Jeff, Yes I am assuming we get Webber because that was the parameters of this thread. Personally, I think it is highly unlikely that we will get Webber. I also think that Shandon is a mentor but that is debatable. Fine. The point I was making about the rockets losing respect or maybe faith among FAs is true but also debatable. You are looking at it from the standpoint of what you think he's worth now, but you must also see that Shandon was worth more then than he signed for. In fact, Mo was also worth more than he signed for. These players signed with the rockets for less at least somewhat because of the rockets' reputation. That is what I think the rockets should protect. And whether you believe it or not, that reputation will be tarnished if the rockets don't at least try and sign Shandon to the same type of good faith deal that he did when he came here. ------------------ I am an invisible man.
One counter-argument would say that Shandon Anderson is a role-player, and must understand that he is a role-player and that on the list of priorities, he ranks below the acquisition and pursuit of Webber. I want Shandon to stay, I think he could be a valuable 6th man, but if he and his agent insist on trying to get the Rockets by the short hairs and twisting and force them to pay him more than he's worth, the Rockets need to let him go. Offer him the early-bird, make it a public offer in good faith. If its not good enough for Shandon and his agent, let the resposibility for the decision to leave fall on to Anderson and his agent. ------------------ The Rockets will be the NBA champions. Believe.
I remember hearing Webber on the Rome show before the season started saying he doesn't like playing the 5. This is probably CWebb's last chance to rake in the money and choose his own team so I think he'll want the perfect situation. The perfect situation is him playing the 4 and having a good C in the game with him. Vlade's getting old so he's not gonna want to stay in Sac town. At least the Rockets have youth in the frontcourt and maybe Cato can improve knowing he no longer has Olajuwon to depend on. I don't want to get Shandon back unless he agrees to being the 6th man. He's terrible on offense. During the Spurs game when the spurs started to pull away it had alot to do with Shandon passing the ball to the opposition. We didn't make the runs until Bullard came in for Shandon. Shandon is a really good guy and I wished he would have proven himself to be a great starter for us. But the truth is he's a great defender that can take advantage of other team's backups. He just can't do it in the starting spot. I think hoping Webber will agree to play Center is hoping a little too much. I do think we have a good shot at getting Webber but unfortunately we'd have to let Mo go. I'm kind of torn on what the Rockets should do with Mo. He's younger than Webber and he's shown alot of improvement this season and his future looks bright, OR he's just playing good b/c he knows he's a FA next season and when he gets his contract he's gonna quit working. You never know with these NBA guys. Anyway this whole topic is based on the assumption of getting webber and keeping Mo and drafting a SF. I wouldn't be opposed to doing this, but then again I wouldn't be opposed to trading for Shaq or Garnett. It's not gonna happen though. ------------------ Forget LHutz, Bob Rainey is by far the coolest poster in cc.net history!
Thats such a tough call.....but to me I doubt (like others) that Webber would want to play the 5. How about aquiring Marc Jackson???? ------------------ "Chucky who?" Charles Barkley
Trust me, if CWebb will only play at 4, we'll let him play at the 4. Here's my take: The Rockets will attempt to deal Walt, Carlos, or something like that in a draft day deal for some more cap room. Then, the Rockets will talk to Webber and Taylor both. Hopefully, we can be able to convince Webber to take about a million below the max-- for just this year-- to make room for signing Mo as well. Both Webber and Mo would start up front, technically Webber the 4 and Mo the 5 if I had to bet-- but essentially they'd just be a 2 PF duo up front. Against most teams this would be extremely successful-- think of the centers in the league today. Heck, Dallas is on fire with Dirk Nowitzki at center. Since Webber is probably a better defender than Mo, you're better off starting him at PF anyway considering the vast amount of good PFs and limited amount of good C's. The only type of teams this wouldn't be effective against are those with a great center, like the Lakers and possibly Miami. What we could do then is approach it like college coaches do-- keep your starting lineup the same, and bring in Cato for a true C to matchup with Shaq, Zo, or whoever about 2 minutes into the game. Then bring Mo back in for Cato when Shaq or whomever goes to the bench. I like Battier's game, but do not overrate him because of all the hype and spotlight over himself and Duke. That is what I feel many are doing. He will be a good player, but not close to the expectations of some. I don't really think we need to trade up to get him because Terence Morris has the same type of ability as Battier and imho will be as good in the pros. He should be available with the Bucks pick. ------------------ "We're not settling for just getting in the playoffs." "We want a higher seed. There's no doubt. We expect to get in."-- Steve Francis President of the Mo Taylor and Jason Collier fan club! Draftsource.net ClutchTown.com [This message has been edited by The Cat (edited March 20, 2001).]
