The Rockets will make all their major moves before training camp. Here's why.

i wasn't trying to imply you did, but you did agree completely with a poster who was willing to just to set the roster...


I think a part of tracy wants to prove doubters wrong, hence "i'll have the last laught", so i wouldn't say it has nothing to do with it..

 

you can become an expert too, just pay attention to what THEY ARE ACTUALLY SAYING.

You can state your side of things and your own reasoning all day long, but that means squat, just like my pure reasoning and opinion means squat, which is why i try to include what the team is stating and then try to figure out where they are going with it. YOU may see tmac and see a 30 yr old injury prone wash up, but that doesn't mean that's what Morey is seeing, which is evident by his interview TODAY, i guess i'm more of an expert now cus i actually listened to it

 

yes he did, and i'll go with that timetable now since that's what he said, prior to that he had only gone with the timetable tmac mentioned...and i never wrote teams wouldn't be calling about tmac's contract, i wrote we'd getmore value if tmac came back healthy and that not a lot of teams are willing to give up big talent just for cap relief, just because a lot fo teams are calling doesn't mean the deals are good ones, which is probably why he hasn't been traded yet.

 

i still think health plays a big part in the risk teams are willing to take...sheed and shaq were both still healthy, and shaq brought in some really good talent in odom and butler...i'd be glad to get a deal like that, i'm not just saying we need one player back of equal talent, if we can get 2 solid guys back then that works as well, but when you place a cut off date to trade a currently injured player, we're more likely to get a deal like Carter's, where they get the "carter" in tmac and we get back back role guys who make a lot of money.

 

But teams are calling and I don't profess to know what deals are being offered, Im not privy to those covert GM conversations. And again if you haven't realized it, we are in one of the toughest economic slowdowns since the 1930s, teams are looking for financial relief in the worst way and I do think that teams would be willing to give up some very good talent along with a bad contract or two for that relief. Listen you can spin this thing anyway you want, but in my opinion this is the most opportune time to trade Tracy and get the most for him. If Tracy potentially comes back sometime in January, a team would look at saving anywhere between 8 to 11million dollars in salary. It's only common sense in thinking that Tracy's contract is highly coveted around the NBA. His value is at its highest now.

 

i think the thread title is a little wrong/misleading.

i think IDEALLY, the rockets would prefer to have all their significant moves made before training camp. this season is too important too go into camp with a lot of question marks.

however, that can only happen if the rockets can get good value for tracy's contract before the season starts, which is much less likely to happen than it is at the deadline when teams know where they stand competitively and from a salary/lux tax perspective.

in this case, i think the ideal case and the most likely case are not aligned.

 

the only spin im putting on this is the same one Morey is, he keeps talking about how tmac has what they need and thats why they are reluctant to trading him...like i mentioned earlier, Morey has said he doesn't just want to trade tmac and stack a certain position or bring in bodies to fill a roster, he want a player or players who fit. The best value we can get now may be good, but what if it doesn't fit? What if it doesn't make us that much better? That could possibly takes us in the wrong direction, adding talent isn't always an A+ move. I think Morey is worried we'd add solid role players, and then come playoff time (and he specifically said tmac is someone they'd need in the playoffs) we'll be in the same exact position, keeping the game close due to our great role guys, but unable to finish because we still don't have that closer or talent who can make something happen..

 

i agree 100%

 

Who here is saying Morey is going to trade T-Mac for a bunch of role players, You ask 'What if it doesn't fit', you can say that for any trade RV6. What I keep saying to nauseum is that I think an oppossing team will trade a player that is more than just a role player ie.(diffrence maker), but at the same time the rockets may have to take back an overpaid role player ie.(another GMs financial mistake) in the process.
Not to change the subject, but let me ask you in your opinion how long will it take Tracy if he comes back say in January, to mentally readjuste his game with his lack of former explosion (he won't be able to do all the things he used to do athletically) and knock off the rust from not playing competitively in almost a year? And even a better question is how many games will it take to rebuild or reastablish chemistry once he comes back or if he comes back towards the middle of the season? And how many losses in the standings will that cost the team?

 

i'm discussing this based on what the OP wrote, that being they'll trade tmac this summer just to get rid of him and set the roster...thinking that way limits your options to this summer and would force you to accept the best of those offers which could likely be a deal for role players, which is probably what Moreys been offered and why he's not likely to trade tmac yet.

when i say "doesnt fit" i mean something very obvious, like getting another PF who's not going to be able to play center or Sf as well. Let's say someone with the talent of boozer. He would be a good talent to get as far as value is concerned, but would he take us over the hump? Probably not because he doesn't fit our needs, he just reinforces one of our strengths. So while some fans may jump at an exchange like that, Morey may back off because of the fit.

I do also believe if we get offered a "star" we'd have to take on a bad contract as well, but what i'm saying is that we're likely to get the bulk of those offers later down the line, while right now we're getting mostly lower bids. Obviously i can't be sure of it, but again, if Morey is taking many calls, but isnt pulling the trigger, then i think we can assume the trades are low bids/bad fit.

As for your question, it all depends on how the team is doing. Like i mentioned in a previous post, the inconsistent play last year due to the changing lineups weren't just because of tmac, but also because of ron and shane's injuries. In feb the team had to adjust not just to Tmac leaving, but shane and ron rounding back into shape. So my point is if we have all kinds of stuff going on like that then Tmac coming back won't be what defines our season.

However, let's assume we don't have all that other stuff. I expect the team to come in and mesh right away since it's going to be pretty much the same guys from last season who finished the year very strong as far as chemistry is concerned. If tmac does come back that late, i don't think it's going to be that big of a disruption to the team, mainly because it's one player to deal with, as oppose to last season when it was 3 (tmac leaving and ron/shane coming back), and then there was the rafer trade, so they also had to deal with mixing in Lowry and adjusting to Brooks' new role. It took them under 2 months to make the major adjustments then, so i don't expect one guy to be more trouble, even if it is tmac because i expect him to have a smaller role so you're not making any drastic changes, like going from revolving the offense around yao to yao AND tmac...at least i don't expect it to be that way...i think the timeline isn't to when tmac will feel healthy, but when he will be healthy and back to playing comfortably, so when he's back i'd expect him to be ready as a ball player and just need to get ready as a part of the offense...so based on that i'd say about a month and a half to integrate Tmac into the offense comfortably

 

A month and half fully healthy is probably about right. But the big question is will he accept a less role?