Murphy and J-Rich are Fagan clients, and he is a dream to deal with. So, watch those two closely as february draws nigh.
We are not trying to win a character contest, the last I heard Kobe and Shaq aren't the best of characters in the NBA but they do have three Championship rings. Payton expressed interest in being traded to Houston and that is enough for me that he would be content here. Give any NBA general manager the pick of choosing between having Payton as his point guard or Sura and Ward and I think u know what the overwhelming response would be.
On the face of it, I tend to agree with you. But three general managers in a row have let GP go after seeing him up close for a turn. At least the last two were excited about getting him, but then gave him up a year later. They know more than we do, and apparently they are all seeing the same thing. And GP is now a year older.
I actually somewhat agree on Walton's comments about the rockets still needing to do some work on the lineup. However I don't agree on his assesments on the positions we need help in. Jim Jackson will do fine playing the 3. I also think once Bobby Sura is healthy Mcgrady might move up to do some time at the 3 as well. I really don't see the problems we have at point either. Once the ball gets past half court, I think we all know Mcgrady and Yao will hold the ball the majority of the time. If our two point guards can defend, hit the three's like we've seen them do in the past, pass it to yao or Mcgrady and just bring a ball up court, then I don't see the problem with the points we have. Tyronne lue isn't a great starter but he is a great point guard to have coming off the bench. Charlie ward is getting old but i think he will get the job done for the limited minutes. Bobby Sura is also eventually coming back, who although maybe a tweener of a small guard and point but if we need him to play point i think he can get the job done. As long as we don't give any of those players rediculous contracts like we gave to maloney, then i think jvg and some of us should be happy with what we have. However I think our front court needs some help. Juwan Howard was once over hyped but is now over looked. I think he's a better version of Mo Tay bringing in a little better hustle, defence, and rebounding. But with Howard on our team now, it has made Mo Tay expendable and we should now be looking for someone bigger and stronger to come off the bench that can be both a decent defender and score. I am thinking a motivated version of Cato with decent offensive skills and knows his role as just a role player. We don't need a superstar or even a star but someone big that can and is willing to do the dirty work consistently. Yao is getting better but i still think he can use and needs some help in the front court. Mutombo is also just old and he isn't exactly a threat on the offensive side. So if there's something we need help in. I think it's up front.
Rather they know more or not is yet to be seen, but we do know that there is still a viable market for Payton skills. Unlike Ward and Sura who was an after thoughts after we couldn't get some of the more appealling free agent guards. Now think logically, who do u think there is more of a market for their services. I think u know the answer without me saying it. The thing u must consider is that there are several teams that are willing to take Payton at 5 millions a year while Ward and Sura would still be free agents looking for a job if they even thought about demanding that much.
