i did like the idea of adding korver but i'm not too sure anymore. rockets already have head for 3pt shooting off the bench plus he's on a rookie contract. i don't think the rockets use both the rest of the mle and te. they need too keep an eye on luxury tax this year and the next... steven hunter could be a viable option if philly are seeking tax relief (TE), his contract is affordable enough. it would be ideal if rockets found yao's future understudy this year rather next.
I think the next target will either be some French french known as "Pulp Fiction", a young Russian center named "Resevoir Dogs", or maybe a plain old American prospect Jackie Brown.
I've seen this $4.6 TE figure around, but I'm having trouble figuring out what it was for. From what I understand, Moochie was making $4.2 million when we dumped him off on the Hornets. And the rule is that you can generate a TE of 100% of the salary + 100K, based on the difference in what you send out and get back. So $4.2 + 100k would appear to be $4.3, not $4.6 mill. Unless this $4.6 figure is from some other trade I'm not aware of. Reference info on non-simultaneous trade exception: http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#69
I would hold on to the larger TE, i'm sure it will be handy during the mid season trade deadline. I like the idea of Wright/Evans for the remaining MLE. Can either one them play the 5 if the occasion calls for going small and quick?
no way we would acquired battier to be a backup for tmac. this is more likely starting lineup: if nothing more coming down the pipline. pg- alston/JL3/vspan sg- synder/head/sura sf- tmac/navok/bowen pf- battier/howard/hayes c- yao/deke or pg- alston/vspan/JL3/ sg- tmac/synder/head/sura sf- battier/navok/bowen pf- howard/hayes c- yao/deke either case i think our backcourt is pretty much finsihed and fine with. maybe another bench warmer as a backup sg. in either senario we are thin with a solid pf who can play some time in center position. even given the way Yao has been improving he still need a solid center to back him up. deke is too old and can't really play that much. not to mention Yao will get into foul troubles from time to time. or when JVG wants to go small and play a faster tempo. I think the second senario is most likely given synder can be a solid backup to tmac who will play a alot shorter mins. therefore head is the odd man out if sura can come back and play. I really think the rotation will really depend on who we would be able to land with our money left or via trade.
I like Steven Hunter as well. He can get up and down the court, cause he is young and athletic. Also he's a big time shotblocker.
That is what I thought as well untill I saw somewhere in Chron.com where CD said it was ~$4.6 - I think you are right - I think maybe I mis-read it or something. I will attempt to find that quote from CD. Cheers.
I dont think Wright will sign with us. Because there is no time for him in the match. 10 min at most if Yao is a HEALTH Yao. I think Korver will be the one we are catching. Just like this. Alston/V-Span/JL3 Sura/Head/Snyder T-Mac/Korver/Bowen Bettier/Howard/Hayes/Novak Yao/Motombo
Am I the only one that isn't sold on the direction we are going in the backcourt? Don't me wrong, I love young talent and low-risk moves. Acquiring players like Snyder, Spanoulis and the likely signing of JLIII are all decent moves but let's not kid ourselves here, none of these players are NBA proven nor are they any form of a "sure thing" in the backcourt. Combine that with the uncertain future of Sura, we're basically looking at Alston, Head and a trio of unproven, shaky players in our backcourt. Is this smart? We still don't have a 3rd scorer. Our depth is still rather weak and we're armed with only a portion of the MLE and a trade exception to work with. Free agency has been nothing short of a disaster. This leads me to believe our best hope for significantly improving this team lies via trade. I've mentioned it before: Howard/future first rounder to NY for Jamal Crawford. $7-9 million a year for the kind of scoring and reliability he would give us in the backcourt seems well worth it to me. Sign Lorenzen Wright or bring back Cato with the remaining portion of the MLE. PG Alston/Spanoulis/JLIII SG Crawford/Head/Snyder SF McGrady/Novak/Bowen PF Battier/Wright or Cato/Hayes C Yao/Mutombo
It'd be nice to get Kendrick Perkins home. I believe he's in the last year of his rookie contract, and the Celtics are looking to sign him longer before he becomes a restricted free agent next year-- so he's probably unlikely to come home as a Rocket. He'd be a decent backup 4/5, a young, shot-blocking, Deke replacement.
Be honest - can you name one team in the NBA with a less impressive set of guards? On what other team would any of these guards be starters?
No you are not alone. The supporting cast last year was so horiffic, that any changes seem dramatic, grand improvements. The backcourt additions are "risky" just like last year. Hopefully, they will turn out better. I am not at all sold on Alston. JRIII is a project and who knows what VSpan will do. Synder is another X factor that could go either way. Mike James would have been more of the "real deal." The "experiment" to get decent players around TMac and Ming continues.
Baller: I understand your point, but I think it's worth giving that backcourt a go and seeing what happens. If we sign another big with the rest of our MLE, then save the TE, we have some assets to sling around the table during the season. I have some concerns that Spanoulis will give us anything this year, while Head has yet to prove he can play the one. My thought was Head and Snyder rotating at the two with spot minutes from McGrady, but that leaves Spanoulis (assuming he plays the one) as the top reseve at the point. That is a bit unnerving, One of two things, then: 1) Sura is healthier then we believe and the club is willinng to risk putting him behind Alston, then going elsewhere during the season if he can stay healthy and competitive. 2) Head is ready to give minutes at both the one and the two off the bench and McGrady will play more two than we (or he) expected. If that is the case, then Head can be a real key contributor, but it would necessitate Snyder being ready to play 25 min/game. Not sure what is happening, maybe a combination of both, but if we sign another combo post player who can defend, that makes Howard expendable, along with the 4 mil TE. Then you have options like Korver (if Head moves full-time to the backup one) or Damon Jones (if Sura can't go). I like the Crawford idea, but why would NY do it? Howard's contract is just as bad and they have don't need a four. Heck, I'd love to take Malik Rose off their hands, too, but I don't see it happening.
Not really. We're still 2-3 more pieces away from being complete. We could use a backup 4 and another backup 2 or 3, plus I'd like us to bring in a vet PG to backup Alston in case JL3 and VSpan dont pan out and get stagefreight right away.
