Miller? Love him. But with TMAC, Battier, Wafer, Barry already sharing minutes, why invest in an $ 8 million bench player? Needs people. Starting PG. Not another SG or SF.
I say go for Miller is they throw a 1st round pick in there. Miller has an accurate 3pt shot that would benifit this team.
And who's going to trade one? Paul, Rose, and Williams are untouchable. I would be surprised if Toronto wanted to move Calderon when they have no real back up for him and he's such a major part of their team. We aren't trading with Dallas or San Antonio. Baron Davis makes way too much and is as much cancer as he is a help. Rondo isn't getting moved. Duhon isn't getting moved, and looks better than he is partly because of D'Antoni's system. Billups isn't getting traded again, Denver loves him. Leaves you with Harris, Miller, Felton, Watson, Ridnour, Nelson, et al - none of which qualify as an All Star, let alone more than a minor upgrade over Alston/Brooks. And as far as young, good back up centers - how many of those are out there that aren't scrubs? Evan
You're making a lot of assumptions here. First, as Clutch implied, he must have done something to rile up the Rockets to consider trading him (if in fact they are even doing such a thing). Also, even if he did not piss off management, I dont think at least exploring him as a trade is committing a sin. Remember, heart or no heart, he's a free agent at the end of the year. And with him in the lineup, we have not yet showed the chemistry that we had hoped. And 42 games are in the book. I love his toughness as much as the next guy, but if we were to get a starting PG out of this, then I'd be all for it.
The more I think of it, the more I think our best bet would be a deal for T. Prince for Artest and Luther. The money matches up pretty well, and I like the dynamics of the trade for both teams. By the way, I would rather not move Artest at all, but if we did, this would seem like the best case scenerio for us.
When it comes to end of a close game, McGrady must be on the court, and he must be the alternative of Yao, simple. We still have Tracy and he's better than Ron. Have people thought that maybe in some moments Artest's presence has bothered McGrady? Because it does. We do not need a player who threatens the role of another star, that's the last thing we need. And I don't think we need a go-to-guy off the bench. We're playing now at a very high level with Yao as our only go-to-guy, players have the sense of being part of a TEAM more than ever, they are having fun on the court and playing GOOD BASKETBALL with great confidence. Is this possible with Artest playing his own basketball? This is only my opinion of why I would trust in the rumor, and why I prefer a Miker Miller over a Ron Artest. Sorry for the english.
If you give up on retaining Ron so soon, good luck trying to slow down Lebron if you happen to meet him in any of the next ten years he likely gets to the Finals. At the very least, keep him and drive up the price the Lakers would have to pay for him in a bidding war.
I am traveling today, so this will seem a bit like a hit and run (Probably something I should do more often), but I keep reading how important Ron Artest is to this team advancing in the playoffs, and I just don't agree. Sure, he is tough, but it is not the physical toughness of Ron that will get this team through multiple playoff rounds. It is the MENTAL toughness of the entire team, and more importantly Yao and Tmac. Ron is a good player, but let's not kid ourselves, he is NOT a perfect fit for a Yao centric team, and he is arguably redundant in that his skill set is covered by 4 other players at the same position. Don't get me wrong, he is better at some things than each of the others, outside of Tmac, but he has just as many warts. If it is mental toughness you need, then I would argue a guy that Ron Artest is not that guy, he is more looney than Daffy Duck. I believe firmly that had Yao not gone down last year the team would have gotten at least to the WC finals, AS ASSEMBLED......and since we have hitched our wagons to Yao and Tmac you have to ride them out, and try to surround them with complimentary pieces. Ron is a square peg in a round hole. Here are my thoughts on his game. 1. Ron is an elite individual defender - so is Tmac when motivated. 2. Ron is a good team defender - Battier is better 3. Ron is a good driver of the ball - Tmac is better 4. Ron is a good jump shooter - Barry and Wafer are better 5. Ron bogarts his way to the hole - Wafer and Tmac get there too, but in a different manner. Everything that Ron does, we already have players that do the same at an equal or better clip. And, he needs the ball in his hands to succeed, well so does Tmac and Yao. I am sorry, I have been saying that he doesn't fit before we got him....and that we should only get him for free....well we did....basically.....but now you have to treat him like an asset.....if you can get a different complimentary piece in a position of weakness for him, you do it. A better PG, or an athletic PF with range....because those pieces are more needed than what Ron brings. Sometimes, all you need to succeed is patience and trust, IF Tmac is healthy, then I say we ride the Tmac & Yao train as far as it will take us.....and trading an expiring Ron Artest for a complimentary piece that BETTER fits that team is not only smart, it is the RIGHT thing to do. Don't buy in for a second to the "We need Ron" mentality, we don't. We need Yao and Tmac to be healhty and for them to trust their teamates. Trade Ron or keep him, he will not be the deciding factor as to whether this team succeeds....never was, never will be. DD
Two D's I have to disagree. My two examples are where Ron almost singlehandlely stop the 22 game win streak before Novak bail us out. Second example was when Ron did the same thing as a Rocket bogarding his way to the bucket for a layup, jumper, or foul. There are very few players in the league who deliver like that. I have more faith with Ron on the free throw line than Wafer or Tmac.
DD, I enjoyed your post a lot. However, are you trying to say that pretty much everything Morey has done to this team are all failure? He got a lot of credits from the fans for SF3 and Ron trade, however these trade all has gone south.
artest+rafer+luther/dorsey for B.Davis(crazy playoff intensity/insane starting 5 B.Diddy/A.B T-mac/V.W. head Batman/b.b. gun caveman/Mandry dorsey The Wall/Chucky/ Deke i seriously doubt the money matches up, or that they would want artest when they have thornton, but baron excites me
Ron will be traded ONLY IF we can get someone better for the team. For that reason, I am OK to trade him.
so why would you be worried about Ron shutting down Lebron in the finals even 6-7 years from now? your words dude.
