According to the Toronto Star, Toronto GM Glen Grunwald is in talks with several teams about several trades, and one of them may involve Antonio Davis to the Rockets, with Eddie Griffin (and obviously something else) heading to Canada. Either way, it's interesting to see what is known about what the Rockets are looking for... Raps may look west for help GM Grunwald has intriguing trade options to ponder Stock of Bosh, Ford rise on eve of NBA draft night DOUG SMITH SPORTS REPORTER Houston wants to get bigger. Dallas wants to get stronger. Seattle wants to get older. Memphis wants to get closer to the top of the NBA draft. And Glen Grunwald? Well, he wants to do something. As Thursday's NBA draft gets closer and the disinformation campaigns being waged throughout the league reach epic proportions, Grunwald continues to actively pursue trade possibilities with his No.4 selection. And he may want to look west. "Yeah, there is some talk going on," the Raptor general manager said yesterday. "There's always a chance of doing something. How likely? I don't know right now." If there is a deal that makes sense for the Raptors, Grunwald has a couple of assets that teams would want. Antonio Davis, despite a hefty $12 million (U.S.) salary, would be a good fit in Houston, which wants a rebounder and inside presence to go along with Yao Ming and could be dangling Eddie Griffin as an enticement. And Dallas, with a soft underbelly exposed in the playoffs, has all kinds of possibilities, including forward Raef LaFrentz. The Sonics present an intriguing trade possibility because they don't want to get much younger, are committed to building around Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis and have both the 12th and 14th picks in the draft. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, don't want to remain with just the No.13 selection and general manager Jerry West has a history of pulling off draft-day deals. Stromile Swift, mostly a disappointment so far in his three-year-old career, could benefit from a change of scenery. Whether or not Grunwald has had serious discussions with any of those teams is a highly guarded state secret around the Air Canada Centre but the general manager himself admits he's talked to more than a handful of his counterparts. And Grunwald's last workout stop would reinforce the fact he's still looking to move back in the draft. "You've got to do all the homework you can do," said the general manager. But if the Raptors have to remain at No.4, there are a couple of intriguing possibilities, both of which answer needs within the roster. Georgia Tech forward Chris Bosh and Texas point guard T.J. Ford seem to have risen above the rest of the crop, according to various league sources, and are now considered the two most coveted players behind LeBron James, Darko Milicic and Carmelo Anthony. Bosh, who was a favourite of Raptor all-star Vince Carter immediately after the draft lottery, is considered the longer-term prospect of the two but the one with the largest amount of potential. A good-shooting, lanky left-hander, the 6-foot-11 Bosh may be a year or two away from contributing but the Raptors are willing to go into this season with the same squad that ended last year, although they want everyone to be healthy. Ford, meanwhile, would be the long-term replacement for incumbent point guard Alvin Williams. Ford may only be 5-foot-10 but he showed himself to be a better shooter during pre-draft workouts than his college career would indicate. But because Bosh and Ford stock has risen, it might increase the possibility of a trade. Having two distinctly different players attracting attention broadens the group of teams that might want to move up.
I wouldn't do it. Griffin has little actual and lots of potential. Davis has good actual and little potential-- his career is winding down. Keep Griffin instead.
I like Antonio Davis a lot. However he is old and has a huge contract. I don't think I would move Griffin for him. Perhaps if we were on the cusp of a championship and Davis was the "missing piece" I might make that move but we are a few years away and by the time we get there Davis will be really run down. I don't think I make that move.
Davis' numbers. 35 and $12 million+. No thanks. Obviously, Glen Rice would have be in this trade. However, Davis <i>is</i> the <b>type</b> of player I would love to bring in.
Yeah. A lot of questions about this one. No question that Davis has consistently been one of the better power forwards in the league the last 10 seasons. Problem is how old is he because that contract is pretty large for a player that may be on the downward slope. He's a good player to acquire if you're looking at a one or two year window to make a run at the championship which the Rockets obviously are not.
