Right. I mean that Patrick could be similar in that he is a good defender and can consistently hit the outside shot. I like his potential, but I'm not sure that he'll be as good as Sheed. I just think he has a similar skill set.
First five seasons in the league: Billups: PPG: 11.3 RPG: 2.4 APG: 4.2 FG%: 40.0% 3P%: 35.7% FT%: 86.9% TO: 1.8 Lowry: PPG: 9.8 RPG: 3.3 APG: 4.5 FG%: 42.3% 3P%: 31.7% FT%: 76.9% TO: 1.7 Billups was definitely a better shooter than Lowry coming into the league. Lowry was better at attacking the rim and finishing. They both got out to less than great starts to begin their NBA careers. If Kyle can build on what he accomplished last season (like Billups did once he became a full-time starter), then I think it's a pretty good comparison. Now if he regresses back to being a mediocre shooter, then it was a bad comparison.
BTW - leaking that they contacted Hayes and Nene just reads like typical PR from the organization. Anyone they really want, at least in free agency, they would not be talking about. Now with Chuck, they know he is popular with the fans, and they will offer him a contract, but I would bet it is not going to be all that great of a contract and that he moves on for bigger $$$$ and the Rocks toss up their hands and say "We tried" DD
Lowry does remind me a bit of Billups. He also is a late bloomer like Billups. They did not come out destroying the competition in their rookie year like CP3. It just took them ages for them to start gaining some recognition. They are diehard gymrats that keep working at it, season after season.
You think so? From what I recall, when they are chasing a player they make sure the whole world knows it. You don't think their much publicized pursuit of Bosh was sincere?
Our pursuit of Brent Barry and Brad Miller were publicized as well, but the Ariza chase was kept pretty hush-hush.
If you think about it, the deals that were hush hush (Battier,Artest,Scola,Ariza) were the only one that mattered worth a S---. Miller,Barry just gathered checks. I prefer Hush Hush Morey.
[rQUOTEr]As NBA teams start to make a push for Denver Nuggets free-agent center Nene, front office officials are angling to be the first to meet with him at midnight Dec. 9 in his native Brazil. “That will go down to the wire,” a source close to Nene said. The Nuggets, New Jersey Nets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers were among the teams that reached out to Nene’s representatives Wednesday, the first day teams were allowed to contact agents to discuss potential deals. Nene will meet with teams in Brazil when the free-agent market officially opens on Dec. 9. Once the offers arrive, it could take more than $13 million annually to sign Nene. While the market is still developing for him and the rest of a thin free-agent class, he’s clearly the focus for every team with cap space and the need for an inside presence. The Nuggets are pressed to keep him, and would likely have to pay significantly more than would’ve been necessary if they had worked a deal with him prior to his opting out this summer.[/rQUOTEr]
Battier was hush hush because it was Plan B. The original deal was suppose to be Randy Foye for Brandon Roy. And there were rumors that the Rockets really liked Roy that draft. Ariza deal came quickly because Morey first allocated the MLE for Gortat. And the Lakers were presumed to be spending MLE on Ariza. When Lakers signed Artest and Orlando retained Gortat, it was a quick fit given his other choice was Cleveland. Scola deal was literally last minute because a 3-way trade failed just a day before the deadline. The Rockets swooped in to give SA one last offer before Scola would stay in Europe. Artest deal was even discussed one year earlier, but the Rockets wouldn't part with Brooks. So the Rockets always loved him. The same with Kevin Martin, whom the stat geeks have propped for years even if the trade itself happened quickly. I feel the truly hush hush move was Rafer for Kyle Lowry, which was probably the most WTF trade in Morey's tenure.
Morey struck gold with that Rafer-Lowry deal... and he's being trying extremely hard to do it again ever since.
IIRC a few months before that trade happened Gersson Rosas mentioned how much they liked Lowry. The podcast might still be up as it was an interview on Nuno's radio show. Rosas was pretty much pleading the Rockets to "take a chance" on him.
I think we're drastically underrating Rasheed Wallace in this thread.. He had an amazing post game, a solid 3 point shot, and anchored one of the best defenses of all time. Unless you think PP can at some point in his career do that...
