Getting a 3 man...

that would be a great trade for us but like you said it doesn't work capwise and more importantly it would take a long meeting with hawks gm, lamar and mo in order for them to do that.

 

I think the Rockets are probably really high on Rashard Lewis. I've heard more than one person in the media mention it and even Lewis allude to it. I don't think it is any secret he'd like to be back home and the Rockets would probably love to have him here.

I like Johnson but Lewis would be my pick of them all. He is mild-mannered, a good scorer but doesn't need the ball 24/7, can post up and rebounds very well.

 

Jeff, any insight on how the Rockets could get Lewis? (if all parties agreed)

We do not have any cap room and Lewis would probably not play for the veterans minimum. Seatle would have to work out a sign & trade, but who would they take back?

I have a funny feeling that Mo is untouchable (for the moment). It sure seems like the Rockets had a deal worked out (with Faulk), before he came to Houston. Its the only thing that makes sense, why his deal was so easy to do. Also, explains why the Rockets could not raise the money for Hakeem.

Any ideas? can the Rockets trade their draft picks for a player at the end of his contract?

 

Honestly, I don't know. Mo isn't untouchable in terms of trading from the Rockets perspective but he is untouchable to other teams. No one is going to trade for a guy in the 2nd year of a 6-year deal coming off an achillies injury. It always surprises me when his name comes up on the board as a viable trade commodity. He isn't and very likely won't be until well into next season when he has proven his injury has healed completely. We may as well scratch him off the list of guys that would be viable trade possibilities.

IMO, the Rockets do have pieces to the puzzle. Kenny Thomas doesn't have the cap figure but he could be the key piece to a package in some deal, but there would obviously have to be more salary.

I don't know, frankly, how they would get it done or even if they can. I just think it is fairly obvious that he is on their list. I have heard that the Rockets are fully committed to landing a three this offseason either through the draft or free agency.

 

Any clue as to where Dunleavy sits on there list of 3's they would like to have if he came out this year? I would think that he has fairly strong ties to Rudy T and he looks like a real superstar in the making.

If the Rockets had a realistic shot at Lewis, Odom or Dunleavy who do you think they would most likely to go after?

Dunleavy seems to have similar skills as Odom with a better outside shot but he is not much younger than Lamar and has not been NBA tested.

Lamar is ready for prime time now but he would obviously cost more and might not be any better than Dunleavy in the long run.

Rashard is a bigger risk IMO than either Dunleavy or Odom. I don't think he has the all around game of the other two for one. The biggest risk I see however is bringing a player of Rashard's talent back home where the expectations may be unatainable. We have seen it many times in all sports where a premier player gets back to his home town team and back to his freinds and family only to fall well short of expectations. Maybe it happens because of the added pressure of playing for your home town or maybe it happens because of the extra distractions of your family and child hood friends but regardless of the reason it has happened many times in many sports.

Personally if the Rockets were to land any of these in the off season I would be thrilled but I would prefer Odom or Dunleavy over Lewis. Odom might be my first choice since he is ready right now but I might feel differently if Dunleavy decides to come out.

 

Which of all the aforementioned players is the most capable defender? IMO, we need a strong defensive presence to go along with a solid offensive game.

 

If the Rockets are high on Rashard, why did they pass on him?

 

I would like us to pick up a DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST at the 3. Rudy never runs any plays for the small forward anyway (ask Horry and Pippen).

I like Dunleavy, but his skills would be wasted on our team, because Rudy would never call his number. Our offense is strictly playground with Moochie, Steve, and Cuttino.

If we could find a speedy guy with long arms who prides himself on smothering defense, blocked shots, and steals, we'd be a much better team. Most teams run their offense through their small forwards these days. If we had someone who could shut down their primary offensive threat we'd be in the playoffs.

If we need offense from our small forward on a particular night, we have Kenny Thomas. KT is a legitimate offensive threat.

 

Not to piss on your parade, but for the money Rice signed the Rocks are highly motivated to get minutes out of him. And don't be surprised if the Rocks resign Walt to the minimum, since he is everybody's best friend on the team and could be insurance in case Rice goes on IR again.

Another thing to consider is that next who will be the third option in the Rocks O, after Steve and Cat. Assuming everybody is healthly, the Rocks got a choice between MoTay, Rice, EG, and maybe KT if he resigns. Given this, the Rocks are probably more interested in getting depth at the 5 (i.e. replace Collier) than getting more depth at the 3 (which next year may already have Rice, TMo, Williams, KT, OT, and Cat seeing time there).

Offense should not be a problem next year. Defense should be the problem.

 

Because we had a veteran team at the time, and the Rockets did not want to spend the time to develop a High School player.

