He said.. - Rudy will be missed -They have targeted indivuduals for the MLE and the Trade Exception -This week they have been working on bettering the team and this coming week they will look more at free agents -Contracts are going nuts and that will hurt the Rockets for a big man back-up -Did some stuff with J. McClain Thats all at the moment
Good stuff. I like hearing that they have individuals targeted with the Trade Exception. No surprise that the huge contracts are hurting the Rockets for a big man backup. Look what Mark Blount and Brian Skinner got. I dont think you can get VALUE using the MLE to get a Big. I think the Trade Exception is the best way to go. That way you can get a Big that has less years on their contract in case they are a bust. Getting Barry with the full MLE and perhaps a Battie with the Trade Exception seems like a good way to go.
-He also spoke about Les Alexanders commitment to winning -When asking about Yao playing ball year round he says that he met Yao in Dallas and says that he feels great with 2 months off and says Anthony Falsom is with Yao in China and is working with him
That's good news. I don't know why the Rox haven't hired a full-time trainer/nutritionist for Yao. It would be well worth the cost if the guy could turn Yao into a physical monster.
Glad to hear they are trying to use the TE and not just letting it expire to save $ or luxury tax $. We should be able to get a couple good players with the TE and the MLE.
I dont think so. I think that's where the T.E. will come into play. We can grab a Big using that and most likely that Big will be midway through their 5 year deal which would allow us to get someone that has 2-3 years remaining. That would be perfect for a back up Big. Like I said, you just cant get VALUE with the MLE in terms of Bigs. Blount, Skinner, Foyle etc, etc. Just way over priced.
Working on bettering the team? Does that mean they were looking for trade possiblities? I would think signing free agents would be bettering the team which is what he said they would do this week. Can someone elaborate on what he said on this subject, please.
Everyone keeps on bringing up our need for a quality back-up. When you are lucky enough to have a super-star starting at the 5 you don't worry about who's backing him up too much. We won a ring with Charles Jones backing up Dream. All you need is a guy with size that can eat up some minutes and use his 6 fouls. Anything else is gravy.
But that's with Hakeem being Hakeem. He could go for 40 minutes a night if he needed to. Yao can't...yet. So that's why a quality back up, one that provides muscle and shot blocking, is important. Howard and Taylor are somewhat soft PFs and ones that dont provide shot blocking. We need to give Yao rest and have a decent C to be able to anchor the defense.
Yao played 32 minutes last year, I think he'll be able to play 35 minutes this year. That leaves just 13 minutes at the backup spot. I doubt it's worth it to spend the entire TE on a 13 minutes player. Sounds like another Cato contract.
Bring back Collier. He can be had for the MLE. Plus he'll be another 15th draftee scrub. Gotta catch' em all.
the 13 minutes per game the back-up will play behind yao isnt why we need one. with cato gone yao is our only shot blocker. that means he will be in foul trouble a lot. a quality back-up would help stop the bleeding until he can come back in.
Cato's contract is actually beginning to look reasonable compared to the contracts some of the other big men are getting. I can't believe I just said that
I'd prefer if the Rockets get a shot blocking power forward that can play some backup minutes at the 5. Then look to trade Howard or Taylor. That would be better than wasting 5 mil. or so on a full time backup center that will only play 13 minutes a game.
