Even with McGee's issues and lack of BBIQ, it will take you A LOT more then Bud and fillers to get the a super athletic 7-footer. With that said, I'd do something like this... Rox get McGee - Center of the future with incredible athleticism. Wiz get Taj Gibson, PP and 2011 2nd rd pick - Wizards get two young power fowards to develop and a HIGH second rd pick. Bulls get Courtney Lee and Cartier Martin - SG they DESPERATELY need and a project in Cartier Martin. Lowry/Brooks Martin/T-Will Battier/Budinger Scola/Hill McGee/Miller Scola and Martin are now surrounded my STRONG defensive players and the layup line/rebounding issues are history while getting YOUNGER.
Sounds legit as much as I dont like giving Lee. Rather Bud. But all the same, sounds more realistic then a lot of trades.
Generally speaking, I agree that a 9-8-2 center in this league is "worth" more than that. I just have a feeling that his character/development issues along with his clashing with Flip Saunders will only further any consideration the Wizards may or may not be currently giving to the idea of moving him. Let's not forget that McGee is due for an extension not very far in the future and with all the regret they're likely feeling from extending Blatche, you would think the idea of committing significant cash/years to another bonehead is definitely a situation they don't plan on repeating. For these reasons, I have a hard time not believing anybody on that roster is available except Wall.
In the "unlikely Les will do this" category, I submit: Houston receives: -Rashard Lewis -Washington's 2011 unprotected 1st rounder Washington receives: -Yao Ming The Rockets would take on the final two years of Rashard Lewis' deal in order to get Washington's 1st round pick. With Shane Battier expiring this off-season, they can allow Rashard or Williams to earn the starting SF spot next year. Hopefully, a trade back to his hometown could re-energize him. If not.. the reason I'm doing the deal is for Washington's #1. They are one of the worst teams in the league right now and it would be an (expensive) opportunity for the Rockets to get a top five pick without giving up ANY assets. If we did this deal, I'd fully expect for the Rockets to deal Jeffries + our 2nd rounder to lessen the impact of the luxury tax. Washington does it for purely financial reasons -- they get Rashard Lewis' massive contract off their books and it only leaves them with $38M (including qualifying offers) counting against their cap to start the new year. That said, there's no way we trade Yao Ming. Oh well.
Realistic: A. Varejao $7.3M 5 years D. Gibson $4M 3 years for J. Hill $2.7M 2 years J. Jeffries $6.9M 1 year If push comes to shove I would add in Budinger as well. Why Houston does it? Varejao upgrades the team immensely and fills a huge position of need. There will be plenty of bickering on the BBS about how Hill is just a younger version and bemoan a loss of potential. I think as much as Jordan has improved, 1. he is still not consistent and I don't know if he ever will 2. there are somethings that Varejao does that he will never be able to do. Think a 6'11 Chuck Hayes. The Chron speculated that we would need to take on a bad contract with any center, and that is where Gibson comes in. Hopefully we can pawn him off to a third team though, since I don't think he has any room here. The one thing I would probably not add would be a future pick. Why Cavs do it? They get younger and cut a bad contract in Gibson. Pipe dream: K. Lowry $5.8M 4 years J. Hill $2.7M 2 years C. Budinger $0.8M 2 years Y. Ming $17.7M years Draft picks for C. Paul $15M 2 years E. Okafor $11.5M 4 years This trade is obviously a no brainer for Houston so just let me explain New Orleans side. They have been losing money hand over fist, and just recently have been acquired by the NBA itself. The NBA is now looking for prospective buyers for the team. In effect, the Hornets have gone into the NBA equivalent of foreclosure, and now the bank is putting it back on the market. Changes NEED to be made, otherwise, Shinn wouldn't have had such a hard time selling it the first place. The first step is to cut costs, the biggest offenders being Paul and Okafur. But why trade Paul when that is all they have? Because WITH Paul they are losing money and no one would buy them! With that established, we need to figure out what the Hornets want. I am not so naive to think that mere expirings would be enough, they will not be just giving superstars away, 30 teams will be lined up. 1. They will want youth with potential. Lowry has been playing basically like a poor man's CP3 this year given the opportunity. At a fraction of the cost. As much as I would absolutely HATE losing my favorite player on the team, this makes sense for both sides. Jordan Hill is seen as a young center with potential, a cheap replacement for Okafur. And Budinger is Budinger. 