It's funny, but yesterday before this article, I was wondering about the supposed Sprewell to Toronto rumors---seemed odd---and then I speculated a trade involving Cat and EG plus others to Toronto, Toni Davis + #4 (and others) to NY, Spree and Kurt Thomas and #9 (and others?) to Houston. I wonder if these reports are somewhat muddled, if leaks are coming down like, "Yeah, I know they've talked to Houston, and I've heard Eddie Griffin mentioned, and Antonio Davis...." Not that I'd mind Toni Davis on the team. But if Cat and EG and whomever are the bait, then I also want that draft pick.
I've been proposing a Griff/Cato for AD/Mo Pete etc. type deal for a while, but only under the following circumstances: Either the Rockets brass decides that Griff's ceiling is lower than expected, or that his flaws are irreversable, or most likely, the decide that they can't afford the heavy pt Griff will need to fully develop at the expense of the rest of the team. If any of those are in play, then I have this take on Davis, and the trade: Davis' age shouldn't really be that much of a worry, as A) He spent his first few years playing way less gmaes/season in Europe, and B) He's in amazing shape, and will probably still be playing in 5 or 6 years a la Kevin Willis...and will likely still be performing at the top of his game for 2 or 3 more years. The money isn't an issue if we can unload a Cato or Rice in return, and Antonio Davis the player, and the person, would be exactly the type of player this team needs, Yao in particular, is a real leader/veteran presence, and is totally a JVG type of player.
I am sure that they would have to throw in the 4th pick to get us to do it. No way do we trade EG+fillers for AD straight up. I would much rather trade with Miami for BG and the 5th if they want TJ.
?!!?? EG was drafted 7th in a much weaker draft, has since failed to develop to expectations, and you figure Toronto is gonna give us the 4th this year and their 2nd best player for Griff/cap filler? Wow...
Exactly. We're not on the cusp of a championship. We're at least 2 steps removed from even contending.
..hence the cap filler, which, it is presumed, would be one of our ridiculous contracts, such as Rice or Cato...and at least Davis plays hard, plays well and, if not earning the contract, comes closer to it than Rice or Cato.
With his expiring contract, Rice is an asset. Last year, teams contacted the Spurs about Steve Smith for the exact same reason. SA wanted to keep Smith to free up the cap space for a FA this offseason. We don't have that luxury so trading Rice for a viable player is our best bet. However, we are bargaining from a position of strength, not weakness.
Rice's contract has VALUE because it expires after this year. Why would we just give that away to acquire a ridiculous contract that runs longer? Even if Antonio Davis earned just as much money as Griffin, I would not trade these two for each other straight up. Griffin has nowhere to go but up, Davis nowhere to go but down. I would not trade Cato for Davis straight up either if their salaries were similar. This just does not make ANY SENSE AT ALL. Unless you root for Toronto. It is wishful thinking by a Toronto sportswriter and that's the end of it.
this trade makes no sense on Houston's side unless the #4 pick or other cheap young talent(which Tor doesn't have) is thrown in. Davis is a good player, exactly the kind of player we need - but as others have stated, he is old(would only give what we need for maybe 2 years if werre lucky, then we'd have to rely on Mo or a crap draft pick sine we'll be capped out and won have the MCE to play with), overpaid, and often injured. Unless he gets us TJ Ford in a good deal, no thanks.
And if it's Cato? Anyways, I had preconditions to this deal, and if those are in play, I seriously think that this would be exactly the kind of deal we'd be looking at. Our current weaknesses include veteran leadership, toughness, interior defense, outside shooting, and inside scoring aside from Yao...You add AD and Mo Pete, unload Cato and deal Griff, and you've resolved those weaknesses. Mo Pete is also a good young player, albeit not as young as Griff, and without the same upside, but he's a solid shooter, plays good defense, and would also fit in well with JVG...and Davis is just what the doctor ordered up front...and unlike most guys we'd get while unloading Cato's contract, Davis can take the backup minutes at center that Cato leaves behind. I think it's a classic case of two teams with corresponding needs/strengths. Maybe it's just because I'm a fan of both teams, but thid deal has been kicking around in my head for a while now..
these 2 players can not be swapped alone. we will have to through something in to even out the cap. im not sure that griff is worth sending out for davis, let alone if griff and others are worth it.
