With what we know now, what would YOU try to do this summer, if you were CD?

There is another trade out there that might be worth looking into. According to the article at the bottom of this post, Drew Gooden is available. How would you feel about this trade?

Houston sends Francis/Cato/Nachbar/next year's #1 pick to Orlando.

Orlando sends Gooden/Garrity/Lue/this year's #1 pick/Hill to Houston.

Orlando gets to pair Francis with McGrady to form one of the most lethal & entertaining back courts in the NBA. That alone, would put fans in the seats. They'd have Howard at PF for scoring & rebounding down low & Cato would give them a tough, defensive minded center to control the middle (Cato could be a monster in the East). An added bonus, would be Francis & Cato's familiarity with each other & the alley-oop slam dunks. Nachbar brings hustle, toughness, & a slashing style of play that would be more suited to their team than our half court offense.

The whole deal would depend on the Rocket's team doctors giving Garrity a clean bill of health. If not, then I don't make the deal. Assuming that Garrity is completely recovered, Houston gets a young stud at PF in Gooden to pair with Yao, a sweet shooting SF in Garrity with exceptional 3pt shooting range, a solid young PG in Lue, a top five #1 pick this year, & Hill's albatross contract that expires in 3 years. If we sign Payton (assuming he opts out of his contract) or Barry with the MLE, our lineup next year could look like this:

C: Yao/FA or #1 pick (Okafor?)
PF: Gooden/Taylor/Spoon
SF: Garrity/JJ/FA or #1 pick?
SG: JJ/Mobley/Piatkowski
PG: Payton or Barry/Lue/Wilks

Depending on the matchups, I could start Garrity (6'9") at SF & JJ (6'6") at SG, or JJ at SF & Mobley (6'4") at SG. The addition of Gooden/Garrity/Payton (6'4") or Barry (6'6"), & being able to start JJ at SG, would give us the ability to go with a tall lineup & a small lineup.

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/columnstoryS0429DRILLDENTON.htm

NEWS FLASH: Magic general manager John Weisbrod says it's likely either Juwan Howard or Drew Gooden will be traded this summer to free up the logjam at power forward.

One of the biggest questions heading into last season was how would Gooden and Howard coexist while trying to share minutes at the same position. Among the Magic's many problems in a dreadful 21-61 season was the fact that their second (Howard) and third-best players (Gooden) were a duplication of talent. The Magic tried to play them together, moving Howard to center and Gooden to small forward, but both moves failed miserably.

Since trading star guard Tracy McGrady is a last resort, the Magic will assuredly look into dealing either Gooden or Howard this summer as a means of improving their roster. Howard has five more years on his contract, meaning Gooden will likely be the one to go.

"I'm sure there's a way they can both come back next year, but I think it's fair to say that that's a chemistry issue and a maximizing-your-resources issue," Weisbrod said. "The way it looked this season, it would be less than ideal to put ourselves in that position again."

Gooden seemed ready for stardom following a dazzling performance against Ben Wallace and the Detroit Pistons in the 2003 playoffs. But his game seemed to be thrown off track by the arrival of Howard. He eventually was moved to a reserve role, one that infuriated him.

"Drew was as hard working a guy as we had, but maybe he got knocked off kilter by some other things," Weisbrod said. "He had to be wondering where he fit into the mix with Juwan here. In his case, I think he was willing to pay the price to get better. And then he came into the year and had to be saying, 'What's this guy doing signed here in my job spot?' He acted it out whereas he might not have if he was a five-year veteran.

"There's a responsibility of our group to get the most out of the players that we get. But we also have to get the right guys."

 

Yao, Brand, AND T-Mac!!!

Okay, as long as we're tossing out our pipe dreams, I might as well post my dream trade scenario.

First and foremost, I'm not in the camp of trading Steve in an "addition by subtraction" type of move. Unless we can get a major upgrade, we should keep Steve and Co. and see if the team can grow together.

But in my dream scenario:

We would trade Steve for the No. 2 pick, if Okafur goes number one. If we can trade Steve for the rights to Dwight Howard, either from Orlando who probably wouldn't want Howard if T-Mac isn't going to stand his growing pains, and Chicago who might not want Howard because they have been burned by young, raw, big men in the past.

Now if we have Howard, we might be able to trade him to Utah for Kirilenko. Utah might do it, because Dwight Howard would be a great fit. First off, he is a religious young man, which wouldn't be a bad thing in SLC (he isn't a Morman, but he is a pious, devout person). Secondly he has some huge upside, and could be better than AK47.

Once we have Kirilenko, then we move either Cato or Mobley to Indiana for Al Harrington. I'm guessing that Indiana would rather have Mobley as a successor to Reggie Miller.

With a Yao/AK47/Harrington front court along with Boki off the bench, we would have a bunch of big men and swing players with length, athleticism, and versatility. AK47 and Harrington can slide back and forth between the forward positions. They are both long and can play both the sf, and pf positions.

At this point we would have a glut of big men, so we would look to move either Cato or Mo for some backcourt help.

