hmmmmmmmmmm, Kobe? Ray Allen? LOL, I like your optimism. Silly me, I was going to settle for Bruce Bowen.
wow thanks for your reports rocket!!! i don't know, maybe it's just me but eversince we stole griffin from last year's draft, he's been my most favorite rocket player. there's just that sense that 'man...just you wait....he'll be a great player' aura around him. do you think we are going to make any SERIOUS runs at a FA? i think Rudy or someone mentioned using the Mid-level exception on a veteran. any thoughts?
ROCKET!!!, perhaps you are serious? Houston trades: SG Cuttino Mobley (21.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg in 42.1 minutes) SG Maurice Taylor (21.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg in 42.1 minutes) PF Kenny Thomas (14.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.9 apg in 34.5 minutes) Houston receives: SG Ray Allen (21.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.9 apg in 36.6 minutes) Change in team outlook: -14.0 ppg, -6.7 rpg, and -0.5 apg. Milwaukee trades: SG Ray Allen (21.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.9 apg in 36.6 minutes) Milwaukee receives: SG Cuttino Mobley (21.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg in 74 games) SG Maurice Taylor (21.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg in 74 games) PF Kenny Thomas (14.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.9 apg in 72 games) Change in team outlook: +14.0 ppg, +6.7 rpg, and +0.5 apg. TRADE ACCEPTED Francis, Allen, Rice/Nachbar, Griffin, and Cato/Ming. Not bad. I agree with you, let's get Ray Allen.
tbagain, Umm, okay, but that still does not fix the 2 situation and it leaves you with only one 4 on the roster for roughly the same point production. Remember, the goal is two deep at every position.
Rocket!!!, how come you havent spilled the beans about the trades that could have happened? I find it interesting that you nor any other insiders have done this yet. Why no tell?
LOL, wait a minute. You joke around with me and mention Ray Allen, and I joke back- and you issue the dreaded "umm"? Now, let's get serious here. Michael Redd Bruce Bowen Ricky Davis Are these three targets, or is it too early to talk about this sort of thing? Thanks in advance.
Hey ROCKET!!!, As always a pleasure reading your threads/posts. This may have been asked earlier, but do you know if the Rockets are gonna try and trade Kenny for a back-up SG and maybe a future draft pick? I agree with you that Oscar may not be the answer, and I don't want to see Francis burn himself out playing 40+ minutes at 2 different positions. Any perspective you have on KT's future with the Rockets is greatly appreciated by me.
When you think about Redd and others who struggle for a while and then come into their own then we ought to be patient with Torres. This is not a merry go round or a revolving door. Torres played alot over the whole year, not just the NBA season, plus he had to adjust to the NBA, just like Nachbar will have to do. I believe CD has done a magnificent job and everything has to be kept in perspective. Last year, there was talk about Langhi backing up Mobley, then by the end of the summer Torres was brought in by CD who said that the team did not have a back up for Mobes. Torres performance was inconsistent however I do remember that a lot of posters thought that we were going to have difficulty keeping him this off season. In the draft our biggest need according to many was C and SF, with no mention of OG. Now we have addressed that then we are looking at OG. I trust CD is not losing sleep over this. Right now the team can play Mobes, Wink, Maddox, Torres, and Rice at the OG spot. I believe Torres is more than an adequate backup to Mobes and if Mobes goes down, Torres, Wink and Rice can man the position. Just like Cato we do not want to give up on Torres and then have him turn into a real gem. Talking about Cato, someone earlier spoke about not having Cato as a backup. Are you kidding me? NJ went to the final with Todd Mac. Have you seen the number of teams looking for a center? Brace yourself for the kind of attention James is going to get this off season. What would you say if Ming goes down? You would thing that we have learnt to respect and prepare for injuries. Also, before this draft we trying to get to the playoffs, now we trying to top the west. That means you have to deal with the bully. Finally, Rudy should feel like a kid in a candy store. No more excuses. You have the talent now to run whatever offense you want to run. I expect to see you more like Phil Jackson this year, sit down and let it flow. It is not like you have Langhi our there anymore.
