WOW, Talk about getting the moniker Team Makeover. Williams....gone Langhi.....gone Willis...gone unless for a shoestring Brown....gone Torres...gone unless required for last minute backup First trade, Rice....gone??? KT...gone???? Collier....gone???? Second trade, MoT....gone???? TMo....gone???? That leaves us with 1/2 a center, a 3/4, one shooting guard, and one point gaurd with his backup. Feel free to fill in the holes. TAD are on it right now. Ummmm, lets see...
........and expensive in the sense of the other considerations that will be required to move them. Mango
Man, I'm enjoying the ride on this offseason roller coaster! 1. Dumping bad contracts is good (Rice) 2. Making lesser players part of a valuable trade is good (Collier) 3. Filling our holes at center and SF with some mix of talented rookies and veteran starters is good (Ming/Odom/Rashard) However ... 1. Is turning over more than half your roster good? This isn't a fantasy league. 2. Is getting rid of talented players who want to be here good? (KT, MoT if he loses weight) 3. Is dumping young role players with potential good? (Oscar, TMo) 4. Is putting all your frontcourt eggs in a basket with less than five years NBA experience good? (EG/Ming/Odom or Rashard or Nachbar or Butler) I worry that doing all of the four things above is too much. One or two of them maybe, but all four? Draft day is going to be a freaking blast!
Mango, I'm assuming that the only way Rudy and CD would move the pick and players would be if they received a really great deal. What makes a good deal a great deal would be unloading ugly contracts in addition to a player and picks - not in lieu of them.
RIET, You are going with the premise that the rest of the league is unaware that those players have bad contracts. I do not share that sentiment. Mango
Sherlock, Lets just say we could be sitting stronger at PF than this franchise has ever been...meaning a second trade would be imminent. Depends on the first (read Clips here). Very likely. The closer to draft day, the closer the receiving is to the initial asking price. Mango, Yes, but....... It depends on your perspective. If you could make 4 out of five psoitions rock solid for the next 10 years with all-stars or just short thereof it really is a hell of a deal. Looks like this is what is going to happen. "Pray real hard tonight Johnny and your dreams will come true!" WoK, Reality....After you eliminate Williams, Willis and Rice, there isn't any one on the team with more than 6 years of NBA experience. Williams and Willis are gone if we get the young guys (except as IR backups). Any trade with the Clips and Rice is gone. That is the ONLY way the trade works under the CBA.
Mango, I am sure the other teams are aware of the contracts. Like I said earlier, the Rockets have gotten a lot of press with the #1 pick and they have a lot of leverage. I feel the only way they would make any deal would be if they received a great offer. A great offer would be a player, picks AND unloading a contract. If a team really feels they are one player away they may make it. The Rockets are in a position of strength not weakness. If they didnt feel they would get a great deal (by definition meaning getting rid of a crap contract), they would just take Ming.
Mango, Define ugly contract??? Rice? +$9.0 million, but.... Two years and out = HUGE cap space (now when is it the Clips babies mature????, Hmmmmm......) Taylor? +$6.0 million per Depends on your perspective. This is a serious upgrade at PF for many teams. Cato? Oh well, two-out-of-three ain't bad! (by the way I despise using the word ain't!)
If we're trading for a stud power forward, which is what it sounds like to me, then where does that leave Griffin?
Wow, that makes a lot of sense. I've been wondering why anyone would take Rice off our hands. Using his capspace to re-sign young talent on your current roster would be attractive for a lot of teams. That just makes so much damn sense. You're right about the dearth of experiece on our current roster. I think think some of us need to come to grips with the reality that we're 3-4 years away and not 1-2 years away. So, shake things up a bit. Why not? We've gone lotto three years in a row anyway. If we're stronger at PF than we've ever been as a result of a second trade, then that means EG is playing SF, no? And if EG is playing SF, then we don't need Odom. So we'd trade him as part of a package to a 3rd team for a PF? And what PFs are on the block? Antawn? McDyess? Gasol (in my dreams)? Fizer? Did I mention I'm enjoying this rollercoaster ride?