If possible, I would move Mo to Seattle for a signed Barry and Luke Ridnour. So our lineup would be:

Yao/Cato
AK47/Harrington/Spoon
Harrington/Boki
JJ/Barry/Pike
Barry/Ridnour/Wilks

I'd look for this team to run a lot because we would finally have some forwards that can get up and down the court. And in the half court set, I'd look for the offense to run through Yao with plenty of cuts and movement.

 

Gater: this is a GREAT post it stimulates the mind and besides that I like what you are saying!

 

I liked the team that ROXTXIA put together the most.

However, it was interesting to read what guys like Sherlock, Relativist, GATER, NIKEstrad, and Hottoddie had to say (all outstanding GARM posters unlike myself ). Yet, if any of those deals happened that they mentioned, then we would seriously need to check Carroll Dawson and make sure that is really him and not some impostor.

 

I am glad I do not have to make personnel decisions for the Houston Rockets this offseason because there are going to be some very tough calls to make.

Steve Francis will be the biggest decision the Rockets will have to make this offseason. Steve Francis' series against the Lakers has shown that he is one of those players that raises his competitive level in the playoffs and do not underestimate the value of such a player. However, Francis also has shown that unless it is the biggest of games, he will barely show up at all and that's not going to do much for the Rockets getting out of the bottom of the western conference playoff picture any time soon. And even when the guy is on, he still plays so out of control and so wreckless that he becomes a liability in spite of all the things he does well. What Francis' strong showing in the playoffs has done to my analysis of Francis is make him definitelty untradeable in cases where we are getting three role players in return in which we would just be clearing his salary from the team. It's a star for a star or nothing as far as Francis is concerned. Francis is defintely not untradeable though in my opinion. If the right deal comes along, you make it because I believe there is a lot of good talent out there that is more worthy of a max contract than Steve Francis is.

Cato, Taylor, and Mobley could save Francis' roster spot on the Rockets if the franchise chooses to move Cato's and Taylor's overpaid contracts and throw Mobley into the deal to get something of value in return. These are very frustrating players merely because they are overpaid. Cato's fantastic on the defensive end, but that is all he brings to the table as he is a liability on offense. Taylor can be this team's greatest offensive weapon at times, but he is a power forward that can't play defense and rebound. At cheaper prices we would be referring to these guys as solid role players. With their current contracts they are poor to fair investments and better players could be had for their price tags. As far as Cuttino Mobley goes I think he is an underrated defender with a quick first step on offense and he can shoot the 3 well enough to be a good piece of the puzzle in an inside outside attack. If he needs to be part of a package to bring in an all star type player then I think you have to make the deal, but I would have no problem keeping Mobley for what he brings at his current price.

The Rockets are not as close as many on this message board like to say they are. I think they have glaring needs still at PF, PG, and SF. Given the free agents/potential trades that seem to be out there as of May 2, I would look to trade Francis for an all star caliber power forward and then try to use the trade excpetion to sign a quality point guard. I think it will take some wizardry on the organization's part to address their needs at all three positions this offseason so I think you stick with JJ as a SG/SF type and hope that Nachbar will finally crack the rotation next season.

THE BIG GAMBLE: I think the Rockets have little choice other than throwing all of their faith into Yao Ming given how difficult it is to find a decent big man these days and given his seemingly limitless potential. The frustrating thing for the Rockets organization is that judgement day is probably this offseason, not next offseason and we probably will not be able to make a good assessment on where Yao Ming's future in this league lies until he gets one more season under his belt. A key factor will be what Yao does after he fulfills his obligation to the Chinese National team in this summer's Olympic Games. Yao clearly has stamina problems and I do think they are linked to him playing the game year round. He is going to have to choose what's more important to him, playing for his home country and doing his patriotic duty, or playing in the NBA. I think the man's endorsements will falter if he leaves the NBA, but I think he's achieved an icon status in China that would still allow him to pick up quite a substantial paycheck even without the NBA on his resume from sports drink and show copanies that are trying to get into the Chinese market (in other words, Yao doesn't need the NBA as much as you would think he does even if being in the NBA would make his pay even more lucrative than it would be if he remained in China).

As for the Rockets, they will be trying to build the team around Yao Ming this offseason before they really have a good handle on whether or not they should. I think it is the right thing to do, but it is also a big gamble given Yao's current conditioning, aggressiveness, and the possibility (the size of which no one can really say) that Yao will explore leaving Houston at the end of his third season next offseason.

Again, I would like to shake the hand of any person alive that has all the right answers with regards to what moves the Rockets will make this offseason because I think any player moved will have its potential risks and rewards. The current roster has done enough to make us say, "Hey maybe this group can get it done together.", but they have not removed the word "maybe" from that statement.

 

Hottoddie, no you didn't!

Are you a Magic fan?

 

Excellent post, Deuce.

 

Man it's going to be a looooooooooooooooong offseason.

 

As mentioned, the trade with the Raptors wouldn't happen, mainly because it simply doesn't address their needs at all.


They never had a big man last year, and their pg played hurt when he played. But they were deep, when healthy, at the 2-3 spots, and often had to play 3 or 4 swingmen at the same time.

