i would love to see tmac guard the 1 for the other team. tony parker would own tmac chris paul would own tmac deron williams would own tmac etc. tmac plays defense lackadaisically. you really think he could match up with the above-mentioned? at best, he plays 1 on offense, and you still have a short, speedy 2 guard (bjax, head). subbing maggette for rafer and slotting tmac at the 1 will not work.
No no no....you then start a smaller player at the 2 guard, but preferably one that can shoot....and let him take the other teams PG on defense. Or in worst case scenarios you let Battier take him. DD
I think the best PG for a team like ours would be a PG like Billups (which cannot be aquired), i liked the idea of somehow getting Kidd but Dallas got it because we didn´t have any tradeable assets besides small contracts. Besides Sam Casell next year there won´t be major Veteran PG that we could get for the cheap, so trading for someone is the most viable option. If you ask me to be real i would say that Luke Ridnour who played good in seatle alongside Ray Allen (making it to the second round in 2005) would be a safe bet, it could be done with either Alston or Bobby Jackson plus a small filler (of around 1 millon) Seatle will likely trade him if the offer involves a rookie prospect or a draft pick because they are in rebuilding mode, Bobby Jackson will be the primary offer because his contract will be expiring nexy year. Ridnour contract expires in 09-10 season and its Luke Ridnour a stable contract of 6.500.000 for each one of the 3 years (including this one). Right now he averages 4.0 assits in barely 20 mins per game.
The Rockets definetely need to upgrade the PG position. The thing is who would be an upgrade over Rafer. Outside of Nash, CP3, Billups, D.Willaims, and Baron Davis, who out there is really an upgrade over Rafer? Those guys are all playmaking points, and outside of them the only ones I can think of is maybe Calderon or Shaun Livingston. I dont think its likely the Rockets can steal either one. If Livingston can come back from his injury, thats the one I would most like to see as a Rocket. I havent seen much of him, but I think he is in the mold of a playmaking PG,he still young,and he's a tall PG(6-7 I think), which I think would be awesome playing along Aaron Brooks Since there are no other playmaking point guards, at least not currently in the league, I think the Rockets next best option is to find a player who can carry his own weight. Someone like Parker or Monta Eliis who do it consistently every night, which is what Rafer has struggled to do. I also would love to have Monta but I dont see that happening either So who could they get? Maybe Beno Udrih, Keyon Dooling(although he dont avg many assists ) or someone like Rajon Rondo, who even though he's not your prototypical point guard, can carry his own weight and wont be outplayed too badly by the elite PG's
Pass on Ridnour. He always had potential considering he's of the "true PG" mold with the passing ability, court vision and handles that you can't teach but sadly it just seems like he'll never "get it". Besides, $6.5 million a year for a guy with literally no defensive strength or ability is simply too much.
The longer this thread gets...the more humorous it gets. Talking PG's with DaDakota is like talking a blind date with your girl friends' friend to your best male friend.... Gater: Hey, man...would you consider going out with my girls' best female friend? DaDa: Of course...always looking to upgrade my dating scene. Is she good looking? Gater: Well...I sort of think so. But that's just my opinion. DaDa: Well, as long a she's good looking...and smart...I'm expecting her to have an IQ of at least 120 and minimum a BSc degree in some major that translates into marketablity. She is tall...right? And of course very, very hardworking. She is aggressive in her career, right? The bottomline Gater...this absolutely has to be Dutch...I just don't have the bread or time right now to invest in something high-maintenance. Gater: OK...I guess...but...weren't you sort of involved with someone? Someone sort of decent? You're placing a lot of restrictions on this date...don't ya think? DaDa: Oh...absolutely not. You're such a s--t about these things...Dream Dating doesn't have a salary cap...or any form of reasonability....I just Dream Date what I want to the ultimate. It magically appears. You know, Gater...you're not nearly as cool as my other good friend...Daryl.
