I am sure Morey tried but probably no team was interested. You have to realize that this site overrates players.
Now I see why teams have been reluctant to trade with us. We would have better luck with Daryl Dolphin or Daryl Manatee.
I agree with what you're saying, but tend to side with others. I love Chuck as a player; I've mentioned it in many threads, but he's an ideal player to have on a team due to his hard work, consistent improvement, and excellent defense. At the moment, I think the difficulty comes in trying to grasp the vision of the Rockets beyond this season. It's a foregone conclusion that this team needs to build and is not where it needs to be to compete for a championship. Even Morey said that he's looking long term. That's why even though we won last night, it's disheartening to see the box score and find Chuck getting 41 minutes, Scola getting 25 mins, and Brad Miller getting 16 minutes while Patterson only got 8 minutes and Jordan Hill 6 minutes. Hasheem Thabeet didnt even see the court. If this team is serious about developing its young guys, at some point the roster management is going to have to reflect that reality.
This team is starting 22 and 24 year olds and have 21 and 25 year olds as the first two off the bench. It's like what D'Antoni said last year, (paraphrased) "I play rookies, just not bad ones".
I think the knicks or the heat will pursue him when he is a free agent. It just makes sense for them so players like Amare and Bosh can focus more of their energy offensively.
No one around the league seems to know Hayes exists so I would imagine there was little if any demand. We'll probably be able to get him resigned for cheap too.
I'm referring specifically to his handling of PP and Hill. Ever since Chuck returned from injury, PP's minutes have gone down as have Hill's. Neither was tearing it up in Chuck's absence, but they showed flashes and probably need on-court time to show what they can do. Chuck and Scola are the better players right now, no question, but I wouldnt mind seeing Chuck, Scola, and Miller get more bench time to allow PP/Hill/Thabeet some court time.
PP gets good minutes, he's the first big off the bench, what more could you ask for? His foul trouble is not RA's fault. And Hill doesn't deserve any PT at this point, he's only going to get minutes from injury or foul trouble. He was the starting center for crying out loud but he's proven he's not ready. Guys like Hill and Thabeet (big men who are relatively new to the game of basketball) don't improve from time on the court, they improve from practice. They aren't magically going to look like they have a clue out there...
I completely agree. Yao was an average one-on-one defender, but at the center position it does not matter as much because there are very few gifted scoring centers in the NBA, and those that do score from the center position are often undersized. Yao was a GREAT team defender, and the center spot is the one spot where being a team defender is most important. Teams did not drive against the Rockets, and typically his size and effort kept the paint empty. He also helped the Rockets rebound as a team because often times other teams resorted to jumpers and that left the glass open. If anyone doubts this theory, go look where the Rockets ranked defensively the year before Yao, then compare it to when Yao played, and then to this year. Chuck is a very good/elite man defender... he uses his bulk and center of gravity to his advantage, but because of his size he does not prevent guys from driving the lane. He is best suited as a super-sub that defends the 4 and 5.
Majority of the big men talent in today's NBA has migrated to the 4 spot thanks to the influence of the Duncan/Dirk/KG trifecta. Just like with this team, I think whichever team Hayes goes to will already have pretty good PFs, so unless he ends up in a team like the Bucks or Memphis, most likely he'll also end up playing backup C.
I'd love for Chuck Hayes to retire a Rocket. He's the epitome of what this team was supposed to be a few of years ago. Defense, hustle, and winning. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out. Chuck Hayes is a great success story. From being undrafted to signing 10-day contracts to being a starter.
Love Chuckwagon... but he's a roleplayer at best and nobody is gonna throw him starting money... and lower roster spots teams wanna use for players with 'potential' to 'develop'.... so Chuck may bring 3m/yr on the open market max - if someone has an extra roster spot to fill...
Wrong. He is a mediocre scorer, he's a plus player in every other category. Do not hate on the ChuckWagon.
Or maybe it just shows Adelman's inadiquacy. This is the guy afterall that tried to win championships in The West with 100% offense and 0% defense. A nice quote from The Hornets announcers about how they interviewed Mike DI'Antoni and how he said he wanted to be the first one to with the all offense. Good luck with that...
