Ok, just out of curiosity. Can somebody explain to me how a team with no cap space (i.e the Rockets) are going to trade for a resigned BYC player like Jermaine O'Neil? The way I see it we'd have to : 1) Have $4.5M to $5M in cap space - obviously we don't. 2) Include a 3rd team with that much cap space - No mention of a third team so far in the thread. Also, with such a strong FA crop, why would a team waste their cap space on helping us acquire O'Neil instead of signing a player outright? 3) Increase the total salaries we are receiving/sending up to around $30M. That would enable us to cover the $4M to $5M of O'Neil's BYC amount with the 15% difference that is allowed on all trades. Of course, $30M is a whole lot of salary, which makes that scenario doubtful. To me, it doesn't seem too promising that we could make a deal like the one described work under the cap.
Now , here is the guy that really make sense. Why in a world you would like a 6'10 or maybe 6'11 by the time seasons start will play SF. He just simply suck!!
Wow, getting O'Neal on this team would be awesome, and by awesome I mean totally sweet. I'd rather give up Griffin instead of Taylor, though.
Well, here's the only possibility I see. BYC only kicks in when the new deal starts at more than 120% higher of the old deal. According to hoopshype's numbers, O'Neill made 6.9 mill last year- would he accept a starting salary at 8.28 million in order to make it work? Perhaps an opt out after 3 years-like Duncan has after 4(?) years- in order to rework his deal based on the Rockets having his Bird Rights yet protecting him against some Grant Hill like travesty? BTW, for those mentioning the frontline depth (or lack thereof) my guess is Indiana would throw in Austin Croshere- a guy Rudy (who's still part of management) has always liked, has a contract Indiana doesn't want (similar to MoT's in value), and provides versatility at the 3/4 and a little 5 with toughness and shooting JVG would like. I do like that JVG is planning to do things with Griffin, no matter the position.
Nike, Here's the verbage from the NBA CBA regarding player options: <i>Section 2.Player Options. A Player Contract shall not contain any option in favor of the player, except: (a) an Option that: (i) is specifically negotiated between a Veteran or a Rookie (other than a First Round Pick) and a Team; (ii) authorizes the extension of such Contract for no more than one (1) year beyond the stated term; (iii) is exercisable only once; and (iv) provides that the Salary payable with respect to the option year is no less than 100% of the Salary payable with respect to the last year of the stated term of such Contract and that all other non-monetary terms applicable in the last year of the stated term of such Contract shall be applicable in the option year; and/or (b) an Early Termination Option (or "ETO") (as defined in Article I, Section 1(r)), <b>provided that such ETO is exercisable only once and takes effect no earlier than the end of the fifth Season of the Contract.</b> A Contract that does not provide for an ETO when signed may not be amended to provide for an ETO during the original term of the Contract. A Team and a player may enter into an Extension that contains an ETO, provided that such ETO takes effect no earlier than the fifth Season following (i) the Season during which the Extension is signed, or (ii) if the Extension is signed between Seasons, the date on which the Extension is signed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an ETO contained in an Extension of a Rookie Scale Contract may take effect no earlier than the end of the fifth season of the extended term of the Contract. A Contract (including an Extension) that contains an ETO must specify either the Effective Season of the ETO or that the Effective Season is contingent; provided, however, that the only allowable contingency shall be whether the player or Team meets performance benchmarks designated at the time the Contract is signed </i> Notice that a player option can't be before the 5th year. No way O'Neil give up that much money for 5 years. He'd be better off just signing a 2 yr MCE deal instead. I still don't see any realistic way that O'Neil ends up in Houston.
As appealing as Jermaine O'Neal is, I think Elton Brand would be a better addition. Brand doesn't need shots to score, he gets his points off misses and offensive rebounds. Brand would compliment Yao very well in the low post, and Brand is a great rebounder, something this team sorely lacks. I think it would be much easier to obtain Brand than it would be to gut the entire team to get Jermaine O'Neal. Not to mention that Brand is only 24 or 25, so he is still pretty young as well. O'Neal would be a great addition to the Rockets, with a front court of Yao, JO, Griffin, or Boki, that would be quite imposing to other teams. I'm glad the coaching search is over as I stayed away from CC.net during the search. The main thinkg I'm concerned with is the personnel on the court. The Rockets need to make moves to acquire the type of players who have heart and will actually listen to the coach when they call a play. Hopefully a move or moves will be made to acquire such talent to improve the Rockets next season.
