Why? Why? Do you not know who he is? He is a PF who can play some center. He is a terrific banger. He can rebound and block shots very very well. He can also score a bit. He is about a 15 points 11 rebound 2.5 blks, starter. I just really have grown fond of the guy. He is a very hard worker and plays great D. I was responding to Popeye's last statement.
Cliff Robinson for Walt and Cuttino? I would have to take that. I would take Cliff (if he isn't too old?? anyone know??) straight up for Kelvin myself if our objective is to win this year. Does Phoenix need Cuttino with Kidd and Penny? We need someone like Robinson or Cedric I will agree to that along with a back-up point guard like Derek Harper. I thought Cato would be like Cliff actually and he might be eventually. Personally, I dread letting go of Cuttino but at least it would give Shandon his minutes back. I think if we can get Derek Harper this would be a dramatic improvement. Other teams that have veteran back-up point guards seem to thrive. Any other "minor" or "mid level" trade to get some defensive talent in here, I wouldn't be opposed to. Untouchables - Dream, Chuck, Steve, Shandon. Would hate to lose - Cuttino, Rogers. For some reason, I don't think Bullard is going anywhere. I do like Cato and think he has potential but... Any trade value in Cato, Hamilton, K. Thomas, Drew and TMASS? Cato and/or Thomas for Cliff Robinson or Cedric and also pick up Derek Harper? I don't know much about trades and have no idea what salary these guys make. Just an idea to throw in there. Dream, Chuck/Cliff Robinson, Sam Mack/Rogers, Shandon, Steve/Derek Harper. I could live with that. Dream, Chuck/Rogers or Cato, Cedric/Sam Mack, Shandon/Mobley or Drew, Steve/Derek Harper. I could live with that. GO ROCKETS!
Untouchables- Dream, Chuck, Francis, Mobes maybe. Richmond- no way. Best days behind him. Contract too big. Another geezer. Hughes- I fail to see how we could get him. Sixers want substance not quantity. McGrady- would be ripe for the picking if we had a decent backup point too offer, so basically I don't think so. "They might say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one." - John Lennon (Imagine) That's right folks word is out that a disgruntled Grant Hill is seeking out of the horrid Pistons, and the Pistons fearing they will get nothing for him are shopping him around the league, Spurs, Lakers, we will see. http://sports.latimes.com/news/19991121/lat/19991121fjivlggy.html He's certainly an interesting topic as he is a player of the present. By the way I would trade for Cedric Ceballos over Clifford Robinson anyday. Talk about a guy that can run the floor. Is he out there, I don't thinks so, but who knows.
Clifford Robinson and Ced Ceballos are both somewhere from 30-32, so I'll pass. We're rebuilding, and I don't want to give Mobes up for anyone over 26 years of age. Grant Hill is out of our range. Washington is dangling Howard and we can't offer anything close to that. McGrady - Would offer Mobes, Rogers, anyone for this guy. He is going to be something special. Hughes - I don't want him as much as I do McGrady, but I would still be willing to part with some major artillery to reel this guy in. On another note. With the Lakers, Bullets, and Pistons all rumored to be involved in deals involving Hill, Rice, and Howard...imagine if we had held on to Pippen a little longer and waited for all of this to blow over. We might have been able to organize a 3-way sending Pip to LA, Hill to Houston, and Rice to Detroit. Damn.
Hi Cabbage, one thing that strikes me whenever I read your posts (which are almost always interesting) is that you seem to think that "rebuilding" means that no player you get should be older than 23. I think you even explicitly stated that. I don't think so. Most players reach their prime in their late twenties, sometimes early thirties. So you want to lose for 5 years until they are ready? Nah. You need the right mix between young and old. It MIGHT be that right now, we have some players which are too old and some which are too young. It would not help us to get only young players. I'd rather have a 30-year old (?) Cliff Robinson than a 20 (?) year old Rashard Lewis right now. By the way, since everyone says that we should have taken Rashard Lewis instead of Drew - I don't think so. I think we should have taken Brian Skinner. Someone mentioned it before. This guy will be a more than decent PF/C very soon. He actually outplays Olowokandi (anyone remember him? their no. 1 pick from last season) often enough. If I'm not wrong, he was taken later than Bryce Drew.