 

At the time, the argument was that the Rockets needed players that could play right then and help the team. They still thought they had a shot to go deep in the playoffs with Barkley and Olajuwon and they felt that a high school kid would not be able to help them immediately. Remember that Mobley and Dickerson ended up starting most of that year.

Hindsight is 20/20 I guess.

 

That is exactly the problem with the Rockets. No way that FRANICS & CUTTINO will ever bring this city a Championship by themselves (ask Jordan). Hopefully, if Jeff is right, and are #1 priority is a top notch SF, then Rudy would be forced to give up the 3 guard lineup (unless he upgrades to a 4-guard lineup).

 

I'm just wondering, but why does everyone think that there were no plays run for Pippen? I watched the Rox games that entire season and our entire offense went THROUGH Pippen. I have never seen Rudy use the SF so much as he did that year. Did Pip get fewer shots than he did in Chicago? Yes, but he also had Barkley and Hakeem on his team to compete with in shots, so no one was going to be taking 20 a game. However, Pippen did get just as many apg as he ever did in his career.

As for not using Horry in the offense, why would he have wanted to use Horry in the offense? He could do anything but hit 3's and occassionally post up on smaller defenders. The guy was a defensive specialtist with a 3 point stroke, and was used appropriately.

I think too little credit has been given to Rudy. I think he prefers a spot shooting 3 man with defensive skills, but he has adjusted the system in the past to accomodate the players he has (notice how we went from a post up team to an iso team in the span of 2 years).

I do think Lewis is perfect for our team since he is a great 3pt shooter and more importantly is a great 1 on 1 defender which we are missing. He can also help us out on the glass. I see him as a better fit than Dunleavy or Odom. Out of Dunleavy or Odom I'd prefer Dunleavy since he's a much better shooter and can give us the basketball smarts we're lacking as a team.

 

Exactly...I dont understand why people think Rudy desings his offensive system around positions. If anythign has become obvious these past few years in his coaching style, it is he designs the offense around players.

The reason it "seems" as if we've never utilized the 3 significantly is because we've never had a great one. Call him a top 50 player if you like, but I think Pippen has clearly demonstrated in his years without Jordan and/or Phil that he is not a premiere SF in this league. Robert Horry remains a spot shooter who can dunk and play solid defense in LA, just as he did in Houston.

Rudy likes to go to what he thinks his strengths are, generally over and over again. Logically, it is not such a bad strategy, if you have the defense to back it up. First, there was Hakeem, then Clyde for a short while, than Barkley, and than Mobley and Francis.

If Tracy McGrady or a health Jordan were playing SF on this team, you bet your ass Rudy would utilize him properly.

As far as the need for a SF goes, I still think we need to concentrate more on getting a possible elite center - a Yao Ming or Chris Marcus type. This will increase our interior defense dramatically (imagine a frontline of Cato, Griffin and Ming/Marcus).

Offensively, with a healthy Mo Taylor, this years improved version of KT and a more polished Griffin to go along with star Mobley and superstar Francis, there should be more than enough firepower, especially given Rice and/or Walt's ability to go off on any given night, Moochie's occassional 15+ pts or 12+ assist games and 6-10 points in alleyopps for Cato.

The team feeds off defense. Their half-court offense is fairly predictable and often bogs-down. I think this should imrpove with the return of Mo and Rice next year. But regardless, it is precisely when they play good defense (see 2nd half Toronto), that we can really see the amazing talent of the players come out. They get the fast break going and the overall energy picks up dramatically. For those reasons, I think acquiring size and defensive stability should be the top off-season goals.

 

I say we sign Buck Johnson and John Turner to 10 day contracts and shock the world.

Or get Lewis...whichever you think is better. Just thinking out loud here.

 

I really wish that we could get Lewis in Houston, but I honestly do not think we could work it out. Kenny Thomas is attractive, but as mentioned before, his salary isnt high enough. And i doubt that anyone would assume one of our grossly overpaid people just to send Lewis to Houston.

 

And how many years have we been DEVELOPING Jason Collier now?

 

You are comparing apples to oranges putz. Collier came out of college in 2000. Rashard came out of High School in 1998 when the Rockets were still very much a veteran team.

 

I never said that we should have used Horry in the offense. I said our small forward should be a DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST.

I'm one of the few people who defends Rudy, but you're giving him way too much credit for changing his system.

Of course Rudy doesn't run posts anymore. He doesn't do it because HE CAN'T. Speaking of making adjustments, what adjustments has Rudy made in regard to the zone defense? Does it make a lot of sense to still be running ISOs or is he still running "last year's offense".

Personally I think he should try post-up Eddie Griffin and Kenny Thomas occasionally, especially late in the fourth quarter. That would be a higher percentage shot than Moochie.