I hope will see this thread as an open discussion about whether you think he should or should not return and whether it's even possible for him to be brought back. Everybody knows that besides Lin we have no good PG at the moment. Douglas is not a PG, Fortson is TO machine, Livingston cannot play solid minutes and Machado is still too unproven and probably doesn't make the team IF he's invited to camp. Just like the signing of Delfino who can provide good 10-15 minutes as a back up SG / SF plus bring some leadership, Boykins can do that at PG. That at least gives us two guys who can guide Lin, Lamb, Parsons and others. Maybe even Machado if he makes the team and eventually takes back up minutes. I know we already have a lot of players but I don't see realistically Tony Douglas getting PG minutes, so hopefully he will be a 3rd string SG. I also don't see us keeping Fortson nor Livingston. That leaves us very thin at PG and when the season starts: Lamb, Jones, White & probably D-Mo will be bench players. For them to grow you need a good floor general, a good PG who can pass the ball. With the veteran leadership and proven he can play the position plus having been around McHale and some player last year would do this team good. The posibility of this happening though is slim to none given Morey's track record with (re)signing veterans and our roster still at 19/20.
Are you Dutch? If so where are you from? I'm not a fan of Boykins, he isn't a great passer. I do agree that it would be nice to have cheap a more veteran back-up point guard. But I prefer one that is more of a passer than Boykins.
A solution to what? Even better tanking? Yeah, maybe, but I can see some other options...like Matt Maloney or Brent Price.
Real classy to compare those two to Boykins who can still play and was brought in for a reason last year. A solution to not having a back up PG. It's nice to have all these rookies but 4/5 rookies on the floor with Livingston / Fortson / Douglas as PG is not going to cut it. Also Lin has a lot to learn and can use some veteran guidance. Earl can provide this. If you have a better solution, please let us know but don't disrespect me nor this thread because it serves no purpose.
Not sure Boykins is the right veteran to mentor the youngins, they need someone they could look up to. ba-dum-pshhs! *crickets*
In order to be a solution, you need to have some sort of identified problem. IMO, the 3rd string veteran point guard problem is pretty low on the totem pole right now. For THIS squad, the Rockets have more than capable backups in Toney Douglas(who doesn't necessarily need to initiate the offense in a half court setting), Livingstone(who is more talented then most people realize), and potentially Machado(if he chooses to sign in Houston). Fortson is also a possibility, but Im not a fan of him taking up a roster spot if it forces the Rockets to cut someone like Greg Smith with much more potential. The 3rd string Veteran/lockeroom PG isn't a big issue right now, and I dont think too many teams are knocking down Boykins' door right now to sign him. If injuries destroy the depth of this team, then you can always make a phone call to Big Earl mid-season.
Earl's veteran advice to Lin: "You're passing the ball too much, as a point guard you never want to average more than 5 assists per game."
I think the roster is at 20, unless I missed that we waived Sean Williams. Should be these guys under contract C Omer Asik C Greg Smith C Sean Williams PF Donatas Motiejunas PF Patrick Patterson PF JaJuan Johnson PF Jon Brockman PF Royce White PF Terrence Jones SF Chandler Parsons SF Marcus Morris SF Diamon Simpson SG Kevin Martin SG Carlos Delfino SG Jeremy Lamb SG Gary Forbes PG Jeremy Lin PG Shaun Livingston PG Toney Douglas PG Courtney Fortson
