Stein: Rockets trade for Kevin Martin

[TMU]

Even Jeff Van Gundy approves the trade. And you know he speaks nothing but the truth.

[RaoulDuke79]

Man, I miss that cute little bald midget of a man.

[moofs]

I miss Landry already.

How many Americans said that same thing about Ronald Reagan?

**Hint: They were all wrong.**

I'd like to add an FDR to that list.

[Iggyemu]

I am not sure why any of you are expecting good things out the Rockets the remainder of the season. Martin will take time...our point guard situation is inconsistent and Scola is our only big man. We have a big offseason ahead.

And the thing about McGrady...the team wasn't gonna re-sign him anyway. I think a good chunk of people on this board still thought he could be a top 20 player in this league once he got back into game shape. But we still weren't gonna re-sign him. So we could have kept him on the roster have him play for us and have him expire and maybe we make the playoffs but no further....or we could trade him for picks and couple of young players and still have some cap space to work with this offseason. I think the latter was the best choice.

Besides if any of you watched the Knick game...the way he was rubbing his knee while on the bench in the 4th and OT either meant it itched or it hurt. I am not saying he won't be fully recovered but I don't think he'll be fully recovered this season. D Antoni barely played him in the second half and his knee was still bothering him.

[Bow2Yao11]

I really like Martin's ability to drive the lane and draw fouls. With Yao back next year, we will be in the penalty a lot which is nice. Our team can mask his defensive decencies for a while so I wouldn't worry that much about his defense just his injury history. We really needed a go-to-guy and high volume scorer and we def got one in Martin.

[Zubby]

I am not sure why any of you are expecting good things out the Rockets the remainder of the season. Martin will take time...our point guard situation is inconsistent and Scola is our only big man. We have a big offseason ahead.

And the thing about McGrady...the team wasn't gonna re-sign him anyway. I think a good chunk of people on this board still thought he could be a top 20 player in this league once he got back into game shape. But we still weren't gonna re-sign him. So we could have kept him on the roster have him play for us and have him expire and maybe we make the playoffs but no further....or we could trade him for picks and couple of young players and still have some cap space to work with this offseason. I think the latter was the best choice.

Besides if any of you watched the Knick game...the way he was rubbing his knee while on the bench in the 4th and OT either meant it itched or it hurt. I am not saying he won't be fully recovered but I don't think he'll be fully recovered this season. D Antoni barely played him in the second half and his knee was still bothering him.

All I heard from Kevin Martin and the management was how go a fit he is for this team.
How he already knows and thrives in this system.
How much Adelman loves.
Dude is mentally weak and will get shut down in close games.

I wouldn't have minded the trade if we didn't give Landry, and now I see if we "showcased" McGrady we could of gotten a better deal instead of role players and draft picks.

I would of prefer to let him expire and go for Joe Johnson... he is 10x the player Martin is...



Im 21 and rub my knees like that too when I've done a lot more running than used to.

[Teckon]

I am not sure why any of you are expecting good things out the Rockets the remainder of the season. Martin will take time...our point guard situation is inconsistent and Scola is our only big man. We have a big offseason ahead.

And the thing about McGrady...the team wasn't gonna re-sign him anyway. I think a good chunk of people on this board still thought he could be a top 20 player in this league once he got back into game shape. But we still weren't gonna re-sign him. So we could have kept him on the roster have him play for us and have him expire and maybe we make the playoffs but no further....or we could trade him for picks and couple of young players and still have some cap space to work with this offseason. I think the latter was the best choice.

Besides if any of you watched the Knick game...the way he was rubbing his knee while on the bench in the 4th and OT either meant it itched or it hurt. I am not saying he won't be fully recovered but I don't think he'll be fully recovered this season. D Antoni barely played him in the second half and his knee was still bothering him.

All I heard from Kevin Martin and the management was how go a fit he is for this team.
How he already knows and thrives in this system.
How much Adelman loves.
Dude is mentally weak and will get shut down in close games.

I wouldn't have minded the trade if we didn't give Landry, and now I see if we "showcased" McGrady we could of gotten a better deal instead of role players and draft picks.

I would of prefer to let him expire and go for Joe Johnson... he is 10x the player Martin is...



Im 21 and rub my knees like that too when I've done a lot more running than used to.

Martin is not available to be traded until the last day of the trade deadline. Joe Johnson is not available at all. Would rather have Martin now then wait for the off season to come back empty handed. Do you know how many teams have cap room to sign a MAX FA this off season (Knicks, Nets, and Chicago can go for 2 MAX FA)? Do you really think Rockets have a good chance to sign one of the MAX FA this off season? I am glad Morey does not think like you are in just placing the team on a slim chance (a long shot at most).

[KiDdFrESh]

This here is the truth of the situation at hand. I am going to put my personal bias of T-Mac & Landry behind me to fully disect what happened at the trading deadline and how it affects us now and in the near future.

