(poll) Would you trade Battier for expiring?

[Guy986]

Assuming Morey makes a deal for Butler, Iggy or its equivalent, would you be willing to trade Battier for pure expirings?

[Rendezvous]

I'd try to milk out everything.

[KiDdFrESh]

I voted yes but ONLY AND I MEAN ONLY WE DONT TRADE MCGRADY. (and Andersen goes with him)

[Guy986]

In any Battier trade, i would DEMAND they take Andersen.

[rocketsballin]

if we dont trade tmac and let him expire then ya i dont mind getting rid of shane. BUT, if we trade tmac before the deadline for iggy/butler/someone as good then i 'd rather keep shane, and here's why...

trading tmac now gives us a good chance to be contenders next season. of corse a lotta things have to go right, but that's how it always is w/ houston w/ yao and tmac. yao needs to stay healthy and play at a high level, we have to keep most of our core and they gotta stay healthy, and the star player we get from the tmac trade has to fit into the system. if everything goes right, houston can be real contenders.

something that can help a bunch for contenders is a very good perimeter defender, that's where shane comes in. since next season has potential to be crazy as hell w/ the free agents and the drafts and teams getting even more stacked and whatnot, we should have something that most contenders wouldnt have, and that's 2 good perimeter defenders. and if one of those defenders is a healthy shane battier, then your team can be a top 5 defensive team, something houston is very familiar with (best defender on kobe this past decade).

i know pple think shane is done, he's crap, i agree that he's not that good this year, and last year he missed a lotta games for the first time in his career, but IMO he's not that good now cuz there's no 7footer to defend the paint. teams need a defensive tall and big guy if they want good perimeter defense, there's no way in hell you're gonna have good perimeter defense w/o a 6'11+ defensive big in the paint, specially if your defender isn't fast and athletic. w/ a healthy yao, shane can be that top notch defender he once was.

plus, with ariza playin w/ houston for a year, he'll have more chemistry on defense and obviously w/ yao his defense will be better, and imo he too cant play much defense w/o a real sized defensive big in the paint. shane and ariza can be one hell of a defensive tandem if yao can stay healthy, shane is a technical defender and ariza is the fast/athletic defender. and plus if we get butler or iggy, both of them arent bad on defense so that's a 3rd perimeter defender.

of corse shane's getting old, i think next season is his last year to be a top perimeter defender. and maybe yao's last year as 20/10ish big. imo next year is our last year to have a contending team w/ yao as our best or 2nd best player.



rockets can be dangerous if things go right.

- our core is getting "good experience" playing w/o any stars. they're developing chemistry, growing as players, bla bla bla.

- the guy(s) we get from tmac trade can learn some of the system by playing the 2nd half and possibly playoffs w/ houston and by jan/feb next year he'll know the system.

- ariza wont have to carry the scoring load and focus more on defense along w/ a healthy shane.

- yao comes back healthy and strong and hasnt missed a step.

- and we have one of the best coaches in the past 20 years who gave phil jackson's lakers fits in the playoffs


we can do it, just stay healthy, keep most of the core, and dont grow a mustache . i hope we can maybe yao plays half a year and does 15/5, shane becomes a 20mpg player, we could barely resign any of our core, the guy we get from tmac trade gets injured and shoots bad, ariza and brooks have to carry the scoring load again, and hayes has to play heavy minutes again , lord have mercy on our souls

[PocketRockets]

Your theory is flawed b/c Yao won't come back like he did. He never will. The most he'll get back is probably 80-85% of his old self. From what I heard, and from the past with his conditioning, I doubt he'll even be at 80% his old self at the beginning of next season. Other than that, the core getting better and stuff will happen b/c they're getting plenty of PT at the moment which is a blessing in disguise.

Also, like you said, some lucky teams are going to get way better and the respective teams they leave will be much worse. If we stay where we are at or improve just a little bit, we'll be better than most teams in the league. Boozer will be gone (possibly), the suns are a joke without Amare, dallas will always be dysfunctional, San antonio is old. Lakers will be a threat, and maybe Portland. Anything less than a top 3 seed next year will be a disappointment IMO (unless something crazy happens like wade, lebron to the west).

[Phastbreak91]

I have a question guys why doesnt Tmac get a chance to show what he can do more with the Rockets? I think if he got time he would fit more with the team than Ariza can, as long as he comes back healthy. He sounds like hes worked hard in the offseason but hes just not getting a chance. I think if he came back strong the Rockets would definitely reap the rewards in the playoffs.

[rocketsballin]

dont know for sure if yao is gonna be 70%, even tho most likely he will i'll go w/ the minority and say he'll be back to his old self . either way i dont want to resign yao, or at least to a big contract. i've had enough of him, if things dont work out then we'll have a lot more capspace in 2011 then 2010 . might as well go for it since yao wont be traded and if we trade tmac

[2ksports]

Either trade mcgrady for assets that can help this year, or trade battier for expiring and keep mcgrady.

