As I saw the success at the season's end an important characteristic I saw in the Rockets that helped them win was great shooting. In particular, Walt (the wizard) Williams's shooting. So I thought to myself if we can get a consistent shooter throughtout the season we can help this team tremendously. I know people are gonna torture me for this thought but I was thinking of a trade like: Houston trades: Walt Williams Bryce Drew (both along with 4.5 million exception) Houston receives from Lakers: Sign and trade Glen Rice for approximately 9 mil. Glen Rice can drive, is a veteran, is playing decent defense throughout this season, has showed that he can take a lesser role, and he can shoot lights out. He will also get the desired amount of ppg he would prefer because of Steve Francis's and Cuttino Mobley's demand for a double team by the opposition. Hopefully the draft can get us a decent BIG MAN but I feel a healthy Carlos Rogers and an experienced + proven Kenny Thomas along with the great core of young guards we have are good enough to become contenders next year. A possible roster may be: C- H.Olajowon/K.Cato/A."Pig"Miller PF- K.Thomas/C.Rogers/Draft Pick * SF- G.Rice/M.Bullard SG- S.Anderson/C.Mobley PG- S.Francis/M.Norris *-order of PF's depends upon what best suits Rudy It's not very probable but it is possible and I think we should take it. ------------------
Didn't the Lakers offer us Rice for Pippen? Rice + Anybody woulda been better than what we got, really...So why would we trade for him now? ------------------ The Chuckwagon came, saw, and threw people through windows!
Probably because Rice + anybody is still better than anybody we got. What Walt showed near the end of the season was exactly what this team needs. I'm still not sure if he can keep it up. When you have Mobley and Francis being hawked by the defense, it sure is nice to see another guy on your team like a Shandon or a Walt who can fill it up for 20+ on a nightly basis if needed. We have the offensive weapons we need on this team. We need better front-court players and better defensive players. Here're some stats that may surprise you: FG% : Walt - 45.8%, Rice - 43.0% 3PT%: Walt - 39.1%, Rice - 36.7% Asst: Walt - 2.1, Rice - 2.2 Reb : Walt - 4.0, Rice - 4.1 Blks: Walt - .58, Rice - .15 Mins: Walt - 24.5, Rice - 31.6 Age : Walt - just turned 30 on 4/16, Rice - will be 33 5/28. Why do we want Glenn Rice again? And why are we willing to give up so much when we have a guy that appears to play better than Rice, is not a malcontent when he's not the focus of the offense, and had an awesome ending to the season? If you ask me, based on the numbers above, the Lakers better be giving me Rice + something for Walt. ------------------ <this space for rent>
Wow, interesting stats indeed...And Walt played 7 minutes a game less compared to Rice! ------------------
I've mentioned before on this board how I thought Walt was sort of a poor man's Glen Rice already. They really seem pretty similar. Rice has a better post game and could be considered a legit go-to guy, while the only things Walt might do better is handle the ball and rebound. I believe Walt' also surprisingly shooting at a better clip than Rice this season. I don't think I would be in the minority when I say Rice would not bring enough more to our team to merit twice Walt's salary. I would bet that the Lakers would like that trade though, except that Drew is not as big as Phil often likes his guards. He could fill the Steve Kerr on that team. When Rice was thought to be a shoe-in to be moved from the Lakers, I thought Walt would be a great replacement for the Lakers. I also thing the team from LA would probably have a pretty strong interest in Kenny T. The only problem with trading with the Lakers is the fact that the only guy the Lakers have that I think the Rockets could really use is Shaq, who is probably not available. ------------------
"Don't like to buy into all of his hype" ? I suppose you you don't like the nice jumper, good ballhandling, excellent penetration, or the vastly improved defense, eh . In the past few years, I may have agreed with you, but he obviously has a great work ethic, and is very young. Also, if you really wanted Shandon to start, Kobe would look really good at the SF slot too. Still, this probably has nothing to do with the Rockets, as the . . . *cough cough* . . . coach of the ye . . . *cough cough* (sorry, I can't bring myself to say it), Phil Jackson is not stupid enough to let him go. As for Rice . . . well, he's going to want a lot more money than he's worth. No thanks. The Rocks should save their pennies for next year to try and attract Webber. ------------------
