Why are people so worried about the PG position? We have Lue, Wilks and Gaines. Sure neither of them is a proven starter, but all they will be asked to do is bring the ball up, pass it to the right guy and hit an occasional jump shot. Also, Gaines is the sleeper here, he may very well turn out to be a great throw in as a player. All the other PG options we are talking about are band aids. If that is the way we are going, get Charlie Ward and develop Gaines. DD
This may be true, but it doesn't mean the Rockets shouldl stand pat. If word on the street is true and the luxury tax will be abolished, then why not spend your MLE and veterans exception. Also, why let your TE go to waste? I'm certainly not saying to go out and sign Derek Fisher to 6 years, $40 million or something ridiculous like that. But why not bring in a Damon Jones or Derek Fisher for 3 years, $10 million?
I am fine with that, I just don't think it is a dire situation. If we have players that can protect the ball, play defense and make the right decisions we are miles ahead of where we were last year. DD
I dont thik gaines is the Answer straight away. he might be with a little grooming and a couple of years under his belt... but right now, he aint gonna cut it!
Unless we can make some kind of trade, I do not think there is an ideal PG for our team available as a FA. If we are going to settle for a PG, we might as well not overspend for him.
I completely agree. Just march out Gaines and Lue, Gaines when you are playing a big guard, Lue when playing a quick one. Get the ball across mid court, give the ball to Tmac and go hide in the corner. Yao, Tmac, Jimmy and Howard can easily carry this team offensively. We dont need somebody like Barry, Fisher or Snow.
Only 1 of the three has shown signs he deserves minutes in the NBA, and at that Lue is at best a servicable, not workhorse, starter. Gaines is a "he probably won't ever be a player but not ready to give up just yet" kind of prospect. Don't mind having him as the last roster spot, but certainly he is far from a player any contender would pencil in the rotation or effect the team's desire to find someone who belongs int he league at the PG. Jones, James and Fish have shown they deserve minutes in the NBA. A Lue platoon with one of these guys would be OK. Then if Gaines or Wilks or some other late pick or FA surprises you to earn legit PG minutes, great.
i disagree. we may not need a superstar or even a bBarry. but we do need someone with experience getting Yao the ball at the right place and the right time. that's not something to trust to a rookie or subpar player. we need this badly because the lack of it hamper's Yao's development, and as great as Tmac is, we go as far as yao fulfills his potential. so, again, we cannot just stand pat with these pg's. Bring in jones, ward, fisher, one of those three with actual nba experience that can get Yao the ball at the right tiem and place. That is more easily said than done. Ask steve francis.
I'm hoping for more of a Jimmy Jackson/Allan Houston type player in a best case scenario. However, if he had a breakout year like Flip Murray did last season we could be in pretty good shape.
I am skeptical that Gaines is a true PG. I LOVE his 6'6" height, but I am not sure he is a true PG, especially offensively. Defensively he might be nice to have at PG with his height and athleticism. Ultimately I feel he will be a utility man. He can play the 1,2,3 positions in a backup capacity. Perhaps be a poor mans JJ. I am not counting on Gaines. I would like to see the Rockets have Lue as the backup, find a starter somewhere and have Gaines as the 3 string PG and perhaps 2nd string SG. If Nachbar and JJ are taking the small forward minutes then who is sharing the time with Tmac at the 2? I feel right now Pike and Gaines are the two that get the nod. They can battle it out. Which wins out? Pike's shot or Gaines athleticism??
Who is Gaines? Let's see what developes with this guy before anointing him, or ashcanning him either.
Didn't we beat the Sonics with Gary Payton in his prime with Matt Maloney running the point? I realize we had Dream, Drexler, and Barkley, but Matt at least got the job done. We now have Yao and McGrady. As long as we have someone to take care of the ball, that's the main thing. I think it's unreasonable to expect us to have every piece to a championship puzzle in place before training camp. If we can, great. Either way, I think we're going to have a good season.
I suspect that JJ, T-mac and Nachbar (or other) will actually rotate the 2 & 3 spots (with a PG and a backup PG) Without a backup Center, we may get a lot of Mo T/Howard 4 & 5 Hopfully Gaines can serve as our 2004 "draft pick" and develop as a nice player somewhere in that lineup
You know, I'm somewhat excited about Gaines coming on board. We didn't need him in order for the trade to work, and Houston wanted Gaines, not Orlando requiring him in the deal. Orlando wanted Lue in the deal and Howard, but not Gaines, from what I read. Obviously Orlando was not high on him, or they wouldn't have treated him the way they have. But, I'm not sure he's the bust that Orlando has made him out to be. Wiseguy said that McGrady is a selfish lazy player who really isn't a superstar, even though they he was the NBA scoring leader, and they're better off without him. Orlando sees things from a peculiar perspective. Let's see how things turn out. He may turn into the steal of this trade. Of course, he could be a bust. I guess we'll see ... <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/cjsports/news2004/07/06/E1-bozich0706-6032.html">Gaines went sneaker to sneaker with Marquette guard Dwyane Wade for the Conference USA Player of the Year award."</a> "Last season was tough," Gaines said. "My toughest year in basketball. Early in the year it seemed as if any time I missed a shot or made a mistake, I came out. I could understand doing that with a veteran because he's supposed to know how to play. But with a rookie, it would have helped me to have a chance to play through it. That's how you learn." I'm not sure that JVG will do much better, since he plays his veterans. But, Jeff wouldn't have told him "forget last year," if he didn't think there was more to him. If he busted out like Duane Wade, it would sure be sweet. Wade was handed the position, and then proved himself. But, Gaines was yanked the second he made a rookie mistake, destroying his confidence. Now, that we've lost Barry, I'm not sure I want any of the other guys we were looking at. I just don't want to get stuck with guys who aren't going to be able to do the job in a few years. I'd rather build the team. So, I'm starting to come around to the idea of trading for Gary Payton, giving them some of our TE, and then using our MLE to pick up a backup center. That way, we can let Payton go next year, if he's starting to lose it. Payton has the highest basketball IQ of the bunch. But, even an over the hill Payton is better than any of the others we are looking at, and perhaps Gaines will develop and take the position in a year or two. I'd love to have a 6'6" version of Wade. Who knows? Time reveals all ...
