Did not expect this kind of derail, but my vote would be to go all in with Thabeet (and the other kiddos). If the kids surprise us, it is a big win. If the group falls on its face, we win big with the upcoming draft.
And developing our 3rd string C of the future is so much more important. LOL! The Rockets need Thabust to really compete.
You can come up with all the silly names you want, but no one knows if he is any good or will develop or not. And if he doesn't? I agree with the post above, we have improved our drafting position immensely. Finishing 9th all the time is not going to get us anywhere near the top. DD
Mario Elie is not that important of a player, he is a solid defensive role player, but if the team is relying on that type of player to compete, they aren't really competing for anything anyway. Dennis Rodman is not that important of a player, he is a solid defensive role player, but if the team is relying on that type of player to compete, they aren't really competing for anything anyway. Ben Wallace is not that important of a player, he is a solid defensive role player, but if the team is relying on that type of player to compete, they aren't really competing for anything anyway. Bruce Bowen is not that important of a player, he is a solid defensive role player, but if the team is relying on that type of player to compete, they aren't really competing for anything anyway. Kendrick Perkins is not that important of a player, he is a solid defensive role player, but if the team is relying on that type of player to compete, they aren't really competing for anything anyway. Otis Thorpe is not that important of a player, he is a solid defensive role player, but if the team is relying on that type of player to compete, they aren't really competing for anything anyway. ..... hmmm ... by golly i think you've figured it out again dd championship teams do not rely on solid defensive role players!! somebody report this groundbreaking analysis to daryl morey asap!!!!!
So . . . you're saying that Thabeet is not good??? :grin: Unless (a) a better player--like Andris Biedrins or Brendan Haywood--shakes loose as an amnesty cut who is willing to sign for a bargain with the Rockets (considering that they'll still be making their large salaries on top of any new salary) and/or (b) Morey deems it more advisable under the new salary cap landscape to just amnesty cut Thabeet, I think the Rockets will make an earnest attempt to continue developing Thabeet as a potential serviceable center for this franchise. With a coach like Kevin McHale--who is both an excellent teacher of the post game and an excellent motivator--the Rockets should know within a year whether Hasheem will ever be anything of consequence in the NBA. My best guess: Morey keeps Thabeet around, giving him the option either to have McHale and his staff continue developing him or to have his expiring contract available for salary matching purposes in trades (remember, assuming the same trade rules carry over from the prior CBA, trading SALARY allows you to get back 125% of that salary in return; not so with just cap space). FLEXIBILITY. That has always been the key to Morey's moves.
LOL - which is EXACTLY why I said Chuck would be great in Miami, all of those players were ROLE players...and had star players around them. Unless we get that STAR player, we have no reason for having Chuck other than winning a few more games which would actually hurt us in the long run if the goal is to get a high draft pick, and eventually compete. Good point though, Role players are important pieces to teams that have that star component. DD
One more thing...Including Otis Thorpe in there is an insult...that guy was a 20-10 star player.....you must be too young to remember..... DD
he's still a role player next to hakeem. nothing insulting about that list. it only seems insulting if you think role players aren't important.
The disconnect between what you are saying and what I am saying, is that if we are RELYING on Chuck to be a team leader, when he is only a role player, means we are not really competing. Chuck is a nice off the bench player, but he is not starter quality in this league. At best he is a situational role player. DD
If we find that out based upon playing time instead of made up opinions based upon lack of evidence then sure. DD
Maybe, but he was successful when given consistent minutes his rookie year. Everyone knew he was a project but needed to play and be coached.....if anything this lockout is hurting him more than anyone else. Getting a chance to work with CD and McHale right now would help a lot. DD
When the Rockets traded for him, they were taking a risk that he could become something. Sure it mostly likely won't work out, but unless the team goes in on it 100% it never will. You cannot back out on that gamble partly down the road. Especially, when you really do not lose much of anything it fails. K street is looking for some help. Maybe you should apply. Rodman is a HOF overall player that you have to gameplan around. Wallace and Bowen are true shutdown DPPY defenders at multiple positions. Perkins can still become that. None of those are comparable players to Hayes. Seriously, how is it news to people that Hayes as starter won't cut it.
chuck hayes isn't good enough to start next to jordan and pippen? luc longley was good enough to start next to jordan and pippen. so was bill cartwright. are luc longley and bill cartwright better than chuck hayes?
Hayes is a defensive situation role player that is best served on a championship contender who can move him around to defend certain players at certain times. He should not start full time, especially at his height. It will work for bigs who have no shot and can only try to back their opponents in, but against bigs with consistent jumpshots like Aldridge, Dirk, or Okur, Hayes is a lot less useful. He simply lacks the height to be a true defensive anchor. The fact that we cannot ever find a real center to replace him, is completely on the FO in that regards. Morey seems to finally come around in that you do need height at 4 and 5, so hopefully we will start doing better in that regards.
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/david_aldridge/10/06/lockout-questions/?ls=iref:nbahpt1 Good article on all the lockout issues.
it doesn't matter what other team is best served by hayes, it only matters if hayes can serve the rockets. and he can. if yao and mac were healthy, then hayes would fit in just fine. even on our current roster with no stars, he still fits in just fine. if he was on the bulls with jordan and pippen, or on the miami heat today, he would fit in fine there too. the only time hayes would not fit, is *specifically* if we had both star quality centers and forwards ahead of him. for instance, if we had hakeem and otis, then there would be no room for hayes as a starter. if we had dight howard and marcus camby, then we wouldn't have room for hayes to start. however, in our current situation, and in the majority of other real-world situations, hayes is good enough to start.
Which is why I mentioned in my other thread that the Rockets are the only team that he can actually start on full time. Hayes can fit into any team as a defensive specialist. Starting or playing significant minutes however, is a completely different story.
