1) Corey Maggette 2) DeSegana Diop 3) Jose Calderon (yeah, I know) Really, all we need is a backup for T-Mac and Shane, which Maggette would fill both spots and a backup for Yao now that Deke's gone, which Diop would fill adequately. Maggete gives us that other scorer we so desperately need and can come in for either Shane or Scolandry in crunch time. Also he can shoot friggin' free throws. Unfortunately, it seems he is looking for MAX money in this new Rashard Lewis world, so we'll have to luck into acquiring him. Diop would help in two respects. Firstly, he gives us someone who can give Yao and his glass bones as much rest as they need. Maybe more importantly, he gives us that big body in the middle that we so obviously miss when Yao and Deke are on the bench. We're not going to get Calderon, but is is nice to dream These are the pieces we can part with to acquire the above; keep the rest: Head, BJAX, Hayes, Novak, picks, cash, Alston (for Calderon), Francis.
We knew going in against Utah that Rox were undersized. I thought Rox did excellent job on the boards considering the best rebounder in the arena was in a suit. Big props to T-Mac. And actually, believe it or not, for the series Jazz averaged 12.8 ORPG to our 13.0. Granted we had more opportunities with all the 3 point bricks (36% to 29%...ouch), but still. We already have a third All-Star caliber player. His name is Luis Scola. We didn't really begin to see just how good he was until Yao went down. I'm looking forward to watching Yao in the high post more often. Seems to me it took Yao the longest to adjust to RA motion offense. Hence the .500 40 game start. Maybe he should be watching some old Vlade Divac videos. Anyway, man I'd love to see Jose Calderon. More than 5 assists for every turnover?! Somehow I don't see it happening unless we part with Landry.
I think everyone could be traded except for Yao, Scola, T-mac, and probably Landry. Would yall guys take this deal or not? Alston and Battier for Calderon and Rasho Nestervoic (maybe some picks). I would work out salary wise. Rasho is not that bad for a backup for Yao. He averaged 8 pts 5 rebs a game and everyone wants Calderon. So would this be a good deal or not? What changes would make to the trade,if any?
I wish. But you have to consider Toronto's point of view. Why would they want 2 30+ players who aren't going to get any better?
They want Battier. They desperately need a wing defender. Battier will be huge in the EC. In fact, I think Battier+ Alston for Calderon + Kapono is a better idea. Without Battier, we need a sf. Nestervoic is too expensive.
HOU Lineup: PG: Antonio Daniels/Rafer Alston/Aaron Brooks SG: Tracy McGrady/Steve Francis/Mike Harris SF: Shane Battier/*Gerald Green?/Steve Novak PF: Luis Scola/Carl Landry/Chuck Hayes C: Yao Ming/*Kosta Koufos/Dikembe Mutombo WAS Lineup: PG: Gilbert Arenas/Bobby Jackson/Roger Mason SG: DeShawn Stevenson/Luther Head/*Brandon Rush SF: Caron Butler/Nick Young/Dominic McGuire PF: Antwan Jamison/Oleksiy Pecherov/Darius Songaila C: Brendan Haywood/Andray Blatche/Etan Thomas
Why the hell would Toronto want Rafer Alston back? I don't think they would give up Calderon for Battier, Calderon just seems like a more important player (especially as a back-up for the fragile TJ Ford).
We need at least a good backup point guard or a third scoring option off the bench!! Everyone but tmac, yao and scola is expendable!!!!!!!!
bucks have an option for another year at minimum salary and bogut is calling him their only true pg. bogut's a free agent so he might have some leverage in roster decisions.
While i agree that we need another impact swingman, I think adding Artest is too much of a wildcard in terms of personality . I'd rather this: (Bear with me, I know it sounds crazy) 1. Trade Battier + BJax + 1st for Vince Carter or Richard Jefferson I love battier and I would only want to trade him for a legit 3rd star. Say what u want about Vince, but he's a baller capable of everything T-Mac is (with better shooting % all around). Rafer would actually have someone to fill the lanes w/ him on the break, and rather than having Battier camp in the corner for 3, you would have Vince or RJ going backdoor ALL day. 2. Use MLE on a Backup SF/SG with size that will defend and shoot the three from anywhere (not just the corners) at a 40%+ clip with all of the open looks. I'm thinking James Jones maybe Pietrus 3. Sign Diop to either the minimum or LLE Lineup: Rafer/Steve/Brooks VC/Head T-Mac/Jones/Novak Scola/Landry/Harris/Hayes Yao/Diop/Deke? Let our big three play within themselves, none of them has to be "the man". Scolandry and Franics will provide energy and Rafer will continue to make progress as a floor general. For all his faults I honestly don't see an upgrade to Rafer on the market. NONE of our guys should play more than 35 min a night and we should be fresh for the home stretch. Also an injury to one of our key guys wont make us inept. (Side note. Option 1 can be downgraded to S&T Batter Bjax for Maggette and we keep our 1st pick. I watch Maggette a lot he's only useful as a finisher. not a capable passer at all)
you do know that vince carter is making 16million and jefferson is making 14, and battier is only making 7 lol. After i read your first sentence i just disregarded everything you said.
vince carter is washed up. hes not even close to being worth 16mil a year. lol you can get alot better players with that money
Actually, we should have both Yao and McGrady coming off the bench and rest them until the 2nd half. That way both will be fresh while everyone else is fatigued. If we're going to chase the fans away, we might as well go all the way.
The odds of a major shakeup are small, so I'll confine my remarks to FA. Michael Petrius, Josh Childress and Matt Barnes are good candidates for all or part of the MLE. Barnes would likely be the bargain since he's coming off of a $3MM one year deal. My guess is that Petrius and Childress command nearly all of the MLE. I'd leave it to Morey to figure out best value for player. Any one of these three would shore up our swing position and provide decent coverage in case Tmac goes down. Jarvis hayes also merits consideration, but I'd not offer as much. If we are able to land one of these three, I'd feel more comfortable moving Battier. A Battier for Outlaw and Jack would shore up our PG spot and provide another quality/young swing man to pair with one of the three above. My concern is what happens with our defense. This leaves the PG situation. Unlike most on this board, I value Alston. Primarily as a very competent ball distributor and a vastly underrated defender. absent a major trade, we're not going to get a better PG to supplant him as a starter. The question is whether we can bring someone in to give us a quality alternative, as Bjax sometimes did. I'd like a Jack, but that's not a huge upgrade over BJax, if at all. I also wouldn't mind tossing some minor money to a Gordan Giricek. i think he made league minimum last year. He has some size and can shoot the ball decently.
