Long, interesting read about our options this summer. I disagree with the part about KG, but he makes salient points. http://www.probasketballnews.com/silva_0325.html Rockets facing an off-season of important decisions By Dennis L. Silva March 24, 2006 Just five months ago, the Houston Rockets had 60 wins and championship hopes filtering throughout the organization. They were preparing for one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise lore. Thursday, the team unceremoniously celebrated its first division win after edging the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, 93-92. It’s incredulous how far things have fallen in Houston. The Rockets currently sit at 30-39, and while their playoff dreams are still mathematically possible, it doesn't look good. Mostly, the talk surrounding the Rockets has to do with next year. “Minus Yao (Ming), everyone has something to play for,” Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said earlier this week. “(David) Wesley’s trying to secure a future in this league, (Keith) Bogans is trying to secure a future, Luther (Head) may never have it better than he has right now to carve out a career for himself. "Rafer’s (Alston) trying to prove, is he a 24-minute-a- game player for a really good team ... 32-minute, 36- minute -- that’s to be answered. Chuck (Hayes) is trying to carve out a career and stay on a team. I think Ryan (Bowen) has had a much worse year than he had last year. I think he’s going to have to try to figure out a way to stay in this league. Deke (Dikembe Mutombo), is it still important enough to him at this point in his career?” Many questions surround a team that once saw the brightest of lights at the end of its tunnel. Instead, it faces the grim reality that Operation Championship is back to square one. Identity Crisis At this point of the season, with 13 games still remaining, the Rockets are very much aware of their needs. A rugged, defensive-minded power forward who can score inside, preferably claim a mid-range jumper. A shooting guard who can, well, shoot. And most significantly, a point guard. Yes, even though the Rockets thought they had acquired their 36-40 minute-per-night starting point when they attained Alston for Mike James in October, the team still needs another point with quickness who can defend. At least one of those wants will be addressed through the NBA draft. Duke’s Sheldon Williams makes a lot of sense at this point as an inside brute who can score, rebound and block shots. He also comes from a winning program, another plus. What we do know is that Stromile Swift, the Rockets’ marquee free agent acquisition in July, does not fit into the team’s plans. The Rockets are a team who love to grind-it-out and slow the clock, choosing to establish Yao Ming on the blocks instead of beat teams downcourt for easy scoring opportunities. Swift has shown he is good for two or three SportsCenter highlights per game -- and little else. At the very most he can get you 16 points and nine rebounds a night. At the very least? Four points and three rebounds. Meaning, he’s not worth the wait to see what exactly he is fully capable of. That said, the Rockets’ should be targeting Indiana’s Peja Stojakovic, who is a free agent at the conclusion of this season. Houston will have guards David Wesley and Keith Bogans come off its cap. If Stojakovic wants out of Indy, the Rockets should be dialing the phone as soon as the season concludes. They could possibly offer a sign-and-trade of Swift and Head for Stojakovic. While Head is a nice defensive talent, he’s proven to only knock down the occasional trey at the offensive end. The Rockets could offer Head and Swift in a sign-and-trade package for Stojakovic, then draft Williams and Villanova guard Allan Ray (who’s predicted to go somewhere in the top 10 of the second round). In just three moves the team would rid itself of lazy, unintelligent play and gain a reliable bomber who would thrive playing alongside Yao and Tracy McGrady -- as well as drafting two rookies who could learn and grow due to veteran influence. Current Rockets forward Juwan Howard could take Williams under his wing until his contract runs dry in 2008-09. That gives Williams at least two years to learn and adapt to the physical nature of the league. Howard’s game has not completely worn out its welcome just yet. He stands as one of Van Gundy’s few trusted employees and performed admirably this season, posting 11 points and six rebounds per game. Going after Garnett When ESPN’s Ric Bucher announced the concept of trading McGrady, Head and a second-round pick for Kevin Garnett and Minnesota’s first-rounder a few weeks ago, my eyes lit up. This just might work. For one to disregard the