It’s the worse time of the year spent mostly reading and sleeping, because there are no Rockets, but I do think up some offseason moves occasionally. First off here’s a list of Rockets that probably won’t be on the team next season. Jon Barry is an unrestricted free agent. He has said that he will either come back to Houston or retire, we don’t even have to say it, but everyone wants him back, not sure if the Rockets do though. Scott Padgett is an unrestricted free agent. He’s looking for money so… Thank you very much for the buzzer beater against the Knicks, but the Rockets will do better. Dikembe Mutombo is an unrestricted free agent. Another player that we and the Rockets would love to have back, however, the Mavericks are said to be on his tail and the Rockets are not getting into a bidding war for a 50 year old center against Mark Cuban! If not Cuban I would not be at all surprised if some other team gives him a one year 5 million dollar contract, if the team’s dumb enough, maybe even two year/9 million. Ryan Bowen is an unrestricted free agent. Good bye. Torraye Braggs is an unrestricted free agent. Well, Torraye we hardly knew you! Now, the guy we know will be a Rocket next season from the draft is Luther Head, I like what I’m hearing about him and a very good source of basketball opinions I go to likes him as a lot as well. He’ll be the combo guard which probably makes the decision to let Jon Barry go easier. If you don't like dream scenarios DO NOT read the following in italics. Here is my personal DREAM off season. At PG the Rockets would pick up Sarunas Jasikevicius, word is he’s going to the Pacers, if so, I’m telling you right now that they reach the ECF’s next season at the very least, with or without Ron Artest. Here’s a guy who led his European team to back to back to BACK championships and usually has his Yugoslavian National Team in the medal round of the Olympics and World Championships. On the court he can be a guy that T-Mac would trust with the ball, so you won’t see him the ball so much which is one thing I hated to see the Rockets do on offense against the Mavs. At SG the Rockets would pick up Bobby Simmons in a sign and trade somehow involving David Wesley and Bob Sura so the Clippers can have a guy capable of staying with quick PGs and Livingston can move over to guard SGs. Simmons is a player capable of playing SG or SF, can guard an opposing team’s best player, can shoot from anywhere and is most of his effectiveness on offense comes without the ball, he’s also a very good rebounder, and he’s only 25 years old. At PF the Rockets would pick up Kwame Brown, YES, Kwame Brown! I would get him in a sign and trade involving Juwon Howard. Every time I see that guy play he does good things on the court and the Wizards inexplicably take him out of the game and insert some random scrub. He’s a great post defender and rebounder, he’s not a great shot blocker, but he does a fine job of making it difficult for other teams to score in the paint none the less. On offense he has some work to do as far as his post moves go, and his small hands cause him to lose hold of the ball at times, but he can hit an open jumper. His offense is probably why the offensive minded Wizards didn’t play him enough; here on the Rockets his defense would be appreciated. The most important backup would be Yao’s backup; foul trouble, fatigue or simply a lack of production is always keeping him from playing consistent minutes, so a quality backup for him is pretty much a necessity. I would love to see Deke come back, but there is a possibility that someone overpays him, so the Rockets should look at veteran bigs like Ervin Johnson, Dale Davis, or Tony Battie. The Rockets already are now left with some capable combo guards on the bench in Mike James, and Luther Head, maybe Charlie Ward. Backing up Kwame Brown would either be Robert Horry, Othella Harrington, Cliff Robinson, Toni Kukoc, or Bo Outlaw. PG – Sarunas Jasikevicius, Mike James, Luther Head, Charlie Ward SG – Bobby Simmons, Luther Head SF – Tracy McGrady, Bobby Simmons, Robert Horry PF – Kwame Brown, Robert Horry, Dale Davis C – Yao Ming, Dale Davis, Kwame Brown Bench – Robert Horry, Dale Davis, Mike James, Kieth Bogans, and Luther Head In summary the moves will be; Sarunas Jasikevicius as a MLE free agent signing, Bobby Simmons in a sign and trade, Kwame Brown in a sign and trade, Robert Horry with the veterans exception, and finally Dale Davis with the LLE. That’s a championship team, but it’s also just a dream, so I just wasted my time and yours, oh well, sue me! Back to reality, or what someone who is NOT a salary cap/CBA expert thinks is a possible reality. It’s difficult to predict this offseason because the Rockets want to do something big, well as big as picking up role players can get, but here’s what I would do. At PG I think the Rockets could use a sign and trade, which is why I propose these three deals, a sign and trade involving David Wesley to Memphis for Earl Watson, or a sign and trade involving Bob Sura to Chicago for Chris