Yes, I admit Kobe's a very good player. No arguing that. I just meant that I had overdosed on all the hype surrounding ever since he was drafted by the Lakers out of high school. That whole team is so cocky, if my girlfriend wasn't a Laker fan, i would be very happy to see them get swept by the Kings. ------------------
Oh yeah, and about Kobe's vastly improved defense, didn't I see Bryce Drew take him to school on national TV? I would hate to see his D before. Could Bullard have taken him to the hoop? ------------------
Kobe's been a major factor in completely shutting down high-power offensive players like Iverson and Francis lately. I watched a game where he shadowed Iverson around the court and did what I thought no human could do - completely shut him down for an entire half. I think Iverson had 11 first-half points and he ended up with either 11 or 16 points for the game. ------------------ <this space for rent>
oakdogg, Dr of Dunk beat me to it. I've been watching Kobe hamper, if not shut down, premier SGs in many games. His defense is superb this year and to deny that is to admit that you're either too biased against him personally, or you simply haven't been watching many Lakers games. As for Bryce taking him to school, you're talking about a few possession in one game. Keep in mind that Kobe plays the 2 and sometimes the 3, so I doubt that he was covering Drew for the majority of the game. Besides, you're talking about one game. Using that logic, Shandon is a lousy defender (and we both know that's not true), because Elie lit him up a couple of times this season. I can understand getting annoyed with the hype of the "Lake-Show" (some unoriginal NBC analyst stupid @$$ nickname to not-so-subtly make you relate this team to the "Showtime" Lakers of the past :mad . Despite my loathing of the team though, I will analyze the players with an open mind and admit some if them (read: Kobe) would look damn fine in Rockets uniforms. ------------------
Kobe was not drafted by the Lakers. Mango ------------------ The Serious Police are watching Donate Blood
Haven't like Kobe since he blackmailed Charlotte into Trading him to he Lakers f*ck that team over and would probably f*ck the Rockets over if we got him No thank you. Rocket River ------------------
No, he was drafted by Charlotte, but for those of you waiting for the horror known as the "Lottery" (as I am), here's something to ponder. People taken before Kobe : 2) Marcus Camby 6) Antoine Walker 7) Lorenzen Wright 8) Kerry Kittles 9) Samaki Walker 10) Erick Dampier 11) Todd Fuller 12) Vitaly Potapenko ------------------ <this space for rent>
I guess you don't like Stevie Franchise either, eh? Those dirty blackmailing $@!#!!! ------------------
I was really hoping Walt would come here and play like I thought he could play. Coming out of college, the guy could score, pass, etc. and I thought he'd be a stud in the NBA. I was hoping that with the added minutes he received here, he could get back to that form, but it didn't happen till the end of the season. I dunno, I think Rudy could make some use out of Kobe. ------------------ <this space for rent>
Dr of Dunk: hmmmmmmmmmmm, maybe. If Mobley leaves, we'd need a backup for Shandon. No, Kobe would be nice for sure. I just don't like to buy into all of his hype. ------------------
Got to keep the Wizard! Walt has really jelled with the Rockets system and was hot the last month. Rice has problems with chemistry, and his health. If the Rockets want to stay younger why trade for an aging shooter, plus Walt is better. ------------------ THE DEAN HAS WRITTEN
Kobe never blackmailed anyone. Charlotte didn't want Kobe. They wanted a big man, so they picked Kobe for L.A. and traded him for Vlade. ------------------
ok, ok! This isn't a Lakers board! We don't have a shot at getting Kobe, so why do we have to sit around and go on and on about what a great player he is, yada, yada, yada. Kobe complimenting should be relegated to Lakers boards. I AM biased towards Rockets, cuz I'm a ROCKETS fan and I'm sick of all that Laker cockiness. You take Shaq away from the Lakers, Kobe and Phil and Shaw and whoever do not amount to anything. They'll win the championship, but it's because of one player: SHAQ! You could replace Kobe with a lot of other players. You could replace Phil with any of a few other coaches. They'd still win the championship, because Shaq is on a mission. Anybody can reply to this with counterarguments, but I'm into talking about the Rockets, so I'm not going to get into a debate about it. That stuff would probably belong on the NBA dish board anyway. I respect your opinions and knowledge of the game though. ------------------
