Knicks Trade Spoon for Moochie MSG Reported it before the game. Knicks got Moochie Norris and Amechi for Weatherspoon. Thomas has done more in 3 days then Layden did in 3 years. www.realgm.com Front page.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1697051 <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">NEW YORK -- Reserve forward Clarence Weatherspoon was traded Tuesday from the New York Knicks to the Houston Rockets for point guard Moochie Norris and center John Amaechi. It was the first trade engineered by Isiah Thomas, coming just eight days after he took over for fired Knicks team president Scott Layden. The Knicks had been in buyout talks with Weatherspoon, who is signed for two more seasons for $12.2 million. Instead, Thomas found a trading partner in the Rockets who have been in need of frontcourt depth ever since they suspended and then released forward Eddie Griffin</div> Now the Knicks have 4 point guards, and the Rockets get some frontcourt toughness.
What a fantastic move by the Rockets!!!! :mrgreen: I like every other sane Rockets fan am estatic that the Rockets got rid of Moochie Norris. What a relief!!! Ever since we suspended Eddie Griffin the Rockets have had a lack of inside depth at the PF and C slots. This trade definetly fills that void for us. The Rockets this year have also had a problem rebounding the basketball. weatherspoon should help us out a lot in that area. The only thing potentially negative about this trade is that Weatherspoon has a big salary, 12,250,000+ the next two years. However, I will be willing to take that knowing that Moochie is out of town. It doesn't look like we will be getting Kurt Thomas now. As of right now, the current depth chart has Mike Wilks listed as the back-up PG. It wouldn't suprise me if another move is made to add another back-up PG or if we address this in the draft this year.
This move basically saves the Knicks a little bit of cash and all but seals Charlie Ward's fate. If Ward is not dealt by Jan 15, he will be cut allowing the Knicks to save about 4 million in cap space.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rocko220:</div><div class="quote_post">This move basically saves the Knicks a little bit of cash and all but seals Charlie Ward's fate. If Ward is not dealt by Jan 15, he will be cut allowing the Knicks to save about 4 million in cap space.</div> hopefully my rockets will be there to pick him up off waivers. honestly, why do yall hate him so much? ive heard about rumors of being a locker room cancer or something of that sort.
I don't hate Ward at all. I think he is a very usefull back-up PG. However, the Knicks seem to be comitted to starting Frank Williams and with Howard Eisley/Moochie Norris/Charlie Ward backing him up they have little need to keep all 3 backups around. So it turns out that 4 million in cap space is more valuable to the knicks than another backup PG. They might make a trade, they might choose to keep the 4 mil, either way Ward will find a home with one of the league's many teams in need of a backup '1'.
Charlie Ward a lockerroom cancer? I doubt it, or he wouldn't have lasted a decade in said lockerroom. He's just overrated and Knicks fans know it. I like this trade from both sides. Not sure why Dex doesn't like him, but I've always considered Moochie to be one of the top back up points in the L, and he played solidly when Francis had those migraines a couple years back. And like Dex said, Spoon gives the Rockets some much needed frontcourt depth. Another banging body next to Yao can't hurt.
Isiah is clearly putting some fire under the butts of the Knicks players by initiating this trade so quickly into his tenure with the franchise. He's named players who need to improve or bounce and I think that the remaining squad members will respond accordingly.
All this trade tells me is that Isiah is going to make another trade. With this recent trade the Knicks are a team full of pf/C & backup point guards. I think the Knicks are going to offer Kurt thomas& either Eisley or Ward in a package deal for an athletic wing player (not really for sure who yet).
Does anyone think that John Amaechi can help the Knicks? Since it's apparent that Chaney has no faith in Deke, Ameachi might get some minutes at center. I ask because I haven't seen Ameachi play since his Orlando days.
Looks like the Rockets won't be needing Rasheed Wallace now. However, had the trade happened two weeks earlier, I would have been all for it. Now that Mo Taylor's play has been fantastic, Spoon might find it hard to find minutes. You never want a guy making 12 mil not to play at least 20 minutes a game. Also, this trade means that Steve Francis might have to play 40-45 minutes every night since Jeff Van Gundy obviously did not prefer to let Wilks play a huge role. Maybe the Rockets can sign someone like Tim Hardaway or Jermaine Jackson, both of whom are reliable backups who are not very turnover-prone. That can give us a change of pace when Francis comes out of the game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Waneko:</div><div class="quote_post">Does anyone think that John Amaechi can help the Knicks? Since it's apparent that Chaney has no faith in Deke, Ameachi might get some minutes at center. I ask because I haven't seen Ameachi play since his Orlando days.</div> He will be waived by the Knicks in the next few days. He was included in the trade strickly for salary cap reasons. See the following thread for a link to the article: http://justbball.hotmel.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10994
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting franchise3:</div><div class="quote_post">Looks like the Rockets won't be needing Rasheed Wallace now. However, had the trade happened two weeks earlier, I would have been all for it. Now that Mo Taylor's play has been fantastic, Spoon might find it hard to find minutes. You never want a guy making 12 mil not to play at least 20 minutes a game. Also, this trade means that Steve Francis might have to play 40-45 minutes every night since Jeff Van Gundy obviously did not prefer to let Wilks play a huge role. Maybe the Rockets can sign someone like Tim Hardaway or Jermaine Jackson, both of whom are reliable backups who are not very turnover-prone. That can give us a change of pace when Francis comes out of the game.</div> I think that the Rockets must have something up their sleeve if they traded away Moochie. It might be a future trade or they might sign a veteran FA point guard like you said, however leaving Mike Wilks as the back-up point guard, sort of scares me.
Well the time for ten-days is coming, so the Rockets should at least take a look at one prospect backup unless a deal is done beforehand.
I liked this trade, altho in general, it was scrub-for-scrub. But its better to always get size, and plus Weatherspoon is a smart veteran who will help out on the boards and can score inside. Where his minutes will come from, I dunno- which means that I think there is another trade coming, which, rationally, would have to mean Taylor and/or Cato is involved. But I dont wanna see EITHER go.
