http://www.clutchcity.net/feature.cfm?FeatureID=147 My comments on the heaping pile of crap that is the Marc Jackson situation are contained within as well. Enjoy.
I love your comments about Moochie Norris, Jeff. If anything has become apparent to me this preseason, it's that Moochie is worth every penny of his contract. When given the minutes, he runs this team perfectly, and frees Steve up to look to score more often, which he is so well suited for. On top of that, I can see Mooch as being a great player to pair up with Rice for some nice 3 point connections. I remember Bullard and Moochie seemed to share an unspoken connection on the fast break, such that Matt would just run down the floor, stop at the 3 point line, and Mooch would find him for the long range bucket. I would love to see this happen between Mooch and Rice.
He Jeff, i couldn't find an article about the Warriors matching the offer. I went to the mercury and contra costa times, but all they have is on webber's injury. Did I miss something
Jeff, Really enjoyed your observations and insights. Here are a few of my own: -even with the "new" Cato, I'm not convinced Houston still doesn't have a real problem at the center position. He has terrible basketball instincts, flippers for hands, and has lost a lot of quickness. He is still slow and heavy with a palpable "attitude." And Collier looks even slower now that he has bulked up. Even slow players sometimes have some quickness...and I didn't see that. Funny thing is that we don't need much offense from a center, just a determined rebounder with some defensive presence. -KT looks SOOO much better. Last nite they were running the offense thru him. Am still not convinced he will be a consistent midrange or outside shooter, but man can he take it to the hole. And with his passing skills it only gives the Rox another offensive set of options. Hats off to him for really getting himself in shape. His next chore will be to show some emotions, smiles etc. - I agree that Terrence Morris just looks like he belongs. He has great basketball instincts and simply lets the game come to him. He looks natural and not stiff like Langhi (and I have been a Langhi booster). He may be one helluva steal. Well rounded player who can handle the ball, plays very sound defense, and not afraid to mix it up. Will be fun to watch him develop. - GSW rolled the dice hoping to match only a low ball offer for Jackson and lost. They HAD to match our offer and just go from there; o/w they come away with nothing. Their organization's image wasn't helped by their public handling of the issue, only validated. That being said, it won't be in Jackson's best interest to continue to whine publicly so I would guess that he will agree to a trade after 90 days. Big men are always seem to go at a premium despite gaudy salaries. Question: what are our options with the medical exception? Doesn't it expire after certain length of time? How can it be applied in a trade or sign and trade? I would hope that CD is well into the second set of options now that Jackson gone.
not to cut you off Doc (because I hope the excellant questions get answered), but great article Jeff....I just read it (like glynch, rarely read the front page, rather come to bbs first.) and must say I agree with everything...I wonder if Griffin will be added to the center platoon of Collier and Cato? I know he won't get many minutes and it may be a few years before he bulks up to play center (and he will bulk up as all players do when they age.) ...but, do you see this happening? I don't think the Rockets have a third option at the 5. What exactly are the Rockets options?
The whole MJax piece can be summed up like this: "Waghh waghh waghh!!!" The Warriors are gonna trade him and probably get something decent in return. Get over it! It was a great business decision by St. Jean. I guess to Jeff it would make sense for the Warriors to lose possibly their best frontcourt player for nothing... Excluding Jamison. <I>I feel bad for Jackson who seems like a good guy and is now trapped for at least 90 days on a team he doesn't want to play for and that doesn't really want him.</i> Gimme a break! He whined and cried through the whole ordeal! He showed zero class at all! Take off the homer blinders, man. Jax' lower lip is probably permanently stuck outwards from all the pouting he's done. He's getting paid like 4 million dollars a year to play basketball. Excuse me for not feeling sorry because he's not playing where he wants to. Go to any playground in America/Canada/Europe and you'll find ballers who would be damn ecstatic to be on ANY team's roster for free. Hell, if they made a team in Greenland, I'd be happy to be on that team's IR.
t-mo was a steal and as soon as rice gets crooked and old and feels that he's got enough green in his pocket i see t-mo steppin into his shoes. i love torres already and he's makin me forget anderson. torres keeps his mouth shut and does his job like anderson but he seems cheaper and is sure as hell doin the offensive job as well. i hope he blends with stevie and mooche and cat. i like dj but i see no use for him on the team. i agree with you on langhi i see him out the door. sorry lanky i think it's bye bye. collier is still the collie and i'm for gettin rid of the two. let's get some playoff action.... p.s. it may not matter that he pissed off the rockets but the thing is he pissed off marcjackson who can't be traded without his consent and is gonna be a hell of a guy to deal with in the lockerroom.....St. jean just got himself into something sticky..sf style...
