I am making the following assumptions 1. We dont end up in the lottery 2. Financial considerations need to be resolved ( From what I know we have 3 Exceptions- Moochie trade, our MLE and Smaller TE for the DA trade) 4. We can't do much about our PF positions- J Ho is untradeable ( because of Contract and his speed) and Stro is not going to be traded unless it upgrades our PF prowess. 5. Trades were not considered The best we can do is to address our shooting. Here is who i would consider for the MLE 1. Bonzi Wells ( understand he might have baggage) 2. Matt Harpring For lesser money ( Pick one of the 3) 1. Kareem Rush 2. Der Marr Johnson 3. JR Smith An offensive minded SF ( who is a tweener) Pick one of the (3) 1. Jumain Jones 2. Rasual Butler 3. Linto Johnson Point Guard ( back up or will compete with Rafer) 1. Sam Casell 2. Speedy Claxton Speedy would be the better PG- but Sam has the heart. I am assuming Bobby is not going to come back and we may get a medical exception. I basically am talking only of deals that are doable- sure mickael pietrus would be great, but that would mean a trade! Al Harrington would be nice but we cant pay him!!!! I am assuming we will pick a SG with our Draft Pick.
I think matt harpring wouldbe sweet. He would fit us well if he is healthy. Is he a restriced free agent or unrestricted. We really need a 2/3 guard most, but if cassell wants to take the lle than i would be more than happy with adding harpring and cassell , that would be a big boost.
It doesn't matter if we make the playoffs or not, we still have these holes to fill. Unfortunately, the FA class isn't that great this year. I like Bonzi, Harpring or Speedy. I think I'd probably target Bonzi, though. I don't know about any "problems", but he is putting together a pretty decent year. The main negatvie to him is that he's never been a good 3 point shooter. Wheras Jason Terry is shooting 44% from 3 this year. But he really can only play point at that size, and I'd be a little suprised if Dallas let him get away. James Posey would be okay, but at the full MLE...I dont' know. He does a lot of little things that don't necessarily show up in the stats, but he just doesn't produce enough for the full MLE. And then there's Flip Murray. But for all the "praise" he gets as a scorer, he really is not a good shooter either. What about Radman? He's got size, can play the SF, can shoot (he's been shooting almost 50% on 3s since joining the Clippers this year). Again, full MLE...questionable, but maybe. As you mentioned Al Harrington would just be too expensive short of a sign and trade.
If Cassell is willing to sign here for reduced $, there is no chance in hell you pass up that chance. He'd solve our backup PG situation. He adds heart. He adds a 3rd scoring option. He'd be a hometown favorite. It is a no-brainer if you can sign Cassell for any reasonable amount of $ for 1-2 years.
Casell is on the record conveying he wanted to play two more years and would love to play for the Rockets. Clippers are reserving the MLE for Radman. Will JVG agree?
If Posey can sign here, that'd be cool. I'm sure he still has a house in Houston. I didn't realize he would be a free agent. Hopefully Miami won't overpay him. Granted, he's no newbie any more. But he's tall and athletic and plays D and has a decent 3 point shot. And we need to upgrade at the 2/3 spot(s).
Alston hasn't proved himself that he is the starting playmaker Point Guard. Too often I see him looking for his own shot rather than setting up for a pass to an open shooter and he dribbles too much. We must do something about the Power Forward position Howard & Swift have too many deficiencies. Howard can be traded in a package deal, just like he was traded to the Rockets. Tracy McGrady as much as i love his play might possibly have to be moved in the off season depending on his progress during the remaining games . His back could become a serious liability and the Rockets might be forced to move him. I hope not though. Sharp shooters and defencive stoppers are needed from the off season.
Mid-Level Exception. It's an exception that you can use to sign someone even if you are over the salary cap. It's worth about $5 million, can be split between more than one player, and is avaliable to any team that isn't too far underneath the cap already.
But JHo is cuttable though, and if he is on the Rockets next year and plays a significant role, the Rockets will continue to be a nice team with no hopes of reaching the west finals. If Juwan is on the roster next year, then it's quite evident that Rockets management isn't smart enough to know what kind of players it takes to win championships. Juwan only holds the Rockets back. That's why the Rockets have to cut him in the offseason because he would be addition by subtraction. I'd rather pay him 6 million a year NOT TO PLAY!
What team are you watching? Rafer probably doesn't shoot enough. And excessive dribbling isn't always bad...ask Steve Nash. Though sometimes it can be (see Steve Francis), and with Rafer it can be hit or miss.
The fact that we're pretty close to luxury-tax territory means it's not going to happen. Howard's contract doesn't come off the books until 2009. I highly doubt Les is going to have someone count against the cap for that long, AND have to pay another player to come play for us. As good Hayes has been for us, he's still an off-the-bench guy. Swift (despite his good play of late) is still inconsistent and rather injury prone. Moreover, neither of them really has anything resembling a reliable jumpshot. EDIT: Despite the weaknesses at our power forward spot, it's pretty solid compared to our backcourt. What has been our achilles' heel this entire year? EVERY GAME THIS SEASON, we've complained about either our perimeter defense or our outside shooting. Those problems need to be addressed first in my humble opinion.
I hate dreamcasting - but I'd do Garnett for Tracy right now if I could. Twin Towers redux - surround them with three guys who can bring the ball up and shoot from outside. Sure - it's bucking the trend, but I think the monster frontcourt would more than compensate for the rule changes.