ROCKET!!! and RIET, If the Rockets wanted to trade the #1 + KT + (cheap filler) for young talent + multiple picks in 2002 and the future, then the deals would likely be quite enticing. Including Rice and/or Mo in packages involving the #1 or its spinoffs is likely to cause the team(s) on the other side to lower the value of their respective packages. If Rudy and CD can find teams that will take on contracts such as Rice, Mo or Cato without penalizing the Rockets, then Houston is truly blessed in 2002. I was among those that said Mo wasn't the long term solution at PF for a Championship team and now you have him on standby for departure. He might be an upgrade for some team at the PF, but can he be the starter for a Championship team? Mango
ROCKET !!! - Are you saying that if he stays (and is healthy) that MoT is preferable to start at the 4 to KT??? IMO KT is vastly better (defense, boards, and range) to MoT at the 4, and with EG swapping between 3 and 4... the only way I keep MoT is as a backup 5... Also, I'm hoping we get a more mature and experienced 3 than Odom (I said last year that I hoped we could get Wally Z ) - and I would only trade Rice if necessary for cap purposes, but not for Odom. Rice could be valuable coming off the bench since his body obviously can't take a full season. Finally, if we get Ming for the 5, we have to dump Collier and Langhi, and use TMo for trade bait. Cato? I guess he can learn out to say pass the gravy in Chinese. And I don't think we need to add more than one rookie to an already young squad... What I think is the most realistic outcome without any fantasies: Ming / Cato / MoT KT / EG / MoT Wally Z / Rice / EG Cat / OT Francis / Mooch Of course, I'll welcome any improvements that will not lengthen our return to dominance, or at least to the playoffs.
Mango, Posit.......How many of the lotto teams realistically expect to jump from lotto contender to championship contender? Answer....none! The Rockets are the poster child for rebuilding a team from champs to lotto to playoffs (although missed by one game). Every team knows that last year was an aberation for us. As is the resultant #1 pick (read gravy here). We got this way via the step by step building process ( we also had a little luck). Having MoT join our team raised our win total significantly...agreed? It just so happens that now we are in the lucky enough position to upgrade several positions because of this gift. MoT is a very good PF, now it is time for a great one and we have the means to make that happen while obtaining a very good SF (what Rice was supposed to be..yea right!). Griff, Ahhhh, where does Griff fit in? Anywhere you want him to. With all that talent, he is a gift from heaven for the future...2-3 years. He is the one player we have always wanted but never had in the history of the franchise. We hoped Horry was that guy, but not quite. This is the real deal.
Rocket!!!, are you implying we're getting McDyess and Odom? That would be awesome considering we can also get rid of some contracts....
R-R-U, I made no such remarks about either MoT or KT. Reread the posts. This tread has nothing to do with either of them (other than part of viable trade packages) with regard to rotations. Will either of them even be here????? Reread the posts........
Sounds like we're trading for McDyess. If so, then he didn't play out last year because the Nuggets didn't want to expose him to further injury. I wondered about trading for Antawn Jamison and the #3 and getting Caron Butler. I haven't seen Jamison play much but a lot of people here aren't too high on his game (overpaid), so I don't know. I wish the Clippers would be dumb enough to sign-and-trade Elton Brand. But I think the point of trading for Jay Williams would be to pair him with Brand. Hmmnnn............
REIT, No Denver is not in the cards. They have serious cap issues. Why don't you just ask me whats on the table...although I will not tell you at this time. Ask Doc Rocket! I told him he was premature. That is why he was/is nervous. One never knows, but the stars are aligning. The Chicago camp is coming. Deals, deals, deals........ I know, I know! I hate the cryptic **** too, but sorry guys. If you dig you will find the answers with a few curveballs of course.
