The Rockets finally dumped Maurice Taylor on Thursday, an action they've been looking to take for months (if not years). The 6-foot-9 Taylor is going to the Knicks in exchange for former Rocket Moochie Norris, Vin Baker and a second-round pick.

Don't deceive yourself in to thinking the Rockets wanted any of the players that they got. This was merely a salary dump as the move is expected to save the Rockets some $10 million for the year 2006-2007.

Jeff Van Gundy considered Taylor lazy, and has had him on the IR for the last month. Moving him was a top team priority.

Taylor came to the Rockets in a big splash in August of 2000. He was considered an offensive force, he signed cheap and played fairly well when he wasn't in foul trouble.

But payday arrived the next season, and after the Rockets gave him a 6-year pact worth nearly $50 million, things went downhill. Fast.

Three weeks after signing the deal, Taylor tore his right Achilles tendon and was lost for the season. A few months after that, Taylor was suspended for violating the drug policy.

When on top of his game, he can score with the best of them, but Mo was a terrible rebounder and defender and for a power forward, that's not going to fly under Van Gundy.

In an interesting footnote in the trade, old fan favorite-turned-goat Moochie Norris returns to the Rockets. Ironically his Rocket career was not too unlike Taylor's.

Moochie was signed by the Rockets almost 5 years ago today out of the CBA where he was playing with the Fort Wayne Fury. His hustle, his ability to hit big shots and most importantly his hair won over the fans in Houston, but once he signed that 6-year deal in October of 2001, things turned fast.