We need someone to replace either AB or Kmart. That backcourt is literally killing our defensive schemes. If we bring AI in then Martin has to go, and Brooks needs to improve defensivelly. If you ask me i would rather give up AB for a good defensive minded PG. The problem is that the market doesn´t seem to have any of those players. Not to say that the rox situation is uncomfortable at best. We are an uncertain team in every aspect. We don´t know how we are going to play this season, the players are not sure of their roles either, and our future depends on Yao not braking down again. That is surelly not tempting for any player seeking for a championship. I think things have to start to change here before we start looking at what the market has for us. Mainly, how are we going to play, i think Yao main role on court should be defensive, whole Scola might not be able to score at the high .500 mark as Yao can, he sure can put an average of .520 shooting mark. The big difference within Yao and Scola is the ability to defend, and that´s what Yao has to give us right now, 24 minutes of premier defense. That would allow us to defend harder in the perimeter, where we are being killed, providing us with an alternative before trading everyone away. Once we have that set we would have a better picture of what we need from the perimeter. If the defense AB and Kmart provide is not enough then we will be forced to trade one of those, Stuckey would be my main target looking at what´s available at PG and Iggy seems the ebst we can get at SG, but the reality is that neither Martin or Iggy will come off the bench and replacing Battier with AI take us back to the liabilityof having both Brooks and Marting defending the perimeter. This is important, many posters believe that a team starting AI, Kmart and Brooks will be better defensivelly than a team starting Battier, Kmart and Brooks and i don´t think that´s the case.
There is some glaring needs i can think of and can see. We need a closer and we need interior and perimeter defense. We need 2-way players. Not many out there. We need an enforcer and closer. Okafor is a good example of an enforcer and i'm hoping Hill can develop into that role. When we got Martin we had to trade our closer mr 4th quarter Landry. The team gets murdered in the paint by taller/stronger guards AND they blow big leads (GS/Lakers). So i would be trying to upgrade. My upgrades would be more 2-way players Gerald Wallace, Igoudala, Josh Smith, Okafor. And in the offseason i would be trying to land Kanter through the draft to be Yao's future replacement. I also would be signing Carl Landry. Then our front court is set. Yao, Kanter, Scola and Landry with Hill and Miller. But for our guards we will have to hope Llull, Lowry or Smith can turn into a defensive player, but overall our team would improve if they didn't give up so many easy baskets and blow so many leads. 2-way players are better for the rotation imo and players minutes and getting the most from each position.
Jeffries + Battier + Patterson and pick for Iguodala and Nocioni. This helps them shed more salary and gets them a young talent in return. Not to mention the expirings and the pick.
It is clear that this team as it is currently assembled, is not ready to compete for an NBA championship. There are many positives about this team. They are in every single ball game they have played in this year. However, at some point Les and Daryl have to call the kettle black and make a decision on which direction they want to direct this franchise. Cheering for a mediocre team year after year will make a true fans stomach turn. Every year it is the same thing. If healthy, we can compete for an NBA championship. If you blow the team up and start to rebuild, fans understand. Its easier to watch a young team struggle to get 40 wins because you know that they are young and they are growing up. Back when we drafted Francis and had that crew together, they were fun to watch because they were just out there having fun getting better. With a team that is expected to win, every one of those teams have that special player who carries them on their back night in and night out. They have opposing coaches worried about them. The Rockets do not have that. Sure, Yao is recovering and he is doing quite well. By the end of the season I believe he will be about 90% as productive as when he went down. We need that 1 player to fill Arizas shoes. Our whole team is practically the same as last year with the exception of small forward. Battier is clearly struggling. He does not have the lateral quickness he once had. I think Iguodala is the one player the Rockets need to get the ship back on track. He can score when needed. He is not a offensive liability out there. He is a very capable defender who can go out and guard the other teams best wing players. New Orleans is looking at him now. They promised Paul in the offseason they were going to build a contending team. This is the last year of his deal so the Hornets are going to go out and try to make a splash trade and hope that CP3 doesnt "LeBron" them and leave outright. The biggest reason we need to go after him is because he is an ironman. The guy has missed 1 game since 2007. We badly need players we can count on playing night in and night out. Some players figure out how to not get hurt. He is one of them and we need that in the worst way. I know it won't happen but if they don't do anything they will be stuck in this mediocre stage forever. Its not fair to fans who pay money to go to the games and especially season ticket holders who dump all sorts of money into it hoping for something that will never come. I know its not fair, but life isnt either so Ill just sit here and slowly become more and more frustrated watching the Rockets climb their way back to .500 at the all star break and then make a push and slide in the playoffs to get slaughtered by a team with a superstar like every other year. Our only chance is to in the near future make a huge trade that injects some life into our team. Waiting until the trade deadline will be too late. Make something happen soon!
Update: Iguodala (Achilles strain) will miss Wednesday's game against the Thunder, but the team hopes he'll be able to return by Friday's game against the Mavs, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Recommendation: Coach Doug Collins said he hopes Iguodala will be able to return Friday, but he also said that he will not ask Iguodala to come back until he is ready http://www.rotowire.com/Andre-Iguodala-googid132601-spnba.htm Should be back by Friday. Not a "Demeco'd" achilles situation, so...do it!
Its starting to wonder me why we haven't made a trade up at the 3 spot yet... We have the assets (at least I think we do).
I predict that if (and when) the Sixers lose to the Spurs tonight that we will be hearing a lot of trade talk about Iguodala in the morning.
because if they decide they aren't going to win this season they will want to build on a young core... If we give them a young "talent" (i.e Hill or Bud) and a pick then they can focus on developing for next year... I also am unsure whether Philly considers him their best player.
