So, in the natural evolution of CF.net trade talk, we've gone from... "Just a rumor" to "Hope it's true" to "It must be true" to "Deal will be done soon" to "Deal could possibly be done tonight." Wow. Is there any evidence that the teams involved are even talking? ROCKET RICH may be right on the money here (major props for the Moochie trade, yo!), but this rumor is just that... a rumor. Even he's said as much. Also, not to rain on anyone's parade, but the Clippers are not going to gift-wrap Brand and send him over for Francis. You don't trade big men for small men, unless 1) your name is Scott Layden or 2) the smaller player is MUCH BETTER than the big man. I know, I know. We all hope and pray for that sliver of a chance where Brand and Yao are dominating together on the Rockets, but we've got to accept reality here: Brand is not coming. Just let it go. Let it gooooo... As for the trade itself: I'd rather have Ray Allen.
All successful Rocket teams have been built around a big man... a dominated center. Moses, the Dream (and Ralph), and now Yao. This is the formula that is responsible for all of the ROX playoff and championship success. Unless you have a Jordan type of player to carry your team... you need a Duncan or Shaq or Yao to get the job done. I believe that JVG recognizes this and does CD and they also realize that Stevie is not going to buy into this system as the Rocket's point guard. That leaves us with these (there are many more) options: 1. Flip flop Stevie and Cat and let Stevie do his best AI. I DO NOT THINK THAT THIS WILL WORK on many levels. 2. Move Cat and let Stevie play the 2. Cat to Philly for Snow? Has its advantages but we are not getting enough in return. 3. Move Stevie. IF YOU BUY INTO EVERYTHING I WROTE ABOVE REGARDING IT ALL HAPPENING IN THE MIDDLE... you would have to agree that we would be a better team with a true point guard who looks to pass (to Yao) first. I like rest of our team. I like Cat at the 2 and would not be suprised if he made 2nd or 3rd all defensive team this year. Huge improvement on his part. JJ is so solid at the 3. Cato does what he needs to do. We could improve that spot. I love MoT off of the bench. Best big man coming off of the bench in the league. Yao is a top 3 - 5 center and has the skills to be a top 3 - 5 player in the Association. SO... here is my dream trade: Stevie, Pike, Cato, draft pick and TE to Utah for Arroyo, Kirilenko and Harpring. Have no idea if it would work. But it would give us the following lineup: PG Arroyo/M Jackson SG Cat/Harpring (when heathy) SF JJ/Kirilenko PF Taylor/Kirilenko C YAO/Weatherspoon
Rudys not stupid though. He can see Steve's flaws just like the rest of us. Regarding Griffin, Eddie still showed promise and didn't have all the problems he does now...hell ALL of us were thinking that EG was going to develop into something great, but he ended up a headcase. A lot of other GMs saw that too, why do you think we heard trades like SAR and Rashard Lewis for him? Besides... What makes you think he still believes in Steve? Did you talk to him or something? Just a hunch?
AND A THUG means... combined with the other attributes! You can't really question Wallace on the court! All of those other players have on and off court issues. Please do not bring up the technicals because it is no longer an issue!
To those criticizing Randolph, remember the kid is only 23 years old. He has not even come close to scratching the surface as far as how good he can be. If you believe that Francis at 27 can make improvements to his game there is absolutely no reason not to believe Randolph can make drastic improvement to his game. Just look at the amount of improvement he has made each of his 3 seasons he’s been in the league. I believe he’s been the most improved player of the season BY FAR.
Mmmh...you think this was in the same category, hmm...? Anyway, so why did RRNYC disappear after he posted his stuff? It would be cool if he could get in touch with his source and give us an update...
We have this current problem wiht our PG. I'd rather have a PF who doesn't pass, than a PG who doesn't pass. I'd also rather have a PF taking his 10 ft shots, than a PG shooting off the dribble.
I am not advocating keeping Steve. I am saying there is a better deal out there. If this is the best deal, SAY NO!