They have 2 specific needs, a pg and a 5. Additionally, after years of Carter having to suffer through double and triple coverages, they finally appear to have his second star in Bosh. They are looking to address their needs at the 1 and 5, one through the draft, the other through trades/free agency. They would not give up one of those to simply add another swing man, quality as he is.

But Marshall might be availabe, and might be a perfect fit for the Rockets. Just don't know what we'd send the other way. Cato's not enough, and no one else fits.

 

Macbeth, what if we took on Alvin Williams and maybe even threw in a future first-rounder? (Something like Cato, Pike for Marshall, Williams) You think Toronto would bite?

I don't know that I'd do it. I'm not convinced Marshall is the guy for us.

 

Retire.

 

Those are all tough issues the Rockets need to address, but why they have to address them this offseason?

The easiest approach is keeping the CORE of this team, namely Yao & Francis, together until the end of next season, then you will have a better handle of what Yao can be developed into, whether Yao & Francis can co-exist, and whether JVG can coach this team with those two as the core. And I think the Rockets will just do that, keep the core of the team, make some minor trades.

I'm not saying this team can develop into a great team, or JVG is the right coach to lead them, but giving them ONE more year is the logical, and the easiest approach for Les & CD.

 

I honestly don't know.

As is, depending on their draft status ( and you should know that the Raps have been screwed in the lottery every year since their inception, so the 8 spot is hardly a guarantee), as things stand, they have the potential to fill the two spots they need and set up a potential huge turnaround next year. Say they stay at 8 and draft Gordon, Hariis, or Neloson. One spot taken care of. Now they have Marshall to parlay into a 5. Or they take a C in the draft and have Marshall to turn into a pg. Whether Cato is the answer for them is questionable. I'd think he'd fit on a minor scale, but one of his two prime commodities, the ability to guard bigger 5's, would be mostly wasted in the EC, and he's never held up as a starter. SO whether the Raps would want to put it all into a gamble on an overpaid Cato is questionable at best.

Taking on a contract might not get it done, but I would say it would be a must. AW is not the top of their list for guys they want to unload, however, as he's kind of the heart and sould of the team, hurt as he often is.

As to whether Marshall fits, I'm more optimistic. We've all wanted to have a Mo Taylor who rebounds and plays D, and that's essentially what you get with Marshall. Plus he's great hitting 3's. He's only 6'9", but he has incredibly long arms, and he plays completely within the system. Sloan loved him, and any coach would. Additionally, he's a really nice guy and team player who never complains. The Raps love him, and are only even considering moving him because Bosh is obviously the future, and Marshall is their only real movable asset.

 

There is something to be said for holding on to Cato another year. During the 05-06 season, Kelvin will be in the final year of his contract, and may be more valuable to more teams.

 

MacBeth -
I am a huge Chris Bosh fan. Let's say the Rox were willing to take on Jalen Rose and his contract to get Bosh. What in your unbiased opinion would be enough from HOU for TOR to part with Rose and Bosh? (With only Yao as untouchable).

 

GATER, Bosh is untouchable. Toronto will trade Carter before they trade Bosh.

 

God, I don't know this either. As mentioned, Bosh is seen as the long sought after second star, the answer to years of struggling to get VC through waves of defenders. It might easily be construed that he is more untouchable than VC. I also should admit that I love him, he's everything I like in a player: modest, instinctive, smart as hell, and an incredibly hard worker and team player. Reminds me of Garnett in so many ways.

Obviously anyone below Francis wouldn't get it done...the question is whether Francis does, either. Not because of talent level, but just do VC and SF fit together? Unsure. Moreoever, VC and CB4 DO fit together. I remember a year or so ago trying to figure out, short of T_Mac's return, which NBA player's skill set would combine best with Carter's...and I came up with Garnett. Not because he's the best ( Duncan, etc. could argue that) but because they compliment each other so well. And now they have the closest thing to KG I've ever seen. I would say his ceiling is quite higher than Stevie's, at this point. I would also say that a VC/SF combination, while great, would not be a sure fire title contender, but if Bosh develops the way many expect, a VC/KG or Jermaine' O'Neal or Duncan or whoever depending on which expert you're listening to) type would be the basis for an almost certain top team.

On the other hand, SF and VC would be two certain stars, which could be tempting. Bosh could still fail to develop, while it doesn't appear to seem all that likely, and Steve is a known quantity. They would sure as hell be exciting to watch. But the Raps might baulk simply because of attitude: CB is all you want, while Steve has definite question marks.

Lastly, Bosh is years away from being a $ problem, while taking on SF woudl essentially cap the Rockets ability to add more. Rose sort of does the same thing, but ( if I'm not mistaken) for a shorter period.

 

did i miss somthing about rashard lewis? Y is he on the trading block and didnt he sign a big contract last year?

 

That was why I phrased it that way. Francis is $23m and 2 years more expensive than Rose. Francis + Cato (or Taylor) works capwise for Rose and Bosh. Thanks for the feedback.