I like the move for a few reasons... Yao Ming will have a better player to practice against... Mutumbo will do what we need and maybe give Yao more rest than we expect.. Remember JVG runs a slow style offense and with these two big men, it works well... We all know Deke is not the same player he was in Denver or Atlanta(wasn't it Atlanta???)... But he's still 7'4 and can cause problems for opponents when Yao is out... If anyone will be dealt it will be MoT for any athletic big man that can play D and rebound... I'd love to add a Jeff Foster type player or even a Chris Anderson...
Exactly! I think it is a big miscomseption that a slow center will slow a team's fast breaking. Actually I dont remember the Dream getting involved also. He was great at outlet passes and then he would be a last trailer. A team's center doesn't need to be fast because there NO center that can run with guards. Offensively, the guards should push the ball off an outlet pass and, on defense, it's up to the rest of the team to get back to stop the break so the big guy can come down to clog the middle.
Im not sure how close Mutombo is to Hakeem's block shot record but if he is gunna better it in a Rockets uniform someone will have to break his legs!
last time i checked our roster looks a hell of alot better than last years......... you better check yourself before you wreck yourself!!!!!!!
Great trade. We had like 30 guys on our roster. This aint baseball. We only need to field 12 (15) guys.
Love the trade. It gives up depth for where we need depth more, behind Yao. I'm still hoping that there is a possibility to land Chandler. This now opens that door. We don't have to wait until Oct4 to make the trade, and now that Howard can be traded, a Howard/Padgett for Chandler/Duhon trade can be made. Chandler would give us incredible flexibility and depth while he develops, and could turn into another major piece. I hope CD does what it takes to pull that trigger. Yao/Deke/(Chandler) Taylor/Chandler/Spoon JJ/Boki/(Chandler) TMac/Sura/Gaines/(Chandler) Ward/(Gaines)/Lue/Duhon
I understand how it's supposed to work. I also think that Yao is a above average outlet passer (at 7'6") who is more than willing to start a break (so he doesn't have to run? ). To expand on the point... we're Knick-ified. Deke's gonna elbow people. Ward's gonna grind. Spoon's gonna Spoon people. Yao and TMac are the skill/stopper guys ala Ewing and Houston/Spree. If we could trade Mo for Kurt Thomas, JVG would have an orgasm. And all this (except for the JVG thing) is a good thing. Contenders know who they are... imo, this Rockets team is the halfcourt model that will only run "when the opportunity arises." We all know what that means. I say, great, works for me. Let's get after it. Championships are waiting.
Meh, I'm indifferent with this trade. Garbage for garbage, you can't really be mad at that. I guess Mutumbo can do something for 10-15 minutes, I just hope it's not just being completely useless (and let's face it, he's utterly washed up) which he has been for at least 2 years.
Mutombo didn't suck last year in 20+ minutes, I don't see how he can suck in 15 minutes this year. Makes absolutely no sense. We need Boki, Padgett and T-Mac to step up the shooting. We need Ward, Lue, and JJ to keep the shooting up. I really hope Sura gets the majority of his minutes at the 2/3 because I want to see Lue and Ward, both great shooters, to see lots of minutes at the PG position.
I thought we would use our exception, and we haven't yet. I thought we might move some of the guys who came over in the McGrady trade, but we cleared out some more of last year's team. Which is fine. But we have Jackson penciled in as our starting 3, McGrady prefers playing the 2, and the jury is out on how Howard/Taylor will mesh, and if we really fixed the PG position or stuck a bandaid on it. I don't know... I look at a vastly changed roster, and it just looks a little out of kilter. It's just a hunch, but I don't think they're through tinkering.
The best party date line ever... Who wants to sex Mutumbo!?! And then for some of your applicants - the finger wave. Yeah, Yao, you got a life lesson coming, my friend. Seriously, I think this is really good for Yao. I think Mutumbo can teach what Patrick might want to, and the two of them will make the lessons on Gerogetown defense and post play stick. Mutumbo will push Yao more effectively than say, Elden Campbell. Deke will work with JVG's strategies when he gives Yao a blow - he'll be fine for a 3 minute stretch next to Howard or Taylor. We needed to cut Wilks and Griffin and Pike - we had too many players. Good move. I think the team is going to be scrappy and everyone will know their roles - except maybe Taylor. That should make for an effective team - if they'll just all know who gets the ball, it's such an improvement.
No worries on that. Dream still has him by 800+ blocks. I can't really see a reason to dislike this trade. The people we gave up didn't really see time or do great things with the time they had. Deke is old, yes, but when I finally saw him get playing time after riding the bench in NJ he was all effort. Even past his prime he KNOWS how to defend the paint. I didn't get to see him play last year but if he's still in good enough shape to put forth the effort I saw in NJ for his few minutes I'll be happy.
I don't see how anyone can be against this trade. We traded away 3 guys who weren't going to play and had years remaining on their contracts for a guy who will play and only has one year left on his deal. At the very least, we helped our cap situation. The Chicago Tribune reported that the Bulls were balking at having to take on our unwanted cap fodder (ie: Griffin) and thus speculation became that we'de have to include a draft pick or the trade exception - neither was required. We're not asking this guy to be the starter. We're not asking him to score. He was effective in spot duty last year so why is there sentiment that he won't be in even less time this year? A player's athleticism and quickness deteriorates with age but he never forgets how to play defense and protect his basket. He's still Dikembe Mutombo - he'll go in there for 15 minutes with that arrogant swagger and play dirty basketball. He'll still be 7'2 and will still throw elbows. Remember how an aging Hakeem was able to anchor our defense in Francis' sophomore season during a late season surge? You don't forget how to protect your basket. Finally, Deke is another big body to lean on Yao in practice and make him tougher. Again, this for 3 guys who weren't going to play? How can anyone complain? Great trade.