madness that a transaction like this would cause, we first must remember who runs the show. Van Gundy. Van Gundy has tried the “uptempo, let’s-not-bleed-the-clock” style of play. He brought in Swift. He brought in Derek Anderson, who was traded for virtually nothing in February. He even handed significant minutes to a rookie (Head) known for his speed and quickness. Zero-for-three. It’s quite apparent the Van Gundy suits a slow-down, defensive-minded philosophy that embraces rebounding, smart shot selection and teamwork. While McGrady has made himself a Houston landmark in just two years (including this season’s 47-game massacre), his back pain is that of the chronic nature, meaning he will be enduring such pain throughout the remainder of his career. As a Rocket or not, book him for at least 10-15 missed games each season for the rest of his NBA tenure. With that said, it would be wise if the Rockets looked elsewhere for a second threat to Yao. While the move would be insanely unpopular, it would be wise. Garnett needs out of Minnesota. McGrady, in the best interest of the Rockets, needs out of Houston. Voila! Bucher’s idea sounds legit. If the Rockets chose to go this route, they’d immediately be back in the top five of the Western Conference. They could use their two draft picks to acquire a swingman and another point guard, seeing that now Howard would be the stable backup that Garnett never had. With the Wolves' pick (likely two or three spots ahead of Houston’s), the Rockets could draft Memphis' Rodney Carney or Washington's Brandon Roy -- both of whom are athletic swingman who can score the ball at will, as well as shoot the three-pointer. And with their length and athleticism, Van Gundy would sure to be drooling over their defensive potential. With their own first-round pick, the Rockets could draft UConn’s Marcus Williams, the 6-foot-2 dynamo point guard who can score and defend with anyone in this year’s draft class. Paired alongside Alston, the Rockets would have two quick point guards who can penetrate and score. Alston could defend the bigger "ones," while Williams could handle the pesky gnats who are quick and agile to the basket. What’s nice for the Rockets is that they have options. Of course, when you have Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady to work with, you have a pretty strong foundation as is. The question then becomes, at what point, and to what extent, are you willing to sacrifice that foundation in order to accompany the beliefs and philosophies of your head coach -- the same head coach who essentially runs the team from top to bottom? At what point, and to what extent, are names and sheer talent and marketability sacrificed for wins?
I'm as intrigued in Marcus Williams as anybody. If a stud PF or SG doesn't fall to us, I would definitely consider Williams. But this writer has it totally backwards. Rafer is 180 soaking wet, while Williams is listed at 200 and certainly looks a lot more sturdy than Alston. Marcus would have a much better chance at taking bigger PGs.
Not sure how the Peja trade would work. He'll be demanding a BIG contract, and Head and Swift's contract won't offset it.
good read. i love tmac but his back is a huge concern for me. while KG's age is a downfall when considering a trade i would still make the move. KG would bring the emotion that we need on this team. the move would also keep the option open of trading (via sign and trade) for peja. swift and wesley or swift and bogans would be as good an offer as any in the league for peja. if peja doesn't opt out (wich probably will be the case) there is still the possibility of posey opting out. radmanovic, george, and harpring are unrestricted. i would use the MLE on any of them. we would still have 2 lotto picks. we could land two of carney, roy, redick to help build up our wing since tmac is gone for KG. assuming we don't trade stro for peja we still have him available in trade for a guard. duhon would be nice, or we could sign and trade for claxton or cassell. mo pete and Q should be available. we still have a $3M TE from the moochie trade which we can use to bring in an extra 2 guard like kapono or devin brown. either of which could be had for a future second round pick. this team can defend, rebound and shoot. yao-deke KG-jho-hayes harpring-carney roy-brown duhon-rafer
You're right, but in my article, I was talking about defending bigger points, height-wise. For example, such as the Jason Kidds and Jason Terrys...Williams would be more efficient against the Tony Parkers and Chris Pauls... I've heard people say that Rafer is somewhere around 6'3" 1/2...whereas Williams may be shorter than his listed height, but we'll find out more at the predraft combines...