I for one loved Tracy McGrady, he was our best player and I feel that he would have thrived playing with this current Rockets team. Lets be honest, even without Yao Ming this would have easily been the best team assembled around a "healthy" McGrady during his tenure with the Rockets. You could make an argument for last season but Mac was never healthy.

The Rockets had to make a decision on whether McGrady would remain with the team beyond this season. Unforntuantly, RA and the organization determined that he would not be a part of the Rockets future. Thus presenting Morey with his most difficult task during his time here with the Rockets, and that was to trade T-Mac.

With the Rockets placing all hope that Yao will return next season and remain a centerpiece for a Championship contending team, the Rockets biggest glaring need was SG. Out of all of the players who are available at that position. Kevin Martin is arguably the best player we could have gotten without having to gut our team. Granted he is fragile & turrible on defense he is great at one thing and that is scoring. He is one of the most efficient scoring guards in the league. And he is paid fair money for what he does.

There is NO player we could have traded for or signed as a free agent that is a better fit than Kevin Martin. We had no shot at a MAX FA unless we traded Battier or Ariza for an expiring contract and did not take on Jared Jefferies, Kevin Martin, or even Jordan Hill. We would have to cut salary and let McGradys contract expire.

I would have liked the chance to go after a MAX FA but what happens if we swing and miss? Then we have nothing. On top of that we would have No Kevin Martin, no T-Mac, no Jordan Hill, no 1st Round picks via NY. That was a risk far too great imo. Daryll Morey has set us up nicely to make a big move next summer via Sign and trade.

While the rest of the season may be brutal. The off-season should be VERY EXCITING.

[KiDdFrESh]

As for Carl Landry, he was a great energy guy off the bench and will truly be missed. However to get a talent like Martin it was going to cost us more than an expiring contract. It makes sense to move Landry because Scola is a great fit next to Yao. This trade also means that Scola could see an increase in minutes. Which is great too.

Truth is we werent going to be able to keep both of them together much longer imo. They were both going to seek hefty raises in due time.

Plus Scola had to be re-signed along with Lowry this upcoming off-season so that too forefits any potential cap room the Rockets could have had. And we would have not be given the MLE had we let T-Mac's contract expire.

[Optimism Prime]

I miss Landry already.

How many Americans said that same thing about Ronald Reagan?

**Hint: They were all wrong.**

Well, the guy bought the end of the Cold War. Gotta give him SOME credit for that.

[Zubby]

Martin is not available to be traded until the last day of the trade deadline. Joe Johnson is not available at all. Would rather have Martin now then wait for the off season to come back empty handed. Do you know how many teams have cap room to sign a MAX FA this off season (Knicks, Nets, and Chicago can go for 2 MAX FA)? Do you really think Rockets have a good chance to sign one of the MAX FA this off season? I am glad Morey does not think like you are in just placing the team on a slim chance (a long shot at most).

Slim chance, huh?
I don't like shooters who can't defend, sorry.
We should of acted quicker when we could of had AI, Amare, or Butler.. but whats done is done
I guess he preferred the draft picks.

I would rather have that and or believe one of Johnson, Miller, Morrow would sign here. Johnson being a MAX, but I believe our team is a more desirable destination than any of the bad teams w/ the cap for 2 MAX, as we are already a good team.

Looks like only Amare, Johnson and Bosh will leave. All lot of those teams are gonna be very disappointed.

[KiDdFrESh]

I don't think Houston was really interested in paying Amare the contract he would be seeking.

I think the Rockets will make for a serious push for Bosh in the summer. Most big FA's who will leave are likely going to want to get the MAXIMUM money possible. However, those contracts can only be offered by the team owning their bird rights. So a sign and trade must take place.

Rockets certainly have the assets to put together a great sign and trade package.

We've got:

Martin
Brooks
Budinger
Hill
Ariza
rights to 2010 1st Round Pick
2011 1st round pick swap with NY
2012 1st rounder from NY

We also have Lowry & Scola but since they are FA's they would have to agree to sign a deal prior to being traded. Because of this I think the likely hood of Brooks being traded is far greater than Lowry.

[Zubby]

I don't think Houston was really interested in paying Amare the contract he would be seeking.

I think the Rockets will make for a serious push for Bosh in the summer. Most big FA's who will leave are likely going to want to get the MAXIMUM money possible. However, those contracts can only be offered by the team owning their bird rights. So a sign and trade must take place.

Rockets certainly have the assets to put together a great sign and trade package.

We've got:

Martin
Brooks
Budinger
Hill
Ariza
rights to 2010 1st Round Pick
2011 1st round pick swap with NY
2012 1st rounder from NY

We also have Lowry & Scola but since they are FA's they would have to agree to sign a deal prior to being traded. Because of this I think the likely hood of Brooks being traded is far greater than Lowry.

You know that would be prefect and of course makes the most sense. As who would give up that much money?

But idk I fell like we had a better trade piece in Landry.
They are talking about Martin as if he is our SG for the future, but if not this is an amazing trade.

I looked at Toronto's roster and they do seem a little weak at the 2 guard.