This is a dreamcasting thread. No party poopers allowed. You've been warned. Jeff just started a thread that made me wonder what our options would be if we got the #1 overall pick. I think it's safe to assume that, as of now, Jason Williams & Ming Yao would most likely be the top two picks. So, if the draft were today & we had the #1 overall pick, what would our options be? 1) We could pick one of the two & keep them. 2) We could trade the pick away for a stud player or two, like Atlanta & the Clippers did last year. 3) Or, depending upon who has the second pick, we could trade down a couple of times & acquire some key veterans to fill need areas, while dumping some big contracts. I like #3 the most & that is the point of this dreamcasting thread. We would obviously need the second team to be one that had a big woody for Williams or Ming. Again, this is a dreamcasting thread. So, what teams, that are currently in lottery contention, would have the biggest desire to acquire one of these two players, have a player or two that we would want to acquire, & be willing to swap their #2 overall pick for our #1 overall pick? The current lottery teams are: New York: They would kill for one of the two, but have no players that I would want. Miami: See New York. Indiana: Would probably want Ming. Would they part with Bender or Harrington? How about Rice/Filler for Rose (too expensive, imo)? Charlotte: They've got Davis & Magloire. Nothing on their roster that I would want, other than those two. Atlanta: They would probably be interested in Williams. Dermarr Johnson would be nice, but we could get more than him elsewhere. Cleveland: If Ilgauskas stays healthy & with Diop & Miller, they might not be willing to give up anyone of note. Chicago: Krause would sh*t a brick to get Williams. How about Miller/Artest for Cato. Denver: They'd probably love to have either one of them, but if the rumors of Van Exel & LaFrentz being traded by the trade deadline come true, then there wouldn't be anyone I would want on their roster. I'm assuming that McDyess would be untouchable. Memphis: They might want Ming. Would they be willing to part with Battier? Phoenix: They'd probably kill to have Ming, but other than Marion, who do they have that would help us? Clippers: I would imagine that they would love to have either one of the two. I think we could definitely get Odom. How about Odom/Kandi/Boykins(trade filler) for Collier/Rice? Golden State: Would be desperate for Williams. If they still have Jackson by then, how about Moochie for Jackson? The first trade would have to be with the team with the #2 overall pick. After that, we could work a trade with any team for players & a swap of the #2 overall pick for their #1 pick. We should be able to move a big contract or two, like Rice, Cato, or Taylor (wouldn't want to). Here's a couple of 3 way trades that I like, if Chicago gets the #2 overall pick: Trade #1 Houston sends Rice to Seattle. Houston sends Cato/KT/#1 overall pick to Chicago. Seattle sends their #1 pick/Rashard ( S&T @ approximately $10 million) to Houston. Chicago sends Miller to Houston. Chicago sends Artest/Anthony/#2 overall pick to Seattle. Chicago gets Williams & Seattle gets Ming in the draft. Houston ends up with Rashard/Miller/Seattle's #1 pick(currently 17-18). Trade #2 Houston sends Cato/#1 overall pick to Chicago. Houston sends KT/T-Mo to Sacramento. Chicago sends Miller/Artest to Houston. Chicago sends #2 overall pick to Sacramento. Sacramento sends Turkoglu/their #1 pick to Houston. Chicago picks Williams & Sacramento picks Ming to eventually replace Vlade. Houston ends up with Miller/Artest/Turkoglu/Sacramento's #1 pick(currently the last pick in the first round). Any dreamcasting thoughts? Dream on.
I don't think Jason Williams and Steve on the same team would work very well. And anyways, it would probably be the other way around. Williams at SG and Steve at PG. Williams likes to shoot it MUCH more than Steve does.
The Rockets need a center more than anything else. They should draft Ming. The only center I would trade Ming for is Shaq, and that's not going to happen.
7'5" players also tend to have degenerative health problems due to their abnormal height and skeletal structure. Jason Williams or trading the pick so we could end up with Rashard Lewis or Lamar Odom would make the most sense.
I'd rather have the#1 next year to get Lebron James.... some NBA scout said there's only 4 guys in the NBA he'd not trade to get him....
afer watching gooden play against texas the other night i have changes my opinion of him...if we dont land rashard, which i would like to see happen but at what expense i dont know, then i like the idea of trading the #1 pick down a couple spots and drafting gooden or drafting whoever and #1 and trading the rights in exchange for gooden... or the rockets could draft me...
I'd draft and keep Yao Ming. Why? 1) The Rockets could really use a decent center. Ming, according to all reports, is much better than decent - imagine the mismatch problems he could create. 2) The Rockets really need defense. I can't imagine how scary a defensive frontcourt of Ming/Griffin could be. If Ming is anywhere near as atheltic as Shawn Bradley is (and once again, by all accounts he is more like a tall Shaq in terms of impact that a Shawn Bradley) he should get 4 blocks a game easily. What he doesnt get, Griffin could clean up or vice-versa. Further, all this poor defensive guardplay we see, I believe, would dissapear. Very few perimeter players can make an immediate impact on a game defensively. It definitely helps when the opposing guards dont go off on you every night, but how much of that is a porduct of simply having poor defense in general (lack of rotation, no interior defense, etc). I think a lot on this board would be surprised to see how good Francis and Mobley couldbe defensively if they had a solid frontcourt backing them up. Finally, on this topic, if Rudy ever wanted to implement a zone defense just to mix it up occasionaly, Ming would be perfect for it (isnt the zone legal overseas?) 3) You can't teach height 4) An international presence. I think this helps in terms of marketing your team to fans and to other players or your own organization (is it a coincidence that Dallas and Sacramento have soo many good international players). I'm sure there are other reasons. If Ming is healthy and pre-draft camps show him to be as expected skill wise that is what I would do. Not that some of your trade scenarios arent good. I mean, getting Rashard Lewis, Brad Miller and a late teen pick out of this offseason would be great. But I think too many people on this board complain about lack of defense and then make up trades that leave us with exciting, but non-defensive minded players (which Lewis is at this point in his career or which Nick Van Exel defenitely is - although I do like how you tried to get us an Artest or Kandi). Ming would only have to have a decent level of skill and could automatically become one of the best defensive players in the game.
