Now that the dust has settled with the Brent Barry speculation, Arroyo having resigned with the Jazz, and questions abounding concerning Troy Hudson's injury, where does this leave the Rocks with the few guards available to run JVG's offense? If the team wants to make a move on Fisher it needs to dangle cash and the starting job in his face right now before Rudy's campaign to reunite Laker team spirit kicks in and Fisher's desire to stay in LA keeps him from leaving. The one point Rudy can make to Fisher is to allude to the Rockets championship teams with regards to the substitution pattern of Rudy's PG's and the fact that although Kenny Smith was the starter in Sam I Am's rookie year and the next year, it was Cassell who was often in the game at the end during crunch time when the game was on the line and Rudy had a tendancy to stick with the hot player (Cassell) for long periods of time regardless of who started. Rudy could convince Fisher that in his system the starter's role is irrelevant and that minutes are based on production which could appease Fisher. Charlie Ward would seem a natural fit in the JVG system, has a decent J and I"m not sure of his assist/TO ration numbers but with the PG's left, he's a safe choice and the transition to the style in Houston would seem minimal with Ward. Eric Snow also seems like JVG's type of PG and would create more looks for Yao and T-Mac by simply letting the game come to him in terms of scoring and concentrating on D and ball security, although he doesn't appear to have superior playmaking skills and his shooting % is not that great which could see teams lagging off of Snow and daring him to beat the D with his outside J, however, all we may need from Snow is easy, high percentage baskets while in transition on the fast break with the increased steals that he would generate, some slashing to the hole off of screens and mid range jumpers as a result of Yao kicking the ball back out to him or T-Mac doing the same when double teamed. Even though his jumper is not money, I see Snow as a safe and smart player that could bring the type of defense that would open up more opportunities for our other player and give them more looks. It could be refreshing to have a PG who averages in the low teens in FGA's and this would play into the team's strengths with the scorers and if the team was willing to pay BB for 4 years, I think Snow's deal is for 5 and with the solid D and low turnovers, I think playing with Yao and T-Mac would bring his assist totals up with the use of pick and rolls, screens and lots of cutting. I say we've gotta sign Ward or Snow quickly and work on the shot blocker and possibly try to pry Foyle from Golden State, but my question is where do we go from here with what is left on the market? I say Ward or Snow would fit JVG's scheme and would be sensible choices (although the length of Snow's deal is troubling, he is fundamentally sound defensively having been coached by Larry Brown and now JVG.
Lottery.....5 on 2. Nuggets gain experience, Jazz got better. Rockets still have no depth. Let's see, Yao will set even more screens at the 3-point line. If you watched last year, you know what I mean.
You cant make everyone happy.....We land T-mac and some wont be happy unless we have the DREAMTEAM playing every day!!!
1. Fisher- Best man for the job. Good shooter, good defender, also knows how to play off of the stars. 2. Ward- Did 9ppg 5apg before he left NYK, but sat on SA bench. JVG loves this guy, but I'm not sure about letting him have the reigns right now. I could see him coming off the bench if anything. 3. Snow- Probably the best passer and the smartest out of the group. But is also the worst shooter of em all. Snow is a good defender, but his shot makes him iffy.
People hate Snow's age and contract, but they conveniently forget that any PG we bring in will be either old or asking for big money (just look at FA right now! No one's gonna give us a discount just because we're a swell organization). We'd be best served just trading for Snow and keeping our MLE intact. He's the best defender of the group, and is a legit PLAYMAKER. He hit the mid range J off of double teams and can shoot off of the pick and roll. He's just a better basketball player than Fisher or Ward.
You're not comprehending how bad Snow's contract is. 5 more years at $30 mil. And Snow has never been a great outside shooter. Which means team can double Yao at will this year with PGs, which REALLY disrupts Yao's game as he's so prone to getting pocketed. If the Rockets are willing to take Snow's contract, they might as well have added another year to Barry's offer and get a better overpaid player.
