With McGrady's ego? I have no idea. If he comes back at 100% (not likely), then probably $12M+ per season. If he comes back at 70% (possible), then probably $8-9M per season. If he is a shell of his former self or just otherwise broken down, I think they probably let him go. He's no Jeff Bagwell, where his team would continue to pay him big money because he's so beloved. Heck, I could just as easily see him come back at 70%, play "not horribly" at the end of the year, then leave next summer when contract negotiations break down after Daryl Morey "insults" him with an offer that reflects his true market value. Still, a 70% McGrady will be better than anything else the Rockets could get.
Good thread. I've said long time ago, even if Rockets have cap space, they won't get any elite player. Those guys will be kept by their current teams at all cost. Now it's just a choice between let Tmac go for nothing after next season or trade Tmac next season to get some good players in return, when other teams might be interest in cap space. The 2nd choice might make Les pay luxury tax. However, if owner is commited to championship, pay luxury tax might be necessary. Lakers are so talented but the payroll on that team is high. The Suns had talent, but they are no longer contender because owner wants to save money.
exactly, it's win-win for Rockets and Yao. hope Yao is smart enough to see that and demand a trade if Les doesn't want to. being realistic Yao, there's no hope for you to win Champion in H-Town.
Are we even financially capable of signing a decent FA next year like a Mike Bibby? I think we will definitely re-sign Artest because since T-Mac will be out for the start of the regular season, quite frankly we don't have a choice. We are at the mercy of Artest and his agent, so hopefully we can get a discount out of him. As for Von Wafer, he and his pathetic mo-hawk can GTFO. We don't need his selfish ego on the team, and he's completely replaceable. If we're able to get Bibby, we can package Brooks and fillers to get a backup SG to help out Artest while T-Mac is recovering. Deke is permanently gone, so we have no choice but to sign a competent backup C. We might have to resort to finding D-league level talent or buying a pick. Has to be done regardless because we know Yao won't play 82 games. We should be fortunate he played 77 for us this year.
The Rockets have the full MLE to use this summer if they so choose. However, since re-signing Artest will put the Rockets into luxury tax territory, anyone the Rockets sign with the MLE will cost them double. Also keep in mind that, since the Rockets only signed Wafer to a one-year deal last year, the team will need to use the MLE to re-sign Von to anything more than the league minimum. I just don't see the Rockets targeting anyone with the MLE this summer, unless it would be an absolute steal. Les Alexander is going to have to pony up BIG TIME this summer as it is, so spending even more money on top of that is not a given. Mike Bibby could probably be get-able with the full MLE if Atlanta doesn't view him as a building block for the future. However, I don't think the Rockets would view Bibby as worth that sort of commitment, especially given Bibby's age and the fact that the team has two quality young PGs would are almost as good as Bibby. A backup C should be a priority, but the team will likely try to address it by signing a veteran for the minimum. Someone like a Chris Mihm or a DJ Mbenga comes to mind. Not necessarily those guys. Just someone like them. [As an aside, does anyone know the long-term health status of Raef LaFrentz? If he is capable of playing next season and is willing to play for the minimum (after just coming off that ridiculous long-term deal), he would be an ideal backup C for the Rockets. Just a thought. Probably not a realistic one, though.]
Did anyone really believe that any of the big names were coming to Houston anyway? Get a PG this summer, Morey. Let Brooks go, keep Lowry as a backup. Grab a backup C and a athlete with some size at SF/SG and it's go time.
After everything that happened this year I don't see him signing with us again. that said, if he can pull it together by Feb., and we make a serious playoff run next year then it could change things. Otherwise, we offer Ron a one year contract, and see what happens at the end of the season. Yao is in what I consider his best playoff window. If next year doesn't pan out then maybe we attempt a trade to set us up for the future. I don't believe it will happen since Yao is a cash cow for the franchise but who knows.
agreed. but that's a tall order for morey. also, if we have to wait for mcgrady until allstar break, it's even more difficult with only the exceptions to work with.
I would rather call your hopes of getting any production out of Tracy McGrady as a Rocket wishful thinking. From everything I have read and heard, which granted isn't much but nevertheless consistent, Tracy will not play another game in a Rockets uniform. For better or worse. As a fan I've washed my hands of him and just don't want to hear another word about him until the day that he is traded. That's where I stand.
Why? Because it would be nice to finally have a starting PG that A) can consistently shoot threes with accuracy and B) isn't a midget SG in disguise. Oh, and he knows Adelman and his system and his IQ and decision-making is much better than our current starter. He's in his lower 30's, so he still has plenty of game left. I'm going to have to say no thanks to LaFrentz or any player of his style. I want to find someone who can remotely resemble Mutombo. We need toughness, strength, size, and someone who can rebound and play defense. We don't need points from him because we have two PFs that can score and Yao will be playing most of the minutes anyway. Players that came to mind from scanning the free agent list were Birdman, Pachulia, Nesterovic, and Ely.
You may be right about McGrady, but there is NO WAY that Artest accepts a one-year deal. Not after the year he's had. Face it. The Rockets will not be players in 2010 free agency. It's just not in the cards.
Where were the Lakers before they stole Gasol for an expiring contract? Not to mention that we stole Scola and Artest in the same way. The draft is a crap shoot, and you almost always overpay in free agency. You need to steal talent. To me, Baron Davis is the guy you could steal right now.
Yeah, the diva factor will come into play here. I'm not sure he has the team's best interests in mind, even if he thinks being with the Rockets is better for the team.
Here's my opinion of the team at the current state. This team is ALREADY a Championship quality team. Don't let the wins by the Lakers fool you because those games are pretty close and could have shifted either way...some turnovers here and there and ball bouncing to Lakers result in 2nd chance shots..these are the things you can control. It wasn't like the Rockets get dominated. In my opinion, this team's roster had the make-up of the ingredients necessary to win Championship such as being mentally tough, hustling, IQ, chemistry and bonding, leadership, poise, ect., you name it. And I do not think Tmac fit this team because of the ingredients i mentioned above. So there are two things to make this work: 1. Tmac HAS to come off the bench or play as PG (which would not happen because we have Lowry and Brooks. But i can see him play that at crunch time). He can't be a starter!! There are just too many side-effects when he's starter (from taking the bulk of the shots at a inconsistent rate and contributing to bad team defense due to bad footwork). 2. If he's not happy about that...then trade him. So what if we have to take back bad contracts...BUT at least we get some good players in return who can actually make the team stronger than with Tmac. Can we package Tmac + Brooks for Steve Nash??