Not discounting the impacts of the Dwayne Wade's and Chris Paul's that have come out lately, I'm tired of seeing our undersized backcourt trying to defend. At 6-2, 195 and SG, Allen Ray is another small one. SG seems to be the position where there is the most talent and parity in the league. Mobley, Redd, Rip, Mo Pete, Iguodala, Mike Miller, heck even a guy like Delonte West is having a decent young career. Of course, some are better than others, but I'm saying I think it may be easier to pick up a decent player, with size, at that position with the MLE, or some portion there-of. Similiar to what Milwaukee did with Bobby Simmons (though he got more than the MLE if I remember correctly). Bonzi Wells should be our prime target, imo. He's 6-5, with good bulk. Not a great shooter by any stretch, but I think he would add a lot to the team. He's grabbed 8 rebounds a game this year Targeting PF in the draft is fine with me. I'm not completely sold on Shelden, but you never know about any of these players, really. Of course in a perfect world you land a top 3 pick and get to draft Aldridge.
This is actually one of the better articles written lately regarding the season/offseason of this year's Rockets... And it deserves as much attention, seeing as how we would be going into year 3 of the JVG/Yao/T-mac experiment. Not too much more room for error here. Yao is the only untouchable here, just scratching the surface of his prime. JVG does have merit running the offense he does, the two best teams in the league, Spurs and Pistons, run similiar schemes. The difference is, they have the personel to due so. I'd give him a little more time, especially if CD retires (which is about the only topic not covered here) and is replaced by Kiki. T-mac, love ya to death, but maybe the KG move IS in the best interest of the team. Your the oldest 26 year old on the planet and not getting any younger by a long shot. Minny's first round pick is the clincher in the deal. KG's only realistically going to NY or Houston this offseason. If T-mac can pass a physical, we have a realistic shot at something special coming to Houston...again...
If KG's realistic choices are the Knicks and us, then we will definitely win out. KG can just pull a SF3/T-Mac and demand to be traded to Houston. It makes sense for KG to do this because we give him better chance to win championship than the Knicks.
When's the last time T-Mac was healthy? I'll roll the dice with KG and fill in the gaps around The Two Towers with decent shooters. I'm confused about Ric Bucher's article. Was he speculating? I thought he had it on good authority that the Rox were looking into a KG/TMac swap. If the opportunity is there, we should grab it. Those lotto picks would come in real handy. We could build the half-court team around the Two Towers and Minnie could build their athletic get-up-and-down-the-floor team.
A) Who is this guy? What are his creditials as a sports writer? Nada. B) The Pacer want to re-sign Peja, not sign & trade him. And if this guy thinks that Swift is such a waste, why would the Pacers trade for him? And why would Peja want to come here just so JVG can yell at him all day about his sorry defense? C) Why would the Wolves do that deal? How does that make them better? Especially with the questions about T-Mac's back? You think T-Mac is moody now, wait until he's stuck in the snow up there. And like the Bulls couldn't offer better. This is just a fan article. It's ridiculous.
prior to tuesday, when was the last time lebron james hit a game winning shot? would you not take him, as well?
lebron james is going to become clutch eventually. kg, already 11 years in the league, probably will not. Having a clutch player is important.. even when the lakers had both kobe and shaq in their primes, kobe still had to take a ton of game winning shots at the end of games. I would keep TMac. So what if he misses 10-15 games in the regular season. It would be worth it for that one shot in game seven.
Why is he a nada? He is an aspiring sports writer who has wrote some good article on this bbs. Where did every sports writer start? Were they born to be sports writers?
While KG may not have what it takes to carry a team on his back, he's also better than playing the second option in the post to Yao Ming. I really don't think it'd be in his best interest to come here.
