You do know that if we don't give up Battier theres no way in hell we can get the 3rd scorer we need right?
Give me a break. KG was making something like $25-28M a year (unprecedented) while the salary cap was still in the $40M+ range during the earlier 2000's. I don't care about Bird Rights either. If you for one second think KG was a victim of hapless management or anything of the sort i'll stop watching basketball forever. KG is exactly what he's always been: a great overall player that's absolutely terrible in the 4th quarter, can't legitimately carry a team and a player that needs substantial help around him in order to be successful. He's been out of the 1st round twice in 13 seasons and guess what he had both times that happened? As for Allen and Pierce, they've always been great players with glaring detriments. Allen was always an easy 1st round exit and Pierce had much of the same problem when he wasn't playing with Antoine Walker, back when he was actually good.
Been saying the same thing for days. Carter never got a bad rap until he had those injury plagued seasons and all of a sudden he didn't have heart was weak since someone on ESPN said something bad it had to be true. I don't care if it's Vince Carter or Artest and we have to give up Battier future draft picks and young talent for. Nobody will care when we're winning. We slowly watched the possible windows closing on both Dallas and Phoenix last year and i'm not inclined to watch the same thing here because Battier is untouchable since he's a model citizen. Carter, Artest, and T-Mac seem to all be in the same place in the careers right now. Let's just get that 3rd scorer who happens to be All Star material and win a Championship right now and then people can bash our trades and let's gauge the reaction then.
Well hopefully the Mavs don't get him. Imagine if they traded Jerry Stackhouse and Eddie Jones and Devean George for Vince Carter since all 3 guys (Jones and Stackhouse and George are expiring)? That would give you a lineup of: PG Kidd/Barea SG Vince/Terry SF Howard/Wright PF Dirk/Bass C Dampier/Allen
Did you just say the team with Kevin McHale as the GM is not guilty of hapless management? Have you seen the man's drafting record? Isn't this the same team that got busted on the wink-wink Joe Smith deal? And yes, KG was making a lot of money. Outside of Duncan, I really can't think of any modern superstar players that took less money to help their teams. Easy answer....HE HAD HELP. Of the other teams that lost in the first round, which team had enough help on it to beat the team that they faced in the playoffs? How often were the T-Wolves the favorite? Etc.... If you really feel that way about KG I'm very curious to hear how you feel about our star players. Allen got to the ECF before. So did Pierce. Our stars have gotten where???? Yes, they had help when they got past the first round, and they lost when they didn't. Hasn't Kobe missed the 2nd round 3 times in a row when he had limited help? Who wins without help? Did Hakeem make it out of the 1st round every season? Etc....
Well, considering McHale is the one that drafted KG in the first place i'd say he has a pretty decent eye for talent. Sure, his decision to vastly overpay him was essentially his KG-era downfall but the guy certainly did his best to assemble talent around KG and his record breaking contract. His draft record? Taking KG, drafting and then dealing Ray Allen for Marbury (good idea at the time), drafting Nesterovic & Szczerbiak. Foye, McCants, Brewer, Love, etc. He's definitely stockpiling a ton of talent to build around Al Jefferson. Don't be surprised if this same guy you're basically hailing as one of the worst GM's in the league is winning Exec. of the Year honors sometime within the next five years. KG hamstrung that franchise with his salary figures. When you make $22-28M of a salary cap in the $40's it's very hard to assemble talent around that player. It's precisely why besides Marbury on his rookie deal and Sprewell/Cassell through crafty trades, the ONLY thing close to second star McHale was able to put around KG was Szczerbiak and that's only because he drafted him and had his Bird Rights. McHale's trade to get Cassell was nothing short of beauty. I'm sure nobody needs a history lesson but despite KG taking league MVP honor's that year Cassell's impact (averaged something like 20-10) was arguably just as vital to that team's success. He definitely got equal value for KG. KG winning a championship his first year doesn't necessarily mean Boston "won" that trade. Sure, KG is a great player and very tough to replace but when you trade him and the mediocrity associated with his Minnesota years all for a 23-year-old nearly unguardable franchise player like Al Jefferson, a solid role player like Gomes, two first-rounders and Ratliff's $12M expiring contract that's a decent fresh start. Plus, even though he botched the Mike James signing he still was able to deal him for our old pal Juwanna Man. Once his and Jason Collins' contracts come off the books next year their payroll will be something in the $30's. I'm not even a McHale fan either. Just calling all this the way I see it: handled the KG years about as well as any GM could have and finally dealt him for a solid package most GM's probably couldn't match. He's had his up-and-down moments but he's definitely on pace to build a formidable "new" team in Minnesota.
the rockets should make its BEST effort to get vc, imo. like some said, if it requires to give up battier and bjax and such, so be it. you have to give up something to get something. if it requires a signed landry, just do it. vc will likely to unload a lot of weight for mcgrady and yao (and make them less injury-prone). we will become the celts in the west.
Right. Thats how I feel we need to get a 3rd scorer quick fast and in a hurry. We all seen what Boston did this year, and you dont think we can do the same thing if we had Carter or Artest I think we can and we will. I mean I love Battier becasue he seen like a cool down to earth type of guy, and hes a hard worker thats plays great D. But if hes our only way of getting that 3rd scorer we have to let him go and call is a day.
If we sit around and let another western team bolster up and do nothing..... I will lose my cool if we can get vc without losing (yao,mac,scola,rafer,doresy,brooks,laundry) and you dont...I will lose it! F this idea of saving cap for 2010 lets win now
WTF are you guys smoking about. I say if you can get VC without losing TMac or Yao, it'll be a good deal. If its Landry+Rafer+Battier, then you do it. I know we love our Rockets players to death and while I do love Landry and Battier (not really Rafer im sorry ), you have to be kidding if you don't think VC is better than Landry or Battier.
