Well, it seems that our options are mostly gone. - Jermaine O'neal, the biggest pipe dream of them all, is gone. - The Clippers, much to our dismay, are going to match Miami's offer and keep Brand. - PJ Brown has resigned with New Orleans. What else is out there? SAR? Thank you very much, not worth the price of admission and is questionably suited to the 4 in the west. Rasheed? Aside from being a nutcase, he really isn't the tough nosed no-nonsense guy we need. Kurt Thomas? The Knicks are not going to give up the only size they have. Layden would be crucified. Which brings me to... Last season pops reported that there were indeed talks with Miami about the Rastaman himself, Brian Grant. Now that Riley has lost on the Elton Brand sweepstakes, he just might go with his rebuilding plan full throttle, and I think Grant can be had with a combination of Rice's expiring contract and if we are lucky enough, Moochie. We would keep Griffin in this scenario and allow him the time he needs to develop. That's step 1 of the plan. We would still have one power forward too many, that being Mo. As you have heard, the Wolves are willing to ship Brandon's contract, but not to Miami, where Riley might use the capspace to make an offer to Garnett next year. In a move to avoid luxury tax land, we send Mo Taylor + filler to the Wolves (they have a hole at the 4, and he has played great against them last season) for Brandon's contract, which comes off the books this january. If we make these moves, we actually end up with a lower payroll than we have now, I believe, and then we can make an offer to Pike and Daniels, before they are out of the market. I know Brian Grant is not that young anymore, but his contract expires in a couple of years, and by then, Griffin hopefully would be ready to take the starting job, with say, Badiane as his backup. Best plan I can come up with, in damage control mode. Of course that still leaves the Cuttino/Francis backcourt to think of, but I'll leave that to someone else. Suffice to say that I would love to have Eric Snow next to Francis. I didn't bother to check the EXACT salary numbers, but I'm sure they work with the appropriate filler. Thoughts?
I doubt Miami would fall for that trade, but I definitely like it and wouldn't mind the second trade either. We still get to keep Boki and EG to give them time to develop yet we improve the team. Of course we still need to sign Posey though.
If Riley decides it's rebuilding time for real, an expiring contract that brings an old favorite like Rice back home would be appealing. Besides, he was shopping Grant last year, and to the Rockets, according to pops. There's no sense in just letting Rice's contract expire if we can benefit from it somehow.
I keep posting about some sort of trade with Miami. My idea goes more along the lines of, Miami has too much salary tied up in two contracts. Of course, they might try for Odom now, but we'll see. I would prefer to send Cat + EG + Cato (better Mo, but Miami needs a center) for Caron Butler and Brian Grant. I know Grant's contract will hurt, but if we want to win, we need a big body next to Yao. Backup center? Vladmir Stepania? Sign Stromile Swift to the MLE and have Grant/Mo/Swift platoon as backup C? I don't know. But we can't stand pat with soft PFs next to Yao, and two knucklehead jack-happy guards.
Grant has a terrible contract--I think Miami would like to move him. Some combination of MoT or Cato + Mooch + a little extra (Boki, 1st rounder). Or Rice + Mooch . Nothing more. You don't want to break up the Yao-SF-CM-EG-JP core for a player of Grants age and at his contract--preferably we would get rid of at least one of our major LT contracts in the process (Cato/MoT) otherwise we have to find another team willing to take one of those two.
I know I am gonna regret this, and feel quite stooopid afterwards.. but... Who the h3ll is SAR ?? I now brace for the inevitable ridicule, and the 'D'oh!' to follow...