I'm not sure Zach is the right fit, but it has nothing to do with shot blocking or overall defense; JVG's scheme disguises a lot of individual defensive shortcomings, and the shot blocking aspect is even less significant with Yao in the middle and the funnel we send his way. Clutch's point about ZR's fga's is more of a concern, although it should be noted that he 'earned' those shots when RW, BW et al were still on the roster, so it can be assumed that he's not just stuffing. No, the reason I'm concerned is the left block. Yao's inside game is predicated around the left block, which is natural for many right handed post players, and from what I've seen, that's pretty much Randolph's office as well. Maybe people who've seen him play more than I can clear this up for me. The reasons the Big Three never worked, IMO, were health and the fact that Hakeem and Charles both had to take turns in the LLB, which reduced their compounded effectiveness. I don't want to see a lesser version of that shell game.
I've loved Randolph's game ever since he was a diaper dandy at Mich. St. but alone he does not warrant trading SF3 and the players rumored to be coming along with him do not really excite me because of the off-court problems, besides these trades never happen anyway.
Remember Eddie Griffin. Trading an All-Star point guard for an undersized power forward that can't jump does not make sense! Also, we are taking back bad contracts!
Zac is 3rd in rebounds, 3rd in points and 10th in FG% for all NBA forwards (SF/PF) - and at 23. He is above some other rather famous forwards on that list. Eddie never came close to these numbers - he was always at the bottom in the FG%. Zac is no EG. But on another note - MacBeth may have a valid point.
This is an ok first trade. There'd have to be a second trade. The new team would be Yao and Zach inside, Cuttino outside. Would Cuttino pass the ball inside, then? He hasn't shown the ability to do so yet. I'm sure Cuttino could handle being the # 1 outside threat, but to be maximally effective with our big men, Cat would have to learn to play the two-man game and feed the post. Cat has shown the opposite instinct. None of the other guys can shoot. We'd have Cat + Cato or Taylor to move for any other shooter. Patterson is untradeable. Woods has no value. Same with the rest of our bench. That's not really great trade bait. Randolph is good and could be coached to complement Yao. He wouldn't defer to Yao, though. There'd be another power struggle, surely. I think I prefer the Ray Allen deal, or something along those lines -aquiring a smart player that can pass and shoot, who will take a deferential co-captain role, and really team with our biggest man.
I 'm not buying this "True Point Guard" arguement. Over the last 4 years Steve is the much better PG then Eric Snow, the difference in the assists and turnovers are neglegable Eric Snow 11.3 PPG 3.5 RPG 6.9 APG 2.3 Turnovers S Francis 19.8 PPG 6.4 RPG 6.3 APG 3.6 Turnovers
The 18 shots a game don't worry me so much, since he's shooting a pretty high percentage 48%+. He also gets over 3 offensive rebounds a game which are almost always turned into shot attempts. he's got a decent outside jumper too. I just wouldn't give up Francis for such a one dimensional player as Zach. I think the Blazers might be feeling that they don't want to build their team around a guy who is only a scorer, so it doesn't surprise me that they would listen to offers. If we are going to trade Steve, we should wait until the off season and see what offers come our way. We can then pursue some free agents (Rasheed) and use the trade exception better all at the same time. It would be ironic if we got both Zach and Patterson in the same trade. They still hate each other.
I'd rather have Ray Allen, even if it means giving up everyone but Yao. ZR is only a slight upgrade from MoT, and Patterson and Woods are dumb players and bad guys off the court. I do believe we need another top tier perimeter player to create and score, but that can buy into the system. Ray Allen is ideal.
Fair points! The only way it works is if Randolph takes over the left block and Yao is moved to the high post. Personally, I would rather see Yao in the post and someone more versitile like Rasheed Wallace at the high post.
Ray Allen is a great player but how many shooting gaurds can one team have? We've got like a bazillion, so many in fact we've got one at small forward, one at point gaurd in addition to the one at shooting gaurd.
