Nevermind the Mike-James-sucks deflection. As we've already established, he's a four. Do we need another four? I'll gladly admit that I suggest as many trade ideas as the next guy, but I have a real problem with a suggestion like this that undoubtedly takes minutes away from our promising rookies and players that actually earn their contracts (Hayes, Novak). Tim Thomas is a plague. If you don't believe this watch him play. He takes horrible shots. Doesn't rebound or play defense. It's no coincidence that he's played for 7-8 different teams now. Also, you should never place too much emphasis on any player's numbers playing on a team like Phoenix. All that running-and-gunning creates so many more shot attempts and open shots. Sure, a softy shooter is going to look good on a team like that playing next to Nash. See Q-Rich, Eddie House, James Jones, etc etc.
I'm not going to debate everything u said, but getting tim thomas does help this team a lot. Why? He's versitile. He gives u lineup and matchup flexibility. Top that off is that he has shown to play very well in the playoffs. Thomas gives the rox a big guy that can post smaller players and put the ball on the floor against bigger players. Having him on the court as a 3 or 4 gives the coach options. U can play him with mcgrady,battier,yao. U can play him with bonzi,scola,landry and rafer. There are a lot of combos that thomas can play in. If u don't believe me, go watch some playoff games when he was in milwaukee and phoe. The guy shows up in the playoffs.
James Jones is out for 3 to 5 weeks. Portland are 1 win 5 losses since his injury. Rockets trade them a healthy player (Head or Snyder) and their 2008 1st round pick.
Rockets Trade: Steve Francis, Kirk Snyder, Rafer Alston Sixers Trade: Andre Miller Why for the Rockets- Rockets unload junk expiring contracts and get a nice upgrade at PG. Miller is a pretty efficient scorer at PG who can force guys like Nash to play defense, and he can take some of the playmaking pressure off T-Mac. Why for Sixers- Get over $4 million in expiring contracts, and forced to take Rafer. Get rid of the disgruntled Miller.
New Jersey Nets Incoming Players Photo: Steve Novak Steve Novak Salary: $687,456 Years Remaining: 1 PTS: 4.7 REB: 1.0 AST: 0.4 PER: 21.14 Photo: Mike James Mike James Salary: $5,826,893 Years Remaining: 2 PTS: 6.5 REB: 1.6 AST: 1.6 PER: 9.77 Outgoing Players: Darrell Armstrong, Malik Allen, Jamaal Magloire Memphis Grizzlies Incoming Players Photo: Kirk Snyder Kirk Snyder Salary: $2,358,433 Years Remaining: 1 PTS: 3.8 REB: 1.3 AST: 0.9 PER: 14.80 Photo: Darrell Armstrong Darrell Armstrong Salary: $770,610 Years Remaining: 1 PTS: 2.3 REB: 1.1 AST: 1.5 PER: 7.69 Photo: Jamaal Magloire Jamaal Magloire Salary: $4,000,000 Years Remaining: 1 PTS: 1.8 REB: 3.4 AST: 0.3 PER: 1.77 Outgoing Players: Mike Miller Houston Rockets Incoming Players Photo: Mike Miller Mike Miller Salary: $8,376,194 Years Remaining: 3 PTS: 16.9 REB: 6.6 AST: 3.6 PER: 16.04 Photo: Malik Allen Malik Allen Salary: $770,610 Years Remaining: 1 PTS: 5.4 REB: 2.7 AST: 0.6 PER: 10.22 Outgoing Players: Steve Novak, Kirk Snyder, Mike James
Sixers have already said they aren't looking to trade for expiring contracts anymore. They want young talent, particularly at PF. That would mean we'd have to give up Landry at a minimum (thats if they think he is the PF they need, which I don't think they will).
Deflection? It's a TRADE! Call me crazy, but I think it's worthwhile to discuss the qualities of the players that we'd be giving up. I haven't established that he's a four. That's like saying we've established that Tracy is a SG when he is obviously able to play the 2 or the 3 effectively, as needed. Similarly, Tim Thomas can play the 3 or the 4 as needed. That's called versatility, especially on a team where Rick Adelman obviously isn't afraid to mix and match lineups. Oh, and if a player can be labeled as a horrible shot selector, yet still manages to shoot 44% from the field and 37% from 3 for his entire career, then I say let him take some bad shots. At least he can get his shot off at 6'10", unlike Snyder and James who both struggle to create for themselves (or anyone else for that matter). The fact that he's not a particularly good rebounder or defender is moot to me, by the way. For less than 6 million per year, I wouldn't expect a forward to excel in those areas AND be a deadly three-point shooter. Besides, he's not terrible at defense, and the reason he doesn't get many rebounds is because he plays on the perimeter. It's a give and take. Not every effective player is well-rounded. All three of the players you just mentioned had their best scoring AND best shooting seasons on teams other than Phoenix. Try again?
No, he's just another Okur and we don't need that. We need a guard who can shoot, not another big man. He's would be versitile if he knew what defense was. Yao ate his lunch in the post and he never comes inside to rebound because he wants to be a guard. We already have guys that RA can use in that role, why do we need to trade for something we already have.
