I've been thinking about this exception for a while now. Here's why I think it gives us a very significant advantage. Indiana is the ONLY other team out there with one. Everyone in the league wants cap space and they are all willing to hand over players in exchange. Since the Pacers' exception expires on Tuesday, chances are that many free agent deals and team needs will still be unfinished. That leaves us sitting here with a $4.4 million exception until October. That leaves us in the unique position of being the only team in the league that can offer cap space in exchange for players. That makes the Rox look awfully good. ------------------ Save Our Rockets and Comets SaveOurRockets.com
Great Post Jeff!!! And I trust that Rudy and CD will get a quality player or players to improve the frontcourt. ------------------ "Don't think twice, its allright"
True, very true. Also, with Drew, Massenburg, Rogers and now possibly Thomas among others used as trade bait, those are role players that every team could use. Combine them with the exception and maybe a quality player could be coming our way. Azim da Dream ------------------ We don't live for the destination. We live for the journey.
Can we throw Collier in for free? After the Rocky Revue it is obvious that he is a waste of cap space. Here is an idea for clutch - how about a vote, among members on which draft picks they would prefer now!!! Prysbilla & Langi (and no 1st round pick next year) or Collier & Langhi and at the best a 20th pick next year. ------------------
Dermarr Johnson has been terrible too in the summer leagues. Is he a bust too? I'm sorry, but there is no way you can label a player a bust after watching a few summer league games in which he rarely even got to touch the ball. If the NBA wrote off every player with a bad summer league performance, we would be short of a lot of good players right now. I still firmly believe Collier will be a good pick and great fit for the Rockets, and that it is ridiculous to think you know his future after a few summer league games. If I were correct barbourdg, you were the guy saying we were in the lottery again after being beat by Dallas in the first game. The summer league is just a chance for some unknowns, rookies, and young players to gain some experience. It doesn't determine their whole career or how good they will be. It also doesn't determine a team's season if they lose in a summer league. It is just a summer league, and is not at all the type of event you can base judging a player's whole career on or a team's success on. As for your questions, Collier cannot be traded until December 15. And I also would rather have Collier, Langhi, and a first next year. ------------------ Looking for next year's Dan Langhi? Draftsource.net [This message has been edited by The Cat (edited July 30, 2000).]
As opposed to a player that will help us in the past? ------------------ Going for the Rolls Royce! visit www.swirve.com
Does anyone else detect the irony in The Cat's post? It's too early to tell if he'll work out or not, but you firmly believe that he was a good pick? Hold on there a second buddy. Comparing Collier to Demarr Johnson isn't quite fair. Demarr's 3 year's younger, after all, and has more time to develop. Part of Rudy T's vaunted drafting strategy in the first place is supposed to be getting players who are ready to contribute now. Collier very obviously isn't ready yet... and I'm not sure he ever will be. Collier is a jump shooting center that doesn't shoot quite well enough to be the outside threat the Rockets need to clear the lane and make Shaq play outside. Anything else would shock (and delight) me. He'll be a bust. (dan langhi, however, rocks) ------------------
Alright, fair enough. But also, Deshawn Stevenson, a high school kid, played very well in the Revue. If he could, why couldn't Dermarr? Austin Croshere was a senior out of Providence in '98 I believe. He did nothing in the summer leagues or even in his first 2 seasons. Is he a bust? I admit, Collier right now is not ready to step in tomorrow for example and be a good NBA player. But he was brought along as somewhat of a project too. He has the skills, but he needs someone to guide him through NBA life and how to put it all together. That is where Rudy comes in. We haven't had a chance to see Rudy and CD work with Collier yet. They have helped out post players a lot in the past with footwork, showing them moves, and likewise. After watching Collier in college (I have) and the Revue, I do believe he has some nice skills for Rudy and CD to work with. Rudy has done amazing things with players in the past, and he is taking a player here that already has a good talent base. We need to give him a chance before rushing to our judgment. ------------------ Looking for next year's Dan Langhi? Draftsource.net
I think Collier needs to develop something going to his right to be able to be a decent player. He showed in the revue that he can rebound and he's a big lump of a lad. He ran the pick and roll well with Moochie and he missed a couple of easy finishes, (finishes that he made in college). He's not the sort of player who can create his own shot and I think he'll benefit when he plays alongside the "real" rockets and he hardly draws any defensive pressure. He'll get open looks from 15 and should find himself the opportunity to finish from some passes. Hey, at least his hands aren't as bad as Cato (although at times in the revue they looked bad... they're really not!!) ------------------
I don't think any of us have seen the real Jason Collier yet, because he is playing hurt. Collier led the ACC in rebounding, so I am looking forward to watching him playing without back pain. If he ends up cracking the rotation, then he was a good pick. Remember, we picked up a million in cap space and a first round draft pick in the Collier deal. ------------------
Wont that put us even further over the cap if we trade just the exception for a player/players???? ------------------ Who's ya daddy?
