The only downside to the Rice trade

AGREED! Bull was an institution. He will be missed.

(Post Bull flyers here)


((Hate to say this, but he is the second coming of Scott Brooks))

 

I couldn't agree with you more, kidrock8 (and to be honest, I don't usually agree with you ). Bullard was my favorite Rocket. He never complained, and did his job to the best of his ability. He played for the Rockets for as long as they would pay him, and provided leadership and comradery in the lockerroom. I will sorely miss seeing the one or two slam dunks he gets every year, each of which I celebrate with a little dance .

Maybe I will step up my efforts to get a Matt Bullard jersey, since he might be leaving.

 

Does anyone think Fatty Fatbastard would look really tender in another coat of crisco. First Grffin,,,,now Rice....we have been double fried!!!

 

There is atleast one other downside. Since the draft CD has been chanting We Only Have Enough Money For Our Own Free Agents. Sorry Dream WOHEMFOOFA . Sorry Marc WOHEMFOOFA . I have this image in my mind of CD running around his office, like "Rain Man" screaming WOHEMFOOFA , WOHEMFOOFA , WOHEMFOOFA. We sign Mo T and then when it comes to the rest of our free agents Fa get about it.. Certainly a loss of credibility is a downside. The reward for loyalty in waiting for the Rocks, Mooch and Bull Fa get about it.. Something for Stevie to think about, could be the biggest downside.

 

CD tried to get everybody signed. I think he made all reasonable attempts. But everybody knows that you can't tie your hands either...aka CATO and worse Matt Maloney -- both of which are still costing us.

I'm glad he wised up and let SA go. Not worth 42 mil.

Everybody says, well the Rice deal was too big. But its only 3 years. Barring an injury, we know he has a big upside. He can contribute for 2 years easy and then you've only got 1 season left.

But Steve will be signed for as close to the max as we can afford. That is a given, I would imagine.

-krosfyah

 

The point I was trying to make was about Integrity and Loyalty. The Rocks told Bull they can't gaurantee him a spot on the roster, even if he signed for the Vet Minimum. To me, that is a load.
It isn't about what SA is worth. It's about being misled and then dumped.
SA was as good as gone for a number of reasons.
The Nicks get SA and Eisley for Rice and Mugsie. We lose Dream, Mooch and Bull, (SA was gone anyway) for Rice and a second rounder. Rice ties up more cap space than Dream, Mooch and Bull would have. I'm sure RT and CD have more plans. Maybe it will be worth while. It just seems to me that a player might not be so apt to believe what they say. That's my take. Steve will get the max no matter where he is.

 

Smoke,you have made a very good point about integrity, I think CD wanted to sign all our free agents to "reasonable" contracts, and thought he wouldn't have enough money left to meet Marc Jackson's demands,but when SA wanted more money than the Rockets were willing to give him he traded him for Rice.Bullard became a casualty as a result of Rice's contract,and that does make the Rocket organization look a little hypocritical,which could harm their image of always taking care of their free agents and other players might avoid coming to play in Houston becuase of that.

 

Well, regardless of Rice's contract, I think we would've renounced Bullard anyways. Apparently, Charlotte is offering him the 4.5 million exception, and heck, Rocket or not he should take it. It's not like he's ever gotten paid a lot before, and this is a good opportunity for him to do so.

 

Bullard is a great guy,he never wanted to leave unlike Hakeem and S.Anderson,he was happy when we resigned Taylor,and proved to be a team leader and a good example for the younger players with his professionalism despite his limitations,I will miss him,and Moochie too if he leaves us.

 

I don't like this trade at all. If Rice gets hurt we are gonna suffer bad. We just didn't need Rice at this point. Why couldn't we have traded SA for Marc Jackson in a S&T (or some other big man) . That would have made ALOT more sense. I also don't like the fact of us losing Bull. We have a roster spot for Hill and not for Bull? The dude wants to stay, and what Charlette is offering is not much more.
I hope Moochie stays.

