It has been a good year for the Rockets from a dissappointing 6-11 start to a current 44-28 record. Much of the credit goes to the players that we got thru trades. Thanks to CD and JVG for doing their best tweaking the Rockets team. With exception of Yao,TMac and Howard, the trades for Mutombo,Wesley,Barry and James has contributed a lot to the Rockets' success as well as the signing of Sura, Padgett and Bowen.We've got a hardworking team. With the season almost coming to an end and with playoffs approaching it would be nice to talk about who the Rockets will be retaining and who will be banished for next season. It would be a promising offseason also because we have a 1st and 2nd(from the Knicks) round pick, promising previous picks in Badiane and Spanoulis as well as the lure of the free agent market. Notes: Yao will be an exception because he will be signing to a long term deal. Here are the players with expiring contracts after this season: Mutombo, Barry, Bowen and Braggs. With "players' option" after this season: Padgett(1 year) and Baker(1 year). Players with contracts expiring after the 05-06 season: Wesley, Weatherspoon, Padgett(if he picks his option/ $ 952 Grand for 05-06) and Baker(if he picks his option/ $3.8M for 05-06). Players who must admit to themselves that they don't have left in their tank and possible candidate for a buyout: Baker,Norris($8.5M for 05-06 and 06-07) and Ward(still somewhat capable/$3.9M for 05-06 and 06-07). Considering the great efforts by our veterans and a possible addition of 2-4 new players next season, who will the Rockets resign and maintain among the current players? BTW the NBA Players' Salary Database for season 2004-2005 is already available on USA Today's Sports Section Website.
Sura Wesley Barry James Howard McGrady Yao Dikembe Those are the guys I would like to see as the core for the next couple of years, with Dikembe becoming questionable due to age. Add a young athletic defensive power forward, a young pure point guard, and a young and talented swingman that can backup the 2 or the 3, and I think they're good to go. To name names, I'd say Stromile Swift or Undonis Haslem at PF, and perhaps Jay Williams at PG (in light of recent rumors).
For the sake of our future, James is an obvious choice. One of the only Young players on our team who doesn't go by the name of tmac or yao. We have an aging team and there maybe a chance that Mutombo (as great as he's been) may not have what it takes next season. Of course, that's what we all would've said early on THIS season. If his tank is empty for next season, then maybe a coaching job would be great. (A small hint that a former Knicks center should be fired from the staff). From the names with expiring contracst in the next 2 season, others worth resigning are Barry, Bowen, Wesley, Weatherspoon. Wes and Spoon should get 2 years since they're getting old. Ward, Baker, and Mooch are a waste of cap space. My 2 cents
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sniper:</div><div class="quote_post"> and perhaps Jay Williams at PG (in light of recent rumors).</div> i thought jay williams plays forward? oh my bad, i just checked in nba.com and he plays guard back to topic, i think rockets should retain Yao T-mac (obviously) and mike james, bobby sura, mutombo, barry , juwan howard.. i think everyone besides those names are replaceable, sign a power forward like stromile swift.. btw, do you guys know which players will be a free agent in the end of this season? does anybody has the list?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting whatever:</div><div class="quote_post">i thought jay williams plays forward? oh my bad, i just checked in nba.com and he plays guard back to topic, i think rockets should retain Yao T-mac (obviously) and mike james, bobby sura, mutombo, barry , juwan howard.. i think everyone besides those names are replaceable, sign a power forward like stromile swift.. btw, do you guys know which players will be a free agent in the end of this season? does anybody has the list?</div> You're thinking Jayson Williams. Here is the list of salaries for our team. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Houston Rockets Date # of total Player signed years salary misc FA Vin Baker ............. 8/18/04 2 $7.35 million p-opt '05 Jon Barry ............. 9/16/04 1 $1.8 million '05 Ryan Bowen ............ 9/29/04 1 minimum '05 Torraye Braggs ........ 3/19/05 1 minimum '05 Dikembe Mutombo ....... 10/9/03 2 $8.6 million '05 Scott Padgett ......... 9/1/04 2 $1.76 million p-opt '05 Mike James ............ 8/5/04 3 $10.23 million p-opt '06 Clarence Weatherspoon . 7/20/01 5 $27,228,000 '06 David Wesley .......... 7/1/97,7/27/01 7+2 $22 mill + $9,405,000 '06 Yao Ming .............. 10/20/02 4 $18,037,586 rc '06 Moochie Norris ........ 10/9/01 6 $22.7 million '07 Charlie Ward .......... 8/9/04 3 $5.61 million '07 Juwan Howard .......... 7/16/03 6 $36.9 million p-opt '08 Bob Sura .............. 8/9/04 4 $14.4 million '08 Tracy McGrady ......... 