It would require more than $7-8 million. That would be our big splash instead of getting a big name next year. He is a decent player who can turn into a good starter, but star-who-can-lead-a-team he is not. And that is what we need to get at all costs.
Anyone planning on making a big splash in 2010 needs to get ready for a letdown. A few things to point out: Over the past 12 years only 3 major superstars have left their team in their prime for another team (Grant Hill to Orl, Steve nash to Pho, and McGrady to Orl). All others have either stayed with their current team or be moved in trades. The reason is a new team can only sign superstars to a 5-year deal with 8% raises, while the team with their bird-rights can go 6 years and 10.5% increases. The total amount at risk is usually about 25 to 30 million being left on the table by the player if they walk thier original deal. If we did buck the odds and get a player to move here, why would they? To play with a healthy Yao?? After 7 years of injuries I doubt many players in the league believe 2010 will be any different from these past years. To play with another superstar and chase a ring?? We don't currently have one besides an injury plagued Yao. To play with an exciting rookie like Derrick Rose. We don't have one of those either. And even if we did get into the lottery is a 28 year old Joe Johnson going to want to wait 3 years to become a contender and leave money on the table. My point is we either need to build through the draft completely and realize it will take 2 to 3 years, or Morey needs to work some magic, get some kind of star here for McGrady and hope we have enough cap room in 2010 to lure another one here. 2010 and the hope of signing a superstar free agent (with our current core of players) are very long odds and I doubt Morey is looking to get into a long shot situation.
You make some excellent points, but I think Bosh might be the exception. Compare the taxes in Canada to the taxes in Texas. The difference is sizable, yes?
Yes they are sizable, but the taxes in Texas compared to other states, and the chance to sign with a contending team now in another state, I think far outweigh our tax situation in Texas alone. Now if we could somehow pull Bosh away this year, then I almost guarentee he signs next year to stay with us no matter what the rumors are about playing with LeBron. The key is we need to trade for a star this year and have the bird rights, not hope to sign one in 2010.
Free agency is overhyped, but good players can be attained. Utah got both Boozer and Okur via free agency, and that's freakin Utah! Sometimes it's not even about the money. Brand went to Philly last year for less money because he felt he was getting disrespected by Sterling. He wasn't in his prime (29), but Philly thought they were getting an all-star. If opportunities like that present themselves next year, at least we'll have the resources to take advantage.
While I agree we could attract stars, we are not going to bring in superstars. Of the 3 players you mentioned Brand is the closest thing to a super star and he is far from that level. Also take into consideration he was fleeing the Clippers and now Philly is stuck with a 30 year injured player for almost 16 million per year for 4 more years. That's how team's get into trouble chasing star players with big money contracts that run well into their mid to late 30's. If Bosh, LeBron, or Wade were on the Clippers we may have a shot. Right now our best case scenario for next year with cap space would be to grab a Joe Johnson at a max contract and then a secondary player for around 10 million per year. I'm sorry but to me that is a longshot at best.
Im with you man, off season aint over yet and im pretty optimistic about the next season with AB and scola getn better and having good young cheap talent, morey is definately keeping us competative for next season and setting us up for the following season, Also, how many superstars did adelman have in sac when they were whippin' ace?? I think gortat could even turn out to be a more athletic divac! Thats the beauty of a motion offense, there are threats from all positions.
I'm sorry but teams don't win Championships without superstars. As good as that Sacramento team was, they only got to the conference finals once and never got to finals. We need a superstar player. It only happens on rare occasions. Especially considering we will be competing against teams led by Paul, Lebron, Wade, Rose, & Howard, and the last gasps of Kobe, Duncan & Garnett's teams. This really comes down to 1. can Yao come back and 2. can Yao be at least near a top 3 center when he does. If he can, then a second tier star like Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Amare, Dirk, etc would be a great get. Since it is looking more and more like that won't happen, we need Morey to pull off some miracle to get a Paul or Wade to come here, or effectively Tank to get Top 3 pick in 2010/2011 or trade some of our players (Scola, Battier, Landry, Yao he is can be starter but not all-nba) for picks that can lead to that type of player. Teams built around many good talented players are the exception to the rule.
Morey is a very smart guy. I do not see him doing anything that would effect the future of this team in a negative way. As much we would love the Rockets to contend for the championship again this coming year...just does not look like it is going to happen with an injured Yao. Rockets in 2010!
