Maybe a few Seton Hall Only Fans are floating around? Weird trivia: 3 member of the 2000-2001 Seton Hall team made it to the NBA. All three have now been Rockets. The others were Eddie Griffin (RIP) and Andre Barrett. That team was ranked #10 in the preseason, but had a total meltdown (that was the team where Griffin punched out Ty Shine). They ended up not even making the NCAA tourney, and lost in the first round of the NIT.
Not gonna lie, this feels like Brad Miller all over again. At least to me. The bright side? Both are/were serviceable despite the price. I understand the reasoning behind the move, just not sure I would have done the same. Oh well, it's done now. Time to see what the dude can do.
I'm concerned about his current state of fitness....hopefully he didn't turn into Eddy Curry like the rumors are suggesting. I like the pricetag, especially the limited guarantee for next season. I know he was pushing hard for at least 3/$30M after getting used to his $13M salary. No one likes a major paycut. But we had to pull this trigger. Stinks that there weren't better options left, that we struck out on the Gasol brothers, but it was going to be a disaster going 66 games with Thabeet and out-of-position forwards. For all Dalembert's limitations, he can hold his own on defense, which is enough. Who knows, maybe he can mentor Thabeet into a worthwhile 10 mpg backup in the same mold (doubtful, but maybe).
His contract is way better than Miller's. It is very movable and even if he didn't play up to our expectations, we could still decline his option. And don't forget, this guy was terrific last season.
The non-guaranteed second year is key. And $7M per year isn't unreasonable so I agree his contract is better. Just saying, generally speaking, I tend to avoid the NBA fallacy of paying for height. 8-8, Dalembert's numbers from last year, are numbers the Chuckwagon could produce for half the price. Hopefully, the height and sheer size he brings to the table can dramatically improve our interior D. At the very least, he'll alter more shots. Hopefully, he's in shape, stays healthy and makes it worth our while.
But one thing that he does that doesn't show up on the stat sheet, and that Chuck couldn't do, is make guys settle for more jumpers, alter their shots and prevent a layup drill.
I hate this signing, doesn't make any sense to me as a Rockets fan, sure we might eek into the playoffs and cost ourselves our own draft pick in the process - in one of the deepest drafts in years, but why? And if Morey doesn't pick up the options on all the 09ers, what assets will this team have? Cap room? Great...I don't get excited about watching Cap room fly in for a dunk ! Samual Dalembert will help this team win a few more games this year, but he is not a difference maker, we don't need a Tyson Chandler, we need to develop players to increase their stats and make them more attractive as trade pieces. Where this team is going.....I have no idea. DD
Sammy Dhas a rep of being a bit of a headcase but that's usually the type of guy that performs best for coaches who knows how to manage strange personalities (just about every star Phil Jackson has coached lol). That's training video's pretty nice, shows he's been trying to keep in shape during the lockout. As far as contracts go, this is pretty sweet because essentially this is nothing more than a 1 year rental, if he goes AWOL we can dump him for 1M, so no, this isn't a Brad Miller signing at all. The only downside I can think of is that Jeff Adrien and esp. Greg Smith are now in danger of getting cut. I like those two prospects, and would have actually been fine with a Hill/Thabeet/Adrien/Smith combo. That's terrible on paper, but IRL I think we would have been just fine, Adrian plays a lot like Hayes and Smith has a lot of potential.
Well, yeah, I mentioned that also. Hopefully, he does impact the game in those capacities. Keep in mind, defending the basket is not all about shot blocking or the perceived threat having a shot blocker provides. Reading the offense, moving your feet quickly and taking charges just effectively does all that. With Scola and Chuck upfront, they could do those things but both are below-the-rim players (one of which only 6'5") so you can't have the best of both worlds. With any luck, we'll have that in Dalembert and he'll be worth the extra $$$ we paid for him.
Im convinced that the desperation to sign a true center to get bigger was partially influenced by McHale. There must be some give and take with the front office and coaching staff to give them a chance to get in the playoffs and give some true depth with the bigs. Plus Morey is probably sick and tired of hearing about "when will the Rockets get a center." The plan of the front office isnt to get bad enough to get high draft picks. The plan is to allow young talented players to grow enough to find either a franchise cornerstone or develop a trade piece they can package for an all-star. Thats why Im convinced Dalembert will be considered a luxury and hopefully will not be relied on to play huge minutes. Ideally they would love for Hill and Thabeet to beat out Dalembert for minutes because they take their game to a whole new level.
No Tanking Allowed! This signing is a good deal for everyone. Daryl again shows he is one smart cookie. Team is now in the playoff mix, 2 days ago it was not ! Team Defense - our weak point - just got much better. The Rockets will wear out teams who are playing 3 nighters with a bench that is as deep or deeper then anyone's at all positions. There is no way to teach speed. Please stop the whining for a Superstar! Please stop asking the Rockets to tank! This is loser mentality. I love this team and am ready for the ride. Next year will take care of itself.
I can't believe all the people that want the Rockets to lose. It seems to me that the only way to make some of these folks happy is to trade away our team for the local 6th grade girls city league champions? This is a fantastic move. We brought in a true center that provides exactly what we need. We didn't over pay, in fact we under paid. The contract is excellent and a fantastic trade chip RIGHT NOW. Teams that want a center this season will have no reservations about taking Sam from us. Teams that are looking to clear space will have no reservations about taking Sam from us. There is no down side to this trade. People predicting that this trade defines our draft are just plain silly. This trade improves the Rockets in every way possible, there are no downsides. This team has the potential to make the playoffs with or without Sam but with Sam we could actually make some noise. The trade flexibility he brings is off the charts. We wanted and needed a true center. There is no team that will trade away their big for pieces like Kmart or Scola without getting a serviceable center (or a true young allstar) in return. We just happen to have one on a great contract now. I have seen several posters compare this to bringing in Brad Miller. That is the dumbest thing I have ever read. Dalembert is the anti Brad Miller. He stays healthy, rebounds, plays defense and blocks shots. I doubt Dalembert has ever taken a 3 pointer. I would also like to point out in case you missed it.... he is an unbelievably good trade chip.
Uh, no one is comparing their style of play. They're comparable in that they are stop gap solutions that will help us win games on the margin but don't help make us a serious threat. In the NBA, there's no reward for being mediocre -- a lot of us are tired of first round playoff exits or just missing the playoffs and ending up with another decent but not game changing draft pick. And for the record, Dalembert attempted a 3 pointer in his 2nd year.
Agree. I was hoping to see Thabeet and Hill get more playing time this season and curious to see how they'd progress. Hope that doesnt change with this signing.
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