I realize what Deke has meant to this organization during his relatively short tenure here. But does bringing him back for the upcoming season make sense when: 1) we have an overabundance of talent already under contract. 2) his strengths are not necessarilly conducive to Adelman's system. 3) we have Butler under contract, who needs minutes for a fair evaluation. ...delving deeper into bullet #1. the roster for the upcoming season as of today looks like: Yao/Butler Scola/Landry/Reed Battier/Novak/Harris T-Mac/Bonzi/Head/Snyder Alston/James/Brooks/JL3 {Sura's contract not included} add to that Hayes is a near lock to be resigned and you have 17 players on the payroll. I realize our roster shuffle is not yet complete.... Head, Alston, Snyder and JL3 have all been linked to trade rumors. But all 4 are not likely to be moved...and regardless there would still be at least one contributing player received in return. -3 + 1 = 15 man roster. Reed seems either trade bait or a likely roster cut. I see him as insurance going into the season for the PF position which has now been adequately stocked. -1 = 14 man roster Harris has a non-guaranteed contract. But his strong showing in the summer league has guaranteed him at least a training camp invite and an opportunity to play himself on to our roster. = 14 man roster. now we have 3 IR spots available. Leaving us with 11 Players on the Active Roster. Mix and match the AR as you please. Bottom Line is we hypothetically still have one spot left. Is Deke the player we want to give that spot to?
i still think you need his defense. of course his no offense looks like it could be a problem expecially if he comes in with chuck in the 2nd unit. BUT i still think his defense is going to be much needed at times. he brings something to the rockets that no one else really does consistently...interior defense.
Yes, even if he's not on the active roster. Dike has proven in the past that he can step it up and play great when Yao goes down. For that reason alone, keep him as a 3rd string center at least.
Agreed. Deke brings stability to the paint from a defensive standpoint which is crucial when you have a started like Yao. With offensive strategies of opponents molded around having to deal with a 7 footer in the paint, a drastic change in offensive would be tough for our defenses to adjust to. I think this evident in teams using a pretty consistent offensive approach with both Yao and Deke in the paint. What they do on defensive side of the court with Yao vs. Deke is a different story =)
Under Adelman, I think he'd be a 3rd-string center at best. I don't see him fitting in at all. I'd rather bring in Novak and Harris.
Would deke be happy playing limited minutes behind Yao and Butler? I think he'd be unhappy in that situation. He didn't like not playing in the playoffs so a whole season of bench warming is going to be even worst. If we don't sign him we are taking a bit of a chance because Butler could suck. Scola has played the 5 and could get minutes there is Yao or Deke got injured, so it's not that big of a risk to not sign Deke. On the otherhand, I'd hate to see him playing good defense for the Spurs or Mavs because if he's not ready to retire those teams will be giving him a call.
I think signing him would be the honorable thing to do considering all he's done for us in the past couple of years. He's has a great attitude, he's has a great locker room presence, is professional, and donates his services to charity. If we have a seat, drop one of the glute guards for him. He deserves a championship.
oh boy..anyways, i think that we should resign him. As most of you are saying,for the interior defense.
Deke was a warrior last year. He was a wrecking machine on rebounds and you want to waive him? Someone's been smoking crack. Besides, who's the number one backup for Yao? Big Jake? HA
I think it bothered him when we were losing and him not getting any playing time. So key thing is to keep winning.
Only as a PR move, we have plenty of guaranteed contracts on the big side now. I hope Deke retires, but if he does decide to play one more year....and it doesn't put the team into the Lux tax, then give him the minimum. DD
But what if Yao gets hurt? what then? I suspect that the Rox would want to move Deke off of IR intot he starting line up and let Bulter continue to be the backup. And no way, no how would either Novak or Harris crack the 8 man rotation.
first off we wouldn't be waiving him... he's a free agent, so it would be a matter of not signing him. secondly jake is also a free agent who it does not appear we intend to sign. jackie butler is the only C we currently have under contract. post #1 pal...reading is fundemental...
Deke will be back. Not only is he a well respected athlete throughout the league, but he's also an honored humanitarian throughout the world. That's class that every team could use. About the team, Deke helps in 3 ways specifically: A big to battle Shaq, Curry, Howard in the post when Yao goes out for rest or injury. You'll also find Deke being used by Adelman in situational scenarios, like 2 seconds to the final buzzer and you need Deke's defense to avoid an easy layup. When it comes down to win or lose and the miracle is for a defensive stop, everyone will agree with Deke is the one you want anchoring the defense, not Yao. And finally, the guy is the most seasoned veteran in our locker room and obviously bonds well with the team..they call him grandpa. With Howard gone, that's another intangible that could keep the team cooperative through a bad stretch of games.
I think we should keep Novak, but put him in the D-league. Harris, it depends on how he plays in training camp and preseason, but I'd like to keep him around. If Yao gets injured, we'll have to play small. Given the versatility of the players we have, that may not be a bad option. Butler steps in at C, and he'll be backed up by Hayes or Landry. Maybe Battier and Harris get extra minutes at PF in that scenario. I admit its a gamble. But Deke just seems like the antithesis of Adelman's ideal pivot-man. He has terrible hands, zero mobility, no touch around the basket, poor passing ability. And I think last year (specifically, last January) was a bit of a fluke. I don't see anything like that happening again.
