I say the Rotation is as follows: Center - (??Yao or Trade or FA??), Hayes, Hill, Thabeet P Forward - Scola, Patterson, Motiejunas S Forward - Budinger, Morris S Guard - Martin, Lee, T-Will PG - Lowry, Drogic, Flynn I think Parson goes overseas for some seasoning, unless he absolutely impresses the Rockets brass to make room for him on the roster. I think that Yao ends up retiring. Here we still hear so much doubts about how is recovery is progressing. He still isn't ready, and it's been years of recovery, he made a lot of money, it may be time to hang it up. Of course if there is a trade for a center, then the Rockets lineup changes considerably. Morey said it best after last seasons trade deadline; centers are expensive and don't come cheap, he mentioned how hard he tried to trade for one, but came up short. Thabeet's stock was down, so that is why he managed to get him from Memphis for so cheap.
#2 picks are busts central. We need to get out of the gate quickly unlike last season. No time for experimenting. If that's Hayes at center, so be it. DM made that clear yesterday.
Actually, we'll know by October 31st what the team thinks of him, which I'm 99% sure will be a resounding "NO, we don't want him." We don't have to wait for the season.
You guys might be right, he might suck, but I hope the team puts some effort into coaching him up, and see if he can develop. Big guys take a bit longer to develop, and patience is often rewarded. DD
As we stand: Hayes - Yao - Thabeet Scola - Patterson - Hill - Motiejunas Budinger - Morris - Parsons Martin - Lee - Williams Lowry - Dragic - Flynn And yes, that is 16 players despite 15 available spots. 1 in 3 chance Yao retires, though. Wouldn't mind him off the bench - they should have done so last year. Only put him out there against favorable matchups to start. Trade virtually has to go down. Especially since Hayes really needs to slide back to the bench as a situational 4/5 stopper. But easier said then done.
PG - Lowry/Dragic/Flynn SG - Martin/Lee/Williams SF - Budinger/Parsons PF - Scola/Patterson/Morris/Hill C - Hayes?/Motiejunas/Thabeet
For our depth chart, I think realistically, Morris comes off the bench at the beginning of the year, and takes over the starting spot sometime around allstar break. I wouldn't be surprised if he started right off the bat either though. If Chase struggles anything close like early last season, don't expect the same amount of rope. Donatas I think has a few years before he breaks into the rotation, similar to what Jermaine O'neal had to do. If he plays any significant minutes this year, as in more than 15 MPG, that would mean he is developing much faster than anticipated. Which would be great news.
PG:Lowry,Dragic,Flynn,Williams SG:Martin,Lee,Williams SF:Budinger,Morris,Williams PF:Scola,Hayes,Patterson,Hill,Monty C:Thabeet,Hayes,Hill,Monty Side note: I think Morey brought in Flynn because he likes the idea of having 2 point guards on the floor the way we used to have Brooks and Lowry on the floor at the same time. Also I think Thabeet will eventually get it together, and Hill will have a breakout season and will have some playing time at the C position
Either Biedrins/Hayes/Motiejonus Scola/Pat/Motiejunas Morris/Bud/Parsons Martin/Lee Lowry/Dragic or Flynn (one would be in the biedrins trade) Or Dalembert/Hayes/Thabeet Scola/Pat/Hill/MotieJunas Morris/Bud/Parsons Martin/Lee/Williams Lowry/Dragic/Flynn
Guys i dont think C.hayes is going to be resigned i mean how many PF we have now? unless there will be some big trade to even the roster out ? More like this.... S.Dalembert,D-mo,Yao(Not Active) Scola, Patterson, J.Hill Budinger, Morris, Parson Martin, Lee,Parson Lowry,Dragon, Flynn(Getting Spot mins when Lowry or Dragon may get injured or take a day off) D-League Thabeet, Inactive : Flynn, and Yao
We HAVE been coaching. Like I've mentioned before, if he shows promise to the coaching staff, then he'll get his chance to start. With Dawson and McHale, he will get plenty of guidance, but if he doesn't show up, we'd be extremely vulnerable at the center position without Hayes.
Hayes is not a center, he is a defensive PF, we need to stop relying on an undersized guy playing with all heart and start developing our younger taller players. DD
I guess you don't know the meaning of development. It's ok, guys in the NBA know what it means. Hayes will still start, unless we sign a FA.
I really have no idea what our rotation will be but I definitely feel at least one of : Martin, Scola, Patterson or Lowry, will be part of a large package to bring in a star.
C- Thabeet | Motiejunas | Hill That's right! 'IF' we can't find a center by the start of the season. I propose we start Hasheem Thabeet. What do we have to lose in a possible 50 game season? At least this way he can 'learn by doing', like McHale said "there's no better teacher then experience", and truth be told he's yet to get that in the league. PF- Scola | Patterson With Thabeet starting, were going to need a veteran along side him thus giving Scola the starting spot. But if Pat continues with his progression, he has the talent to take the starting spot away from the Argentinian beast. SF- Morris | Parsons | Budinger I think Morris is the best two way player from this group and the bigger mismatch talent on the offensive end. As far as having Parsons over Budinger, I think Parson's has more to offer on both side's of the court. But I could still see Budinger over take him with his better shooting and leaping ability. SG- Martin | Williams | Lee Martin gets the start, due to his status as being the teams top scorer. But I decided to put T-Will a head of Lee, mostly because I doubt Lee will be part of the roster when the season starts. Given how they were offering him (and how he was being sought after) in trade deals at the deadline and at the draft, most notably in the Chicago deal. PG- Lowry | Flynn | Dragic Lowry gets the start, and hopefully continues his stride toward becoming a top 10 PG in this league. As far as Flynn over Dragic, I feel he has the talent and chip on his shoulder to become a floor general like he was in Syracuse. I believe he just had a miserable season last year partially due to his surgery and was in a system that didn't call for a PG with the triangle offense.
Your roster projection is understandable, but the Chuckwagon will be returning to the Rockets next season. Chuck will resign as a situation defender, w/o him we have no defensive identity. The only way we dont retain Yao is if he decides to retire. Even if he doesnt play in a single game. The Rockets will have him on the roster. Scola, Flynn, Lee and J.Hill will most likely start the season wearing a different jersey. Morey has to consolidate the roster. You can count on 3 or 4 players being dealt while only getting 1 or 2 in return. An ideal situation would be to land either Nene or Deandre Jordan in a sign and trade. C- (Nene/D.Jordan)/D-Mo/Thabeet/Yao* PF-Patterson/D-mo/Hayes/Morris SF-Morris/Buddinger/Williams SG-Martin/(CDR or M.Thorton)/Williams PG-Lowry/Dragic I love Chase and all, but would hate to see him start next year. He needs to continue coming off the bench until he develops his killer instinct. Its feels so good to have a coach that's not going to be afraid to make those type of decisions.