nobody mention Duncan, how about making a new TwinTowel ? how cool it will be, how many rings they will get ? it will makes a history ..Duncan 27 and Yao 22 , when Duncan pass his prime and Yao will just entering his prime , Duncan will play longer like Malone the way Duncan plays, he place PF and more Jump shots, they don't really need the best PG.. they both can dim to each other.. and other team need to double team both on both side. so that will leave other three shooters out there for open shoot btw, eventhought Spurs has Kidd, but still not greater than larkers. sharq/kobe = Duncan/kidd ? anway.. these two teams will be on the top level.. kings and mavs will be more behide than this year once these two teams upgraded well.. just some unrealistic talk, it's the boring time, no game and still waiting for the FA market open
hey what about this norris/ the guy from france??? 2nd round pick Francis/posey posey/bokie oneal/griffin yao/oneal/collier Bench: the intangibles who gives a **** most of the people play the whole game anyways.
while it would be pretty hard to submarine a team with steve, yao, and jermaine, i'm quite confident moochie could do it. so you better have a better pg plan than mooch as the starter.
Brand would be better, hes a better fit, because JVG intends to basically give yao his 30 touches per game, Brand can scap for his pts, and i think is a better shot blocker than oneil. He could follow up on yaos shots while everyone focuses on him
I don't care what anyone brings up , if it doesn't include Francis, Indy doesn't do it!Ming would be enough for the Rox brass to back off, but i think they would be willing enough to give up Francis. Francis is good, but he's not a special talent in this league. veryone speculates about O'Neal making the all star game in the east, but if francis was in the east, would h make all star before Kidd,McGrady,Pierce, Davis and Iverson? Probably not, but that doesn't discount the fact that he's good. In the est how good is the question.
are we talking about baron davis? i helped bring down the US team and came into camp fat baron davis? i didn't even beat cuttino in votes baron davis? steve makes it over baron. and he makes it in the east.
You guys keep mentioning having Dream, Drexler and Barkley, but all of those guys were past their prime. O'Neal, Francis and Yao are not yet in their prime. Think of how good that team would be in 3 years!!!
I can't believe this thread lasted 5 pages! The only way the Pacers are trading O'Neal is for another Star player(ie: Yao or Steve).Anyways I read somewhere that O'Neal's #1 priority this summer was to resign with the Pacers. So no deal!!! ALA (I love being the Party pooper!)
First of all, we've established that O'Neal can go where he wants to go. Why wouldn't Indiana let him walk? Because they're over the cap regardless of whether they sign O'Neal or not. They have Brad Miller, Reggie Miller to sign, they have big contracts in Mercer, Artest, and Austin Croshere. These guys would rather be a bit more over the cap and have someone (ANYONE) to play PF, as well as get a good C, eliminating the need to re-sign Brad Miller. Who knows, it may mean they'll trade Foster, Croshere and Bender in a package deal, because they'd be available. However, aelliott makes a good point. If we make this trade, we wouldn't have anything enticing to offer a 3rd team. OR WOULD WE? If the deal is actually Cato/MoT/Mobley, and we're getting O'Neal, then we have Griffin to give up. I'm sure a team with capspace (meaning rebuilding) would love to get in on this deal and grab Eddie Griffin in exchange for some depth players. Is Miami under the cap at all? If Howard walks, Denver would be interested, since Nene played mainly at C last year. Who else has capspace? However, when you look at it again, you're giving up MoT, Cato, Mobley and Griffin. The 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th best players on our team. Are we willing to do that? I would if we got Croshere and (FOR EXAMPLE) Rodney White in the deal. I agree, it sounds too good to b true. But history shows that, everytime a star wants to leave his team, this is what the compensation usually looks like (see Pippen trade). I'd prefer Brand too, but if I have to wait A YEAR to get a CHANCE at Brand, then I'd rather go for this one now. I don't think I can say no to a deal that would bring us O'Neal and keep Francis and Ming. Even if the supporting cast is horrid, it WILL get us into the playoffs, and the following year, we can add the one or 2 missing pieces to go to the Western Finals AT LEAST.