Why Trading Battier *Could* Make Sense

[texasholdem]

That's highway robbery! I know we kind of stole Scola from them, but why allow them to return the favor?

Morey's not an idiot, and he's not trying to make the Spurs better. He has obligations to his own team!

Mason had a pretty good year last season and he's 2 years younger than Shane. He can play two guard while Ariza takes Shane's spot at the 3. He provides more scoring than Shane.

Splitter could be a big piece down the road.

[OrlandoNole]

Why not pursue the player Morey set up an email account for this summer? You guys need a center, you know better than I, but it sounds like Yao's injury could be career threatening, and it sounds like you guys have a couple of players you wouldn't mind unloading. Gortat and Battier have comparable contracts. I've been told there are some snags in trading Gortat before the end of the season, but if GM's want to make a trade happen they can usually make it work. As a Magic fan I could live with trading Gortat for Battier, I'm sure some other piece would be included, but if they are the main components I think it works pretty good for both teams. Thoughts?

[RaoulDuke79]

When my ass was 19, I rode it to school...






























....get it, I'm from Texas. Ha. Ha.








eastbound and down is amazing.

[Meatcookie]

For me, trading Battier away is a signal that this team is rebuilding. I don't see any chance that Morey would rebuild this team right now. But, tanking the whole season is acceptable.

The Rockets aren't rebuilding, therefore I do not think they will trade Battier. Why? because Battier plays a lot of help defense. He knows where to move and who to pick up on fast breaks. With Yao and TMac out, the offense is down. In order to have a chance at winning games, you need to decrease the opposition as well. Trading away your best defensive player isn't a good idea right now.

Shane's value might be high right now, but if TMac is going to play in some games, and Yao will be back in a year... you would still want/need Shane.

If the Rockets are looking at Ariza to be the new defensive glue guy that can hit outside shots... plus TMacs $23 million coming off the books in a year, then it is not a rebuild. It might be a big change with a small dip in wins (other than this year due to injury) and then they are back to winning.

Bron to NY (doubtful), Wade to CHI (depending on what the team does to get him help), ... maybe Chris Paul to the Rockets? Or Bosh as a PF?