I just saw on ESPN that Kerry Kittles was waived by the Clippers. Do you think the Rox should pursue? He's old, but I think he's just the type of guard the Rox could use to shore up the rotation. Is it possible to sign him with his curent contract, or is it unfeasable? I have no idea.
He's only 30 and yeah, he is a running type of player. I think he would fit in well with the team for the right price.
Sheesh, are we going to open a thread everytime a marginally good player becomes available? Ever consider why he's getting waived, other then for the apparent cap reasons? Maybe he sucks and his skills have diminished to the point where a team like the Clippers don't even want him. That's my view, how would he help us when the Clippers don't even want him...one team's trash just might be trash in another team's also. And for the peeps seeing a Swift analogy, I'm looking at him with guarded optimism, I still think he's mostly flash but would love to be proven wrong on that. We're trying to build a championship team here and considering every reject from other teams isn't my idea of building one. The way I see it these days, playing for the Rockets is a higher privilege then playing for most other teams because of our young nuclues and bright future. Not just anybody can play for our team and that's the way it should be, they have to be a JVG type of player that compliments Yao and TMac. And preferably on the right side of 30 for a long dynasty.
Money talks to these guys though. They dont play for the love of the game as much as they play for the money anymore. If they did you would see more guys taking smaller contracts when larger ones are available for a subpar team. ie: Joe Johnson, Cutino Mobley, etc. I really dont want any of these guys who aren't willing to step-back and say "Hey I'm not a superstar, I would be playing with two very young superstars, on a team that has a chance to win" If this did occur more frequently you would see more guys who are proven like the Karl Malones, John Stocktons, and Reggie Millers leave the game with a ring.
Not worth it to be honest...doesn't do much...he ran well with Jason Kidd on his side but after that hasn't shown jack.
Let's see. He's past 30 and his knees are shot -- so, yeah, perfect candidate for our antique shelf ...uh, bench!
Maybe I read it wrong and, if so I apologize, but I'm pretty sure that's what it said on the ESPN scroller.
Kittles has been a better locker room guy and better shooter than Derrick Anderson his whole career. Since both are 31, have bum knees, and are not very athletic any more, at least one has some other qualities that age well, and they are not Derrick's. I'd give him a look.
I assume this means they waived their Bird rights - do FAs still count toward the cap at a certain percentage of their former salary until they are either waived or signed by someone else? Don't remember if that's still around. Evan
Before his injuries Kittles was a solid NBA talent, he's not really old but you have to know what he has left physically. I'll bet someone will take a chance on him for more than the vet's minimum though because he can shoot.
I haven't seen him play consistantly since he was in NJ, when I watched him all the time. He was injured for about 4 years in his mid 20s and has been healthy and dependable since then. He may not have been as brilliant an athlete as he was as a rookie, but he was still an excellent defender and one of the best transition players in the game through his last year with NJ. He's a streaky shooter, and doesn't really create his own shot, but he can guard any two and small threes and is a good enough ball handler that NJ used him as a back up PG when they needed it. No, he's not the answer at PG, of course, but if he's healthy and willing to take the Rockets relatively small pile of cash, he's a much better option than anyone else I've heard of, for our last rotation spot.
The Rox only have $1.7 million to offer. Do you think we're going to pick up some superstar with that kind of jack? We're looking for marginally good players that might be able to play some small role on the team. That's all.
It's not you mate, I was responding to the ESPN News scroll, I saw the same thing. And I checked and Kittles' contract wasn't a team option for next year, like Nick Van Exel's. Weird that they would call it a "waive" and waste a scroll like that on just someone's rights being renounced. I guess I can look forward to news of the Indiana Pacers "waiving" Michael Curry soon enough.
The question, Juan, is whether these waived players will seek market value, or not. They are getting their entire salaries, so they could do nothing and make all kinds of loot. I think Kittles is due about 9 million this year, right? Since this is the last year of his contract, he's got this year to go to a team and market himself for next year, and also to choose a place where'd be happy playing without taking a financial hit. Wait, I just checked, where does it say he's being waived? Why on earth would he be waived? The LAC aren't over the cap and they're going to have to pay his salary anyway, and I believe this is the last year of his contract so he'd give them lots of trade flexibility. Huh?