2. Draft picks, self explanatory. 3. Something that can attract prospective buyers of the team. This is where I think Houston's offer can make them stand out from the pack. Yao Ming is not just any expiring(an insured one at that). He could be a huge draw for buyers. Now before you let your own pessimism cloud your perception, remember that there is always another sucker out there. Yes we Rockets fans have had our hopes dashed multiple times already and have little hope for Yao, but not everyone has gone through that and see it the same way. There is such thing as the Greater Fool theory, that there is always someone else out there thinking they are getting a great deal, that they are buying low. Yao Ming might be our golden ticket after all. To be honest, IMHO this makes too much sense for both teams. HOU is desperate for a superstar and center, they get both. While NO is falling apart now after a hot start, with the need to sell off its parts and cut costs for a new owner. They get cheap replacements, young prospects, draft picks, and a shining new toy that might be what could attract a slew of buyers. Win win all around.
I don't think New Orleans would go for that. While Yao is an attractive draw, I think most buyers would be cognizant of the fact that he may never play again. Add to that, there is no guarantee that Yao would even want to remain with the Hornets -- they would be a failing franchise with a lottery team. Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill are mediocre to meh young talent to throw in. Neither has a really high ceiling and both are bench guys at best right now. The only draft pick we would be able to deal them would be NY's 2012, which isn't looking to be a lottery pick right now. Kyle Lowry is a solid, young PG.. but I don't think he'll ever be confused with an elite PG. I think a lot of teams could top that offer.
1. The whole thing is under "pipe dream", so I am not saying the chances are high. 2. There is no way New Orleans is getting full value. That is the nature of a foreclosure type situation.
As a very crude measuring tool for team potential here are the added ranks of some of the top teams: Team : offense + defense = total Bos 14+2=16 Miami 11+1=12 Orlando 20 + 5 = 25 Spurs 4+16 = 22 Utah 12+11 = 23 LA 6 + 15 = 21 Dallas 16 + 6 = 22 Houston 5 + 24 = 29 How can we upgrade positions without disrupting how our offense works? Ignoring PG for the time being, since it has been talked to death. Can we find a SG as good offensively as Martin but much better on D? Can we find a SF as good defensively as Battier but much better on O? Can we find a PF as good offensively as Scola but much better on D? Can we find a C as good defensively as Hayes but much better on O? I think two two guys who can help in this area are Andre Iguodala and Anderson Varejao. We are all familiar with Iguodala: he is a slasher, can dribble a little bit, defensive guy with great athleticism. He is overpaid and can't shoot well, but is decent from the outside. He has a good head on his shoulders, he is an ironman with health and he is on a Sixer team that is going nowhere. He is also younger than G.Wallace who is another guy with similar characteristics. A bonus is he spent years in Philly's offensive system which is very similar to ours so it wouldnt take him long to get acclimated to it. Simply replacing Budinger with him in our wing rotation will give us a tremendous boost to our overall offensive and defensive effeciency, since Bud is a near zero at this point. Varejao is a guy I don't think people know much about. 6-11 big man from Cleveland whose game is similar to Hayes. He is probably not as good of a defender as Chuck but his impact might be overall better since he is taller, rebounds and blocks more. He is also a very good off the ball cutter which would work well in our system. I think if we can add Varejao and Iguodala to this team we can by offering up a combination of picks, Budinger, Patterson Hill, Williams, Jeffries, maybe Lee we can make serious headway into being a much better team. Brooks / Lowry Martin / Lee Iggy / Battier Scola / Hayes Varejao / Miller Keep this ten man rotation intact and I think you have you have the flexibility and capability to put a much better product on the floor, both offensively and defensively. I know it doesnt look like much, but I think the sum of the parts here is good enough to win 55+ which is capable of competing for the conference title.
