well, in the players jonathan feigen made, i would like to see q richardson, mo pete, brent barry, or desmond mason on a rocs uniform. put rasheed in it too..
Actually, PF and SF are not so satisfying as other three; However, we have at least 4 PFs and 4 SFs. It's too funny to be laughable. Who is the GM?
IMO we need to consider if Steve moves over to the Two Guard we should be looking at Barry.We need an upgrade at starting Power Forward -my choice is Okur with MoT coming off the bench. We need a starting tall Small Forward such as Desmond Mason Barry, Wilkes Francis, Cat,Piatowski Mason, JJ, Nachbar Okur,Mo T Yao Ming, Cato
SJC, No problem, I wasn't in a great mood myself, hehe. Everyone, Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this mean that we can go into the summer with the 7M exception, and get someone via sign and trade for that amount (or more if combined with a player), and we would STILL have the Mid-Level Exception (4.5M) to sign an FA? So we could, in theory, trade Mobley + TE for a re-signed Rasheed Wallace? Then the Blazers could just waive the exception and have 7M in capspace plus Mobley, who can be seen as someone they signed to a VERY good deal, right? We would still have the 4.5M exception to sign a player to (Brent Barry is available), aside from Cato and Weatherspoon, who would both have 2 yr contracts at reasonable prices relative to performance. Let's not forget MoT who will be coming off a solid 12pts/6reb with 48% shooting season, that could be valuable to many teams (Seattle?). If that's the case, I say we hold it, send this team to the playoffs, let them experience it, and come back the following year with reinforcements. If we get Brent Barry to sign for the 4.5M like I said, and made the trade with Portland, we could end up with: Yao/Cato Rasheed/MoT/Spoon JJ/Pike/AGriffin Brent Barry/Pike Francis/Wilks Plus, we have a draft pick, which would allow us to pickup a SF or PG, and the minimum exception, which would allow us to pickup a SF or PG too. If all this holds true, then we definitely should wait.
Yes. Rocket should hold the trade exception. They need a full season to evaluate the most important need they have to improve their "championship" team after change of coach.
I am glad this article was written. There have been A LOT of misconceptions about the Trade Exception and hopefully this article will expain the reasoning for the move. Yes, going into the summer we get BOTH the TE and the MLE. We get the MLE because we are STILL over the cap, but yet at the same time have the 6.9M to work with. So it almost is the best of both worlds. This was the BEAUTY of doing the Glen Rice deal to get the TE. It extends PAST the February trade deadline. It allows JVG to evaluate the team for the ENTIRE season and THEN make moves in the offseason without having to hastily make moves before the trading deadline. The deadline to use the TE is October I believe. It allows the Rockets to make decent moves in the summer with BOTH the TE AND the MLE to add talent to the team. I know alot of people on the board were angry at the Glen Rice deal and thought we didnt get enough for the expiring contract. I think we ALL need to hold out to see what happens this summer before we judge that Rice deal. If we dont do anything, then bash away, but I believe this team will make some moves, especially if it does not meet expectations at the end of the season.
Sane - First, Mobley makes ~$6m and Rasheed makes ~$17m. There is not enough TE to cover the difference. Without getting into details, let's just say...Trade Rejected. Besides, Wallace is an unrestricted FA. Why trade away his best friend on the Rockets? You vastly diminish the odds of re-signing him. Further, let's assume that Rasheed is still a Blazer at seasons end. IMO, that means the Blazers valued cap space more than any offer put on the table at the trade deadline. And I don't see the offers getting any better in the summer. Therefore, if the Rockets truly want him and Wallace would sign a $6.9m contract (maybe slightly more if POR wants Boki or AGriff, etc.)....send POR a 1st round protected 2005 pick for a re-signed Wallace...there's your impact player without giving up Mobley. And the full MLE is still available for the Rockets. (The underlying principle being that POR was going to let him walk anyway to gain cap space, why not get a pick for him?). Secondly, as long as the Rockets remain above the cap, they will have BOTH the MLE and the TE next summer. But remember one important thing...the MLE can not be used to trade for a player and the TE can not be used to sign a FA. IMHO, the Rockets are 6 players deep..the starting 5 and Mo T. I feel this team can make the playoffs as is. Proper use of the TE and the MLE can go a long way to taking them beyond the first round. Excluding the unusual aspects of Wallace's free agency, I don't see a true impact player (especially a PF) available for $6.9m. And I'm in a minority, but I like the PF by committee and would suggest upgrading the SF spot. JJax is good, but he's far too old for 35 mpg.
I like the sound of that! If the Rockets could make that move, gaining Wallace without giving up Mobley, Francis and Yao it would be a HUGE move for this team! Good points GATER. I agree that we are about 6 players deep. With the LT most likely being nixed we can afford to look more heavily into the MLE this summer (opposed to what we did this summer with letting Posey walk). If we can add 2 solid players with the TE and MLE to our 6 player deep team we can have a nice rotation core there.