You must have missed all the mid season "we need to get rid of EG" trade threads. SAR = Shareef Abdul Raheem (not sure on the spelling)
You underestimate SAR. He's the best "deal" out there. His contract comes off in two years, and he's motivated to play well. He'll deliver 18 and 8, at 3 or 4, and take some pressure off Ming. If the deal is Rice + Cat or Rice + EG we still have trade chips to cash in for a bruiser or cap space to get one next season. It's much better than standing pat and bringing back Posey at 6 mil per. ugh. Why not trade Cat and Rice for SAR and EG and Cato and Mooch for Kurt Thomas and Charlie Ward? You get what you need, you get rid of contracts, get rid of guys that won't play team ball, protect the stars. Yao/KT KT/Taylor SAR/Hawk Francis/V. Lenard Francis/Ward
Cat and Rice for SAR? That's OK...maybe too much I like Eddie Griffin and Glen Rice and a draft pick for SAR...SAR is faster than most power forwards and stronger than most small forwards. He's short...He should be a power forward because he can't really shoot 3's. He shot 35% last season from the 3pointline...that's because he only took 60 3's. Cat and Rice for SAR is OK. It's very fair. And then we get Kurt Thomas and Charlie Ward for Eddie Griffin, Kelvin Cato, and Moochie Norris. Griffin still has potential plus Cato equals Kurt Thomas. Moochie equals Charlie. Our starting lineup would be very powerful but nobody can shoot. UNLESS we add Eric Piatkowski or Reggie Miller AND Voshon Lenard...then it would be awesome. Francis 36/Ward 12 Piatkowski 27/Francis 6/Lenard 15/Hawkins on injured list SAR 36/Nachbar 12/Piatkowski if needed/Hawkins on injured list Thomas 24/Taylor 24/Badiane in Germany Yao 36/Thomas 12 I like this team......but that's a whole lot of changes and will never ever happen. SAR is a very good player who is only 29 years old...averaging 19 ppg, 8 rpg, PLUS 3 apg. Kurt Thomas is the banger we need who can block a couple of shots.... But it'll never happen.
Wow, we cloned Francis to start in our backcourt? Sweet. I hope we gave the the clone Francis the court vision of Kidd. Thanos- Brian Grant's contract is hideous. He has more than just 2 years left, and it elevates to 14 million dollar levels. I don't understand why people think the T-Wolves will give us Brandon's expiring contract for Mo Taylor. Maybe if you tack on Eddie Griffin, but then who's playing PF for us? Rodman? They're talking about getting Eddie Jones, or Croshere+Artest or Harrington. They were able to pick up Kandi, and have Jackson off the bench, plus Loren Woods and co. If they resign a Gary Trent type, they're ok up front. Of the people you mentioned, Kurt Thomas would be available. He's hardly the only size the Knicks have anymore- McDyess should return from injury, they drafted Sweetney with a lotto pick, they stole Lampe in round 2, plus are bringing in the 7-6 Euro. Regardless, Cato would probably be the guy they start asking for, followed by Griffin. Personally, I don't think much of Thomas because I think he'll be absolutely riddled in foul trouble playing in the west, but that's just me. I'll pass on SAR. On a team with Yao and Steve (and maybe Cuttino), he'll be at best a 3rd option. As far as man defense goes, he's about the equivalent of Griffin, and doesn't provide anywhere near the defensive impact Griffin does.
Ok, smarty pants, I should have put Francis in the backup spot at the two. I couldn't decide where I'd prefer him. I'd imagine an even split for our combo guard. The point of all that is it concentrates shots to Ming, Francis and SAR at spots where they do not compete for the ball. Francis owns the backcourt, Ming owns the blocks, SAR owns the wing. They are each maximally productive. The ball can move from spot to spot with ease and each spot demands a double. The 4 and other guard are helpers who will play their role, not compete for position and shots; they won't take bad shots out of the offense just to "get theirs". You can replace SAR with Odom or another quality wing, but that's the best triangle for our guys. Cato fouls at a similar clip to Thomas. Thomas can effectively play 2 positions. You get more out of Thomas. Ward has an expiring contract and plays better than Mooch. EG is the sweetener - he doesn't fit in here. Rice/Cat for SAR moves Cat's shots to the wing, gives Steve more room to operate and earn his cash. He gets more responsibility too. Overall, I see it as pretty low risk. You can try again in two years if you don't like it, and you had a good chance to evaluate Steve.
