lee + the 8 pick. That deal alone is better then the Rockets deal. Point is, to get the #2 pick in the draft it's going to take A LOT more. Which brings me to my next point. Yao is not getting traded. Scola is not getting traded. Memphis is already under the cap and set themselves up perfectly for 2010. A team that trades for TMac is trading for expiring. Very unlikely a team that trades for him is looking to sign him long term after his deal is up. That leaves Artest the last valuable trade chip the Rockets have. Why Artest? He brings veteran leadership and defense to that squad. Then they can also entertain the thought of trading Rudy Gay, who's due for an extension soon, for some frontcourt help. It's all speculation and hypotheticals, but the real point is, like I've been driving home for ahwhile now, realistically, what does one THINK it'll take to land the #2 pick? Then look at the Rockets ROSTER. Outside of TMac + Artest, and cosidering Yao is untradeable, Scola too, what do the Rockets really have to offer? Battier and chump change won't get it done. Same with Brooks. Don't kid yourself, and take off your Rockets glasses for a bit. I mean a lot of people are throwing Darko in a deal to fit our needs. Why would Memphis throw in an expiring contract in Darko to help us out? A Brooks/Hayes future will not get it done. A throw in Joey Dorsey who's played like 8 mins last season is not appealing to any team. Be real, because he played college in Memphis, doesn't mean Memphis is interested. Hayes? Barry? Bottomline is the more you look at it objectively, the less likely it's going to happen.
per poopsworld by bill ingram... The Memphis Commercial-Appeal is running an interesting story today, saying that the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics have each contacted the Memphis Grizzlies to discuss what it would take to land the #2 overall pick. Supposedly, Ricky Rubio is the subject of the Rockets' and Celtics' affections, which certainly raises some eyebrows. After all, the Celtics just witnessed a break-out season from Rajon Rondo and the Rockets had their best postseason success in over a decade after turning the reins over to Aaron Brooks. It's hard to imagine the Rockets taking Rubio, but it's easy to see why they would be interested in the pick. The Rockets are in search of a center and a shooting guard this summer, and they could have eyes for either James Harden or Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet's skill set is very much like Dikembe Mutombo's, and Mutombo was an invaluable part of Houston's success until a knee injury forced him to retire.
Honestly, I don't see the Rockets drafting Thabeet, a backup C. Yeah the Rockets need frontcourt help, a backup C, but I don't think Morey would pull a deal for a rookie backup C. I can see James Harden. With TMac's eventual departure, and a trade of Artest to get the #2 in the first place, Harden could be the #2 of the future. Maybe he sees a Brandon Roy quality in him.
exactly, i dont see why they wouldn't explore that option...it's not drafting a back up center, Thabeet isn't a back up center...you're drafting a starting center to play back up, there is a difference. It doesn't mean he'll always be a back up, it doesnt mean he'll have to get only 10-15 mins a game...we have an injury prone center and undersized PFs and back ups...it's not that crazy to consider taking him and possibly move Landry to free up more PT.
Spanish Point, Argentinian Power Forward and Chinese Center. Rockets finance will always be in good shape if it happen. Now all rox need is a English Small Forward(Deng) and a French Guard(Pietrius or even Batum). Wonder what is the fascination/animosity of foreign players. If a player's good, his good no matter where he is born.
Artest may not get the trade done, but, it's gonna take at least Artest or TMac to be included in any sort of deal to begin. Thabeet has a good skill set, but, I just don't see Morey trading away whoever it is he's trading for the #2 for Thabeet. Why not retalk with the Clippers about a possible Camby deal? They have a PF log jam. Veteran, contract is up next year. MLE towards a Gortat? Etc. All this for Thabeet, who'd end up coming off the bench, I don't see it. Rubio or Harden makes more sense IMO
no way it's thabeet, someone who's backing up yao. that would obviously be a waste of our asset and the #2 draft pick. We can pretty much scratch that off.
For the last time geez you don't trade up to # 2 in a draft just to pick a backup center. Stop with this nonesense. Only way this deal is made by Morey is if its for Rubio or Harden.
I'd hate the Harden pick. He's really only an average athlete and struggled big time in the NCAA tournament. I think he's going to have trouble getting his own shot at the next level. I'd much rather see them take Rubio or Tyreke Evans
per NY Newsday by Alan Hahn- "A person with knowledge of the situation said the Knicks understand they likely would be a third or fourth option for the Grizzlies, who, according to the report, are also receiving interest from the Celtics and Rockets." I think the Knicks really like Curry. He fits in their run and gun system well. Unless they felt compelled to upgrade from Lee to Thabeet, be forced to play two centers, and not get a guard that D'Antoni is enamored with, I believe they will keep the 8th. So the question is whether or not the Grizz are really shopping the number 2 pick. If they are and it is between the Rockets and Celtics, we might be able to swing something. If the Celtics package Allen's expiring plus Rondo, no contest. However, I feel like the Celtics would lose that big time. Rondo averaged almost a triple double in the finals (17/9/9). His regular season averages are 11/8/5 with two steals a game. He gets that on 51% shooting. The Celtics, like us, are definitely in a win-now situation. Pierce and Garnett are only getting older. Potential trade- Marko, Darko, Buckner, #2 for Allen, Rondo.
I was also kind of disapointed in Harden in the NCAA Tournament. I saw 2 games and thought he was just hype. Players that astounished me though where Christmas and Young. We're not talking about #2 pick though
Celtics already came out and said they werent trading allen or rondo, so scratch that off...they probably want to trade big baby/perkins/powe plus other fillers, picks... Houston and boston are also the most recent teams to express interest, but some media are reporting it as them being the front runners, which doesn't seem to be true.
^Btw, it's not drafting a backup C or backup SG or backup PG. IMO, appart from Griffin all the kids in this draft are prospect's and aren't NBA ready. Rubio won't be a Derrick Rose right away.. It might take a couple season before he blossoms.
Harden is actually an underrated athlete.... from draftexpress -James Harden tested out far better than anyone could have expected, which will likely cause teams to pay keener attention to his athleticism in competitive workouts. Harden’s 37” max vert tied him with a player than many consider one of the best athletes at the wing position in this draft in Terrence Williams, and had his 31.5” no step vert bettered him by a full inch. This is a clear case of a player testing well above the level teams project him at. The best example of that is in Harden’s 11.10 lane agility time, which is only .01 seconds behind the time posted by arguably the quickest point guard in the NBA, Chris Paul. Harden also showed good strength on the bench, throwing up 17 reps, but also recording the highest body fat percentage amongst wings with 10.1%. http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Analyzing-the-NBA-Combine-Results-3244/ Harden is also drawing comparisons to Brandon Roy..http://www.nbadraft.net/players/james-harden
Guys, the only way that the Rockets could trade Artest to the Grizzlies for the #2 pick would be if the Rockets, the Grizzlies and Artest had already agreed to terms on a multi-year deal, something that is not permitted under league rules until after July 1. Plus, we are all assuming that Ron Artest even WANTS to play for the Grizzlies. I think it is highly unlikely that Ron Artest has agreed to anything yet, so why would the Grizzlies risk taking someone at #2 for the Rockets when there is no certainty that an Artest deal would even get done. Memphis would be stuck with a player that it did not even necessarily want for itself and would be left holding the bag. Any scenario that has the Rockets trading for the #2 pick on draft day (even if it cannot technically be completed until after July 1) will NOT include Ron Artest.