 

Hey I love the Bull too, with Bull it's not "potential" , he has already proven he can hit in the clutch.
But the business reality is Lanky SHOULD be able to do everything Bull can do and more.
And having Griffin, Mo and KT all the minutes are taken at the PF. Having Rice ,Wiz (temporarily) Tmo and Lanky all the minutes are taken at SF.
Also, I am thinking we will need a roster spot for Kyle Hill. although that may end up being Mooch's.

 

See that's a common perception, but I don't buy it. Just because they're both tall white guys doesn't mean that they play the same game. For one, Damn Lanky has never hit a 3 pointer in the NBA. Bullard is one of the top 3 point shooters in the league. Hell, he didn't even shoot 3s last year. Also it looks like Langhi may be the type of guy who thrives only when he's given alot of touches (which would explain why he excells in the RMR but shot 37% in the NBA). Meanwhile Bull loves to do the one thing that everyone else seems to hate - waiting outside the arc to hit outside jumpers. He doesn't complain about his touches or playing time. He doesn't want a bigger contract - just a roster spot.

I can't believe that the Hills and Morrises and Langhis of the world merit roster spots over Matt. And how would it hurt to leave somebody on the IR to start the season, until somebody like Cato gets hurt?

We'll miss ya Bull.

 

There is two ways to look at that, should CD tell Bull that a spot is guarenteed, then make a trade that leaves no spot and no place left for Bull to sign and then back out? To me that would be showing a lack of integrity. As close as Rudy is with Bull I am sure he hates to let him go, but has to do what is best for the team. Its easy to complain as fans and then when it turns out later its what he should have done, we can compain again.

I don't think Anderson was misled, he wanted more money then the team was willing to pay him on too long of a contract. He was offered a contract by the Rockets and chose to have Fegan look for a sign and trade to get him more money. His choice..

I will be surprised if Norris is resigned, Fegan started out with three and will get all of them away from the Rockets. In the future if you want out of Houston, just hire Fegan.

 

Please Note:

On ESPN Classics tonite -8-11-01-10:00 p.m. Standard-Game 2 of Rockets V SA 1995

 

We should have Cato hire Fegan to extend his contract, Rudy would love that.

 

I meant that Bull and maybe Mooch were misled by what the Rocks said their intentions were. Colson is a none factor. SA was as good as gone and I think the Rocks knew that going in. They might have kept 4 out of 5 FAs by renouncing SA, including Dream, if that was their intention. I don't think it was. I think they believed for quite awhile that they could get something for SA. After Webber was out of reach, Mo T became the top proirity, although they had to deal with Dream first. If they signed Dream for more than the 5 mil they offered, plus the money they promised Mo T, meant they couldn't get as much for SA in a sign and trade. The Rocks have room on the IR and have carried players there often. Saying they can't garauntee a spot is like saying look somewhere else, we don't want you. If the Rocks can sign Mooch cheaply enough, will they tell him they can't garauntee him a spot?
IMHO the Rocks have had a successful off season, if their priorities were to sign Mo T and get as much as they could for SA. It may well benefit the team. But that isn't what they claimed. It is their duplicity that bothers me. And again, maybe something for players to think about.

 

It really boggles my mind how out of whack some people's opinions of Bullard are. The guy's a great role player, but is totaly one demensional. Yet, I get the impression that if the Rockets traded Collier for Shaq, the first thing out of some peoples mouths would be "How does this affect Matt Bullard?" and if they got a less than positive answer, they'd come out against the trade. It really boggles my mind...

 

Let's not forget that Moochie wants to stay in Houston, and Stevie and Cat also want him there, too. Fegan be damned, I say.

Bull, if he does indeed sign with Charlotte, will be sorely missed. Don't forget the leadership he brought besides the obvious 3 point skillz.

In the end, Anderson DID get his payday. I doubt he's unhappy, seeing that he probably got more money than he thought he could get (albeit, from the Knicks). CD did take care of him. I think there was a level of loyalty there.