Personally, I would take Rashard Lewis over Lamar Odom. Besides the fact that he's not an injury risk like Odom and he hasn't been caught puffing the magic dragon twice in two years, I think he would be a better fit for the Rockets. Odom is pretty much just another Mobley and Francis in some ways. Yes, unlike those two clowns Odom looks to pass the ball a little more, but he still has that same type of showboat mentality that both Francis and Mobley proudly display. Plus, Odom likes to make the fancy pass, which leads to quite a bit of turnovers. For everyone complaining about Francis' turnovers, check last years stats. Odom had more turnovers per game than Steve. So to those of you who think Odom is going to have some type of calming effect and stablize our offense, I think you're living a lie. In addition, Odom's less than accurate shooting from around the three point line could hurt our offense pretty bad. When Eddie's playing it won't be as much of a setback to have a poor outside shooter playing SF, but when Eddie's out the Rockets won't be able to spread the floor very well with teams leaving Odom open for the shot and leaning towards Cat and Steve. And to those of you complaing about Steve's meager six assists per game, just take last night's game. How many times did Steve penetrate and pass the ball to a wide open Torres, Griffin, or Morris only for them to brick it? This is a HUGE reason why Steve's assists are so low. Our players can't shoot! Steve can easily penetrate and kick the ball out for open shots, he does it all the time, but what good does it do when you only have one other player on your team (Mobley) who can knock it down consistenly? And half the time Mobley won't even shoot it unless he dribbles first. And now for the actual point of my post. Lewis will provide the Rockets with a deadly outside shooter...one of the best in the league. In a couple of years he just might be the best shooter in the league. He rarely turns the ball over, thus decreasing the amount of stupid mistakes the Rockets make during the course of a game. There's not going to be as much fancy stuff. No dribbling. Just catch it, swish it, get back on defense. That's what the Rockets need! Somebody consistent. Somebody reliable. I think Lewis fits perfectly! Now, the only problem is how do we actually acquire him? All I can hope is that Lewis' desire to come home and be close to his friends and family is big enough for him to possibly take less money than he would get staying in Seattle. A possiblity would be for the Rockets to sign him to a one-year deal with a relatively small contract, and promise him a big long-term contract in the summer of 2003. Another option, though I don't know how risky this would be, is to draft a player for the Sonics and then do a sign and trade with the rookie and Kenny for Rashard in August. I'm not sure if that's even possible, but I'm reaching here. Anyone care to offer any other ideas of how the Rockets could acquire Lewis?
Rashard would be great, but I just don't think Seattle is going to let him leave. He's a big part of their future. No, he's not quite worth the max, but I think Seattle will be willing to over-pay now for great returns in the future. I mean, that franchise gave Jim McIlvane a huge contract and is paying Booth, what, $6 million per!
Since everyone is waging war over Odom and Lewis, why not compromise and find a way to draft Qyntel Woods (if Ming is not available)? According to reports -- I've not seen him play -- he has all the best offensive qualities of both Odom and Lewis and he has been praised for his defense as well.
