Names we can safely remove from lists

That did not take very long - the Rockets matched the offer sheet Carl Landry signed with the Charlotte Bobcats. No surprises there, except that maybe now Luis Scola will demand a pay-raise (and no argument here, he'd deserve it).

The really good news is that we now no longer have to hear the name "Buddy Baker" for the next 2-3 years! Yes, "Buddy Baker" is the clown acting as Carl Landry's agent. A wannabe Scott Boras/Drew Rosenhaus type who missed the day they taught about "leverage" at Agent school. But now he gets to collect his 5% or whatever and leave us Rockets fans alone.

... at least I can tell Danny McGrath to remove his name from the list of "People to Kill."

I sure am glad we called that guy...

I can only assume: Welcome Back Carl Landry!

If the deal is really 3 years and $9 MM from the Bobcats, then I think we can safely rest assured that the Rockets resident GM genius will be matching it. And seriously, the third year is a team option? That makes it the perfect contract. It's not too expensive, will put the Rockets close, but possibly not over the luxury tax threshold and Landry gets what he wanted, he didn't have to do the knee MRI. Really it's a win all the way around for the Rockets and a no lose situation for the Bobcats.

So, I say welcome back Carl, now come and show that the Rockets should tie you up longer term in the next two years.

Daryl Morey, you are a genius, you proved your point, as $3MM was probably not far off from your offer and that's all he could get. He didn't go overseas like we all knew he wouldn't and you made his agent spend countless dollars of his own to get right back to the same spot they already were in.

Hey, Carl Landry - stop listening to Ben Gordon!

Allow me to rant and rave for a little while...

Hey, Carl Landry!!! Get your shit together, sign your contract and quit trying to play hardball with boy genius Daryl Morey!!!

I mean, if you know what's best for you, that is. (And, no, I do not think your agent knows what is best for you... right now he strikes me as the inverse Jerry Maguire. Only one client, but no contacts or connection to the industry.) Dammit, I want to make sure that the other 1/2 of Luis Landry is ready to go during the 2009 Championship Season!!

Things we know to be true:

1. You are not worth $10M a season, Carl.
2. You aren't even worth $8M a season, Carl.
3. The Rockets have every reason to be concerned about your injury history and the current status of your knee. It's what we call doing "due diligence."
4. You are in a good situation where you can thrive right now.
5. Europe ain't that fun. Ask Kumar - Eurotrip kinda sucked.
6. Europe ain't giving you $10M a year, either, anyway.
7. Your agent just might be an idiot.
8. Daryl Morey is a genius and is not going to be out-leveraged by you or your agent.
9. Luis Scola is making $3.1M this year. He's better than you and is the starter. He should be making more. Do you see where I am going?
10. If the Rockets offer you anything approximating $3M a year over 3-4 years, you should freakin' take it. Like, yesterday.

Things that somehow confuse me:

1. Why the f--k have you not signed a contract with the Rockets, Carl?!?

Hurry up, Carl! Make up your mind and commit to your team! Randal "Pink" Floyd you are not! Stop hanging out with that loser agent of yours and let's play some basketball!!!

NBA Draft - buyer's remorse?

I've now had almost a week to process all the manic activity that was the 2008 NBA Draft.

I'm relieved I do not have to cheer for Pip.
Very much so.

I'm quite stunned that the Rockets got Donte Greene.
Very happy about this.

Greene looks to be a keeper. The dude appears to have been a fan of the Rockets before we drafted him and was utterly disappointed when the 25th pick came and went and two french dudes were drafted before him. For a time, I shared in his disappointment. But, as we've been saying for months now, our boy Mr. Morey is like a genius or something - managed to turn the 25th pick into Greene AND Dorsey AND another pick in '09...

even though the Rockets were more than willing to trade up in the draft to acquire the rights to Mr. Greene. Who legitimately has NBA skills and has been compared to all sorts of different players ranging from Tracy McGrady to Rashard Lewis to Kevin Durant. Yes, we all know he's a "project" player, but what else did we expect from the 25th pick in a draft completely lacking in sure-fire no-doubt can't-miss prospects?

That said - this entry is not about Mr. Greene...

I'm worried about Joey Dorsey.

The news is only getting worse about the Rockets' chances to re-sign Carl Landry. Certainly, drafting Joey Dorsey was intended to give the Rockets options if Landry decides to get too cute in his contract negotiations. (And, yes, I *definitely* want Carl Landry to come back -- if only for us to be able to use "Luis Landry" tags in the future. Though I do *not* want the Rockets to commit $8M+ per season for his services. That's just bad business.)

If another team takes some crazy pills and does offer Landry $8M or more per season... the Rockets would be looking at a PF rotation of Scola (who is a badass), Chuck Hayes (who I like, but I like winning more) and... Mr. Dorsey. Uhhhh, yikes.

Why am I worried? Well....... I don't really have any inside sources in the NBA. But I do have some people I know who knew Dorsey quite well during his stay in college. The moment we acquired him, I got messages ranging from:

1. He is a pretty big baby and doesn't put in the necessary work;
2. He has/had a stripper girlfriend but wasn't exactly faithful;
3. He likes to "make it rain" all over town.

Did we just draft a 6'7" 265 lb. NBA version of "Pac-Man"??? Uh, oh.

On the flip side....... it turns out that Dorsey already knows Tracy McGrady and they've been friends for a while. I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing -- but it is worth noting. I've just never considered T-Mac to be the mentoring type. Besides, Dorsey's rep has always been that when he plays he is good -- but that it's hard to get him truly motivated to play. With the NBA full of distractions (read: groupies and parties), can we really rely on Dorsey to get his act together and give us what Carl Landry gave us in '07/'08?

I'm not sure... I'm just sayin' I'm concerned.