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I am a Philly fan myself for a long time now but I always respected Houston's game, when I saw that Andre miller had an 40% chance to be traded in espn I started to think what kind of team could benefit from dre's almost flawless season.
I think we all know that good veterans that have expiring contracts is a luxury only strong teams have, I mean its obvious that a good team that is going for the ring would want experience over potential.
Houston and Orlando were the first teams that popped into my head when I thought about a miller trade, I wanted to ask if he has any value to Houston, and if so what trade would you see fit.

Plus I wanted to ask if you would maybe would be open to a dre, spieght, lou will + filler for tmac, head kind of trade?

I'd love him here, but we'd need a 3 pt shot out of it, even then I'd still take him over Alston. Rafer has a good game everyone now and then; wait that's an overstatement, every month or so sounds better. I'd like Miller, high bball IQ PG, can set up the offense, and well I'd say he'd be a good fit, but again that 3 point shot scares me.

EDIT: We wouldn't trade Tmac for Miller, not even Artest lol

Maybe plus a trade between Philly and Toronto with Evans that gets you either kapono or parker?

Andre Miller is an intriguing prospect for the rockets, but he'll want shots. He'll run about 8 and some million years a year. He's got good court vision, good athleticism, can drive and get to the hoop and is a pass first point guard.

He has no outside shot until this year, where he's knocking it in at a 33.3 % rate (career percentage 21.1, last year @ 8.4 percent...) It would be difficult to stretch the defense with a player who likes to drive. He's gonna be slotted to do what Alston does nowadays. Do we need to pay 5 million dollars more for a point guard that can't shoot as well as Alston?

Who would you want back is also an interesting question. The quick answer would be Artest, but he overlaps expertise and/or position with Iggy and Brand. You will have no point guard, so you'll want one of ours. What do you want from our roster realistically?

Spolgar,
Re your 3pt shooting and stretching defenses I remind you of Tony Parker and Rajon Rondo. Just saying a player who can drive and dish can collapse Ds,leaving his teammates open shots.

As for trade pieces,there's not really a good match,as Rockets want to stay below Lux Tax,and neither team has an 09 First. Alston,Artest for Miller,Young would work,but I just don't see Philly doing it.
Contrary to columnists everywhere,McGrady is not on the Market. The Rockets are going to play out the season and see what happens. If the team crashes in the First Rd again,maybe they'll entertain offers,but they will want what everybody wants,a huge expiring in return and a combination of proven young talent and Firsts.

Nah if you play for the Rockets you gotta be able to consistently make 3s. Its plagued our offense for years having Rafer. But at least he can make some from time to time. Miller can't shoot 3s at all.

He would definately benefit houston, but if i was the gm id be looking for a more all around player at the point. If it was two years ago id say a guy like Hinrich would fit the bill perfectly because he was a great defender knocked down open shots and was a good leader for the bulls in the playoffs. The rockets have so much depth they really need to make a move for the best point guard they can get because u shouldnt have players sitting on the bench barely getting any minutes that can easily make a rotation on other teams. I do like andre but i think we should look for a bigger upgrade at point

Iggymu,
For yrs the Rockets have asked T-Mac to do the playmaking and for their PGs and other SF/SGs to stand around and wait for 3pt shots. Having a PG who will penetrate and actually pass to teammates will open up much more of the offense and bring it closer to what Adelman wants. One of the reasons so many wanted Brooks to replace Rafer is not Brooks 3pt shooting,but how much more fluid the team plays when the PG moves,penetrates and kicks out.
Alston is shooting .349 on his 3s.
Chris Paul is at .366
Deron Williams is at .302
Devin Harris is at .302.
I would imagine you'd rather have any one of those 3 over Rafer,yet only Paul is shooting better,and not by an appreciable margin,an extra 3 makes every 200 shots.

I would love Miller to play here but i wouldn't be willing to give up too much (maybe a three way deal). Although Miller isn't a good 3 point shooter he doesnt take many, he has a very good mid range shot, runs the offense well, is fairly strong and makes his free throws.

tisbee wrote:Iggymu,
For yrs the Rockets have asked T-Mac to do the playmaking and for their PGs and other SF/SGs to stand around and wait for 3pt shots. Having a PG who will penetrate and actually pass to teammates will open up much more of the offense and bring it closer to what Adelman wants. One of the reasons so many wanted Brooks to replace Rafer is not Brooks 3pt shooting,but how much more fluid the team plays when the PG moves,penetrates and kicks out.
Alston is shooting .349 on his 3s.
Chris Paul is at .366
Deron Williams is at .302
Devin Harris is at .302.
I would imagine you'd rather have any one of those 3 over Rafer,yet only Paul is shooting better,and not by an appreciable margin,an extra 3 makes every 200 shots.