one thing that strikes me whenever I read your posts (which are almost always interesting) is that you seem to think that "rebuilding" means that no player you get should be older than 23. I think you even explicitly stated that. I don't think so. Yea, you are right. I have stated that before, and I still feel the same way. I guess I have a utopian view of having a team of 24 year old's playing together, and learning together, building up as a team together, and then in a year becoming a contender. It's the way I wish things were, but I guess you are right. Things like that never last, with greed and other obstacles getting in the way (see: Marbury situation.). But in defense of my plan, look at teams like Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee, three teams who are not yet in the contender class, but teams who I am hoping can stay together long enough to reach the elite. If one of these teams makes it there, then, I will know that this blueprint of youth actually does work. If you look at these three teams, all of their focal players (Allen, Big Dog, Iverson, Ratliff, Hughes, Snow, Garnett, Smith, Sczerbiach) are extremely young. Then, they surround those guys with middle-age veterans who know their roles and know how to play the game. Guys like Brandon, Geiger, Peeler, Cassell, etc. I think Larry Brown is the master of assembling a roster. All the other coaches before him tried to get Iverson to pass. He, on the other hand, recognized an extraordinary ability to put the ball in the basket, in the kid. What did he do? He surrounded Iverson with young hard-working defenders who would compliment Iverson's scoring style. Rudy T on the other hand, has been able to bring in guys over the years, but it seems as if he has no real plan. All of his moves seem as if they are being made by a fan. That is why you see such a roster clash on this current team. Anyways, back to the age issue. I want to pattern the team around Philadelphia. You already have Francis = Iverson, Anderson = Snow, and Cato = Ratliff. Then trade Mobley for a young small forward. Then, surround this young core with defenders, seeing that you have enough offense, and fill the rest of the roster out with vets to provide a calming influence. The way the Rockets are doing it will never work. You just cannot rely on 37 year old vets as much as they do. Other than the Utah Jazz, not a single team in the NBA relies on such old players as much as the Rockets do. The Jazz really have no choice. They don't have Francis, Anderson, Mobley, Cato, Rogers. Barkley and Dream should be role players and nothing more. (GermanRocket: That post included alot of other stuff rather than just a reply to your post...sorry for the confusion. ) I have become resigned to the fact that the Rockets are in a rebuilding stage right now, and I look forward to a high draft pick. It is ok with me. But, it just disgusts me to see so much talent be wasted like Rudy is wasting ours right now. Talent for talent, the Rockets are in the upper echelon of the league. It is Rudy's job to make use of that talent. Right now, what is happening is 95% of that potential is untapped, and he is relying heavily on 5% (Barkley-Olajuwon). All I ask is that he try something new for once. ------------------ "Museum officials outside of Houston have reported an ancient artifact identified as "Rudy's Postup Plays - 1994" stolen, as of November 2, 1999...officials urge residents to contact...
Seriously Napster, I too think Mobley and somebody just aren't enough there to get that deal done. Love to have him though. Philadelphia is certainly a good team, but they will need more there if they ever want to win a championshhip. That's what they will look for when they trade Hughes.
I am expecting the two teams to announce a McGrady - Hughes trade in the next few weeks. Wish we could jump in there and nab one of them, though. ------------------ "Museum officials outside of Houston have reported an ancient artifact identified as "Rudy's Postup Plays - 1994" stolen, as of November 2, 1999...officials urge residents to contact...
It is painfully obvious we have to get another swing player (SG or SF) with a little offensive and defensive game to start along side SA. So a lot of these suggestions make sense. Any of the GS guys would be an improvement (Mills--this guy has played better than I thought he could, Marshall--he is a great rebounding 3 and has size, Starks--fire and some overall game left) over what we have. Likewise Mitch would be a notch above those guys. At the beginning of the season I was all for any of those deals. I still wouldn't object to these, at least they give Dream and Chuck a bit more of a fighting chance before they are done (maybe help us make it to the playoffs as a low seed). GS is even more desperate for a trade than we are, because there they are already greasing up the gullitine for PJ and others, so we probably could do something with them. But lately my thinking is more like Cabbage's now, that there is no sense adding just a solid vet because that wouldn't be enough to give us a title run and hurt our future. Granted they would be hard to get, but Hughes, McGrady or Finley would be the way to go. Maybe one of these teams are more searching for respectiblity (like having Dream finish his career there) and we could get McGrady or Finley of these guys plus a big guy (Willis, Bradley). That early offseason deal sure looks sweet now. I would send Chuck too if we could find a taker, maybe something like Rice, Knight and Fisher (use Rice up and then get rid of him, add permanent good back-up 1, add decent back-up 4/5) for Drew and Chuck, I don't know.
There's no real purpose in my mind for the Rockets goal at this point to be thinking present, or playoffs or championship. We need to begin restructuring for the future and trading Chuck to a contender like L.A. would not only help them, but us since we won't be in the playoffs so who the heck cares. Let's roll the danged dice again.