8/3/00,11/1/04 7+3 $92.88 mill + $63 mill '10 </div> I think we should trade Weatherspoon this summer, as his expiring contract would be attractive to a team looking to free up cap space. I think we should try to use our $4.9 million mid-level exception to try and sign someone like Tyson Chandler via the free agent market, or draft a power forward with our first round pick. Athletic, experienced college players like Ronny Turiaf, Wayne Simien and Channing Frye would be great picks for our future at power forward. With our second round pick, we should draft a young player and have him cultivate overseas. Set up a summer league team this summer and use it to evaluate Badiane and Spanouliss. If they look ready for the NBA, then we can have them on the regular season roster. I doubt Padgett would pick up his option as his stock has risen and he probably could get more than the $952K he is due.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting whatever:</div><div class="quote_post"> back to topic, i think rockets should retain Yao T-mac (obviously) and mike james, bobby sura, mutombo, barry , juwan howard.. i think everyone besides those names are replaceable, sign a power forward like stromile swift.. btw, do you guys know which players will be a free agent in the end of this season? does anybody has the list?</div> You can check that out on USA Today website under the sports section then click on the professional basketball link that will lead you to the NBA. Here you will see the NBA Players' current salary database as well as each team's salary cap.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I think we should trade Weatherspoon this summer, as his expiring contract would be attractive to a team looking to free up cap space. I think we should try to use our $4.9 million mid-level exception to try and sign someone like Tyson Chandler via the free agent market, or draft a power forward with our first round pick. Athletic, experienced college players like Ronny Turiaf, Wayne Simien and Channing Frye would be great picks for our future at power forward. With our second round pick, we should draft a young player and have him cultivate overseas. Set up a summer league team this summer and use it to evaluate Badiane and Spanouliss. If they look ready for the NBA, then we can have them on the regular season roster. I doubt Padgett would pick up his option as his stock has risen and he probably could get more than the $952K he is due.</div> Well considering Carroll Dawson and the Houston organization aren't really the best on draft day, I don't think we can really rely on the draft picks. However, I really am hoping for perhaps Wayne Simiens joining the team. I don't really want to sign too many powerforwards however since we still have Howard for a couple of years and Badiane, who might prove to become something special. From what I heard, he's a pretty athletic powerforward but needs to develop a jumpshot. Anyways, I would definitely keep: Sura (obvious), James (young) Wesley, Barry (unless we can get someone better through trade) McGrady Howard (contract) Yao, Mutumbo (if his age permits and a low priced short term contract) The rest in my opinion is expendable. Weatherspoon can lure some teams for trades with his expiring contract, Padgett probably won't sign back with us since his stock increased, while Baker, Norris, and Ward haven't done anything for this team. And for everyone, a link to the free agents in the offseason is Link or go to this thread I made a while back but no one discussed- Free Agents Thread
I forgot to mention who we would keep. Our nucleus right now is: Yao Sura McGrady James Howard Wesley Mutombo Barry Out of those players, I see Barry and Howard being key guys but guys we could easily replace. Barry would be good to have, but age is catching up with him and we can find guys with his skill set easily. Howard has been a pleasant addition, but there are also similar guys on the free agent market and in the draft. I'm not completely sold on Badiane yet. I mean, all we know of him is from reports, who has actually seen him play? If I'm not wrong, he's 6-8, which is pretty undersized for a power forward even if he is very athletic. Is he a true four or more of a mix of the three and four? I also fully support Dawson's draft day decisions. He has made some good draft choices recently. Trading for Francis did more good than bad for us in hindsight since Michael Dickerson has been done in by injuries and that deal has allowed Mobley, who Dawson first got as a steal with the 41st pick in the 98 draft, to play the two. He also drafted Kenny Thomas in 99 with the 22nd pick. Drafting Przybilla and trading him for Collier might not have been smart, but it's not like Przybilla is a superstar now. He's developed into a better player than Collier, but he's just the better of the worst. Trading three first rounders for Eddie Griffin might not have been good in hindsight, but Dawson did what any other GM would do if such an opportunity presented itself. Griffin was a top 3 talent, and only attitude problems and a fight with teammates at Seton Hall caused his stock to drop. Yao Ming in 02, that needs no explaining. Nachbar might've been questionable, but he was also a great talent, just didn't pan out. 03 and 04 we didn't have any firsts, but Dawson got two promising second rounders who might turn out to be steals, although nothing's guaranteed. Compared to Isiah Thomas who many Knicks fans idolize as a drafting god, I won't say Dawson is half bad.
