whats a reasonable free agent we can sign nxt yr at the 4?

Agree -- but for another reason. The Hornets have a lot of money to throw at him, and they have declared they will do so. Remember, his family lives in Louisiana, where he grew up. The Hornets may be a bad team, but I think the money will be too strong of an inducement.

 

When was the last time a FA played well when cashing out to his local team?

 

I am sure the Rockets will look at guys like SAR, Marshall, and Swift. As will NJ. NJ has just as big a PF hole as we do so I am sure they are going to be in the hunt.

If we can obtain a solid PF and have Howard come off the bench at the PF spot I think that would be nice. Howard and a resigned Deke would be a nice 4/5 combo coming off the bench.

I like SAR, but I am not sure he contributes as much "off the ball" as someone like Marshall or Swift. Seems like SAR is much more effective when he gets a lot of touches. So that might be something that would concern me about SAR in terms of him fitting in with Tmac and Yao. With Marshall you would have the shooting and with Swift you would have the shot blocking and defense. Just a few things to think about. But nevertheless, any of those guys added to our team would certainly help improve our overall talent and depth and that is a plus.

 

Do we really need to protect our 7'6" 300+ pound center, who has only missed two games in his career? We already have the best protector for Yao; Deke, who gives him time to rest.

The best protection for Yao is someone opposing defenses can't leave to double down on Yao. My vote is for Shareef.

 

Slightly over the hill? He's 28 years old! 28 years old is slightly over the hill? My god, man. What do you consider prime? 24? 25? If so, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are both in their primes and it's all down hill from here.

 

Maybe he was talking about in basketball experience. He's not old, but then he is a 9 year veteran, who, despite solid numbers most of his caree, has only made the all-star team once and NEVER been to the playoffs. Not over the hill, but past his prime?? Shouldn't be from an age perspective, but who knows.

All that said, if he was the type of player who said that he was tired of losing, I'd gladly accept his talent and attitude on the Rockets. He is a very similar player to Juwon, but better and younger.

 

I think it's about protection from foul trouble. Yao has NEVER been as foul prone as he is now. That is either from a change in rules or a change in "protection." Considering the Rockets no longer have that athletic interior defender to play alongside Yao, it is only logical that it is why his fouls are going up.

 

I meant that he has already hit his peak, and demonstrated that he's not capable of being THE star on a team. Thankfully, we don't need him to be. For him, it IS all downhill from here...i.e. a shade over the hill in nba standards.

He would be an absolutely great addition to the team though, provided he doesn't mind not having the ball in his hands all the time.

 

Exactly what Jay said.

Last year, we could throw Cato on the Shaqs and Tim Duncans of the league to protect Yao from getting into foul trouble. If we had that now, and Yao averaged just a few more minutes a game, how much better do you suppose we'd be?

I don't really wanna look at PFs in the league, per se. How about undersized Cs or PF types playing C in the league right now?

SAR - he's more of a SF/PF. I'd rather look into the bigger guys, the C/PF types.

 

Draft Ivan McCfarlin !!

 

I don't think Yao needs a C/PF type of 4. He can handle the Shaqs, Duncans, and Amares on his own. Yao's foul troubles come when he's forced to go defend out on the peremeter. That's why he needs a Horry/Marion type of power forward.

Look at all the starting power forwards of all the West playoff teams. Dirk, Marion, Radmanovic, Kenny Thomas, Martin. These are all small forwards playing the power forward position.

 

On Shareef:

He doesn't WANT to play the 4. He's not a good defender at the 4. He's a perennial loser everywhere. And he'll probably still get more $ than he's worth. Please no.

On Murphy:

I think ideal player for us. Juwan didn't play all that much D before coming here (better than Troy, yeah..but still)--JVG got him up just like he's done with others. I think he could do that with a young Troy who already has the rest of the tools to be perfect for us.

But no, we're not getting him for contracts and a pick. what!? So sadly, he's not an option.


Chandler/Swift are probably out of our price range, but I'd hope we take a look anyway and try.

Turiaf to the guy who's obsessed...not gonna make it in the NBA as a starting 4. I think he could stick as a backup.


Brings us back to Evans. Probably the best option in our range that's been mentioned. With our restrictions, we're not gonna get the ideal player from all aspects..his lack of a J hurts, but I think his other characteristics are more important to us.

 

Troy Murphy is definitely not gonna happen. He just got a new contract this year, and they're giving him more & more responsibility on both sides of the ball. He'd be 4th fiddle (at BEST) here; I'm sure he likes playing a bigger role with his team.

I doubt Ty Chandler would happen either, although Chicago isn't really all that impressed with Eddie Curry ... might be someone to consider.

They brought this topic up on 610 yesterday sometime after I got home from work. I thought it was pretty funny that the on-air guys were trying to make it a legit conversation and callers kept on bringing outrageous ideas like trading for Elton Brand. Uh ...


Honestly, I think getting SAR doesn't solve anything. Realistically, if we could get SAR on the cheap, best thing to do would be to slide him to the 3, move TMac back to the 2, then guys like Wesley & Sura become a little more expendable and we have better trade bait for a 4. So we're at the same point we were before - we need a 4.

 

If I remember correctly, he preferred to play the PF position after his stint in Atlanta. I think he was kind of forced to go back to the 3 in Portland because of Randolph.

Besides, you really don't think he's worth the MLE? His value has gone down significantly since the trade to Portland and it's conceivable (albeit pretty unlikely) that teams won't be offering him any more than that. After last offseason's free agent splurge, most teams don't exactly have the best cap situation.

 

Can Washington afford to keep both Larry Hughes and Kwame Brown?

 

You remember correctly, Kyrodis. Shareef wants to play the four. Where he didn't want to play was at the three or coming off the bench.

Also, while I'll agree SAR is probably never going to be much better than he is right now, I bet he still has another 3-5 years of playing at the level he's currently playing at before he is actually over the hill. How many times he's been on the All-Star team has more to do with how terrible the teams he's been on have been and the fact he's spent most of his career in the power forward loaded Western conference. I honestly don't think he's a loser. In fact, I think to put up the statistics he puts up year in and year out despite the fact his team is bad and his money is gauranteed says a lot about him. I agree he's never going to be a player that'll carry his team to a championship and he never was going to be. However, I don't think that's much of a knock against him as there are very few players in the league, or for that matter the history of the league, that are capable of doing that. I think he'd be a fantastic PF for us and he's as good a third option as you'll find in the NBA.

All in all though, I'm not going to be too particular about who the Rockets bring in. I just want to see them improve at the 4. I'd like to see the team get a little younger and more athletic too. Not too much, just a little.

 

Will Washington even try to afford Kwame Brown? I say that they let him walk.

 

Two things:
1. What's with all this talk of SnT's? Why would other teams be inclined to help us. It's not like we actually have anything other teams would want (yeah I know about the expiring contracts). Maybe they'd SnT Swift for Yao, but CD would need a hole in his head to do that one.
2. SAR is not a great player, but what this he's a perennial loser talk? Last time I checked, he played for powerhouses like the Grizzlies, back when they were still in Vancouver; of course there is the eternal contenders, the Atlanta Hawks; and finally, there is the drug pushers. Trade him to the all mighty Clippers and he'd be all set.

 

Not that I think we have a chance at Troy Murphy, but out of curiousity. Who exactly on our current team is the unwaivering 3rd option that would make Troy Murphy 4th fiddle?