http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-22/1140592514305010.xml STILL SHOPPING: The Hornets still desire a backup post player, Scott said, although Thursday's trading deadline looms. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-060222 Marc Stein's Daily Dime....... Chris Paul and J.R. Smith are still serious buds, but they're no longer the Hornets' backcourt of the future. New Orleans/Oklahoma City is dangling Smith this week in hopes of acquiring the front-court depth it lost when its Steven Hunter trade with Philadelphia was annulled. Let's go after J.R. Smith. Forget the trade talk involving max players and let's focus on potential gold mines like this guy. 20-years-old, freaskish athleticism and a terrific scorer/outside shooter. He has the kind of size (6'6" 220 lbs) and quickness we have been sorely lacking at SG all season. He's not injured, he's ready to play. He's only being shopped because of difference with Byron Scott. In that kind of situation a change of scenery is always a good thing. A deal I threw together for fun: Howard/DA for Smith/Boki/Moochie Yes, I said Moochie (he has no trade restrictions) and yes, I said Boki. None of those guys play really or have significant roles in New Orleans. Howard and DA are the kind of efficient veterans that could come in to provide an impact as well as depth if the Hornets do intend on remaining in the playoff hunt. From a Rockets standpoint, we would likely have to include a future 1st-rounder or something similar to seal the deal. In a perfect world, maybe our early 2nd-round pick would be enough to get it done?
Tracy McGrady for Kevin Garnett? I would do that trade any day of the week... Garnett is in a whole different league than McGrady, although McGrady is said to be in the Top 5 best players in the NBA... My Best 5 in the NBA would be: #1. Kobe Bryant #2. Tim Duncan #3. LeBron James #4. Kevin Garnett #5. Allen Iverson Where McGrady falls after that is yet to be known in my book... one thing is for sure though... I'd love to get Garnett, regardless of how many years he's been in the league or how old he is... He's a Ben Wallace but with instant offense, (can shoot the 3, drive some, has some quickness to him, can rebound at the 4... etc...) and dare I say it, without any injuries known thus far!
If you want championship contention right now, you go for a Yao for KG deal. Mcgrady and KG would be much more explosive as a tandem than Yao and Tmac are. The team would instantly be faster and better defensively at the 4.
I would do that. Especially since true centers are going the way of the dodo with all the rule changes.
Doubt that they would take on Juwan Howard's contract, but I could see them biting on Swift. I know you shouldn't help division rivals, but I think this helps both teams equally well. Don't think Stromile will pan out for us. We don't run the type of offense he would thrive in. J.R. Smith would be too tempting to pass up.
I don't follow the Hornets, so I'm curious to know the circumstances regarding Smith's fall from grace. Has he just sucked? I agree, we are in desperate, desperate need of a tall, young, athletic wing. Scratch that, we are in desperate need of talent - PERIOD. Watching teams like Dallas and Detroit absolutely STACKED with young talent while we run Wesley and Howard out there for 35+/night shows just how far we have to go. Forget about the system or all of this b****ing about Van Gundy - we are in desperate need of some personnel. The whole "any team with Yao and McGrady should win period, Van Gundy sucks blah blah" argument is fallacious because it assumes that Yao is a star, dominant player, which he absolutely is not. Alston, Yao, McGrady. Blow the rest of the roster up. I would start by inquiring about Smith on the cheap...unless there's something about him I'm not aware of.
Even if CD and Les and whomever else wanted to do this, I think it's all complicated by the shadow of the Chinese government. Whether we like it or not, we had to jump through a lot of hoops for Yao Ming, and if they don't like where we send their favorite son...if they don't go for the idea...
Can we trade Swift right now? I thought there was a rule that you cant trade injured players or something.
I don't think it's that dramatic. I just don't believe they have that much say. Yao is not Wang Zhizhi, who is technically still a soldier. KG is no doubt a better overall player. But does he fit into the system? Or are we also considering trading/firing JVG?
HMMM Why would trade rumors start about Tracy around the time he's having these personal problems. What if Tracys problems are here in Houston and he has asked for a change of scenery? Certainly worth considering...
I can't honestly see Tmac wanting to get out of Houston already. If he does we need to move him quick before other teams find out and his value drops. His value is already diminished because of his back problems, and there is no chance we could get Garnett for Tmac straight up now because of it.
I'd rather trade Yao for KG than TMac. You put athletic guys like KG and Tmac on the same team and it would pretty damn fun to watch.