I know what Snow's contract looks like; I hear about it from disgruntled Sixers fans every day (when they aren't complaining about Glenn Robinson's lack of defense... Or Larry Bowa). But more importantly, I've seen him play, a lot. HE CAN PLAY. He can hit the mid range J. He's the best defender at his position in the league. He's smart. If we had offered Barry all of that money, we would have lost the MLE. If we trade for Snow, we could potentially have both the MLE and the TE intact.
I'm sure this will probably get shot down, but what about using the TE to get Payton. If the LAL truly want Fisher to be the man still, they may be interested. I know he is not his old self, but let's think about the other guys that we are suggesting here. Two years ago Charlie Ward would've been our third stringer. Heck, Damon Jones was our third stringer.
I think with the Rockets not getting in a bidding war for Brent Barry this clearly shows they are looking for a good value at PG. I dont see Snow being a good value. I feel the Rockets will wait out this FA period to see which players fall through the cracks. We are looking for a good fit at PG, perhaps not a long term investment here. Damon Jones, Mike James, Lindsey Hunter, Derek Fisher, Charlie Ward, Bob Sura etc. I am sure we will look at all of those guys. And of course we could be looking at other PGs currently on other rosters like we were looking at Antonio Daniels. I think what we are seeing here is that the Rockets arent getting into this crazy FA spending spree that is going on. We have our 2 franchise players and are going to be fiscally responsible about building around them. Probably will have some makeshift lineups for the next few years until Spoon/Tayor come off the books and we can go after some super role players.
The more I think about it, I think I'd rather get Jones or Ward at a small price, use the rest of the MLE for depth, and then use the TE to bring in a big man. I really don't see a problem with a Ward/Lue or Jones/Lue tandem at PG.
as long as out PG is a good shooter and defender, we will be fine. under JVG the PG is the least important position. anyone can do it in his system.
Snow's contract is GOD AWFUL! My list goes in this order 1. DFish 2. D. Jones 3. Roger Mason 4. B. Sura 5. C. Ward I still think we should target the Cavs with or without our TE. I trade I'd like to see happen: Battie, Wagner, A. Pavlovic for Howard, Pike, Lue, A. Griffin We get our backup C and a PG who's had a couple of injuries the last two seasons. They get a good PF in Howard(Taylor could replace him if they preferred a younger PF) who has a long and very affordable contract, a solid bakup PG who's always healthy, and a pure shooter in Pike. I'd still want to sign a Damon Jones type PG and have Wagner provide the spark off the bench( also try to keep his minutes down to make sure he's fully recovered).
I know it's a huge longshot, but if all the Rockets need from the PG position is someone that can dribble the ball up the court, defend, and shoot, Kerry Kittles would be an option that I haven't seen anyone mention. He's an excellent defender (shut down Chauncey Billups), great shooter, and has playoff experience. While he's played the 2 guard position his whole career, if the Nets didn't have Kidd I think he could have very easily played the point for them. He's a very similar to Ron Harper. He's got one year left on his contract at 9 million, the Nets are looking to shed salary, and the Rockets have their trade exception. So maybe they could work something out. The Rockets showing interest in Antonio Daniels has me thinking the Rockets are looking for size and defense at the point guard position and that they don't neccessarily need a pure point guard. Kittles is not much different from Daniels.
Don't think that'll happen. As far as comparing the two, Kittles has a history of injury problems, is older, is not as athletic, and didn't have an inhuman asst/to ratio like Daniels did last season. And what would we give up for him? Last time I checked he wasn't a free agent.
Kittles had injury problems early in his career, but that's behind him now. He's no more injury prone than Daniels. Kittles is not that old. He's only 30, and Daniels is 29. He may no be quite as athletic as Daniels, but he's still a very good athlete. He made some unbelievable acrobatic lay-ups in the playoffs. As far as the assist/turnover ratio, obviously it's going to be difficult to pick up assists in New Jersey with Kidd controlling the ball so much. Daniels is not a free agent either, so obviously the Rockets are looking at trading for a point guard.
