NBA Beat: Rebuilding Rockets wasn't an easy task By Scott Howard-Cooper Bee Staff Writer (Published Aug. 19, 2001) Whether any summer that includes acquiring Glen Rice can be considered a success is up for debate, but the Houston Rockets insist it's been a good offseason nonetheless. If nothing else, it has been been the time of transition everyone expected, albeit a very difficult one. Hakeem Olajuwon left after 17 years, and four more in town for college, but only after protracted negotiations that held up the rest of the Rockets' business because he took up so much space salary-cap space. Rice arrived, but only after they held up the trade for several days because of concerns about his foot, when the real red flag should have been that his last two teams, the Lakers and Knicks, held the door while trading a proven perimeter threat with championship experience. (Hey, somebody had to help. Rice's hands were full carrying his Me First attitude and a bloated contract that still has three years and $27.6 million left.) At least lottery pick Eddie Griffin came with ease, or at least much easier than the Nets should have let him go for fellow rookies Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. By the time the Rice trade became official Friday, the longest-tenured Rocket was Cuttino Mobley, with three seasons. Everyone else from the last playoff appearance, way back in 1999, was gone. Only three players -- Kelvin Cato, Walt Williams and Rice -- had been on a team that had won a postseason series. Only two -- Williams and Rice -- were older than 28, and eight of the 13 on the roster were 24 or younger. "That was our intention," general manager Carroll Dawson said. "When we were talking about rebuilding (after 1999), we were trying to jump start it and not take as long everybody says it takes. Everybody says it takes five to six years. We tried to do it faster. But there have been some radical changes." Two starters from last season are gone, center Olajuwon (to Toronto in a sign-and-trade) and small forward Shandon Anderson (to New York in a sign-and-trade as part of the Rice deal). Another change could come depending on how the Rockets play it at power forward -- go with Griffin immediately and try Maurice Taylor as an undersized center, or stay with Taylor for now and opt for Cato and rosary beads at center? A key reserve, three-point threat Matt Bullard, also left as a free agent. Re-signing Moochie Norris as the reserve point guard, in a backcourt that will be set for years with Steve Francis and Mobley, is the final significant move to be made. But it's Francis' position either way and his team too, free and clear, finally, after a 2000-01 in which Olajuwon went from feeling squeezed out because the offense didn't go through the post anymore to a final emotional tug-of-war about staying or leaving. He took a three-year deal from the Raptors in the end, a better move all around. The Raptors can make a push for the Eastern Conference title with Olajuwon as a role player, but in Houston he would have been like a giant old oak that stands as a civic monument and in the way of the proposed new road. The Rockets are merely playoff hopefuls with or without him, but at least now they can get on with the rest of their life. Houston was 45-37 last season, the best ever for a team that didn't make the playoffs. It got there with a good offense, a poor defense and below-average rebounding, but most of all through the good fortune of the past, the same thing through planning that was supposed to allow for at least one big move this summer that never came. Francis became a Rocket only after the Grizzlies botched his selection, after deciding to draft him despite a threat he wouldn't play there and then only believing it after the fact, by which time Vancouver was trading from a position of weakness. Taylor came for the $2.25 million exception, far below market value, only because the Clippers wouldn't do a sign-and-trade to get him somewhere else for jackpot money, and then he re-signed this summer. Mobley was a second-round pick, No. 41 overall, who went from averaging 9.9 points as a rookie to 15.8 to 19.5 last season. The biggest acquisition this time isn't Rice, but Griffin, who left Seton Hall after one season and was being talked about as a No. 1 pick before going seventh to New Jersey and then being turned into a Rocket that night. He can be an immediate defensive presence inside, although he has shown a preference for playing outside on offense. Power forwards who attempt more three-pointers than free throws tend to raise eye brows. "It's not always under your control," Dawson said. "But so many good things have happened to us. After '99, we talked about the rebuilding. We had to rebuild for a year, and a year later we won 45 games. That doesn't happen very often. Other teams had to rebuild after championship seasons and are still working to get back to the playoffs." In a lot of ways, the good things happen because of them. People like playing for Rudy Tomjanovich, the coach who also dictates the personnel moves, with longtime top lieutenant Dawson handling the official responsibilities. Plus, they can offer a city free of harsh winters and no state taxes, both favorites of players. But, they didn't make a serious bid for Chris Webber, even with the kind of cap room that would have threatened the Kings and given him a major payday and the chance to stay in the playoffs, a package Sacramento's two biggest challengers, Indiana and Detroit, couldn't offer. It never happened, of course. The change-over in general came right on schedule. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I disagree with the headline, rebuilding the Rockets seemed pretty damn easy to me.
I find it interesting and intriguing that this writer poses the question about who is going to play center like he does. I guess we all around here felt it was a forgone conclusion that Cato would start with Collier as the back-up unless we were able to get Jahidi White. However, a line-up of Francis at PG, Mobley at SG, Rice at SF, Griffin at PF, and Taylor at C gives us our most explosive offensive team. Defensively, Griffin is probably better than Cato. Maybe this is the line-up that the Rockets should go with. Other than Shaq and Robinson, there aren't a lot of big centers out west. I think that you'll see this line-up some, but it probably won't be the regular starting line-up. However, with scorers like Francis, Mobley, Rice, and Taylor, there wouldn't be alot of pressure on EG to score. How he plays defense on some of the 4s like Duncan, Malone, and others may be the real question that needs to be asked.
I would agree wiht most of what this articlae says......that center position is the wild card, that we will be on thresholds of playoff and that we have been trifle lucky in pulling some of the stuff in the last few years (Stevie, Mo T and I guess even Griffin). The biggest worries this season is (apart from moving Cato's ass either on the court or somewhere else) overall team defence and some potential checmistry issues. I really would hate for us to be just seen as as an exciting team to watch and they played well but...... without sufficient gains in the W column. I aslo want us to have more Ws in the West and at home.
