IIRC James was their SF and Curt Rambis was the starting PF. Rashard Lewis is a SF and always has been, he is not going to fill in the PF position because he plays soft and the west PF's will push him all over the place. He may very well be a third scoring option, but it will be from Shane's SF spot not the PF spot. Not sure he wants to be 3rd option either. Why would he come here to get pushed into a position he doesn't play, take less money and see his stats get cut in two. Doesn't make sense to me.
Sorry - there was news last week- if the market pays Rashard 15 mil and he want 5 years-I think we need a power forward more than another 3. Those hard to get resources could be spent on a bangin' 4
"Rockets target Lewis" REALLY? He's only the best FA this offseaon. I don't think there is a one team in the NBA that wouldn't want him... LOL
Daryl Morey could be pulling wool over everyone's eyes. I think he knows that his chances of landing Rashard are minimal at best. Besides, as everyone else knows, his main (or probably actual) target is a PF. I suspect he is trying to rack up the pressure on Orlando to pay the maximum for Rashard (or give Rashard the impression that he is under so much demand, he will only go to a team that can pay him maximum which would be Orlando). The trick here is this; for Orlando to pay the maximum for Rashard, they may be unable to give Darko Milicic his own payday. If so, Orlando could then have to get rid of Darko. And he would fall into the willing laps of the Rockets. And settles our PF position. Daryl Morey could very well be playing the Art of War with everyone here.
If (and this is a big "if") Rashard threatens to leave Seattle for nothing, and Seattle does not call his bluff, would you do this trade if you were Seattle and you figure that Houston's championship window will be closing by the time Seattle's window truly opens: Rashard Lewis (S&T) FOR Luther Head Bob Sura Kirk Snyder Vassilis Spanoulis John Lucas III 2008 1st round pick (unprotected) 2010 1st round pick (lottery protected) $3 million I know it sounds ridiculous, but hear me out. This package of players, picks and cash would allow Seattle to sign Rashard to a deal in the $13M per range (someone help me out here on the math). The Sonics can waive Sura and JLIII for a combined $1.5M (which will be covered by the cash provided by the Rockets), they can allow V-Span to go back to Greece and possibly still retain his rights, and they get two first round picks. Head and Snyder give them depth in the backcourt, something the Sonics are lacking after the trade of Ray Allen. This trade would allow the Rockets to keep both Battier and Alston on the team, two valuable contributors. The Rockets could then sport a lineup of: Alston/James/Brooks T-Mac/Wells/??? Lewis/Battier/Novak (Joe Smith?)/Hayes/Landry Yao/Deke/??? I know this trade sounds ridiculous, but my question still stands: If you were Seattle and were trapped by Rashard's demands, would you take this package of players, picks and cash (while trading Rashard to a Western Conference team) rather than lose him for nothing?
Right on. This will be exactly like last year. Tried to get MJ, but couldn't because of a trade clause. Where does Rox suddenly have the money? Doesn't Lewis play SF?
It's all about winning right now, the rockets are in a good position to win now, they need only a few pieces.If rashard fails go after Darko, In Sacramento the kings wanted to get Darko real bad when adelman was in Sac, but they couldn't pull the strings to get it done.Darko's idol growing up was Vlade divac, Darko pattern his game after vlade,Darko will fit in better than lewis + darko wants to prove that he has a all around game and he could very well do this playing in Rick adleman's system.
I would think Seattle has no intention of retaining Lewis, he will replaced by the younger, cheaper, better, more marketable Kevin Durant. (the kid will be a media star and own the city of Seattle) So rule that out. I would think Seattle has no intention of losing out on the trade value of Rashard Lewis, so rule out the outright signing by Orlando. That leaves a SnT bidding war, so figure out which team had the most assets to give and you can probably figure out the eventual outcome. Rashard's agent will attempt to control the spin to jack up his total salary and the agents total percentage...so Rashard loves everyone and is a great fit for every team. GM's will try to control the spin so that whoever ends up with Rashard will take a huge cap hit and won't be able to add any additional marquee players around him anytime in the near future. Rashard Lewis cannot carry a team to a championship; he is probably no better than the third option on a real championship caliber team. This is a fun process to watch, high stakes poker; but you need to look under the the surface at the propaganda. TheBornLoser could have a future as a NBA GM
It is a complete long shot to get Lewis. While I do not feel that Lewis is the ideal fit for the Rockets, given his size, money, etc, I do believe that the Rockets have to get him. In the West, you need to acquire talent. The West is too strong, and any time you have a chance to add a superstar, you do it.
James+Hayes+pick +Possible Cash= Lewis Big splash coming to Htown! Ya'll stand by, we will be right back!
I would love to have Rashard, it may be a long shot but I can't understand why people are against him. Look at these teams in the west, you have to have at least 3 very good players and mutiple guys to score. Look at Phoenix with Nash, Barbosa, Stoudemire, Marion, Diaw. Dallas with Terry, Howard, Dirk, Stackhouse. San Antonio with Duncan, Parker, Ginobili. Utah with Deron, Boozer, Okur. Now look at Portland with Oden, Aldridge, Roy. Seattle now with Durant and Green. Denver, Golden State. All of these teams are loaded, you have to be in the west. We have to get another near superstar and Lewis is perfect. Tmac and Rashard at 6'9'' and 6'10'' at the 2 and 3, with Yao Ming at center, Bonzi Wells and Mike James off the bench and a couple decent PFs with the split MLE. Bonzi, McGrady, Yao and Rashard are 4 matchup nightmares for opponents. Thats pretty damn good.