No one here thinks we have a shot at Lebron or Wade. However, Bosh is on Canada's own clippers. Fans are booing him at raptor home games, his team stinks, and there's no marketing opportunity for him. I'm sure he'd prefer NY or Chicago, but other than those two we're as enticing as anyone else. We've got good role players, a good coach, good GM, and we don't have freezing cold winters. Even if we have to settle for second-tier stars like Joe Johnson that's fine. Championship contenders are not built exclusively through free agency. Orlando FA acquisitions on last year's team were Turkoglu, Lewis, and Pietrus. None of those guys will sniff the HOF. What helped was that they drafted well with Howard and Lee. And they made good trades to acquire help to cover injuries (Alston). That's what you have to do build a contender. Draft well, make good trades, and sign impact players. Morey's done well with trades and drafts, let's see what he can do with free agents.
What Morey needs now is flexibility. There are simply too many unknowns: Yao's health, McGrady's health, 2010 FAs. He needs multiple backup plans to deal with different scenarios. I really hope he can pull it off with a little luck. I am still not sold on clearing cap room for 2010. Yes, FA signing is instant gratification. But you have to CLEAR out room for big splash FAs. And landing a superstar through FA market is as uncertain as through the draft. You can do all the homework and still get nothing out of it. BTW, Bosh is NOT a superstar. The only franchise players on the 2010 FA market are LeBron and Wade. If we lose both Yao and TMac, the chances of getting a franchise player is vey slim. I think this is why Morey is after Rubio. Morey probably thinks Rubio is the only obtainable player who has that potential.
Don't get me wrong, I am a huge proponent of the In Morey We Trust movement. Morey's definitely a shrewd GM and has made great moves in the past, but are we overrating his abilities a little too much? Especially with all the Morey is God -like phrases. This offseason just started, but this one has been more disappointing than most I can remember, and it's only been like the 2nd day of FA. If this trend continues, I shudder to think what more bad news is along the way. I know there are 29 other NBA teams out there and Morey won't be able to reel in every player we're interested in, but it just seems that this offseason, moreso than others, we are just getting beat to the punch by other teams. Cuban practically waited for Morey to woo Gortat, then swept in with a bigger deal, what an a$$. Now, we hear Artest bolting to the Lakers to join the infamous Kobe Bryant, the one that Artest looked like he was going to kill a couple months ago. Hopefully our luck will change soon.
Hmm. Are we sure Yao will be out all season? If he's coming back, I think we had a shot, if we could have traded Tracy for a couple of good players, or if he played fairly well. I'm not saying I would have offered Ron more than one year, though. As far as signing a superstar in 2010, I don't think it's necessary. What is a superstar, anyhow? Top 20? Top 10 player? I don't think Boston had any real superstars two years ago (depending on the definition), though LA certainly had one this year. How about San Antonio when they won? Really, I think you had one superstar and a couple of stars. My point is, one superstar and 2-3 stars can win it, or even a few stars with no superstars (see Detroit in the Laimbeer era, or even in the Hamilton / Billups era, for that matter). I don't think I'd re-sign Yao in 2010; he'll still be expecting a salary befitting somebody that will be more healthy than he will be. I think, if we can get two solid stars, plus another pretty solid player to go with whoever we might have on the roster at a reasonable price, we can compete for a championship.
I don't think we'll be able to land a start next year. If you look at the roster and even add Yao back to it, what player puts us over the top considering Yao's propensity for injury. A free agent is going to factor Yao's injuries as well.
http://www.nbadraft.net/mcchesney006.html The Pistons teams both times were aberrations. Duncan played like a superstar nearly every time and Parker certainly did the last Spurs Run. Garnett dominated games on defense last year. I can't stand him and his faces and all, but he did play like a superstar, and he has the credentials. It is rare to win without one of the best players in the game at the time. Yao has a player option in 2010 off season. It is his choice. Which means It will be near impossible to sign a superstar and very difficult to even on of those solid stars your thinking about.
What is morey's master plan? In the NBA you need stars to win. Even Detroit had billups. Currently we have 0 star players. The Ariza signing limits us next year in signing a class of 10 FA if we had a chance. Morey's MO has been not to overpay guys. There plenty of other guys in the NBA like Ariza yet we are paying him 6mil based on a good playoff run. This kind of reminds me of the Shannon Anderson signing. I would prefer this team not become like the astros and being stuck in mediocrity.
We have 2 stars. Unfortunately they are both injured. I'm sure there are more moves on the horizon via trade.
