Just went down within the past hour: reports are that Portland has traded Dale Davis and another player to be named later to Golden State for Nick Van Exel...While its still entirely possible that Portland may now have interest in one of our many PFs with the exodus of Davis, doesnt this mean that if they do deal with the Rockets, it has to be within the next 48 hours? IMO, this trade does not make sense for either GS or Portland... As for our own situation, it was reported on FOX 26 last nite that the Rockets have made contact with the agent of Charlie Ward, and that there is mutual interest between the two parties. Ward, while old and clearly on the decline of his career, is beloved by Van Gundy for his defensive ability, leadership and ability to knock down the 3, which he did at a 40% clip last season.
In related news, its been reported on ESPN that Philadelphia has just traded Eric Snow to the Cavs for Kedrick Brown and Kevin Ollie... would this mean that Cleveland would consider trading us Snow for Piatkowski and Taylor, whom they have been rumored to have sincere interest in??
Wow, two of our candidates have since been traded. I like the proposal of Taylor and Pike for Snow, but trading Taylor would make our bench the worst in the NBA. I don't know about that...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting johnny33:</div><div class="quote_post">Portland doesn't need a PF.. they have Zach Randolph</div> Cleveland does though, they just lost Carlos Boozer to free agency, and Taylor would be a great addition at the PF spot, especially in the East.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Wow, two of our candidates have since been traded. I like the proposal of Taylor and Pike for Snow, but trading Taylor would make our bench the worst in the NBA. I don't know about that...</div> piatkowski wouldn't be much of a loss, but taylor is instant offense. who's gonna come off the bench and help score?
Yea Snow is not worth losing Mo Taylor...What r u thinking stop tripping!!!!!!!! Mo taylor had a career year last year and is only gonna get better with t-mac on the team. I guess we get charlie ward or re-sign mark jackon. Our chances are slim now to get anyone better.
I don't know what the Rockets are doing besides getting TMAC they haven't done anything else right. Ostertag did not want to play with us and I personally think he would have been a good backup but it is getting slim all the way around for any position. We need a few more pieces or it will be another first round exit.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">Yea Snow is not worth losing Mo Taylor...What r u thinking stop tripping!!!!!!!! Mo taylor had a career year last year and is only gonna get better with t-mac on the team. I guess we get charlie ward or re-sign mark jackon. Our chances are slim now to get anyone better.</div> Taylor didn't have a career year last season. He had his career years with the Clippers in his second and third seasons in the league, averaging 17/6 as the focal point of the offense. Last year, Taylor was touted as having a career season was because of his production off the bench, while in reality, he's had better ones with a starting spot.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting acruz2:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't know what the Rockets are doing besides getting TMAC they haven't done anything else right. </div> Besides getting T-Mac??? The guy is one of the best in the NBA, and best player on your team. Did you want Shaq too? As far as the Cavs trading Snow, it does seem odd that we have two points with starter's money, but the indication here in Cleveland is that we'll keep both this year.
I dont know why it always seems as though van gundy is tring to either get taylor out of the starting lineup or some how think of a trade involving him. He has been a consistant power forward for years and is a great trade piece to use, but I would rather have him at power forward for me rather than weatherspoon or howard. He provides more versatility for the rockets.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Pure Skillz:</div><div class="quote_post">I dont know why it always seems as though van gundy is tring to either get taylor out of the starting lineup or some how think of a trade involving him. He has been a consistant power forward for years and is a great trade piece to use, but I would rather have him at power forward for me rather than weatherspoon or howard. He provides more versatility for the rockets.</div> He lacks defense, a quality that a Jeff Van Gundy player must have. That is why Kelvin Cato, who has no offensive game whatsoever, was able to start over Taylor. It was hard not to play Taylor though, because he was one of the best scorers on the team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">He lacks defense, a quality that a Jeff Van Gundy player must have. That is why Kelvin Cato, who has no offensive game whatsoever, was able to start over Taylor. It was hard not to play Taylor though, because he was one of the best scorers on the team.</div> He's a crappy rebounder too.. JVG doesn't need him to start, because when Yao and T-Mac are in the game, you don't need any more offense. Mo Taylor's best off the Rockets bench when either Yao or T-Mac sit off, he instantly becomes the 2nd scoring option.
lets say we do the deal...Pike/Mo T for Snow...our rotation would be... Yao/Howard/JJ/McGrady/Snow/*sign a backup big man*/Nachbar/Lue/possibly re-sign Padgett, who I liked as a player last season... that wouldnt be a bad lineup...we dont necessarily need scoring...Yao will get 20 ppg, McGrady will get 20 ppg, JJ will get around 14-16 ppg, and Howard will get around 14-16 ppg...thats 72 points already...we need Nachbar, Lue and Snow to give us 20 more between them, and we'll be set...plus if we use our TE on a quality big man or another wing player, it'll only be a plus... While I would hate getting rid of Mo T, I think its worth it for a solid, quality PG such as Snow...