No. The reason why fans want to replace Alston with Brooks is because Brooks is a much better 3 point shooter. Its that simple. Alston is a better distributor, better at handling turnover, better at controlling the pace of the game and a better defender.

This team will absolutely not be able to function with a complete 3 point shooting liability such as Andre Miller.

Also, Deron William and Devin Harris are shooting at a .300 clip because they aren't getting the open looks that Alston gets on this team. You get them to shoot open shots and they're gonna hit them at near 40% guarenteed.(not sure about Harris but Deron will definitely hit 40% with open looks all day)

Andre Miller just doesn't have the range to shoot 3s.

Andre Miller will do better for this team... Andre can create for himself as well others. He doesnt HAVE to shoot threes. He is smart enough to get to the lane. Which will create better looks for other players with a dishout, or Yao with the ball at the hoop.

And I hear more people like Brooks for his penetration and not his 3pt shot.

The PG has to be able to shoot and make 3s on this team. Teams wouldn't even guard Andre Miller when Yao is on the court. They'll just put 2 guys on the big fella all game long and dare Miller to shoot. I dont know about you but i'll much rather Yao score than the point guard.

Guy986,
Teams are doubling Yao now.
The diff w/Miller is after taking the pass-out from Yao he would drive the lane and either get fouled,shoot a lay-up or pass to an open Rocket. But this is much to-do over nothing. The Rockets aren't trading Rafer this yr and they're not trading for Miller.

I'm rather puzzled by why everyone wants McGrady to drive and not shoot 3s,yet seem to want a PG who will shoot 3s and not drive.

tisbee wrote:Guy986,
Teams are doubling Yao now.
The diff w/Miller is after taking the pass-out from Yao he would drive the lane and either get fouled,shoot a lay-up or pass to an open Rocket. But this is much to-do over nothing. The Rockets aren't trading Rafer this yr and they're not trading for Miller.

I'm rather puzzled by why everyone wants McGrady to drive and not shoot 3s,yet seem to want a PG who will shoot 3s and not drive.

They're doubling Yao on the dribble. Most teams don't stick two guys on him because Alston is still a career 35% 3 point shooter.

With Miller teams would be able to sandwich Yao. They wouldnt even bother defending Andre Miller on the outside shot. The spacing would be a mess. Remember the Ryan Bowen era? Yea thats what its gonna be like. As good as Rajon Rondo is, i wouldn't want him anywhere near this team either. Most of the time, Eddie House is the one who finishes the 4th quarter. Remember the NBA final last year? The lakers didn't even have to defend Rondo because they didn't respect his outside shot. For houston its 10X worst because Yao needs spacing in order to operate.

If we trade Yao away, i'm all for Rajon Rondo or Andre Miller on this team.

Guy986,
I think we're just going to disagree on this one.
(Yes I remember last yrs Finals-exactly who won? )
Miller is hitting over 48% on his 2pt shots,so I'd imagine he would knock down enough mid-range 2s to keep the D honest,and more importantly would dive the lane. Remember Adelman prefers motion,and I think Miller would fit his system better than Rafer.
But again,it ain't gonna happen.
But as a theoretical matter,I'd prefer a PG who plays D,who can penetrate and pass and/or finish over a PG who can defend,shoots 3s,but doesn't penetrate. Penetration puts far more pressure on another team's D.

tisbee wrote:Guy986,
I think we're just going to disagree on this one.
(Yes I remember last yrs Finals-exactly who won? )
Miller is hitting over 48% on his 2pt shots,so I'd imagine he would knock down enough mid-range 2s to keep the D honest,and more importantly would dive the lane. Remember Adelman prefers motion,and I think Miller would fit his system better than Rafer.
But again,it ain't gonna happen.
But as a theoretical matter,I'd prefer a PG who plays D,who can penetrate and pass and/or finish over a PG who can defend,shoots 3s,but doesn't penetrate. Penetration puts far more pressure on another team's D.