Personally I wasn't impressed with Gooden at all. He was lucky Thomas was guarding the other guy because everytime Thomas guarded Gooden he was shut down. Barnes blew it.
Clippers: I would imagine that they would love to have either one of the two. I think we could definitely get Odom. How about Odom/Kandi/Boykins(trade filler) for Collier/Rice? I don't think the Clips want Rice seeing how they have Maggete, Darius SF Glut and Donald Sterling hates paying players. The Clippers will need a PG and who better than Jason Williams. If we could trade the Pick/cap fillers(Cato) for Odom/Kandi (sign and trade) because they don't want to re-sign Kandi and need to develop Miles, Maggette or Odom, and with Odom's drug history, he could be the outcast. The Clippers (SCARY!!) Jason Williams Quentin Richardson Darius Miles Elton Brand Kelvin Cato bench: Corey Maggette, Keyon Dooling The Rockets (DAMN SCARY!!) Stevie Franchise Cuttino Mobley Lamar Odom Eddie Griffin Mike Olowakandi bench: KT, Mooch, Rice, Taylor Four of the Rockets starting 5, should have been Top 3 picks! (Griffin was passed on b/c of mental attitude, what a farce!) ReBuilding my ass, We'd be Re-Built! Of course Rudy would have to change the system a bit, because Lamar's talents are not hovering at the Three Point line ala Glen Rice-WaltWilliams. 25% 3pts for Lamar won't cut it! But Steve is unselfish and very similar to Lamar in that fashion. And Lamar can even play point forward with Steve playing off the ball and utilizing his shooting prowess like Pippen and Stoudamire have done lately (But Better!!!) I think Lamar is an amazing passer and rebounder as well which should help the transition game, and let Steve and Cuttino run instead of crashing the boards. A shotblocking lineup of Olowakandi-Griffin-Odom would bring tears to my eyes!
Okay then, how about this 3 team trade? Houston sends Cato/#1 overall pick to Chicago. Houston sends Moochie to Orlando. Chicago sends Miller/Artest to Houston. Chicago sends the #2 overall pick to Orlando. Orlando sends Mike Miller/Steven Hunter/their #1 pick to Houston. Chicago picks Williams & Orlando picks Ming in the draft. Orlando gets a solid PG in Moochie & the center that they desperately need. Miller might become expendable with Hill coming back & the opportunity to acquire Ming. Houston acquires B.Miller/Artest/M.Miller/Orlando's pick (currently 14-16) or one of their owed picks.
The deal with Orlando sounds interesting but how sweet would it be to rework it so that we send them Cat,they keep Miller and we get TMAC instead?!!
If we get the #1, I see us trading it. The value of Jason Williams or Yao Ming is much more intriguing to someone else than to us (assuming Cato keeps up his play). I love the idea of going for Mike Miller. I don't see a 3-way where the top 2 teams trade their picks, though. It doesn't make sense for Chicago to go through all that if the team in front of them would take Ming anyway. Keep the dreamcasting simple. Maybe: #1/Moochie for Mike Miller, Steven Hunter, pick Draft a backup PG, and the roster is basically set. BTW, watch for maybe pick exchanges. Odom may not be worth a top 3, KT, and Mooch, and more than a 20s pick, KT, and Moochie but maybe a pick swapping option for LA would do the trick.
There's no such thing. I agree with you on the 3 way with Chicago having no incentive to do it. My original thought was to do each deal seperately, with the Chicago trade going down first. There would most likely be other offers on the table for the first pick, which should be enough to force Chicago to pull the trigger on the deal. We could sweeten the pot by releasing them from the Drew obligation, but I would insist on receiving, either a second round pick this year or a future lottery protected #1 for doing that. You have to consider that Washington would definitely want to make a push for that pick as well, so they could get Williams. Oeilpere made a reference to that in another thread & mentioned Kwame Brown being involved. In any event, if the Rockets were blessed with the #1 overall pick, they would most likely be able to acquire the final pieces to the rebuilding program. Keep your fingers crossed.
PSJ, Sorry, but I don't think the CBA has any provisions for trading souls. You're on your own there.
IF my beloved rockets get THE # 1 PICK, well, that's different. That's winning the lottery. That gets you a Kwame Brown. A Micheal Olowokandi. ...where was I going with this? Trade that sucker! Ok Shaq was pretty nice. Also that guy Olajuwon. Even an Elton Brand is pretty darn good. But, IF you think the current crop can accomplish anything, the # 1 is not the way to go. They won't be here when he starts to dominate, if he does. SO we load up with firepower and steel toed boots now to A) attack Shaq and Kobe with cutting, passing, shooting; B) make them foul and play scrambing, passing lane D offset with a clogging switch zone (no one stands toe to toe with Shaq); C) jump up and down on Shaq's injury-prone Big Toe. You can get a star + (role players or unload trash) for the #1, I think. Still, you need someone who wants, no covets J.Will2 or Ming. Ming suits me fine, though, really - assuming we don't get some super package. p