As time has gone on this year, his draft status has risen. I have heard different schemes, but in all likelyhood, Battier will go top 10. Yes, he gets a lot of pub. due to playing at Duke. Conversely though, if he played on a lesser team, what would be his stat line? I for one, think Battier will be a solid player at the next level, and his motivation has never been questioned. Morris on the other hand..... Webber at the 5? Hmmm, an interesting concept. I would rather have him playing the 5 and Taylor at the 4 then not have Webber at all. So, yes, I pick the much lesser of two evils in this case. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." [This message has been edited by HOOP-T (edited March 20, 2001).]
I didn't read all of the posts, so pardon me if this is a repeat. If we do lose Shandon this summer, Battier would go a long way to filling the defensive stopper role (with added offense as well). I would really like to have both. Can you imagine having those two guys on the defensive end? ------------------ The sky is falling!
How about drafting Jefferson from Arizona, Grizzard or Wallace from Alabama, assuming that they make themselves available (and the Rockets are in position to draft them)? Each are FANTASTIC athletes with the ability to play either SF or SG. And as far as CWebb goes, the Rockets MUST have the 5 taken care of if he's going to consider signing on. That's the reason why he's not in Oakland/SF right now. ------------------
You can't overrate hard work. Shane Battier does it at both ends of the floor. He's the energizer bunny, the SPAM, he's the 250W light bulb on your daddy's work bench... he's the only sure thing in this draft. Sure he's not the next franchise, just the next sturdy role player. I'd like Wally Szer. to play for the Rockets, wouldn't you? If Shandon were to leave, and you had picked both Battier and Morris (for some odd reason), who would you start at SF? On a contending team, who would you start? You'd start Battier. They're both seniors, both 'mature', but Battier has that extra fire. Hell, if Morris had the same fire w/ his athleticism, he would be talked about in the same breath as Griffen. Yet Morris is just as likely to pull down 11 boards as he is to fall away into obscurity in the next few years. ------------------ (===)
I think if the Wizard could have been moved, he would have been a long time ago. People on the board have been talking about dumping him and his contract ever since the Pippen trade went down. Or we can just have Shandon continue to play the 3, like he has during all of our torrid streak, and have Langhi back HIM up. What do Rick Fox, Danny Ferry, and Donyell Marshall all have in common? They all start/have started at the small forward for the 3 best teams in the West. This 'long-term starter at the 3' stuff is crap! Why should we draft a guy who may or may not work out at a position we've already got covered now, and in the future? Instead we could draft some more big guys, a spot where we KNOW we need help. And even if we do get Webber (which I'm not jumping up and down for), the interior D problem still isn't solved. If anyone is seriously looking at this team and saying, "you know, the one thing that is keeping this team from ever winning a championship is....SHANDON ANDERSON PLAYING THE 3 SPOT"--I question their sanity! ------------------ "There's a lot of things you can say about playing with Dream, but I get to say, `I played with the Dream.' That speaks for itself." --Walt Williams "****!" --Kenny Thomas
Read the thread Freak. hahahaha. People aren't arguing that Shandon is holding the team back w/ his ability. People are hesitant to see him opt out during the one cap space year that the Rockets will have for a while. Ask yourself again, Webber... or Anderson. ------------------ (===)
I agree with Cat. One way or another, we will try to move Cato/Walt (etc.) before, on, after draft day. Remember when somebody posted something about meeting the Rockets ballboy and the "inside info" (I know, sound silly when put like that, but it seemed legit). He said the Rox would like to get Webber and keep Mo and play one at the 5. (Obviously this would be Mo-Tay.) In any case, we can sign Webber straight up if need be. I don't know why so many people give us such little chance for landing Webber. Where's he gonna go? New York? With such OLD players? In exchange for whom? He doesn't like Sacramento, doesn't want to go to Detroit. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment either, but you gotta have faith. ------------------
