He was in this exact position when he was with the Rockets before, and Daryl Morey knows it better than anyone else. You cannot get a better 3rd string big man than Chuck.
"Teams that have veteran leadership can absorb almost any player into their culture and their environment," Stu Jackson said. haven't followed Chuck recently but he was a stand up professional for the Rockets. Welcome home! link
Chuck Hayes was big enough to be Yao's replacement, he's definitely big enough to be Dwight's replacement.
Lets be honest.... if he's logging big minuets we've had injury issues. Vet bench depth and a good role model and for those reasons I like it.
Our 3.5rd string PF and center hopefully won't matter too much. So if you're shopping for one, its great that its a really smart, veteran guy who can push our young bigs in practice and can contribute to the leadership on our team. Plus, I have so much heart for the chuckwagon.
While an upgrade over Dorsey, that is such a low bar to be almost meaningless. I still think back to his last stint with the Rockets, and remembering all the times I saw how easily longer 4s and 5s (heck, even 3s) went right over the top of him. Add in a number of years and a few teams since then. So that tempers any optimism. I know most people see him as a locker room presence and a low post defender. And that his minutes will be limited. And hopefully he eats up space, and boxes out to allow someone else to get the rebound. Hopefully we won't see lots of ESPN highlights with the Chuckwagon being dunked over...
When people talk about a the rockets having a quality locker room, it's guys like Chuck Hayes and Jason Terry they are talking about. I really liked Alan Williams but he's not going to bring what Chuck brings. Face it, neither of them is going to play much so what they bring to the locker room and mentoring of our young guys is where they earn their money. Welcome back Chuck.
There isn't a player on this team I enjoy watching more than Chuck Hayes. So to me, from an entertainment standpoint - hallelujah. The boxing out, the high post passing, the underrated ball handling, the footwork on defense, that low center of gravity - that **** gets me off. Terrance Jones and DMo couldn't boxout like a man if their lives depended on it.
"Meh" describes how I feel. I don't think he sees much time, but he doesn't cost much. Nice emergency guy though I don't see him as much of an upgrade over Dorsey at this point in their careers.
I welcome Chuck back... but woulda hoped to us the roster spot on a cheap contract from a higher caliber vet looking for a ring.... I think Chuck would be a more useful addition to the coaching staff... but its all good...
I'm not sure it qualifies as important enough to like or dislike. I'm also not sure that, at this point of his career, he's better than Dorsey...or enough better for it to even matter anyway.
This. This is what makes him a better option than Dorsey. We all know he's probably not going to play much. But I promise you there will be games where a Brow/LMA/Z-Bo/Blake/Monroe/Gasol type is murdering us in the post, and we turn to the Chuckwagon to rough these guys up and take them out of their rhythm. ...and it just might end up being the difference in the game.
We had Joey Dorsey on our team folks. Replaced with an player who has NBA success (With the Rockets).
I'm excited about bringing back the Chuckster. I think this is going to rejuvenate his career. He's only 32. It'll be interesting to see the shape he's in when he comes to training camp. If Chuck's in great shape, it'll tell us a lot about the kind of year he'll have. I'm expecting him to be in condition to rock and roll. This is a huge opportunity for him, and he knows it.
Howard will be injured/rested for part of the year, book it. Josh Smith is gone. Not sure why so many people think Hayes won't play. I love that we're finally making signings like this.
I bet the Chuckwagon was mostly added to teach some defense to TJ and DMo on the practice court. I imagine in some cases you bring him off the bench for small stretches. He also ads more solid citizen leadership for Ty Lawson.
