I will be the first to admit that I was pissed when the Rox drafted Drew over Lewis two years ago. I thought that the pick was going to stunt our chances of staying competitive by passing on a player who could be seasoned under charles and dream and come into his own when they left. That being said this is what I think the rox should do: now- Trade Drew, TMass, and Walt for a player younger than 25 and taller than 6'7'' reason: Drew and Walt are both players who do not fit into our style. Drew cannot get out and run like any of our other guards, he is more suited for a half court team. Walt also is better suited for a team like LA or Utah (not that we will trade with them). We get Walt and Drew to a team they will play with and we get someone who can play a forward spot for a couple of years. this offseason- Resign Mobes to a one year deal, move up to get Martin in the draft and sign Lewis to the max he can get. reason: Mobes would then be able to fall into the Larry Bird clause in the next years and Lewis can team with Martin to dominate on the front court. 2001 Line-Up pg Francis Norris sg Anderson Mobley sf Lewis Rogers pf Martin Thomas c Cato any free agent scrub
I like Drew for that exact reason: he brings a totally different look to the team. In the playoffs, teams will start to play better defense against you because they analyze tape more and can make adjustments. If the Francis/running system isn't working, I like having Drew in there to bring a completely different look to the game. Personally, I also like Walt because he's our only true outside threat (except Bullard, who will lose playing time when Rogers is back). He's also a good hustle player and has no ego... Which is very important in a Francis/Mobley dominated offense. (this also makes Cato & Anderson excellent parts of our system -- none of these guys demand the ball)
this offseason- Resign Mobes to a one year deal, move up to get Martin in the draft and sign Lewis to the max he can get. The max that Lewis could get is $9M. I don't think you want to sign him for anything approaching that.
I must disagree with all who say Drew can't run.....the guy is young and runs like a deer! We didn't get to see him run much last year because we were still in the "slow it down and dump it to Hakeem and Chuck" offense. Have you watched him this year? Especially in his starting role? This kid is pretty quick. He is no Francis, mind you, but he runs the floor well. He pushed the ball well with Valparaiso too. I am not opposed to trading the guy, but I still like his game! I like Bryce's game.
I forgot that I posted this but: Wiz- I put Norris down because he is currently with the team. He has been touted in other posts as a decent backup, which is all we need. Shanna- If we get into the playoffs and must rely on Drew we are in trouble. AElliot- Rashard has potential, more than any player outside of Francis. He could be the answer to our problem at the three. 9 mil is too much, but I would give him as much as our 4.5 to get him. He cant be as bad as some of the other moves we could make. If we dont get Lewis I would like to see us go after Smith. HoopT- Because I live in Austin I dont get a chance to the Rox very often (holidays and national tv only) so I haven't seen this new drew that has emerged out of Steve's injury. However, Steve is going to get atleast 35-40 minutes a game which leaves a paltry 8 for drew. If he had time to get involved like he has recently then he does well, but he hasn't and will not. He is a Mark Price clone, which is better suited for a half court team.
Some people don't get this... What we need is a POWER FORWARD!!!!! KT isn't..... Duh, we lost Barkley, uh, can KT play Garnett/Malone/McDyess, crap, even Googs for that matter. He might be able to play Baker, or let him make free throws . KT is a great backup, but sorry he isn't a strong 4.
The Rockets need to make a deal for Kandi! I agree with Phrancis that Thomas is an adequate backup at center but a defensive liability aginst the likes of Duncan, Grant, Wallace, Garnett or Gugliotta. If the Rox could swing a deal for Kandi, we would have a frontcourt combo that could shutdown Duncan and Robinson as well as most other 4/5 combos in this league. Then we get a small forward in the draft (we can get Porter, but I also hear that the prep star Wallace is freakin' amazing). If we dont make a deal for a good pf then I say that we go along with the scenario that I started with. I failed to mention who the trade would aquire because I have no idea of what players are out there that could be obtained for these players.