SirCharles-Yes it will. Which is probably why it hasn't been used already. The Rockets I think will only trade it for a player that will help them now, and/or the future (a highly talented player, such as a Maggette) ------------------ The more lefties on your team, the better. Collier is Seven Foot and Left Handed. How can you go wrong? Trade or bench Kenny Thomas.
Maybe Im a tad slow today, but why does everyone say that we picked up a million in cap space next year, by picking collier instead of Pryz.??? We also received a pick next year that is likely to eat up any space gained by signing Collier at the 15 slot instead of Pryz at the 9 slot. Got answers? [This message has been edited by Dreamshake (edited July 31, 2000).]
Yea, i was wondering about that too. Where did we pick up that 1 million? ------------------ Francis out top, 9 seconds on the clock, he gives a no look pass to Cuttino Mobley, 4 seconds left, Mobley passes to an open Langhi in the corner with 1 second left! Langhi at the buzzer.......YES!!! How Sweet It Is!!
I don't know if this is true, but this is the only way that I can see that we saved the cap space; A draft pick counts as 0 in cap space for us right now - and I'm guessing that it must count as 0 in cap space until the player inks his name on the bottom of that contract. That way we could merely put off signing our draft picks until after Aug 1st (by which time we'd have signed our FA's) and voila we saved cap space. Of course I can't see how that can be right because this year Orlando threw all their draft picks away to free up more cap space.... ...personally I couldn't care about the 1mill of cap space we may or may not have saved, we got another pick in next years draft so we should have 2 reasonably high picks and SURELY we can manage to get a good player out of one of them? I don't hold out high hopes of signing Webber because he has stated he wants to play with a contender and theres no way we're a contender by the end of this season... ------------------
For trade purposes the unsigned draft picks count as 0 in salary. Mango ------------------ 1. Put new topics in the proper forum 2. Use clear wording for new threads 3. No duplicate threads 4. Conduct yourself as an adult The Serious Police are watching Donate Blood or be assimilated! [This message has been edited by Mango (edited July 31, 2000).]
"That leaves us in the unique position of being the only team in the league that can offer cap space in exchange for players. That makes the Rox look awfully good." True, but Houston will have to use the exception soon so that the team that trades with Houston can use that cap space during the free agent signing period. ------------------ Forget regrets or life is yours to miss.
I get a kick out of reading posts from people like barbordg and haven who think they know more about basketball and talent than Rudy & CD. DrNuegebauer As far as the cap goes, Langhi and Collier have signed already. ------------------
Cat, I agree with you that we need to give Collier a chance to prove himself. I hope he turns out to be a good player. My gut feeling is that he is a dud. I had the same feeling when I first saw Bryce Drew. Many of the people were saying the same thing. Just give Drew a chance and he will be awesome. Well 3 years later and the Rockets are looking to ship Bryce to another team. I think we will be lucky if we get a second round draft pick. I see the same exact thing happening with Collier. I was expecting Collier to be our version of Micheal Doliac. I just don't see it happening. I hope he proves me wrong. But I just don't see it. I have a feeling that we will be looking to get rid of Collier two or three years from now. The same way we are trying to get rid of Drew today. I do not claim to be Rudy or CD but in my opinion both Bryce Drew and Jason Collier were a waste of first round draft picks. What pisses me off is that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is designed to penalize teams who make good second round draft selections (i.e. the Rockets). ------------------ There's no 'I' in the word team, but there's three of them in Isaiah Rider.