Trip Badiane is 6"11 not 6"8. He's an athletic PF with good rebounding skills but needs to hone his offense. For me players worth retaining for next season are: Yao, McGrady,Sura, Wesley, Howard, James, Barry and Mutombo. I hope we can still squeeze out some more from Barry and Mutombo. Weatherspoon would still be with the Rockets as he has one more year left on his contract. Bowen and Padgett would be given some consideration but their chances are 50-50. I just don't know how can we get rid of our 3 useless player namely Baker, Norris and Ward. I hope Baker would be man enough not to pick up his one more year option. He does'nt have anything to offer but he might excercise his right for the money. Besides Rockets organization are not known to buyout some contracts. One of the Rockets wish list should be getting Chandler to replace Mutombo but I think that's a shot in the sky and too much to dream of as the Bulls will do anything to match every offer. Stromile Swift would be possible. Anyway if we can get lucky in the draft to take the likes of Simiens, Turiaf or Frye it would be nice.
The Bulls have quite a problem with their cap situation. They have Curry and Chandler both restricted free agents and both could draw very big salaries especially because they are big men and are still just 22 years old but already with four years of experience in the NBA. The Bulls will be hard-pressed to match both of their offers from other teams. Although they do have some players with rookie salaries, they have to gear up for the upcoming extension for Hinrich who would be ideally locked up in the summer of 2006. They would also have key components like Gordon, Deng, Nocioni, and Duhon to wrap up in the future. I'd say the Bulls would re-sign one of Curry and Chandler, and it looks like Curry would be the one Chicago would match because he has shown more offense and can become something down the line. Chandler, although he doesn't have as good a scoring game and isn't as well-built as Curry, he is a very good rebounder and shotblocker. If we can steal him, I'd have Chandler starting at power forward and Howard coming off the bench to play Mo Taylor's role from last season. As for Weatherspoon, he would be a great trade bait come trade deadline because of his expiring, and we would have the chance to dump some big and useless contracts, such as Ward and/or Norris, so Weatherspoon would be a keeper.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post"> Chandler, although he doesn't have as good a scoring game and isn't as well-built as Curry, he is a very good rebounder and shotblocker. If we can steal him, I'd have Chandler starting at power forward and Howard coming off the bench to play Mo Taylor's role from last season. </div> if we get chandler i would play him alongside juwan in F position, and t-mac can go back to SG, so we have a size advantage in our big men
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">if we get chandler i would play him alongside juwan in F position, and t-mac can go back to SG, so we have a size advantage in our big men</div> Theres a reason why we traded Jimmy Jackson. Houston needed a faster shooting guard and so David Wesley fills that role perfectly. He matches up better than McGrady against the fast west guards which also conserves McGrady's energy for his minutes that he logs. If we got Chandler, I would just put him as a starter and probably put in Howard as an offensive player for the bench along with Mike James. Those two guys and Barry would be perfect as the bench players that would contribute offensively.
If we get Chandler, I think it would be wise to trade Howard. As great as he's been late in the season, he has proved to drop his game when he plays on the bench. I'm sure that Juwon's stock has also risen since he stepped up his game and theres a possibility of trading him for another forward who can do the same job, but do it well off the bench. So I say, with Chandler or even Swift, we don't need Howard. We need someone abit younger who really wants to prove himself of the bench. Hey, do you think that Braggs has a chance to develop with us?
guys, i think we have made a mistake by releasing andre barrett to acquire torraye braggs. i just looked at the nba.com and Barrett is now playing for orlando, and he had 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists and 5-10 shooting (50% is really not bad) from the field in 23 minutes tonight. His 11 points including 2 buckets late in the fourth quarter that made orlando had a 4 points cushion against the nets. Andre has proved that he is a potential player for years to come, while braggs hasn't been able to show what he is capable of for houston..
Yeah, I really didn't want to see Barrett go but we had to do it. Where would he fit in our lineup behind James and Sura? It would be a few years before he could really get any legit playing time and he would just be rotting on our bench. There wouldn't have been any point in keeping him here where he wouldn't play instead of letting him go where he could potentially be needed. In addition to that, he was a pretty streaky shooter when he was with us going for three for three on some nights while other nights getting nothing. Plus, you can't just judge him by one night on Orlando.
I was looking at NBA.com and I saw a picture of Francis on someones back, the face was familiar. Then it hit my like a freaking freight train.
it hurt to see andre go, we could have kept him and let him develop with us seeing as our PG position might be aging soon he would be a great backup later on in our lineup
I would have liked to keep andre, but he was really inconsistent and its good to see him get playing time. As of who we should go for, I'd like for us to go for possibly a 2/3 to backup tmac since the draft is loaded with talent on that end. BOwen hasnt been that great and i would like to see tmac getting to rest a little more. We should pursue a PF through trade or FA. Chandler would be a great fit or maybe we could try to aquire Gooden since i heard he could get traded with how the team is doing. Maybe even someone like fortson since the sonics have a lot of big contracts to hand out soon.
Keeping Barrett would've been ideal, but there were money issues related to buying out or releasing one of Norris or Baker. Barrett wouldn't have gotten the playing time and chances to develop anyways. He played big minutes in Orlando the past few days because Nelson was injured. Once he gets back, I doubt Andre would get much more minutes than he did in Houston.