Do one or the other, but for don't do nothing.

[rocketsballin]

I have a question guys why doesnt Tmac get a chance to show what he can do more with the Rockets? I think if he got time he would fit more with the team than Ariza can, as long as he comes back healthy. He sounds like hes worked hard in the offseason but hes just not getting a chance. I think if he came back strong the Rockets would definitely reap the rewards in the playoffs.

that's wat most of us want but the coach is too stubborn and stupid to play tmac , he does other stupid things but o well best coach we can get and not many better

[Phastbreak91]

Yeah I guess you guys cant complain for having the best coach in the league huh? Still I want Tmac and the Rockets to succeed

[Guy986]

Interesting. The voting is split at 50/50 right now.

[KiDdFrESh]

Guy I was thinking about this idea during Biology 2 lecture.

If the Rockets do take on Butler for T-Mac. Maybe the Rockets feel like they don't have a shot at a marquee FA. Maybe they are aiming for the summer of 2011, when Butler, Battier, & Yao come off the books.

Who are the premier free agents in 2011 other than Anthony? And is that the summer we have to re-sign Brooks? I know we'd have to re-up on Landry.

[Guy986]

Guy I was thinking about this idea during Biology 2 lecture.

If the Rockets do take on Butler for T-Mac. Maybe the Rockets feel like they don't have a shot at a marquee FA. Maybe they are aiming for the summer of 2011, when Butler, Battier, & Yao come off the books.

Who are the premier free agents in 2011 other than Anthony? And is that the summer we have to re-sign Brooks? I know we'd have to re-up on Landry.

Yea if we take on Butler. We'll no longer have any shot at max cap space in 2010.


When it comes to the free agent class of 2011




Kevin Durant

[Guy986]

Actually talk of 2011 is entirely irrelevant right now. Because theres a strong likelihood of a lockout happening in 2011. The entire collective bargaining agreement is going to be different. We may have unguarenteed contract or even a hard cap. Player salaries are going to take a drastic hit and we will have no idea how trading or free agency will work. We don't know what 2011 is going to bring. Lets just focus on 2010 for now.

[KiDdFrESh]

I was playin Hold Em earlier and me an my homeboy were talking about how weak the slam dunk contest was and LeBron was a sellout. And then we got to talkin about the Rockets rumors. And he brought up an interesting point. He thinks there a solid chance we get of Ariza. I disagreed. I wouldnt mind moving him but I think he needs another year to prove himself but mainly that would be a turrible PR move on Houstons behalf. We also shared a moment of disbelief. for T-Mac and how great it could have been had he just got one more chance.

I'm having doubts about moving Battier though. He's our leader. But if we decide not to take on any long term salary for Mac I told him Id have to move Battier.

We'd have enough cap room to resign our key guys and go after a big name. I say go for it. Out of all the teams with the MAX cap room available we have the most desireable team imo. Young talent, solid role players, great coach, and Yao.

Cmon morey unfortuanble we need another big name to put Houston back on the map!

[AussieBuck]

Milwaukee would give you Warrick and Joe Alexander's expiring contracts. Joe was the 8th pick just a couple of years ago......

[Jajwanda]

If Ariza is traded I would think L.A. would have interest in reclaiming him. I don't think a P.R. move is worth keeping a guy that doesn't seem to fit outside of being a role player.

[x-]

I'd do it if it would enable Morey to go after Joe Johnson this summer. I'm not that high on Igoudala or Kevin Martin, so I'd probably just trade McGrady, Battier, Andersen and Cook for expirings and a few picks.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachi ... Id=ykkb6oj

- That deal would save the Rockets ~$4.2mil this year (before possible buyouts) and ~$9.9mil next year. Throw in a 2nd rounder from Portland and NY and I'd go for it.

Yao Hayes Dorsey
Scola Landry Hayes Dorsey
Ariza Budinger
Johnson Lowry Budinger
Brooks Lowry

+ draft picks, Taylor and maybe Temple would be an awesome team.

Not sure if it'd clear enough money to go after Johnson, while retaining Scola though.

[spolgar]

I think that getting rid of Battier is a bad idea right now.

Good wing defenders are the most effective when they have a decent shot blocker behind them. It is not necessarily in the manner of gambling for steals, but to give proper harassment, one has to play close enough to someone to take away their opponents space to catch the ball comfortably. Battier cannot do that as well without someone anchoring the middle.

Battier's limited offensive game is also tailored well to playing with a prolific scoring big man. He's a stretcher of defenses with suppposedly okay percentages on open looks.

Battier will remain effective with Houston so long as Yao is effective. If Yao doesn't work out there would still be takers for Battier for expirings.