Nice article Jeff. It is too bad about the Jackson thing...because adding him would have helped a lot. I still cant help feeling great about the upcoming season though. I think that the additions made to the team have been great. I really like Jones, Torres and Morris. I cant wait to see Griffen fit in there. I dont think that losing Shandon hurt us a bit in the overall scheme of things, but the loss of Hakeem may come back to haunt us if Cato doesnt keep playing hard and stay healthy. I have been happy with his consistant play so far as well. If we can just add another decent 4-5 guy to shore up the inside I feel confident the Rox will make the playoffs and surprise a lot of people. Who will that be? Gatling? Should we take a chance and settle for the likes of Ike Nwankwo? He hasnt been bad at all...but the thought of Cato, Collier and him being our only options at center are frightening.
Good article. I think Moochie fits in a chemistry way like Mario did back in the day. KT will shoot far less from outside when Rice and Cat get back, and that will allow him to stay closer to the basket for offensive rebounds. Cato and Collier would be fine for now if we signed another big 4/5 like Gatling. I think as time goes on Griffin will get some 5 time too. Torres already looks better than Anderson did after he spent years here. What do we miss? Oscar makes the Rice for Anderson trade looks pretty damn good! If Walt is getting that many open looks (even though he didn't do a lot with them) Rice must be just chompin' at the bit. Opponents leave him open and there will be hell to pay. Watch Steve and Cat pass it to him all day long when he breaks free. They know Rice knockin' down the shots will open the lanes for their own highlight reel drives... Marc Jackson's loss is a just that - a loss. Mop up the spilled milk and move on. Pick up Gatling for now and give Cato a chance until before the trade deadline. So far so good... Ya gotta like it!
Hey BTM, aren't you the same person who has been whining the last 2 weeks that Marc Jackson was overrated, had overinflated stats, a cancerous attitude and a bad work ethic? In fact didn't you agree with shaqkobe when he said that Corie Blount was as good, if not a better player then Marc Jackson? Now he's their best frontcourt guy outside of Jamison? Why don't you stop back tracking being hypocritical just to make Marc Jackson look bad. It looks ridiculous. But hey Houston loses a quality big man that you were PRAYING that they didn't get, so you must be proud.
Oh I'm very proud. I'm happy the Rockets don't have Ike Austin Jr.! But hey, the Warriors simply can't be better after losing a player for nothing. Jackson is overrated and his stats are ballooned but losing him for nothing is a) bad business and b) just stupid. I never said Corie Blount was just as good. That's you putting words in my mouth. I said Corie Blount is a good example of how stats get massively inflated when you play for a team like GS. I don't have to make Marc Jackson look bad. He does a good enough job himself!
Jeff: Enjoyed your analysis and thoughts. Do you see an acquirable big man out there who could help the Rockets and, if so, at what price?
Regarding the Rockets options at the 5, there really aren't many. My guess is that they may bring in someone like Gatling as a way to protect against injury loss, but a lot will depend on how they feel about Cato. Thanks for the comments everyone.
Can't blame GSW for not wanting to lose something for nothing? Teams lose something for nothing all the time. It's called free agency.
Jackson is overrated and his stats are ballooned, but he's the second best big man on a big man loaded ball club that includes Danny Fortson, and he finished 3rd in the ROY voting. Good, sound logic there. Funny, I feel the same way about your posts on this topic. At least people who didn't want Marc Jackson had good reasons. They weren't calling him a cancerous player with a weak work ethic and overrated stats one day, and the 2nd best player behind Jamison the next second.
And what do you call those dozens of articles that concede the Lakers the championship before the season starts? I bet you don't have a problem when ESPN posts those. I don't care what a team did last year, there is a reason they play the games.