Boston did. But Eddie House, not Rondo, was the one who usually finished games in the 4th quarter. Doesn't that tell you something?

When was the last time a Dominant Center and a non 3 point shooting PG worked well together?

But i guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

I would love Miller on this team, but not for T-Mac. Miller is so underrated it's not even funny. I would choose Miller over Hinrich any day of the week and twice on Sundays. He's like a poor man's Billups. One of those rare breeds of pass first PGs who changes teams like Billups is doing with DEN this year.

Tisbee is right on the mark on this one. Brooks makes the offense flow better because he can create better, penetrate, is a threat around the rim etc. It's not strictly b/c of 3 pt %'s (actually Brooks isn't shooting well %-wise either). Miller has a great midrange game and is a great passer. He can create his own shot or a shot for others. He would make out the offense look 10x better I'm positive of that fact. Adelman would fall in love with this guy.

Only problem is what it would take to get him. HOU doesn't have much, especially something that Philly would want. They'd probably want somebody like Landry and honestly... now that I think about it, if they took Alston's contract with him I would pull the trigger on that.

BaYBaller wrote:I would love Miller on this team, but not for T-Mac. Miller is so underrated it's not even funny. I would choose Miller over Hinrich any day of the week and twice on Sundays. He's like a poor man's Billups. One of those rare breeds of pass first PGs who changes teams like Billups is doing with DEN this year.

Tisbee is right on the mark on this one. Brooks makes the offense flow better because he can create better, penetrate, is a threat around the rim etc. It's not strictly b/c of 3 pt %'s (actually Brooks isn't shooting well %-wise either). Miller has a great midrange game and is a great passer. He can create his own shot or a shot for others. He would make out the offense look 10x better I'm positive of that fact. Adelman would fall in love with this guy.

Only problem is what it would take to get him. HOU doesn't have much, especially something that Philly would want. They'd probably want somebody like Landry and honestly... now that I think about it, if they took Alston's contract with him I would pull the trigger on that.

How can Andre Miller be like Billups if he can't shoot?
Brooks work because he is a triple threat. He can penetrate. He can pass. And he can SHOOT beyond the 3point line, something A. Miller couldn't do.

In some ways, Andre Miller is like the worst PG you can put next to Yao Ming. Their games are the polar opposite of each other.

1.Miller excels in uptempo. Yao works in a slow it down, half court game.
2.Miller is a good fast break PG. Problem is you rarely get fastbreaks on this team. Who's going to run with him?
3.Miller is a penetrator and a finisher at the rim. You're not going to the rim with a 300LB 7'6 guys clogging the lane. Ask Ron Artest.
4.Miller has no range. Yao needs spacing.

Please tell me Iggy is not the only one besides me who understand this. Iggy and I rarely agree on something.

Re: Tisbee

Rondo does fulfill the function of penetration and running the offense in the same manner as Miller and Parker. In the case of Rondo however, the primary long range shooter is Ray Allen on that roster, supplemented by Eddie house. The primary long range shooter on the Spurs is Ginobli, followed by Micheal Finley and Matt Bonner. Rafer Alston is not the primary penetrator on the starting five. He has another function. Miller and Alston play the same position, but hardly share the same role in the offense. To be an upgrade, you kinda have to do what the old guy did, but better.

We have Rafer Alston running the offense and being the primary long range threat to provide room for Yao in that manner. Barry does not have the consistent legs to play 35 minutes+ anymore, and all we have left is Luther Head (sigh) and Brooks who is hardly enough. We go from an okay inside out team to an okay-inside-notokay-outside team. Further more, we can't run very well when Yao is on the court, which takes away another facet of Miller's game.

When you trade you want the new guy to drop into the place of the old dude without rewriting your offense entirely. Practice time is hard to come by, especially after the all star break, and we still have our linger elements of chemistry. With Miller, the Adelman offense will need to be retooled and I don't know if we got time for that.

And we still have to figure out who we ought to give up...

Depending on what we have to give up for him. Should be said, because you don't understand that even if they double Yao, when Miller would get the ball, they come running to him, and he can either repost Yao, pass to side or penetrate and get Yao the ball right under the hoop. That is the problem with the team now... Rafer shoots too many jumpers because he feels he is open. A penetrator will make it flow better IMO.