This thread is the most bipolar Ive ever seen. One guy will say "sheed sucks" the next guy will say "sheeds great" then the next guy says "sheeds a headcase" then the next guy says "no he isnt" and on and on....When you read it all the way through the contrast is startling.
That's because the board is a bi-polar, manic, depressive, neurotic soup comprised of the intelligensia, the deluded and the depraved.
He played kinda like a combo forward when he was in the west and put up pretty much 20ppg and 9 rebs. He can produce like that from the 3 spot and give the Rockets a good matchup every night. He's as consistent a they come.
There's something about SAR. He's definitely better than anything we have, but if it's between SAR and Wallace, I'd go for Wallace. I get the feeling SAR takes a lot away from his team to get his 20/9. I feel like he kills the fast break and ball movement. In addition to that, he's NOT a good passer. Francis is unselfish as well, but that doesn't matter if he can't pass properly. Also, Wallace is 100 times the defender Wallace is, and his contract is shorter. He can make this team run, and he has playoff experience. He's also a better shotblocker, and won't occupy the low post all the time unless told to, so he doesn't get in Ming's way. I'm not sure how effective having both SAR and Yao in the post would be. SAR is also undersized for one position and slow for another, while Wallace is a prototypical PF. Tons of reasons why Wallace is better. But the thing that sets him apart is defense and the fact that he's proven he's a winner. SAR isn't a loser, but he hasn't proven otherwise yet.
He is 6'9" 245lbs, not 230. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3098 20ppg, 9.5rpg (10 in the NBA), 2.7ast, 50%FG, 88%FT What's not to like about those stats! He does have a fat contract but is up after 2 years. Not really that long. SHORTER than Cato or Taylor and just in time to resign Yao and perhaps renegotiate a smaller contract for SAR. So the contract really is not that much of a problem. Not NEARLY as big a problem as someone like Jamison's. SAR is a quality player. He has an array of post moves and is great in the lane. Turnaround jumpers, hook shots etc. He has a solid jumper, is a good citizen and can play the 3 or the 4 so he is versitile. He is not a great shot blocker but his defense is decent. It probably would be even better in a JVG system that preaches team defense. The only downside to SAR is he doesn't have much of a 3pt shot which seems to be important on this team at the SF position. So Wallace has a BIG advantage over SAR in terms of the 3pt shot. SAR probably would be more effective at the 4 in larger stretches and play the 3 at shorter stretches. Also, SAR is only 27 years old. The guy has produced quality numbers ever since he has been in the league and he is STILL very young! I like SAR and would love to have him on this team. I watch a lot of Hawks games here in Savannah GA and SAR plays hard almost everynight for a team that really sucks. If you could get SAR for Mobley and Taylor I would do it. SAR is better than Taylor in every category and is way more consistant.
It's only one game, but I watched Miami play Atlanta at the AAA. I have never seen such a lethargic, disinterested performance from a "star" as SAR. He was anonymous, and managed to look about as good as Lee Nailon. And this was against Miami, albeit a resurgent Miami. Anyone who says he got 20/9 in the West, bear in mind that was on a horrible Vancouver team, when he was the first option. No way he can get that for the Rocks, without dominating the ball. Pass.
Sane, I like SAR a lot but I would not argue that SAR is better than Wallace. Wallace has great talents. His 3pt shot on this team alone would be very valuable. But the risk with Wallace is much greater. Wallace's talents are better than SARs for the most part but since Wallace is unpredictable and doesn't always give his best effort sometimes he plays WAY below his talents. From the games I get to watch of the Hawks living here in Savannah, GA, SAR plays hard every night. From the games I watch of the Hawks SAR does not slow down their team on the fast break or anything. I don't think he would be any different than Wallace in this facet. As for defense. I am not too worried about that between the two players. Right now this team is looking for OFFENSE. Our TEAM DEFENSE is playing pretty good and if we get either player they will mesh right into our team defense. You do make a fair point on the low block issue with SAR and Yao though. I think SAR is more effective in the low block versus in the perimeter so that MIGHT be an issue, but might not. You could have Yao and Cato pair up and then rest Yao and have Cato and SAR pair up and always have a solid low post player much like we currently do with Taylor and Yao. And while SAR does not have the 3pt shot Wallace does, I think SAR's midrange game is as good as Taylor's and Wallace's. People are not going to leave SAR to double Yao in the post and that is what counts. That is the problem with Cato now. I would rather have Wallace or SAR over Jamison on this team. Either would pay great dividends giving us another scoring option. I think whatever the case, we ALL want to upgrade our forward spot to add a 3rd star player!