Achebe--Jeff didn't mention anything about that in the thread kickoff. In fact, he specifically mentioned wanting a long-term answer at the small forward. I only respond to Jeff, no one else. ------------------ "There's a lot of things you can say about playing with Dream, but I get to say, `I played with the Dream.' That speaks for itself." --Walt Williams "****!" --Kenny Thomas
And it's not as simple as Webber vs. Anderson. I'd take Anderson and 1 or 2 other nice big guy role players over Webber. I don't think the 'build your own All-Star team' way is as much fun. ------------------ "There's a lot of things you can say about playing with Dream, but I get to say, `I played with the Dream.' That speaks for itself." --Walt Williams "****!" --Kenny Thomas
Alright, enough joking around. Let's talk realistically here. I for one, don't think we will see Cato in a Rockets uniform after this season. At least, that is my hope. This leaves the center position, well, naked. Hakeem is a big question mark for next season, and Cato is a bust in my eyes. Collier may be a serviceable back up, but we have to have someone to fortify the middle. I would love to see Marc Jackson come to Houston. Who else is in the FA market at the center spot (that is attainable)? I would love it if Hakeem came back and played for the minimum, but I just don't think he would. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
So you think Shane Battier is a flashy player who doesn't try to fit in with his team? Shandon Anderson is a disaster waiting to happen on the offensive side. Yeah he plays good defense, but he cancels out the good defense with the horrid offense. I'm not asking him to score 20 a night, all I want for him to do is to stop kicking the ball to the other team. If I had to choose between Shandon and Battier, I'd take Battier w/o a doubt. He's a team player just like Shandon. What does Shandon have that Battier doesn't skill-wise? ------------------ Forget LHutz, Bob Rainey is by far the coolest poster in cc.net history!
I wouldn't be surprised to see Brad Miller's contract get voided by Chicago & Rudy has stated on more than one occasion that he really likes the guy. ------------------
I think the #1 priority for the SF position on this team should be defense...so in this case I would take Battier any day over Morris. Plus Shane has a better 3-point shot. But right now I am just hoping that either he or Morris will be available when we pick. If at all possible I would trade up a few picks, but you never know with the Rockets drafts. I'm pretty sure Los will jet for Detriot, I've heard a lot about him wanting to go their. We really don't need him anyway, especially if we get Webber. Now, I have really liked Shandon over the past couple of years, but if we get Battier I think he is expendable. Then maybe we could use Mo off the bench, that is as long as he does not want a huge contract this summer. Mooch should be a must to re-sign, and if we lose Shandon I'd like to have Bullard back for a shooting specialist off the bench also. The main thing I'm worried about with the C-Webb situation is that our FA's don't sign with other teams before it is settled, mainly Mo. I have a feeling he will have made up his mind though before the period starts, much like Mcgrady and Hill did last year, and will sign with who he wants as soon as it starts. This is going to be one of the most exciting offseasons for the Rockets in a long time. ------------------
Battier is simply awesome. There is no way he drops out of the Top 10. He's one of the Top players in the draft. Especially if he wins the title this year. I'd say he is Top 5 easy by draft day. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Based on what Swopa and some other Golden State fans have said, I'm surprised you guys are still talking about Marc Jackson as the solution at the 5. Yes, in this center-depleted league, you can get by without a true 5, and maybe some can convincingly argue that a traditional center is no longer necessary the way the game is being played, but Marc Jackson's strengths seem to be the ability to score from long range and his size, NOT defense and rebounding, which is what I presume people are looking for. Now obviously, Marc Jackson would fit in perfectly with Rudy T's system. But is he really the middle presence we're looking for? Golden State fans don't seem to think so. Personally, I don't think he would give us much more than what we expect from Collier. I'd think we be better off with Raef LaFrentz if we could pull him away from the Nuggets (oh, how I wish that Cato deal had gone through). Yes, he also is not a true 5, but at least he can block shots. Marc Jackson is not a proven shotblocker. ------------------