Rafer, MJ, and Snyder (Only Rafer actually plays) for Mike Bibby (Clutch jumpers, effective PG with high assists, knows Aldeman and offense0
My friend is a die hard New Jersey fan. He's not too big on the trade that might go down with Dallas because he's not that high on Devin Harris. He was wondering if I would like this trade: James, Scola, Wells, Snyder and Francis and a draft pick For Kidd His reasoning: They get cap space, a starter in Scola, and a pick (I think he's assuming they can convince Francis to not pick up his player option) but have to take back James' contract. That way, they can build around Scola, Williams and Jefferson in the frontcourt and have enough room in a few years to sign Lebron James when he becomes a free agent, the same year New Jersey moves to Brooklyn. For us, it would make our bench thin but Kidd would be enough to push us over the top in a tough western conference. With Hayes being such a liability on offense, we would probably play more small ball with Battier at the 4, T-Mac at 3, head or Alston at the 2 and Kidd at PG. This was my reaction: Are you kidding? Whose side are you on? I'm a rockets fan and I know there is no way New Jersey would do that. Thanks for the offer though. You guys feel the same way?
Half of your response was dedicated to insulting Mike James. In my original response I was basically asking you why your idea makes any sense given that Thomas is primarily a four and you basically responded with nothing more than a horrible Robert Horry comparison and by taking shots at Mike James taking away from the point. Again, where do you play him? Do you take minutes away from Shane and Bonzi? Do you take minutes away from Scola, Landry and Hayes? Let me know whenever this finally hits you. http://www.82games.com/0708/07LAC11C.HTM Take a look at his numbers and production by position. I think you'll be surprised. There's a reason all these teams sour on him. The guy embodies disappointment. You see this athletic, 6'10" guy with 3 pt range and of course you're intrigued. It isn't until you see his inability to crash the boards, lack of defensive intensity and you pick up on his bad tendencies/shot selection before you finally realize the guy is simply not worth it. ...and comparing 2/3's to 3/4's is very foolish. 2/3's generally are interchangeable. 3/4's are typically black & white. One plays inside, one plays outside. One thing I also want to ask you: who would you consider to be a better "insurance policy" between Mikes James and [gulp] Brevin Knight? PG is obviously the position we have the biggest need at. Rafer, as great as he's been, probably can't keep this up 40 minutes a night the rest of the way. Brooks, as promising as he's looked, is still rather unproven and has been pretty bad lately. With Francis done and Mike James in the doghouse, we're basically looking at Rafer/Brooks the rest of the way. Does that bother anybody else? My point is I would rather hang onto a guy like Mike James, that we're probably unable to trade anyways, as our real "insurance policy" at the point. I'll admit he's been disappointing and that i'd be okay with any trade involving him to upgrade the team or position, but I still think he has more value to us right now than a guy like Tim Thomas would. A system like Phoenix bolsters anybody's numbers. All the wide open shots, fast break points and what not. The guys I mentioned were all role players that undoubtedly benefited from that uptempo style of play. Sure, they're all good shooters in their own right but they definitely had an advantage playing next to Nash. The playoff series you're referring to? I remember it like it was yesterday. Tim Thomas was unconscious during a couple of those games, especially game five. I have no doubt that his shooting could help but then I think back to those games where he would play 40 minutes and collect one rebound when I say I still think he's a bad fit. Being top five in defense and rebounding keeps us legitimate. If you start phasing out our work horses for softy's like Tim Thomas you're going to see some bad things start to happen. But then again, would he even play in the first place?
You've yet to give me a reason why "insulting Mike James", as you put it, is somehow out of bounds here. He's part of the proposed trade. What does it matter where or when in my post I happen to mention him? And what's wrong with the Horry comparison? Aside from team success, which I don't take into consideration when comparing skill sets...they're quite similar. At the very least, they're both in the "big forward role player who stretches the floor" category. Far from "horrible". As for where he would play, I can't say for sure. As I see it, he likely wouldn't even be a regular rotation player. He could be used in situations where one of the two forwards needs to stretch the floor with 3 point range, but one of the opposing forwards is a bulky post up player. In that scenario, it would be ideal to have Landry's size and Novak's shooting in the same player. Tim Thomas would be a better option there, for example. Basically, I don't care if minutes get eaten into, because if it happens it's out of necessity anyway. If one player is better suited for a situation, so be it. Honestly, I'm not. He's played quite a bit of both SF and PF as needed over his career if you look back at other years. It's not surprising that he's been primarily at PF while with the Clippers. Brand has been out all season, and last year Brand spent time at center in place of Kaman who missed 19 games and 32 starts. Again, Thomas played where needed, which is one of the things I like about him. Again, the Rockets wouldn't be giving up much. They can't expect to get all that much in return, which I'm ok with. That said, I think Thomas brings enough to warrant the swap. We obviously will have to agree to disagree on that. Not in today's game. Just off the top of my head, there are many PFs who spend a lot of time, if not most of it, "outside". Dirk Nowitzki Shawn Marion Al Harrington Rasheed Wallace David West Troy Murphy Antawn Jamison Robert Horry Antoine Walker Zach Randolph Kevin Garnett Brevin Knight.
in my mind, scola is almost untouchable at this point. not only i love the guy, but we've waited this many years to mend holes in our 4 position and finally we got a near-perfect fit that pairs yao as a 5-4 combo. no way we give him up now. and for those who are extremely high on landry - i love his play, too; bit keep in mind he's a 2nd rounder rookie.
I think right now media are high on Landry. If we offer him plus snyde, Rafer as a core for Miller, we might have a shot like Scola trade. If I were Morey, I will call Sixers and ask them to consider this offer if their other deals don't go through.