Duhon. Either one will be an upgrade over Bob Sura, if only because of Sura’s uncanny ability to get injured for at least 35 games a season. The last deal is the one I would go with, Jamal Tinsley in a trade that would send Bob Sura and David Wesley to Indiana, which could be possible if the Pacers sign Sarunas Jasikevicius, although there are injury concerns with Tinsley I believe he is still one of the few starting caliber traditional PGs in the league today. Lets just say the deal involving Jamal Tinsley goes through because it’s my favorite, or the Rockets start the season with Bob Sura as the starting PG again, now the Rockets look for a SG, personally I’ve always like Raja Bell, but since he’s signing with Phoenix I say go crazy with Jalen Rose. I’m not sure how much he’d cost, but he can’t expect to rob a team for the rest of his career and he’s not as young as he used to be, I imagine the MLE should be more than enough. At PF I strongly believe the Rockets are going to stick with Juwon and find a backup in free agency, why? He’s already made a big enough sacrifice in his offense to start, there’s no way he makes an even bigger one and accepts a backup’s role, so it’s either start him or trade him. I’m not so sure if it would be easy to trade him though because of his contract, although his salary is not that big per year, he still has another 4-5 or so years left on it. As his backup, Robert Horry is the guy they can realistically sign for around 3 million per year for 2 years, he doesn’t mind coming off the bench because he knows he’ll be finishing the more important games. He’s also an outstanding feeder of the Yao. On the other hand the PF starting next to Yao HAS to be a great rebounder because Yao isn’t so, a sign and trade with Miami and Haslem would be an option. However, Miami has made resigning him long term an offseason priority, so he's an unlikely candidate, unless the Rockets overpay him. I like that dream scenario of a trade to Washington for Kwame Brown, that’s possible IMO, but so is a trade with Memphis for the already signed Wright, not Swift. I hope Dikembe Mutombo comes back, but if he doesn’t the Rockets should go after a tough guy like Dale Davis, he would sign for the veterans minimum. Offer them both the veterans minimum, whoever takes it gets to back up Yao, give the preference to Deke. Tracy McGrady’s back up will have to wait till next season so he, Jalen Rose, and sometimes Robert Horry will have to split up the minutes at SF. PG – Jamaal Tinsley (or Bob Sura), Mike James, Luther Head SG – Jalen Rose, Luther Head, (and David Wesley) SF – Tracy McGrady, Jalen Rose, Robert Horry PF – Kwame Brown, Robert Horry, Dale Davis C – Yao Ming, Dale Davis, Kwame Brown Bench – Robert Horry, Dale Davis, Mike James, David Wesley, Luther Head, Clearance Weatherspoon, Vin Baker, Charlie Ward, and Moochie Norris. In summary the additions will be; Jamaal Tinsley in a trade with Indiana for Bob Sura and David Wesley after they sign Sarunas or go with Bob Sura for another year, cut his minutes and hope that keeps him injury free, Kwame Brown in a trade with Washington for Juwon Howard, Jalen Rose for the MLE, Robert Horry as a free agent, and Dale Davis with the veterans exception (I’m pretty sure it exists). The only doubt I have is Robert Horry, if the MLE has to be split into two I would sign Kerry Kittles and Aaron Williams, instead of Jalen Rose and Robert Horry. I’m also missing a token white guy, you know the Rockets ALWAYS sign a token white guy, and I’m missing him if Sura is traded away. One thing I love about that starting lineup is the clutchness of all the players except Kwame Brown, however when you add Robert Horry during crunch time, every single player has hit big shots in his career. Yes, even Jalen Rose who is nicknamed Mr. Clutch in Toronto, believe it or not. What do you guys think?
I’ve also ranked free agents that I would not mind seeing on the Rockets, the list does not include Shareef Abdur Rahim, Donyell Marshall, Antoine Walker, Kenyon Dooling, Damon Jones, Jeff McInnis, and some others that I would prefer the Rockets play against, not with! Starting PGs Antonio Daniels Earl Watson Marko Jaric Damon Stoudamire Gary Payton Chris Duhon Howard Eisley Starting SGs Bobby Simmons Jalen Rose Bonzi Wells Raja Bell Kerry Kittles Cuttino Mobley Ronald Murray Eddie Jones, possible cut. Backup SGs Devin Brown Kareem Rush Anthony Peeler Casey Jacobsen Jason Kapono Backup SFs Toni Kukoc DerMarr Johnson Gerald Wallace Keith Bogans Walter McCarty Starting PFs Tyson Chandler Udanis Haslem Kwame Brown Stromile Swift Darius Songaila Backup PFs Robert Horry Othella Harrington Clifford Robinson Aaron Williams Chris Andersen Mark Madsen Bo Outlaw Robert Traylor Scott Williams Brian Grant, possible cut. Backup Cs Dikembe Mutombo Dale Davis Dan Gadzuric Ervin Johnson Tony Battie Elden Campbell Zeljko Rebraca Zaza Pachulia Shaquille O’Neal , possible cut. He’s a good dunker, and can be motivated to rebound and play defense, perfect backup for Yao IMO. I might have forgotten a few.