Everyone played horribly in that game. Dont judge him on that one game. I am not trying to be a SAR apologist but c'mon! I have seen a lot of Hawks games this year and he plays hard almost everynight. Everyone has a stinker night every once and a while. I dont think ANYONE thinks he could get 20/9 with the Rockets. But how about 15/8? That would help out a lot!
Deuce, Great points, I'm a SAR fan myself. However, I'd still rather get Wallace. If Wallace doesn't pan out, he walks, we save 15M. However, I really think this team would suffer defensively if SAR came here, here are some points: 1) Regardless of team defense, there will be instances where SAR will be exposed a a bad defender. 2) Wallace blocks almost as many shots as Cato does, but SAR is by no means a shotblocker of ANY sort. This would have a huge effect on our defense, allowing our backcourt to take less gambles, and putting them in foul trouble more often. Teams will attack Yao constantly. 3) I would argue that SAR is not a better defensive player than MoT, if so (and we can really use more offense), what leads us to believe JVG will be comfy giving SAR 38 minutes, while he's only giving MoT 28? Is he 10 minutes per game better than MoT? The only thing that SAR does better than MoT is score in the low post. Let's not forget that Mo was once a 19/6 player. Again, I'd trade for SAR right now if Wallace was out of the picture. However, if Wallace indicates that he'll sign with us (MLE) assuming Mobley is still here, then I wouldn't make the trade. Adding SAR wouldn't add more than 2 wins the rest of the way. It's not really worth it. One final point, I think it's really important that we make sure we have tested veterans on our team. Francis, MoT, Cato, Ming and SAR would al fit into the same boat of: Never been there, am learning how to get there. However, Sheed has been there, done that, and has been one win from the NBA championship. He loves this team, I know it. I know he'll love JVG because JVG will SHOW him the love. Him, Mobley and Steve are tight too, and how can anyone not like Yao Ming, the post passive franchise player in the league? Until I lose hope on Wallace, I wouldn't budge. As for Jamison, it's debatable. jamison may fit better because he has better range and quickness, however, his contract is massive. It depends on how you value him. Personally, I'd pass on Jamison, and keep SAR as my second choice. That is, unless Dallas take MoT and Moochie in a trade for Jamison.
Would you trade Francis for Wallace and then allow Wallace to walk and save 15M? That would be terrible. Am I missing something? Now in theory if you are trading Cato and change for Wallace and he walks, that sucks but at least you rid yourself of Cato's contract. If you get Wallace, you want to have him, but if he leaves you still want to be in a position where you still have some stars on your team. I would not want to gamble on HAVING to have to resign Wallace this offseason. I would want the "option" to. I dont disagree with any of this. Wallace has those strenghts and SAR does not. Have to disagree here. SAR is MUCH better "laterally" defensively than Taylor. SAR can cover those "tough to cover" players like Garnett, Nowizki, Radmanovic, Cliff Robinson etc out on the open florr. SAR is quicker than Taylor. SAR brings that lateral quickness that Griffin had. This is one area that BOTH Taylor and Cato lack. Now, Wallace provides the same thing mind you, but SAR is an upgrade over Taylor defensively. Mo WAS once a 19/6 guy. I think those days are WAY behind him. His quickness and jump shot are not as it used to be. The weight problems and the injury took their toll. SAR is still quite young and is solid. If you can get Wallace for the MLE then by all means do it. We don't lose ANY players and you add a solid player. But I am not holding my breath on that one. VERY rarely do players go to other teams for BELOW their market value. I am not convinced that Wallace will do that here. Talent wise Wallace is the better player. I freely admit that. But it is the intangibles, the off the court stuff and his lacksidasical attitude that have me wondering....and thus makes me look at SAR more.
