Chron: Rockets deal Jackson, Nachbar to Hornets

Rockets deal Jackson, Nachbar
Pair shipped to Hornets in trade for David Wesley
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
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COMING UP
Tuesday:
at Milwaukee, 7:00 p.m.
TV/Radio:
Listings; KILT (610 AM)

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Facing the indignity of two losses to the expansion Charlotte Bobcats in five days, the Rockets have apparently come up with a radical solution — a trade before every game.


Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy and general manager Carroll Dawson said they did not make the latest deal — sending Jim Jackson and Bostjan Nachbar to New Orleans on Monday for guard David Wesley — to send that message. But the players were shocked enough to take it that way.

"In the beginning of the season, expectations were pretty high for this team," forward Tracy McGrady said. "I don't think we've lived up to those expectations. I think management wanted to win right away and whatever they have to do to make us a better team, that's what they're going to have to do.

"I think everybody realized that after having two trades go down in the last five days, the only way to prevent guys having in their head (the idea of) 'who's next?' is for us to go out and win."

Wesley — in his 12th season out of Baylor, where he shared a backcourt with Rockets vice president Dennis Lindsey — averaged 13.9 points for the Hornets. He has made 42.7 percent of his shots overall and 36.9 percent of his 3-pointers in his 12-year career with the Celtics, Nets and Hornets, averaging 13.3 points per game.

The Rockets made the move, Van Gundy and Dawson said, to bring backcourt help to a team struggling with point guard injuries. Bob Sura is playing with a sore and swollen right knee. Charlie Ward is scheduled for surgery today.

With the recent acquisitions of Wesley and Jon Barry — shooting guards capable of handling some point guard duties — the Rockets will always be able to have two ballhandlers on the court without asking McGrady to run the offense.


Short at the '2'
With McGrady (though still called a guard) playing almost entirely at small forward this season after Jackson switched to the backcourt, Reece Gaines was the only Rockets player whose primary position was shooting guard.

With McGrady initiating the offense, it was difficult to get him in position to finish it.

But unlike Tyronn Lue, who was coming off the bench and playing with torn knee cartilage before he was traded to Atlanta on Thursday, Jackson had been a key to the Rockets' fortunes. He averaged 41.3 minutes and 13.3 points per game.

Wesley and Jackson each have one season left on their contracts.

"This team is definitely stunned," forward Maurice Taylor said. "He's the most consistent player we had. Jimmy is like a rock. He did whatever was necessary. He was a real class act.

"It's definitely going to stun a lot of people. No matter how much a coach or a team may like you, it shows it's a business. At the end, the organization is going to do what's best for the organization.

"I don't know if they're making trades to send a message. We're not at the point were supposed to be."

Nachbar had played in just 16 games this season but was the 15th player taken in the 2002 draft. Nachbar will be a free agent after this season after the Rockets did not exercise their option to extend his contract to a fourth year.


Still a glut
As much as the deal might indicate about the Rockets' precarious backcourt situation — their only healthy point guard, Andre Barrett, is on the injured list — it also indicated the difficulty they have faced in making deals. With two trades in five days, the Rockets were unable to move one of their excess power forwards, an option they undoubtedly would have preferred to dealing Jackson.

"It's hard for myself with Jim — we had a year-and-a-half together, and he did a great job," Van Gundy said. "But I think it is a clear signal that our management is unhappy with how we've performed. I think the second part of that is (that) everyone is concerned with the health of our backcourt.

"Look, you can't blame management for being unhappy with our performance. If we were 23-4 right now, there would be status quo. There will not be status quo with a team that wants to win when you've underperformed. I'm not talking Jim Jackson underperforming. I'm talking about the team underperforming. I'm talking about the effort and intensity not being there on a nightly basis. And when you look out there, we're unhealthy at the point guard.

"The health of the backcourt was a real dilemma and had to be addressed."


Wesley stunned, too
Van Gundy said Wesley would not play tonight against the Bucks.

Wesley, 34, said he hoped to have his physical completed in Houston in time to join the team tonight. He already has one thing in common with his new teammates.

"I'm stunned," he said. "I didn't expect this. It's a chance to play with two super players. It's a great chance to have. With Tracy and Yao (Ming) posting up, there's going to be a lot of chances to be a catch-and-shoot guy."

Wesley was rescued from the league's worst team, and Jackson was sent to his 11th team in 13 seasons.

The Rockets who have been watching teammates come and go got the message, whether one was intended or not.

"The guys upstairs are very impatient," McGrady said. "They're looking to make changes right away to make this team a better team, and I'm all for that. In order for us to be up in the elite teams in this league, they have to find the right pieces to go around myself and Yao to make this a better team. This will add more quickness and more scoring to our roster."

With the Rockets leaving town for a back-to-back in Milwaukee and Cleveland, it will be tough for the guys on the third floor of Toyota Center to maintain their trade-per-game pace.

Players, however, sounded as if they won't be surprised again.

"The new guys coming in, we have to open our arms and welcome them to our family," Taylor said. "But you never know who may be traded. You never know what may happen."


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Rockets notes

Unwanted trend
Yao Ming has gone to the free throw line much more at Toyota Center than on the road this season; he averages 8.75 free throws per game at home versus 4.9 elsewhere.

Asked if the difference was with Yao or the officials, coach Jeff Van Gundy chose to answer by not answering.

"That's a great question," he said. "That's a great question. That is a great question."

Yao believes the difference is with him and with the officials.

"I don't want to say anything bad about something like that, but like the last away game against the Bobcats, if they missed the first two calls — and everybody makes mistakes — I cannot get away from trying to go to the line," Yao said. "Maybe they will call it the next time.

"At home, they call it the first time, call it the second time, and I keep doing it. ... The game's start can change the whole game sometimes, whether they call it or not. It can change my way to play that whole game.

"That's my problem. I have to keep trying. Maybe they will call it the next time."


No. 1 on No. 92
Forward Tracy McGrady said he felt the loss of former NFL star Reggie White, who died on Sunday. McGrady spent time with White last summer.

"After losing one of the NFL greats, it's just sad," McGrady said. "He was a great guy. He was a hell of a football player.

" ... For him to leave us in a short period of time like that, at a young age (43), I just take one day at a time because you just never know. The guy was a preacher. He did everything the right way. It's just sad."


Surgery for Ward
Rockets point guard Charlie Ward is scheduled for arthroscopic surgery today in Birmingham, Ala.

The surgery will address loose bodies in his right knee. The Rockets say they will have a better idea of how long Ward will be out after the surgery provides a better idea of the extent of the damage.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2967636

 

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