If I were the Rockets' management, I'd give EG a 4 or 5 yr contract extension now. I have complete faith that EG will be well worth 3 to 5 mils a yr easily. You wait for him to perform on court and he will get too expensive.
Great post! Yep, a good goal should be 10/10 with extended minutes. Also at least 48% FG; dunks, put-backs, baby-hooks, off-glass shots, etc...
I believe you're wrong -- if the team doesn't pick up the 4th year, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent (and hence the team does not have matching rights).
Now way he deserves that type of money considering what he has done on the court. Remember, they flushed 3 first round picks to get this guy and he has yet to show anything to justify that level of commitment from this organization. I realize that a lot of folks are enchanted with his "potential" but potential is just another way of saying that you haven't done it yet. There has to come a point where results have to count more than potential and for EG, that point is now. That's the message that JVG & the organization is (finally) sending to EG and his agent. IMHO, it would be a MAJOR mistake to give EG that kind of extension now given the complete lack of evidence that he's produced on the court to justify that type of contract. All that would serve to do is to create another Mo Taylor situation on this team.
Eddie's played twice as many minutes as J. O' Neal played in his first two seasons. 01-02 26.0 MPG 02-03 24.6 MPG Jermaine wasn't getting minutes and never shot 40% from the field. Eddie has been getting minutes and has shot 37% and 40% from the field. I think Eddie can still be a great player, but I don't think the criticism is unwarranted.
trail blazers had the luxury of sheed, cliff robinson, gary trent. didnt need to force it on JO. i think that helped his career. some guys need that...others dont. i hope eddie can put it together this season and next
I was right the first time...should have not have insert the correction immediately following. Yes, you are correct - if the Rockets don't pickup the 4th yr option by Oct.31, Griffin becomes unrestricted. From Larry Coon: ..."With the current CBA, contracts were changed from three years to three with a team option for a fourth year (this option must be exercised by October 31 after the player's second season). After the fourth year, players become restricted free agents rather than unrestricted (provided the team picked up the fourth-year option). These contracts can also be extended between August 1 and October 31 after the player's third season." Now, here is a further twist if the Rockets do not pickup the option. They still maintain EG's Bird Rights but the 1st year of the new contract is limited to what Griffin would have made in the 4th year of his rookie contract - ~$3.9m. And to make matters even more weird - the Rockets would still be allowed to sign Griffin with their MLE for 2004-05 if the $3.9m was not enough! Probably all a moot point - they'll pick pick up his 4th year.
Why? I think the point of the conversation was that based on other player's careers, it is quite possible for Eddie to develop into a fantastic player even if he is not living up to what we (very impatient) fans would like. Unfortunately, it takes a while for big men to develop the necessary strength, weight, techniques, and shooting touch to be good players in the NBA. I wish that were not the case, but that is exactly the reason we shouldn't give up on Eddie. Investing some additional years and money in him is well worth the risk. I also think the coaching staff and CD's actions are based more on caution than sending a message. I think it is good that JVG seems to be questioning everything, and forcing players to re-earn their right to play, but I can't see them not resigning EG unless the money is not reasonable. Don't forget that EG might not have been compatible with Rudy's coaching style.
Why the hell did Rudy and CD draft him if he wasn't compatible with Rudy's coaching style? Rudy said himself he would have picked Eddie even if the Rockets had the #1 pick overall. Poor evaluation of a draft pick. Draft experts were proven right when they said Eddie was lazy and passive. Meanwhile Richard Jefferson is doing quite nicely with the Nets.
this is a huge year for eddie and i hope he proves some doubters wrong. so far the jefferson trade has worked great for the nets but not a single person regretted that decision when we made it. any criticism over the organization for a move that everybody loved at the time is bs. imo, no way does jefferson have even half that impact without jason kidd and in the stagnant rockets offense of the last 2 seasons. good player in his ideal system. anyways i think it will pan out for us as well, it's just too early to give up.
In a way you just dissed Francis. Not a biggie, everyone knows Kidd is a better PG then Francis. I have to agree that Jefferson wouldn't have done much if drafted by the Rockets. Whether it was Francis and Cat hogging the ball or just "Rudyball" was stagnating and getting plain lousy every passing year, the Rockets were due for a change. That motto "No Excuses" by JVG is very appropriate for this year.
I don't think it was a poor evaluation. Eddie was one of the most celebrated freshmen in college his year. NBAdraft.net's NBA comparison to eddie was Duncan!! Eddie showed all the skills needed to be good in the NBA, it just might not happen so fast. The 3rd year is considered the "make or break" year for NBA players. Other teams aren't willing to give up on Eddie either (e.g. Atlanta wanting him for SAR straight up).
Im hoping this is Eddie's break out year! he has so much potential and he is still so young but he's had 2 years and goin into his 3rd! Usually break out years are in the 3rd year so I hope he does real good!!!!!
Potential is not so bad a word!! I didn't like giving MoT, Cato ... their contracts because what you see in them is what you get, they weren't going to get much better if at all. At 21 yr of age, EG already showed he is at least as good as MoT. (He got as much pt) I think EG will be better this year and become a Rasheed or J. O'neal kind of a player soon after. Once he shows you that, you will have to fork over 8, 10 mils/ yr for him.
As long as he shoots a flat shot - I see him as a Rodney McCray without the D. I was a little dissapointed that JVG wants him to shoot 17'ers unless he's worked on his arch. He get's an A for blocked shots, a B for 3pters, a C for rbs but D's and F's for the rest of his categories. Hopefully JVG will fix some of his faults or hide them while still helping the team. O'Neal always had good stats - he just didn't get his minutes to get his overall numbers up until he left Portland. He had potential.
But you'd think if they saw some type of increase in game skills they would've increased his minutes?.. It's easy to say if O'Neal had got extra minutes he would've performed better, but he didn't perform with the minutes he had
I didn't see his Portland games but statistically he did perform well, but playing behind Rasheed was killing his young minutes. Eddie's had the floor time and show's what he can and can't do. Shooting is one of the "can't dos". He needs to fix the arch in his shot or he'll never rise off of the mid 30's to very low 40's in the FG%. Flat shots leave no room for error no matter how close you are to the basket.