I liked the draft. Not the Ray Allen trade. Give up three very good players to get another good player. I'm glad to have worked on some of our voids. Hopefully these one of the three of our rooks will turn out great. Their first year should be tough though. They will all be expected to produce right away.
It seems in this day and age you have to, more closely, trade salary for salary and come as close as you can on the talent equation. And I'd say that Ray Allen is a great player-- not just a good player.
I don't think I've ever seen a thread where the thank you-to-information ratio was so high. I'd also like to thank LHutz for his efforts, too. He's so underrated as an In-cider. Major props to Miss Cleo as well. Without her, I never would've known what I ate last night.
To all, Thank you back! DOD, Yea, it is getting a little mushy in here. I think I'm gonna puke!!! Everybody, I want to make this very clear..... at no time did I say we were trading for Ray Allen tbagain asked me who I liked...so I told him. If for a second if I though we were getting our hands on this guy.... 1. I would not release it until it was a done deal. 2. I would be concerned about jinxing the deal. Sometimes secrets are a good thing. A deal like that might keep Stevie from resigning. 3. I would be more excited than you guys. Ray Allen would mean certain finals appearances for us. All that being said: How about Rice/KT/ and picks for Allen.
Well I am not going down that road. I happen to think that CD should be in the islands chilling at this time because his job is done. Rocket!!!, I have been calling for a long rotation this year and when you say two deep then we seem to be on the same page. However, would it be rediculous if I suggest that no player should average, as an objective, more than 30 minutes per game and at this point that should only be Francis and Mobley. I would even like a 12 man rotation which would allow us to seriously up the defensive pressure. Is that too much to ask for?
ROCKET!!!, Doc Rocket mentioned that KT would not be traded, for reasons he couldn't divulge. Of course that may no longer be true, but, in any case: What happens to KT? What happens to the Moocher? (As far as you have heard.)
Dear Rock, No, that is not too much to ask. Personally, I agree. We have been burned by the injury bug for what...five consecutive years now. That is why I believe we have one more move left before the battle begins. This move may be as simple as bringing in a new guy or a FA or more complicated as a trade. Manny, Something has to give with the KT situation. Mo and Griffin are not going anywhere. We must resign him THIS year or we loose him. A third 4 is great, but usually not of starting caliber. I know what I think is going to happen. A lot of teams want this guy. We shall see. It is great to be back on the top of the heap again controlling our own destiny. Think about this... We are basically a 50 win team that has added a center, a gazelle SF, a back-up SF and PG and a Kevin Garnett talent in one year. I can not think of one other team that has ever had that kind of talent turn in such a short span. Even the Spurs with the addition of Duncan didn't add as many high caliber players. Sorry for digressing, every time I think about where we were and where we are it just blows my mind how fortunate we are. You know CD and T really know what they are doing. As fans you can question some of the moves, but you really have to be grateful. Without question, we have two of the very best in the business.
ROXTXIA, Good to see you! Mochie is not going anywhere for the time being unless something tremendous comes our way...see above regarding Mochie. Doc may be right about KT, but how are we going to find pt for Mo/Griffin/KT. I don't see it. Capwise KT is going to be a hit for us. He is no longer going to be happy with $1mil. He certainly is playing better than a $1 mil player. I would want more if I was him.
Rocket!!!, I was thinking, re KT, that we would wait the year and see how MoT does. Are you saying that KT is not going to be better that a healthy MoT. If he is then, MoT might be the one to move after he proves he is healthy. I believe both may have trade value(high league interest) at the end of the year.
Thanks guy. I have really enjoyed your optimism in this thread. The only negative I see for this team is Steve Francis' ego. He seems to demand to be the focal point of the team, even at the expense of the team's success. Is his friendship with Cat, Moochie, and Walt more important than winning a championship? I get the feeling this may be the case. Am I totally off base with my feelings about this matter? I hope that I am 100% wrong.