I am not totally in favor of trading for Sheed, but I can see the upside in it. Of all the trade suggestions I have seen in this thread, the only ones that have a semi decent shot of happening imo involve either Steve Francis or Cuttino Mobley. The ones that essentially involve Cato and Taylor or what not for Rasheed are total fantasy trades imo. Cato is a solid big man, but he simply is not going to get players like Michael Redd or Shareef Abdur Rahim. Maurice Taylor may be playing the best ball of his career, but he is extremely overpaid considering he is one dimensional and a liability in pretty much every area except for scoring. To realistically be able to acquire Rasheed Wallace, this team would have to deal either Francis or Mobley imo. I strongly believe that this team needs a serious change of direction, and it starts with moving Steve Francis. Whether you label Francis a 1 or 2, his role in the offense is still the SAME. Steve Francis is ONLY effective with the ball in his hands plain and simple. JVG has tried to move him away from the ball this season on several occassions and simply has not worked. Atleast last season, there was a question of whether or not he could work away from the ball like Iverson does, now there is absolutely no question. Cuttino on the other hand has become a very effective off the ball player under JVG and would fit extremely well into a discliplined system. That being said, I view the Rasheed deal as a chance to give this team a new direction without totally starting over. I would tell the Blazers that they can have Steve Francis, but they have to take the Rockets two worst contracts in Maurice Taylor and Moochie Norris. If they arent willing to do it then no deal. Here is what I would propose: Rockets Get: Rasheed Wallace, Jeff McInnis Blazers Get: Steve Francis, Maurice Taylor, Moochie Norris Pretty straightforward. There is no trade exception required, the deal works as is. The salaries apparently are high enough to where Steve's BYC doesnt become an issue. This team would be better imo with Sheed sliding into the 4 slot next to Yao and Kelvin Cato becoming the best backup big man in the league. I feel that Rasheed would really thrive under JVG and start to bring it every night. Van Gundy was an excellent influence on Sprewell, and I feel he would be the same on Rasheed. Remember that folks were saying Webber was a terrible headcase in Washington. This same GM the Blazers have (John Nash) dealt Rasheed and Webber from Washington b/c he felt they were headcases. Think he regrets dealing Webber for Richmond? Mitch Richmond at the time was a very accomplished 2 guard and thought to be one of the best in the league when with the Kings; Steve Francis has not accomplished half of what Richmond did in his career. Also, Jeff McInnis would be just what the Rockets need, and imo JVG would be ecstatic with what he brings to the table. The backcourt of McInnis and Mobley would be the best defensive backcourt in the league without a doubt. Add in Yao, Wallace and Jackson up front with Cato off the bench, and this team would be even better defensively than it is now. Also, with a steady PG like McInnis running the show, and a PF that can score from almost anywhere on the floor, this team would be much improved offensively. After the season, the Rockets would have TONS of flexibility. JVG would be able to either keep the team intact or re-shape it in the way he wanted. The team would have approximately 10 mil in cap space and enough FAs to go in almost any direction they want. For instance, if you include players that can opt out, the FA list is pretty deep this yr. For instance, Nash, Bryant, Van Exel, Kurt Thomas, Brent Barry, Latrell Sprewell, Walker, McDyess, etc can all become FAs or are automatically FAs. Also, on the restricted FA list there are players like Kenyon Marin and Stromile Swift. There is no question that there are some risks to this transaction, but imo considering the fact this team will be stuck in perpetual mediocrity its worth making a bold stroke.
Well, while I wasn't too sold on the Walllace, reading that last post has changed my mind. Still, I'd be just as interested in the cap space next summer than anything else, but I'd sing on that immediately. Haven't watched enough of Mccinnis...Is he really a lock-down defender?
Jeff McInnis is similar in ways to Alvin Williams, a tall PG who is steady with the ball in his hands and plays good defense, not a flashy playmaker but does not make stupid mistakes either. McInnis has always been a player with an extremely high Ast TO to ratio, 3.23 for his career. McInnis has also consistently shown that when he gets PT (30 MPG or more) he is consistently a solid 12-15 PPG scorer with a very solid mid range game and has the ability to dish out about 5 APG with very low turnovers. He also plays very solid defense and has the ability to guard both 1s and 2s.
There is only one problem with this proposal: I don't think the Rockets brass has the balls to pull it off. They probaly think they are going to alienate their fan base by trading Francis, but it's time they realized the team isn't going anywhere, and if Houston fans are fair weather as you guys have said time and again, unless they put a winning product on the floor, there won't be any interst no matter who is playing. Time to show some guts and make a move, while Francis popularity is still high as it is. He won't be a shadow of the player he is (one who is not delivering right now) when he loses his athleticism.
I'd seriously consider that deal at the deadline if there is no improvement in Steve's game come the deadline. I like McInnis alot and the idea of getting rid of Taylor's and Norris's contracts is extremly appealing. Wallace is a headache to be sure but one that has an expiring contract. My only concern here is on the offensive side of the ball. Wallace puts up numbers same as Stevie but they get there points in different ways. I'd be a little concerned with Wallace and Yao both needing the block. I know Wallace can hit the jumper, and while I'm no expert on the Blazers offense, doesn't Wallace post-up? It would be very similar to when the Rockets had Barkley and Hakeem. Both needed post position to get points and often times one was left out of the offense. Except I guess Wallace could hit the 3 whereas Barkley could not.
I just wanted to know is the Rox acquiring Sheed a pipe dream? Or is there a good chance that this could happen? Where did this rumor get started?
