Not only should we not deal Fast Eddie but we definitely should not give Lewis anything close to the max. When are we ever going to learn? Brent Price Matt Maloney Special K Cato Mo Taylor . . . . next albatross contract? Lewis says $60M over 7 is not enough. I hope we arent offering more.
There's no way the Rockets would give Griffin for Rashard. However, I could see some combination of Taylor/KT/Nachbar being involved in the trade.
Even that is too much. I would not give up Kenny, Mo, and Nachbar for Shard. Nachbar could be better, there is not that much difference between Kenny's stats and Shards (except for 3 pt. %), and Mo could have a comeback year (he certainly is just as talented as Shard). Two of these guys, maybe, but all three, no way. I'm perfectly fine to stand pat guys.
Aruba77, I think you misread the post. I said some combination of the 3, not all 3. Maybe Taylor/Nachbar for Lewis/Barry. Whatever deal is ultimately made, will most likely include a third team.
Thinking more about this, here's my take. Rashard is screwed and he knows it. We know it. We owe him, because we screwed him once, and we feel bad -- and not just a little bit stupid -- about it. So, we put ourselves in the "Teams Interested In Rashard" camp by inviting him to Westside for a day. To help him negotiate. Becuase Cuban is not helping matters by actually thinking he can get Rashard. We, on the other hand, are good leverage fodder, because we "dont discuss the details of these sorts of things (aka things we don't care about) in public." We want to help. Becuase we screwed him. And ourselves. It was bad karma all around, I think we can all agree. Let's help Rashard, for us and for him. I like that. But Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Tinsletown -- Shandon Freaking Anderson works out at Westide, and I hardly think it is an indicator of Rocket interest in a player. The Rockets being "in the running for Rashard Lewis" can be translated into "interested in people shutting up about Mirsad Turckan" if you want to know the truth. Because in case no one has noticed, our roster is enough of a clusterf--- as it is. We have TWO Nucleuses (the 'hot' one: moochie-steve-cuttino and the 'cool' one: eddie-mauricetaylor-steve-yaoming) You think we need one more All Star Ballot type guy to try to make a third? Only those who subscribe to Portland Trailblazers' Teams That Look Good On Paper Monthly would think that adding Rashard to our current squad would make sense. Who is going to pass the damned basketball? Who is going to set the pick at curnch time? Who is going to settle for 3 shots a game on our roster? Mo Taylor? Glen Rice? Cuttino Mobley? Cuttino would sooner eat the ball than pass it, and he is, like our seventh option at this point. (HP: Save your rebuttal, I am exaggerating to make a point for the kids, here, but whatever you are about to post, you're right and I know it...) (aside #2: on second thought, maybe we ARE interested in Shandon Anderson now that we need someone who likes to take 3 shots a game...) I mean, jesus, the handful of guys on our team who we WANT to shoot are the only ones who seem to give a crap about offensive flow (Francis and Griffin) in the first place. The fact that our best scorers are the only ones I trust to pass is a bigger current problem than anything, if you ask me. Which you didn't, but whatever. We're all in PWWSD (Post Walt Williams Stress Disorder) and want to soothe it by throwing money and winky-wink contracts at Rashard Lewis. In all seriousness, sign Chucky Freaking Brown for the minimum, and watch him play D, pass, rebound and make sacrifices. Five starters who want to post 20-point games usually means none of them will post 20 point games. It seems as though Yao Ming is the Houston Rocket's most selfless and self-aware player right now AND HE HAS NOT EVEN STEPPED FOOT ON THIS CONTINENT. Don't get me started. So sure "We want Rashard," as long as it means nothing more than "We want Rashard Lewis to get more $ from Seattle." CBFC
Forget about Lewis, Trade Steve and Mobley for the BULL!!! Lewis talented, but not worth what he wants Aug. 12, 2002 By Mike Kahn SportsLine.com Executive Editor TellMike your opinion! The jury is still out on Rashard Lewis in many ways. It's hard to get past the young Houston native drowning in tears as his hometown Rockets passed by him three times in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft. But he was just a few weeks out of high school, and that he went 32nd overall to the Seattle SuperSonics was not a stretch at all. The Sonics want Rashard Lewis to be a big part of their future, but not at his unrealistic salary demands.(Allsport) But when Lewis signed a three-year, $13.2 million deal after two solid years with the Sonics, proving the 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward had a jumper sweeter than Ghirardelli's Chocolate and natural athleticism to go along with it, he had an option in the third year. That was a carrot thrown to him by the Sonics because he took less money than the Toronto Raptors were offering. As he continued to improve by averaging 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds in Year No. 3 and 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in Year No. 4 of his career, he thought the maximum contract -- seven years, $100 million -- would be coming from the Sonics when he opted out. He presumed wrong. The deal on the table is seven years, $60 million, with incentives that can increase the value to $75 million. The Sonics have stopped talking publicly about it altogether; Lewis seems serious about threatening to leave in a huff and take a three-year, $15 million deal with Dallas. "I think he could be serious," said one source close to the negotiations. "It's hard to tell what he's thinking." Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hopes he's serious, knowing full well that it would be a steal to get a 23-year-old talent at that price. But he has to be realistic, too. "Rashard is upset because this is the second time he has been down the road with the Sonics, and he isn't happy about it," Cuban said in an e-mail. "Not only that he wants to win in this league, and he knows that what he is experiencing is what future free agents for the Sonics will experience. I can't predict what he will do, but he and his family are first class, and I know it will be a well thought out decision." The crux of the matter is the Sonics know he isn't worth more than $60 million on the market, or somebody else would have gone after him by now. He had made some overtures to the Rockets, but that would require a sign-and-trade, and since the Sonics are over the salary cap, they would only have a slot half his first-year salary (approximately $3.1 million) for a player in return. That limits their trade options more than a little dramatically, but not as much as there not being any phone calls about him anyway. The possibility of including a third team to eliminate that base year salary cap problem isn't an issue because there are no teams under the cap to help orchestrate a deal. Essentially, Lewis and his agent, Carl Poston, who has not returned numerous phone calls, are overplaying their hand. The Sonics can't afford to take their offer off the table because Lewis fits into their long-term plans. The bottom line is, Lewis still hasn't developed a low-post game, the ability to take players off the dribble, defend consistently and prove he isn't soft. He is a gifted young talent who might become an All-Star one day. "Come Oct. 1, you'll see Rashard in a Sonics uniform," one Eastern Conference general manager said. "Nobody else is willing to pay him what the Sonics are paying him, and he's trying to strong-arm them into overpaying him more. They're certainly not going to start bidding against themselves." Already having unloaded one bad contract a few weeks ago to Boston -- the final four years of Vin Baker's disastrous seven-year, $86 million deal -- they're not about to jump back into water that deep again. The gamble they're taking is that Lewis isn't foolish enough to take $45 million less in guaranteed money to go to a loaded Dallas Mavericks team where he won't have great expectations as a focal point, nor will he find the 36-plus minutes a game he has played with the Sonics. Soon enough, we'll find out if Cuban and the Mavs are more than just willing accomplices to driving up Lewis' price, or if Poston and his supporters have just blown his value so out of proportion that he finds himself in a Texas-sized abyss.
CBFC, although the genius of your last post will be lost on the young 'ens, it is not lost on all. This is an NBA team, not fantasy basketball roster.
A person that could actually make shots efficiently is greatly needed by the Rockets. A SF that rebounds well would allow Wink to have to do less on both ends of the floor. I don't think the Rockets are tryin g to emulate any team, but acquiriong Lewis would give the Rockets more comparison's with the Kings.
I want a bunch of ball players, not a bunch of millionaires pansys. The Chucky Brown Fan Club lives on. It's not the end of the world if we stand pat.
Well, at least its nice to know I'm not the only one who's rather indifferent about Lewis becoming a Rocket. FWIW, I've always been mixed on Lewis (I actually wanted the Rockets to draft Al Harrington instead of Turcksan), and I'm still rather indifferent. I'll try to stay awake while awaiting the outcome.
I actually would like to see Shard on the team. But not if it costs us Nachbar or Griffin. I'm also not convinced that we couldn't go insanely big with Nachbar playing the 2. I know...2s around the league would blow right by him...but where do they go? They run smack into the Griffin-Ming two headed dragon.
if we traded for lewis, i would definetly willing to give up mot collier have we gotten rid of laghi yet? rice but i would never give up eddie. he's too good. i like mot and rice for lewis and throw in collier too. he needs to go
If we get Rashard we are probably going to use him as a 3 point shooter rather than a slasher/penatrator. If we want a spot up shooter, we might as well bring back bull, or let Rice and Nachbar stand back and jack up 3's. Im not all againts picking up Lewis, I just think that we will lose too much trading for him. Believe it or not, Mo taylor and even Rice can make a huge contribution with their veteran leadership and knowledge of the game.
In Rudy's system, the SF is the 3 point shooter. That's why we picked up Glen RIce. We thought he would be able to stand behind the line and shoot three's all day. We picked up Dan Lanky becasue we thought he would be the next "Bullard," hence another 3 point shooting SF. I don't see why we would change our whole offence for one player; unless of course his name was Ming or Griffin.