The Mo trade does help our starting lineup, but our bench would be the worst in the league with absolutely no depth at all. Depth gets you wins, as we have seen in Memphis and Detroit, and a strong starting five would give u points, but barely enough to win 45 games. That's why I say we should stop worrying about our PG spot, sign Ward to start, sign Baker to back up Yao. In that case, our bench would be spearheaded by Lue, Taylor and Baker. That bench would be a force to be reckoned with and would guarantee 25 points a night.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">sign Baker to back up Yao.</div> Vin Baker.. I dont like Baker at all. He whines, he costs alot, he's not the youngest guy on the block. He's like (IMO) Antoine Walker. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Mo Taylor's best off the Rockets bench when either Yao or T-Mac sit off</div>Yeah, Mo is like our Bobby Jackson, a person who could easily start, but knows his role on the team. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">sign Ward to start</div> Yeah, Ward is an excellent option now that i think about it. If he cannot defend faster point guards, we can get Lue or Gaines to guard one of them. He adds experience and a some-what good shot. Antonio Daniels is still a nice option. He doesn't ask for much money, and is an average defender. He's not that fast though, but we can expect him to body-up some PGs. He could give us 10-15 ppg, 7-10 apg. I was talking to my little brother (who posts here often, you may seem some hypocritical comments on the boards) and he was saying that we should trade Juwan Howard for Jason Kidd during the Winter trading period. I think that's an ok idea, but the problem is, Mo Taylor would have to start, and Kidd is not a point guard that would slow down the offense. Snow is 31.. as is Kidd, Ward is an old guy too. I would rather go young, but it seems that any trade we try landing would give us an older person. Except for maybe the Antonio Daniels trade. I was reading Insidehoops.com, and an "rumour" came up that in 2 years, the Warriors were gonna make an effort to land Yao. Now this really pissed me off, becuase I cannot see him leaving, and what I dont want is Yao to leave because McGrady takes over the team (Shaq and Kobe anyone?). This would be far worse than the Shaq and Kobe deal because Yao would only be 25, he would still be in the West, The Rockets play in the West, where you need a legit big man to suceed. And finally, I do not want Tracy McGrady running our team. Now this is all just a bunch of rumours, but I think the Rockets should plan for an extension on Yao's contract now. Get a deal going, so that when he needs one, we dont have to wait for it to be approved by the Chinese Government. And also so that another team wont throw offers at Yao. Yao will be a developed player by then, and I dont want to take the chance of losing him out to another team. We need depth to win games, thats very true. As Trip mentioned, look at the Pistons and the Grizzlies. Also the Kings of 2 years ago, and the Mavericks of 2 years ago. Our reserves should be able to out-perform our opponents. I would've liked to see Ostertag here, because he's like Big Ben, he's not afraid to do the dirty work. I like Mark Madson too, but he is a little small to be a C. We could get Stromile Swift, but he deserves to start. Eduardo Najara is also a nice player, but he might not want to leave Dallas.
I think we should include Tony Battie in the Snow deal.We can use him as a backup C and PF like we did with Kato.
Magnomonkey: Rest assured. I'm pretty confident that Yao will be a Rocket for most if not all of his career. The Warriors do sound pretty keen on landing Yao, as are their fans (Custodianrules02 especially), but Yao will not go. The only way the Warriors get Yao is by a free agent signing, and the Rockets would get rookie rights and match any offer Yao gets as a free agent. Also, I expect an extension next summer.
Snow where will you go? Personally the more i think of Snow in cleveland i see him probally staying there. I mean i dont know what type of pg rooks the cavs hve sighned but as far as i know they need a solid pg in Eric. but the Rockets need a solid pg also. Has anyone thought maybe the Rockets could od a deal with Portland for van exel and his scary contract. I mean i think the trade of eric to the rockets will benefit both teams more than not making a trade. <font face="Palatino Linotype"><font size="5"><u>My selfishness just wants to see eric snow and lJ23 and co. play together.</u></font></font>