IMO his contract etc.... Kidd would have not helped the team anymore than Alston probably would have made it worst for the long term and the short term he has the same weakness as Alston and that is taking only what the defense gives you. He would controll the Rock more than Alston but this doesnt mean he is going to score more points or dish out more assist than Alston/T-Mac combined. You got to think Alston and T-mac share point guard duties. The best move is to send Alston to the most likely that will need a point guard and believe me it is very possible to do because its not as if he is the worst point guard in the league. Send him away for a 2nd rounder just to get out from the rest of his contract then pick up a better point guard Calderon using more money with whats on the table if you include the MLE. Then resign Landry+fillers. No playoff team wants Alston. Send him to Clippers they can use him just to get to the playoffs. I dont think they can resign Livingston depending on whats left on Brand contract same with Maggette. Livingston is probably going to take more than what he is making now else where like some where in the East.
Orlando is another team that can land Calderon so if they cant or what ever or dont try to just give them Alston for a pick but only if you can sign Calderon and you know it. If you cant then Alston simply cant be replaced without trading away our young tallent or people with good contracts. You certainly NOT going to get guys like Baron Davis or anyone in that calibur without giving up Yao/T-Mac. Jason Kidd is a point guard that is highly overrated in this point of his career and he is not even a top 5 point guard anymore and should only be making a third of what he is making now if he ever wants to win a championship. He is a point guard that can make young guys look good or better but he lacks other offensive capabilities to be controlling the rock as much as he does.
I would be interested in seeing McGrady at the 1 if we got another swingman that could score the ball and defend, like Artest, or, say Cat Mobley. You run Battier, Mobley and McGrady out there on the perimeter, you have Battier or Mobley take the point defensively against your big time point guards like DWill and CP3, and they you match up McGrady on the opponent's offensive weak link, so he can board and bring the ball up.
I think there is something about T-Mac nobody has ever seen before like mixed in with the right players and a tuned role i think he is capable of putting up more triple doubles for a season probably something close to Oscar Robertson or Grant Hill Detroit days somewhere inbetween. Atleast playoff numbers indicate he is capable.
Interesting. There is a similar debate going on up here in Dallas over Pacman Jones who is another player with a "checkered" past. To me, it smacks of desperation when you are willing to compromise your principles in the name of winning. When gambling on guys like these my credo has always been the following: "When you dance with the devil, the devil doesn't change - he changes you." Whenever you have to qualify your support for player with "But he's been on his best behavior since then", you are already standing on a very slippery slope. While we would be crossing our fingers that he stays sane, our competition at the Hornets, Mavericks or Spurs won't find themselves having to deal with something like this. Again, I have to ask: if the teams we are chasing can win without players like this, then why can't we do the same?
Hillboy.....EXACTLY..... This team is not that far away, and if Yao was healthy they would probably be the first seed in the WC and one of the favorites...even with Rafer starting. So, no need to toss out the baby in teh bathwater.......just tweak here and there and improve the team. DD
Yeah, this is exactly the type of player they should target: a guy languishing on the bench somewhere else but who would fit in and flourish here. That's exactly what was the case with Nash at PHX the first go round.
I love Ridnour, would take him in a heartbeat, also Sergio Rodriguez in Portland would be fine..... Calderon would have been great, but no way Toronto lets him go now.....maybe it frees up TJ Ford, but you can't overpay for him because of his history of injuries... Maybe Atlanta with all their PGs.... Any others? DD
Too bad he quit like a little b****. He *might* have been a serviceable player but he couldn't do the NBA grind like the thousands of others that had to bust their butts to make the team and get time. While this guy comes in thinking hes some big shot that is suppose to be given time. Seriously though, some 2nd round chump comes in expecting playing time like an all-star player. Thats hilarious. At least when Francis thought he was going to start, he has proved in the past that he could play. But even then, he still wasn't as bad as V-Span when he didn't get time.
Atlanta is definitely a possibility. We already have our own version of TJ Ford in Brooks. Uh oh! I sense another V-Span fight about to break out...
