The way the economy is I expect to get something better than JO. Baron Davis and Camby would be better and I don't even think we want them. Plenty of other options if we stay patient and don't look desperate.
Current Starting Lineup: Battier Brooks Scola Therefore our priorities are: 1. Get Yao healthy 2. Get a starting 2 guard 3. Improve the back up center position If #1 doesn't happen we can start over so let's move to #2, Do we sign Ron for this spot or do we make another move? If #3 doesn't happen we are unlikely to make any progress in the playoffs because the % is high that Yao will be injured again at some point. If we can satisfy all 3 objectives we have a shot at improvement.
The player that you just described is T-Mac which leads me to believe if Morey thought it was that simple, the idea of reinstalling him back onto this team wouldn't be as taboo as it is. I'm of the opinion that a good basketball team has a nearly equal inside-outside balance. With Yao we have that, without him we don't. Without Yao our offense (or lack thereof) becomes enormously reliant upon the outside shot. We become predictable and essentially only stand a chance of winning the game if we're hitting everything in sight. I'd prefer not to leave our fate up to chance. Plus, it's impossible for me to ignore the correlation between dominant post players and the list of NBA Champions post-Jordan. Yao is obviously good enough to be "that guy" but if he's going to get hurt I want somebody that can step in. Ideally, Yao stays healthy and we have two players that can get their own offense around the basket.
A McGrady-for-JO swap definitely isn't my first choice but this idea at least gives us options for February in the event it doesn't work out, whereas we're stuck with Baron Davis half-assing for the next four years.
I look at it like this; if Yao is your starting center and you add another strong piece like (Carter/Jefferson caliber) that can play extended minutes and contribute then you have a championship caliber team. Assuming Yao is healthy. If your number one priority is to get an available center/post that essentially takes away Scola's minutes (a strength) and is insurance for an injured Yao then you don't really gain as big an advantage. You've prioritized maintaining the team afloat during a Yao injury rather than building a championship caliber roster. In other words, don't use the MLE, Landry or Brooks, to land a mediocre backup. However, getting a guy like Brand, Bosh, Amare, or a player of that caliber kills 2 birds with 1 stone and I am all for it. You get insurance AND a definitive force. The tough part is big men seem to cost more in this market. You have teams acquiring unwanted all-star wings for far less enticing packages than the ones teams demand for their unwanted all-star big men. So no, you are not crazy. Trading Brooks & Battier for Rubio when Brooks may very well be a better NBA talent than Rubio (and really thats a knock on Rubio not a praising of Brooks) is CRAZY.
What's the point? If Yao goes down we're just spinning our wheels anyway. If we could easily find a big man that would supplant Yao's production than we wouldn't need Yao. You cannot continue operating under the assumption that a player may not be healthy when you need him. Isn't that the reason we're trading Mcgrady? You have go into the season as if Yao will be healthy.
To me, current team with the center like Samuel Dalembert or Joel Przybilla would be ok. When Yao is not the floor, we run Brooks, and Scola with someone who can rebound the ball. Trading Yao seems less likely at this point because of his marketing value for the team, so we should play him less during the season, save him for the playoff time. Any big name center is almost too expensive, and old, so it is too risk to require one at this stage since Yao is not completely out yet.
Great post. I agree with this completely. A wing player that can create will be a lot more important in the long-run than a top-tier big man. Big mens' priority should be finishing and rebounding. It doesn't matter how good they are if they just have to call for the ball and not get it regularly (Yao, Dwight). You need a back court that can create chaos. Today's game is a guards game. We need a 4/5. I'm not denying that. We just don't need an elite one. We need to trade for an elite wing.
It's not so much about finding somebody that can equal Yao's production as it is minimizing the damage once you take him out of the rotation. Ideally, this player could get minutes at both the 4/5. Whether they come off the bench or not depends upon their ability to play the four and whether or not they're better than Scola. It's another reason why Amare is great example. With Yao he starts at the four. Without Yao he slides to the five and we adjust accordingly. In either circumstance it works out.
Way to leave out the other half of his post. For the record, i'm just curious who these "wing players that can create" are that you referenced. I gave my examples, where are yours? So what's the plan....are we trading for LeBron? Kobe? Brandon Roy? Joe Johnson? Hedo? Iguodala? What other wings out there create for others aside from T-Mac and those guys? You and Durvasa seem to be making pitch for a player that's either untouchable, nearly untouchable or for a player that we already have.
I like Iguodala. Turkoglu would be an upgrade over Artest on the offense end, certainly. Kevin Martin doesn't really create for others, but he's still a very good offensive player who is good without the ball and good at drawing fouls. He could be available. Monte Ellis, perhaps. But, honestly, the latest news with Yao makes searching for a star big-man a higher priority than before. All the interest in Stoudemire makes more sense to me now.
I swear I had no knowledge of these latest news on Yao in mind when I created this thread. This only amplifies my point even further.
JO's career is basically in tmac's situation(dying and about to retire). Seeing that JO can play at the moment we could call him mcgrady 2.0. I do see what you're saying, but we could get better than JO from a tmac trade. JO has been traded twice already this season so I don't think it's such a good idea.
Sorry baller4life I didn't read your previous posts until now. I would also try to get Amare first thing.
This news makes it harder to trade McGrady because we're not going to take a BIG contract just to get rid of McGrady.
I can't believe the timing of all this. I start this thread thinking our biggest problem is what complimentary star to put around Yao, now it's how to rebuild without actually rebuilding. Ugghhh....life as a Houston Rockets fan!
