I cannot shake the feeling that Al Jefferson is going to become a Rocket sometime soon. Just. The perfect confluence of factors: First, he is Kevin McHale's illegitimate son. The heir to KMac's post moves. It is known. Second, Rockets coaches are required to get players from their former team. Third, he has the smell of Kevin Martin before he became a Rocket: good player on a bad team interested in giving his minutes to a younger guy and save some money. In other words, the perfect undervalued asset for vulture investors like Morey and his father Les. Fourth, the other guy he reeks of is Zach Randolph before he became a Grizz. Talented scorer maligned for bad D and underdeveloped team game. If Dave Joerger could help Zach become an acceptable defender maybe Al can be helped too. Five, he is good at generating his own offense at a large volume. The Rockets can use a "go to" guy.
FANTASTIC post scorer. He could quite honestly be the best in the entire league. That said, his defense really is that bad, and he absolutely needs an athletic PF to play with him. Luis Scola and Al Jefferson would be awful together, much like Love and Milsap were, but Patsquatch might be a nice fit, or Chuck Hayes for that matter... Sign me up... If we end up starting Al Jefferson and Kevin Martin we need a defensive specialist at every other position. Kyle Lowry Kevin Martin X FACTOR Chuck Hayes Al Jefferson I will pray for Jan Vesely...
I hate all Jazz players but he hasn't been there long enough to act like a Jazz player! If we can get him before e really becomes a Utah Jazz then ill take it!
He also seems to be friends with Chuck Hayes, at least Chuck Hayes said some very positive things about him.
Do you all really think he is get-able from the Jazz? Just basing it on his value and what they gave up to get him (two 1st round picks), I thought he was part of their long term plans. Honestly, if you put him in the front court with Hayes that would be a tough duo. Hayes can guard the better of any opponent's PF and C and Jefferson is a decent shot blocker and can protect the rim -- they would actually compliment each other really well on offense, defense and overall. I'd love to see him on the team, but I am curious why people think the Jazz would be willing to let him go and what you think they would want from the Rockets for him. I see a big hole on their roster at the SG -- are you thinking Kevin Martin or more Lee and pieces?
After the DWill trade he became Utah's go-to man, even in clutch situations, and was very effective. It just so happened that the other team was usually more clutch somehow and Utah would end up losing. Scola is great, but he isn't a go-to guy down the stretch. We struggled with that all season long. Jefferson would be a nice addition, but he's lost a lot of that shine since his knee injury. He's only shown flashes of his old dominance since, with plenty of mediocrity mixed in. Youth is on his side, though.
-He's not efficient enough for Morey. -His TS% is in the low 50s...very mediocre for a big man. -While he has a decent FG% hovering around 50%, he rarely gets to the line. -Conisidering his crappy post defense and I want nothing to do with him. -In sum, he's a Sheep in Wolves clothing.
I think most are considering the Jefferson/P-Sap combo a bit of a failure, and with the arrival of Derrick Favors I definitely think that the Jazz could look to cut costs on a team that is unlikely to make the playoffs. Devin Harris is likely gone as well when they draft a PG (Brandon Knight) in the coming draft. That said, there will be no robbery here, but I guarantee you that Daryl will not give up Kevin Martin for Al Jefferson. (Lee, Budinger?) Still, I would be worried that this move would keep us where we do NOT want to be, in the MIDDLE OF THE PACK. That said, If we can find a way to add a couple more pieces that are as dynamic as Martin and Jefferson, I might consider going for a Detroit Pistons-esque championship. Kyle Lowry-Chauncey Billups Kevin Martin-Rip Hamilton (Josh Smith) -Tayshaun Prince Chuck Hayes-Ben Wallace Al Jefferson-Rasheed Wallace Case in point, Daryl better have a beastly ass SF in mind If he pulls a trade for Al Jefferson. Josh Smith beastly...
Yup, I think we would all rather have Kanter... I am just so tired of not having a franchise C that I am getting desperate. Houston has ALWAYS had a stud C. WE ARE SPOILED!!!
I can see the Rockets putting together a roster comparable to that Pistons team except for the bolded position. Ben Wallace, although a bit overrated towards the end of his career, has no defensive equal in today's game outside of Dwight Howard. If Chuck Hayes was anywhere close to Big Ben last year, the Rockets would've had an above average defense. There are no Wallaces on the FA market, and the only Rockets player with his potential is Thabeet. In other words, we are missing the one key ingredient to building the Pistons v2.0. Morey may hit a lot of his picks, but his one attempt at finding the next Ben Wallace, Dorsey, was a huge bust.
I agree, but I do think that we can make it up in other ways. Let's focus on the frontcourt. (Hypothetical) A championship frontcourt is going to need... 1. Efficient Post Scorer (Dirk, Randolph, Gasol) 2. Elite Defender (Marion, Garnett, Rodman) 3. Rim Protection (Chandler, Noah, Anthony) Pistons Tayshaun 1. B 2. B 3. C Rasheed 1. B 2. B 3. B Wallace 1. F 2. A 3. A Rockets Player X 1. ? 2. ? 3. ? Chuck 1. C 2. A 3. C Jefferson 1. A 2. C 3. B So, If that thing makes any sense at all. It was more for me anyway... I wonder If it is possible to not have a protypical team as far as protecting the rim. A guy like Jefferson would give you decent help compared to last year, and Chuck always makes it difficult with his wicked smart positioning: Would it be possible to find a SF that could give us significant rim protection to make up for some of our defensive shortcomings? Could a tall defensive stud forward like Jan Vesely, Josh Smith or anyone else give us a comparable frontline to the old Pistons? Vesely= 6-11 Chuck= 6-6 with big nuts... Jefferson= 6-11