I like the idea of adding Iggy, he could really upgrade our team on the SF/SG position. I'm not following you with Varejao ... I mean 'what are you smoking'? The guy has the 'falling disease' everytime I watch him play: flopping around, looking weird, getting dunked on, acting weird, ... :grin: And I'm not willing to trade good, young prospects like Hill and T-Will for getting Varejao or even Iggy. Lowry / Ish Martin / Lee Iggy / T-Will Scola / Hayes Hill / Miller Battier/Brooks/Jeffries/Patt/Bud are trade bait, IMO. Yao's contract could also be, but we'll have to wait for that.
well if it means anything, just woke up from a dream where we flipped yao's contract for iggy. damn, need to stop reading clutchfans so close to bedtime...
I was reading about evan turner on Hoopshype and it said that the rookie is having major troubles getting off the bench in philly.....soooo......i was thinking what if we made a push to get Turner instead of IGGY?? It looks as if IGGY will not be dealt since he is there best player and turner may not see the light of day in a rotation filled with wing players. i think jordan/Jefferies/pick .......for .......turner/Hawes..... might work. Lowry Martin turner Scola Hawes We basically give them a young athletic big for there young athletic wing. We thow in a pick and J.J. to sweeten the deal......
Forget that noise. Paul and Okafor for Yao's contract, Hayes and Brooks. And morph that into a deal that includes Melo. Paul Martin Melo Okafor Patterson Then sign Yao to the MLE next season after N.O. buys him out.
Just a thought (if a trade for a superstar doesn't materialize): Rockets trade: Yao Ming's insurance-covered corpse Chase Budinger Their 2011 second round pick (the higher of their own or the Clippers') Clippers trade: Chris Kaman ($11.8M this season, $12.7M next season) Randy Foye ($4.25M this season, $4.25M next season) The Minnesota Timberwolves' 2011 first round pick (top-10 protected in 2011, UNPROTECTED in 2012) The Clippers save a few million (net of insurance) in salary this year and save a whopping $17 million next season. They get a nice prospect in Budinger. And they regain control of their own second round pick for this upcoming draft. The Rockets get an above-average TRUE center in Kaman. Foye is no longer very good, but he's at least an NBA player and does have talent. But the REAL prize is that MIN first rounder. With the T-Wolves showing no signs of marked improvement in the standings, and with Rubio possibly not coming over until 2012, that pick will most likely go to Minnesota in 2011 and then could very well be a top-5 pick in 2012. The Clips probably do not want to part with that pick under any circumstances, but Donald Sterling is a cheapskate who could overrule his GM and take the cash grab to save the $20-25 million in total. Just a thought.
Kaman's contract is not really good, but I think the Clips would want more in exchange, they're still high on him.
Here's another one to consider (responding to those wondering how the Rockets could get involved in getting Melo to New Jersey instead of New York): New Jersey receives: Carmelo Anthony Denver receives: Derrick Favors Yao Ming's insurance-covered corpse Jordan Hill Multiple first round picks from New Jersey Houston receives: Nene ($11.36M this season, player option for $11.6M in 2011-12) Troy Murphy ($11.97M expiring contract) (maybe) One of the New Jersey future first round picks The Nets get Melo. The Nuggets save a ton of money (they're currently WAYYY over the luxury tax threshold), while getting TWO young bigs and their future picks. The Rockets get a top-10 center (Nene) and maybe an extra pick, all for eating some additional salary for a few months. Either Murphy, Hayes or Patterson can eat the minutes that Hill was getting, all with little to no drop-off. Again, just a thought.
Nice. I'd take it if nothing better came along. How about Okafor, David West, and Jason Smith for Yao and Hill?
I think Nene is flat-out better than Okafor, and David West plays the same position (and game) as Scola. Nah, I'd pass on that one.
