Why do people always assume that high dollar free agents will be willing to take a substantial paycut to come play here? Maybe if there is no other option out there where a team is willing to pay them what they want, but dude isn't going to just take 8 million from us if somebody else out there is foolish enough or willing(however you look at it) to meet his asking price IMO.
we may be able to get him for the MLE for 3-5 years, championship favorite status for 3+ years and a lucrative shoe deal in China to offset salary differences. i don't know though if we need another me-first undersized 2 pimped-up version of mike james circa 2006.
If you trade Battier, you now have to count on Artest in the future. I am excited about getting Artest, but not sure I want to be married to the guy. One of the nice things about the trade is that we can walk away a year later if we need to.
1. The thread misses the point completely. It doesn't matter if any fan would trade Battier for Ben Gordon. The only fact that matters is that Daryl Morey would not. The same thing goes with all of the other random trade ideas people come up wiht. 2. If Rockets actually wanted to add somewhat expensive scoring combo guard, they could have traded for Mo Williams for much less than Battier. They are not looking to make such an addition.
We aren't <I>undervaluing</I> Gordon, he is <I>overvaluing</I> himself. Teams Statistics If the Rockets move up to average 100 PPG, there aren't enough shots available for TMac, Gordon, Artest, Yao and the rest of the team. Code: Yao 20 points Scola 10 points McGrady 20 points Artest 17 points Rafer 11 points ------------------- 78 points Bench 22 points ------------------- 100 points The numbers above can be massaged some on an individual basis, but they give a general idea for expected point production. Since Artest will be in a <I>Contract Year</I> situation, he needs <I>Stat Numbers</I> to justify the nice bump in salary that he is seeking. Gordon would need plenty of shot attempts to justify the salary he would be getting. Artest would only give up the ball so much for Gordon before it would be untenable for his situation. If Gordon would be coming off of the bench and averaging 16 points a game while Artest would start and average the same or slightly more, Ron would expect at least the same salary as Gordon in his new contract. The Rockets have their limits in regards to Luxury Tax territory and paying the combined salaries of Yao, McGrady, Gordon and a resigned Artest would not be acceptable to Les in 2009. Since Morey has held tough on the Landry situation, he is unlikely to overpay for a one dimensional shooter in Gordon.
I agree. Because we obtained Artest, Gordon becomes an expensive luxury the Rocks can't afford, for both financial and team reasons.
The thread does not miss the point. On this board it does matter what the fans think. I asked their opinion. Most have answered with some form of reason as to why they believe the way they do. You should know by now that 99+% of the discussions on this board are fans dreaming about having the best team that has ever been assembled. If you don't like trade discussions & what-if scenarios, then don't read the threads. Also, you've made statements in a couple of posts indicating that you know exactly how Morey thinks. Are you Daryl Morey? Are you related to him? Do you talk to him regularly, if ever? Did you already know that Morey was working on a deal for Artest before it happened? Did you know that Morey was going to trade Gay for Battier? If not, then how can you claim to know what he's thinking? I truely believe that when I post something like this, it has a 99.99% chance of not even being thought about by the front office brass, much less considered. But, I don't see any reason why it couldn't be discussed by fellow fans to see if any of them dream the way I do. If you don't like dreaming, then don't read a thread that plainly states "Would you trade...?" in the title. Unless of course, it was started by Daryl Morey himself.
There is a reason why there was a "random trade thread." There should probably still be one. Dream about having the best team that has ever been assembled all you want. This Ben Gordon for Battier scenario, though, not only will never ever happen (unlike the Tru Warier scenario), it will not make the team better. [/quote] Yep, I knew Daryl Morey wanted Tru Warier. I know Daryl Morey would not pay Ben Gordon what Ben Gordon thinks he should be paid. I also know Daryl Morey will not give up Battier in order to get Ben Gordon. Becaues it's a bad dream. One which, if it becomes reality, will prevent the team from dreaming better dreams.
people under estimate battiers value. He will never be a go to guy, but he's got a nice hook in the paint, a killer 3 in the corner, and he's a tremendous defender who won't complain about not having the ball in his hands.....and on a team with 3 star players you need that, Ben Gordon would just be complaining about his shots. You're gonna see how many open 3's shane is gonna get when yao, tmax, or artest gets doubled this year. I cant wait to see shane and artest hound other teams
Lets put it this way: Ben Gordon turned down 6 years, $60 million and 5 years $50 million. Which part of Daryl Morey's history makes you believe he'll even consider offering that kind of money to Ben Gordon?
And what makes you so sure Gordon won't change his mind when he realizes that no one wants to pay him that much money, except for Chicago? People do change their positions & then try to justify the change by saying things like, "I accepted the offer because I have a really good chance to win a championship with this team.", or something like that. Just because they say something in the past, doesn't mean it's etched in stone & can't be changed.
Also: Cuttino Mobley: Year Team G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 99-00 HOU 81 8 30,8 0,430 0,356 0,847 0,7 2,8 3,6 2,6 1,1 0,4 2,30 2,10 15,8 00-01 HOU 79 49 38,0 0,434 0,357 0,831 1,1 4,0 5,0 2,5 1,1 0,3 2,09 2,10 19,5 01-02 HOU 74 74 42,1 0,438 0,395 0,850 0,9 3,2 4,1 2,5 1,5 0,5 2,43 2,60 21,7 Ben Gordon: Year Team G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 04-05 CHI 82 3 24,4 0,411 0,405 0,863 0,7 2,0 2,6 2,0 0,6 0,1 2,27 2,70 15,1 05-06 CHI 80 47 31,0 0,422 0,435 0,787 0,5 2,2 2,7 3,0 0,9 0,1 2,25 3,00 16,9 06-07 CHI 82 51 33,0 0,455 0,413 0,864 0,4 2,7 3,1 3,6 0,8 0,2 3,04 3,10 21,4 Looks quite similar to me...except that Gordon's 3-pt % is historically a bit better...would you pay Mobley 10 mio. per season? Or even 8? As much as I like Mobley, I'd much rather have Battier than Mobley. Same goes for Gordon. In terms of wins produced per dollar spent, I believe Battier beats both Mobley and Gordon by a mile. Moreover, I think Battier fits our team much better than either of those guys, especially after we got Artest. As Mango rightly pointed out, we have enough offense with Yao Ming, T-Mac, Artest, Scola all being very skilled offensively (I'd say 22, 23, 17, 14 for these four - and Alston, Barry, Landry, Battier all able to average close to 10 points easily). But on defense, we can truly be special this season, and we would take a huge step backwards there with Battier gone. So - to answer the thread's question again - keep Battier - he's more valuable to us than Gordon, and definitely more valuable in terms of price/performance ratio. However, I don't think that "this thread misses the point" - I think dreamcasting and speculating and making up trades is fun. No need to talk down to someone for doing it.
I meant to say I would have taken Mobley in his prime over Ben Gordon. I would still take Battier over either of them.
Actually, Gordon wants too much money whether starting or coming off the bench. As Yoda once said, there is another. DaJuan Wagner is the same size, same age, just as strong and a pure gunner just like Gordon. He seems poised for a return now that he says he is past his liver ailment. Wagner would be a lot less money for essentially the same game -- if he checks out physically.
sigh.. you people can't be serious.... I like Battier for the person he is and how much effort he puts in, but come on. Battier maybe a great defender, but no way should he be compared to a lottery pick much less trade one for him (Gay!). BTW Ben was drafted third overall. To me Battier is just an improved version of someone like James Posey.