GATER, Correction, Rasheed makes $16,185,000. I actually read 15.3M on another website, but this one says 16.185M. Meaning Mobley, TE is 12.9, we'd have to throw in about 3M to make it work. But this doesn't matter because we are talking about the SUMMER when Rasheed is an FA, and there's no way he'll get 15M from ANY team. In other words, I thought we could definitely get him for Mobley and around 4 to 5M of the TE (it can be split). But, again, this doesn't matter because you reminded me that Wallace wouldn't come here if we traded Mobley. Especially not at a discount rate. But your Rasheed for 6.9M theory intruiged me. However, I find it difficult to believe that he'll sign for that amount. Well, I guess it depends on the years. IMO, if he's willing to take a paycut and sign a short contract, then he'll do it the Payton/Malone way. He'll sign for the 4.5M, with an option to opt out after the first year. But then again, Rasheed is 28, and will be 30 after 2 years. He won't get a long term contract from anyone when he's 30 years old, so he'll be kiling his chances at gettnig his final big contract. I think he'd sign for us long term if the deal is close to 10M per year, which can be done if we throw in Pike and Boki in the sign n trade right? So I think there are only three rational outcomes to this situation: 1) Wallace signs for the 4.5M to win it all. This is contingent upon us making a GREAT showing in the playoffs (even if it includes going out in the first round) and also telling him that we intend to bring in another big name with the TE. If he says no to this then we.. 2) Offer him the TE, and sign someone else with the 4.5M exception. We offer to sign him long term for this amount, if he resists, we do it short term. Ofcourse, I'm talking about a sign n trade, in which case we'd be sinding a pick to Portland. This the least likely IMO, but it's a smal possibility. The most likely scenario is that.. 3) We send Pike, Boki and the full TE to Portland for a re-signed Rasheed Wallace (long term, around 10M per year). This sends our salary up sky high, however, the luxury tax will have been scratched so we wouldn't have to worry about that. There's also a possibility that Charlotte will pluck Weatherspoon, Cato, or MoT from us. If not, I'm sure we can work out a deal sending one of them somewhere. All 3 of those guys have value through their contract(Spoon), their performance(MoT and Cato), or both(MoT and Cato). With this kind of line-up, we don't even need to use the 4.5M MLE, our starting line-up would already be so damn good. But like I said, it's more than likely we can arrange a deal for a SF and some depth by trading one of these guys. That's summing up the Wallace to Houston situation. IMO, these are the 3 possibilioties, with the last being most likely, and the second being least likely.
I think the Rockets either need to play Boki or trade him. If Phoenix decides to keep Mike D'Antoni, he might want Boki for a conditional 1st round draft pick. Having Boki just sit on the bench with a year left on his rookie contract is no good.
Rasheed will get his money. After Malone gets his ring, Rasheed will go to LA. No luxury tax.... he'll get his money in a big market.
Sane, Moot point but...the website I use has Wallace at $16,985,000. By chance are you using Bender and dividing by the number of years? Or perhaps Wallace's contract pre-dates the current CBA and has a different escalator than 10% or 12.5%. No biggie. 800K is basically backround noise if teams want the deal done. Sane - Wallace will be 30 in September 2004. IMO, he doesn't have max contract years left in him. Does any body want to pay Wallace $16m when he's 36 years old? That's what a 6 year contract with a 10% escalator will cost in 2010. I realize my scenario is a little "out there" but bear in mind that only 3 teams might have more than MLE money this summer. And one is Utah. There are two competing market factors...Wallace's perceived desirability and can your team afford him (have cap room) if you desire him. Just to repeat a key principle in my scenario...if he's a POR FA, they didn't get enough of an offer at the trade deadline. Hence, they are looking for cap space. About #1 - I like it. IMO, his other MLE options are in the EC. Would he take an MLE from DET or IND? As boring as many Rox fans think a Van Gundy team is, they play a playoff stlye all season which could reap benefits if they get into the second round. About #2 - We can't offer Wallace the TE. It is for trading purposes only. About #3 - By letting Wallace walk, POR has $6m-$8m in cap room. IMO, they would not want to decrease it by $4.2m (Boki - $1.5m / Pike $2.7m). They'd wind up with a future 1st, Boki, Pike and a $2m-4m FA. Not enough IMO plus they have no MLE as they are under the cap. And I'm not positive Boki will survive the expansion draft.
Key dominoes in your logic... * The Spurs (or Kings) don't wup the Lakers. * Kobe doesn't do jail time. * Wallace would enjoy coattailing rather than contributing. * Malone doesn't get pissed and go to another WC powerhouse for 2004-05. (He has a player option). You're giving the Fakers far too much credit.
Key holes in your domino theory: Wallace would enjoy coattailing rather than contributing Wallace wouldn't be coat tailing, are you serious. That's like saying Webber or KG are coat tailers Malone doesn't get pissed and go to another WC powerhouse for 2004-05. (He has a player option) He'd probably just retire with the ring, thus the need for Rasheed.
R U serious? Your statement makes Wallace the Lakers' equivalent of CWebb and KG. I think Shaq and Kobe would view it much differently. One word of advice.... don't bet your home on the Lakers winning it all.
Question for capologists: I was under the impression that the trade exception could NOT be combined with a player (Cato, for example) to obtain a player with salary equal to the sum of Cato and TE used. I thought the TE could only be used to obtain a player of equal salary (so Cato + TE = Player A + Player B, assuming Cato's salary equals Player A's and TE = Player B's.) Is this not the case? Is it different for S&T?
if the rox can get their hands on malone ming won't have to even worry about playing more aggressively. if a player can elbow his opponent tender without fouling then it's a skill.
