When the JJ/Boki for Wesley trade first went down, some 70% of us of us thought it was a bad move. I was among them. In the last few games, though, it occurs to me that JJ, with his deliberate style of play, might have been hindering us on offense more than helping us. I don't mean to bash JJ, because his effort was always there, but I sure like what I've seen on the court the last few games. We can go back and re-vote on the previous poll, so here's a fresh one: Now that we all have the benefit of hindsight, I'm wondering what everyone currently thinks of the trade.
It is still pretty early but the early returns look promising on this trade. I was one too that thought it was a bad move. But some of the things Wesley brings to the team are things I didnt expect. The ball movement, the perimeter defense and the ability to run. Those have been huge. Especially the perimeter defense. Wesley really is a pest and has great foot speed to stay with people. And he isnt that much of a liability when matched up with taller players which has been a huge surprise for me. I was worried about that. I think the addition of Jon Barry has also made a difference in many of those same areas listed above, especially ballmovement and dribble penetration. Basically I feel the "chemistry" of this team is better and that's what's most important. And the biggest addition? The return of the Rockets fast break! Those easy buckets really make a difference!
After the initial shock of them trading JJ, who I thought was pretty untouchable, I liked the trade from the start. I still felt like we gave up a little too much and would have been happy even if NO threw in a 2nd-rounder, but I was happy with the move. I'm more excited now, after a few games, than I was before. Go Rox!
There is a poll for this on the homepage of Clutchfans.net http://www.clutchfans.net Look to the left column. 70.6% Bad move for the Rockets 15.8% Good move for the Rockets 13.6% Even deal TOTAL: 3565 VOTES
Duh. That's the entire point of THIS thread. Since we all voted on that poll in the heat of the moment, and since we can't go back and change our votes, I was wondering what everyone thought now that we've had time to properly assess things.
How is that? JJ and Wesley have almost identical shooting percentages and we gave up Boki, who could have developed his perimeter shooting very nicely (and did show us some nice percentages this season). Wesley = JJ yet, we also lose Boki...
Sometimes, a trade is more about changing chemistry (for the better) than it is upgrading talent. This trade looks to fit into that category so far.
actually i really meant barry. and i think wesley is more likely to get open shots here than he did in NO. comparing his shooting percentage in a place where no one opened him up to here with McGrady and Yao isn't a perfect comparison.
Losing JJ's game was addition by subtraction. I think he was a stand up guy, but I disliked everything about his play except for his perimeter shooting - even that tended to be selfish at times considering you have TMac and Yao on this team. The biggest negative was his complete lack of effort and savvy as a perimeter defender. Some things, like foot speed, you can't help. But on ANY kind of penetration - on the PG's initial step or two - Jackson would abandon his man, and he was a below average help defender. He would just stand in no man's land, the ball would get kicked to his man, he'd lope back like it's no big deal. Bam, 3 ball. Other teams looked to matchup their best shooter on him. I'm sure that stuff flew in Dallas and Sacramento, when you could outscore the other team anyway, but for this Rockets team, it's a backbreaker. IMO, getting burned from the perimeter was due to lack of effort and smarts is unacceptable. But when I watch Wesley defend, the overriding quality is he does not want his man to score. It's personal. The fact that he's quick is a bonus. This team can't afford ANY perimeter defenders that don't try hard.
Repost of mine from the AM of 12/28/04, told ya... __________________________________________________________ Not saying I'm exactly a proponent of this trade, but... Take into consideration how mush faster we've got at the guard spot. We might actually be able to run a fast break! In all the games I've watched, obviously Ward and Sura couldn't do it, Barrett showed flashes, but Wesley might get it done a few times a game for us on a consistant basis. Our TO per game, IMO, might go down by a few as well... Wesley is smaller by about a half foot, but can be just as deadly on the catch and shoot and can create his own shoot better than JJ most of the time, slashing ability, again this might go to Wesley due to his jitterbug style of play. Similiar contracts, career numbers, etc. add that Wesley's a year younger, whatever that's worth... Not a bad experiment, but sizing down a poor (at best) rebounding team raises eyebrows for sure though. Take into consideration 3 other things as well: 1. T-Mac may still play a lot at the 2. Perhaps JVG will use either Bowen or Padgett at the 3 sometimes while T-Mac's at the 2 with Wesley or Sura at the 1. Who knows, the lineup, after some trial and error, could look something like this: Yao, Dike JH, Mo Padgett, Bowen T-Mac, Barry Wesley, Sura, Barrett 2. WE MAY NOT BE DONE MAKING MOVES AND PROBABLY AREN'T! Let's see how this pans out (with actual games and our front office) over the course of a few weeks before starting our trade Yao/T-Mac next threads... 3. Win, lose or draw, gotta love that management refuses to just sit on the league's most underachieving team...
addition by subtraction. jj can't run the point. jj never took it to the rim. he wasn't a good passer. most of all he was beat by faster players all the time. wesley is a much better fit. we now have a 3 guard rotation we can be proud of (wes, barry, sura) even ab can get in the mix sometimes.
I will say mea culpa and admit my initial negative reaction to the trade was wrong. Wesley has brought good D and (like Barry) the ability to find the open man. His shot has been a little off, but I think that will improve. I also like how he can run the fast break - it's nice to see a player who can pass while running and not cause a turnover. I still miss Jackson, and considering that the trade still went through after he refused to report, I think we could have probably gotten Wesley without including him. I wish that JVG and CD had driven a harder bargain (maybe offer Gaines and Bowen instead of Jackson - our BBS capologists could probably figure out an alternative trade that would have worked numbers-wise).
Wesley is a bit undersized for a SG, but he's played well...I hated the trade at first, but it's grown on me for sure...
Are we any closer to being a championship caliber team? How is Boki going to do with extended minutes in N.O.? It is too early to tell but I am certainly not sold by a long shot. I still don't think Wesley will ever be apart of this team when we are ready to be contenders but if he proves me wrong then I will be more than happy to admit it.
no doubt about it. but JJ wasn't going to be a part of that either, most likely. the championship caliber teams are at least a season away. didn't we all know that??? i just can't imagine anyone coming into this season thinking we were ring contenders.
Nope we are not a championship team, but we are a more fun team to watch after this trade. I enjoyed watching the Rockets get out on the fast break last night, and Wesley was usually involved in those situations.
But Boki might have been a big part of a championship team. Part of how I judge the trade is how well Boki does for other teams. If he excels in N.O. then I will blame JVG. If he sucks it up and finds his way out of the NBA then this trade is no more than a wash in my mind. If the team gells and starts playing consistently well making a good run in the play offs then I will consider it a good trade. As of now it just makes us older IMO.
"Could have" is the key there. How many more years should the Rockets wait for him to be ready? Was it worth an extension? They got something for someone who wasn't going to be a big part of this team, right or wrong.