Miami needs a center if they trade Brian Grant; any proposals not involving one are daydreams. Cat and Rice for SAR, as I've seen in this thread, is not "too much" - it, in fact, is not enough. The Hawks aren't going to do that trade. For one, they aren't doing anything until their ownership problem is solved. For another, SAR and terry are that team's building blocks. I swear, some of the deals I've seen in this forum keep getting worse by the day. No team is going to take the Rockets' 3rd options and bench players/scrubs for their talent! It just does not work that way in the NBA.
All right...How about... Eddie Griffin, Kelvin Cato, and Moochie Norris for Kurt Thomas, Charlie Ward, and Michael Doleac? This is just a proposal. We would do this because we cannot wait for Griffin to wake up and start playing with passion! So we trade for Kurt Thomas...they would welcome Griffin...they are rebuilding I guess. Kelvin Cato is a perfect replacement for Thomas. They have plenty of scorers. Ward and Doleac...both contracts expire after the season ends. Basically your idea plus Doleac. Then we find a small forward! Posey is a very good small forward...But if he is intending on leaving to Chicago, we can trade Posey and Kyle Hill for Donyell Marshall as a sign and trade maybe? Or trade Mo Taylor, Bostjan Nachbar, and a 1st round draft pick plus more if needed for RASHARD LEWIS! Francis/Ward for 1 season Mobley/Piatkowski/Hawkins Donyell Marshall or Rashard Lewis/Piatkowski/maybe Nachbar Kurt Thomas/maybe Taylor or Rashard Lewis Yao Ming/Kurt Thomas/Doleac.. OR... Do your trade with New York. Then sign and trade James Posey for Marcus Fizer. Steve Francis/Charlie Ward Cuttino Mobley/Juaquin Hawkins Marcus Fizer/Bostjan Nachbar/Glen Rice Kurt Thomas/Maurice Taylor Yao Ming/Michael Doleac One season...then Glen Rice and Charlie Ward's huge contracts expire. We can resign them for minimum or let them go. Marcus Fizer's contract also expires. We either let him go or resign him if he plays well. Nachbar should be doing okay. We then will have enough money to go for a star...if not next season...then the season after when Kurt Thomas's contract expires. All a pipedream!
I like the rashard lewis idea. I have watched him play and I know the guys in the rox front office hate themselves for passing him up. I want the Rox tobring him back home to Houston. Get it done!!!!
I don't get the fascination some of you have with SAR. He is not a truly dominant scorer, not a big time rebounder, an average defender from what I hear, and his shot blocking is nowhere to be found. He wouldn't be able to play the 4 effectively in the west, and his numbers in the past really seem like "a big numbers guy on a bad team" case. Grant on the other hand, whose contract may not be the best ever, provides tough defense. His defense on Malone on the Western Conference semifinals back in 99 is the stuff from which legends are made of. Okay, that was a bit overboard, but sue me, I like the guy. He is not expected to carry a team, and his contract may be a bit on the higher side for a supporting player, but take it from me, Brian Grant is the ultimate role player and the guy I would put at Yao's side now that Brand is gone for good. Besides, would rather have his contract, or Mo's right now? If Riley gives up on next season for good, he will be tanking his way to a high pick and have Stepania as his starting center. No need to throw a center to get Brian Grant, if that truly is the path Riley chooses to live by. C'mon! Wouldn't trade Rice, Mo, Moochie, and even Cuttino (if we got a starting PG in return) to have Brian Grant on this team? I really don't wanna suffer through another season where making the playoffs is a failed attempt. I don't think I can take it, and neither does Les. Grant may not guarantee a championship, but the playoffs are a certainty with him onboard.
Dude, don't feel bad. Think about the Chinese intelligence agents that read this board, and have to report to their bosses that the Rockets are trading for SARS.
SAR has some inside skills, but was a black hole in the games I saw him last yr...even against a triple team! Grant would be a much better Yao partner.
