i hate to say it but if we acquired rashard i dont think it would work out because that would mean mcgrady would have to play the 2 and he cannot defend any shooting guards
just like MJ would have loved to play for the rockets, i doubt lewis would take the pay cut just to win. i can't see stars doing that..
that'd be tight if rashard was on the rockets. we should have picked him over bryce drew from the start...
I'd just like to say to all the people who wouldn't trade Battier for Lewis are nuts. He's more of a natural PF than Battier, and my wet dream come to fruition as a third scorer. He's no prized defender, but neither is Juwan Howard... he is a helluva lot better at everything else. To summarize, you guys are nuts.
That's because you barely care. JK - had to say it. (Love your moniker, though. I think Pete Vecsey dubbed Joe Barry Carroll with that name). JOPATMC, expounded well on the topic already. Lewis was a good idea pre-Battier/Novak but I think that combo gives us more versatility and allows us to do more things both offensively and defensively. One thing to keep in mind is that the salary cap allows you to comfortably carry 2 max players players, but 3 becomes a big squeeze. Phoenix, while everyone is wowed by their depth, seems to struggle to retain its players every year (Joe Johnson to ATL, Tim Thomas to LAC, and Marion's seems like he's on the block every offseason because of his salary). That's a problem we don't face, which I'm grateful for.
I love Rashard Lewis and for years I wished he were a Rocket, but he happens to play the only position we don't need at all. Between McGrady, Battier and Novak there aren't going to be any minutes for another small forward - even if Battier does play plenty at power forward.
I think Rashard could fit in well as a 4 for us, assuming that Van Gundy is gone. I don't see the team making signifcant changes, bringing in a third-tier star like Rashard if they succeed this year. If they dont, and Van Gundy is forced out, maybe the Rox would implement a more uptempo/Phx Suns type offense. Lewis would give us the personnel to do this. 1-Alston 2-TMac 3-Battier 4-Lewis 5-Yao This lineup would be either a hit or miss. With the league shifting towards the uptempo game, the Rockets are going to need to make some adjustments. Everyone except for Yao in the starting 5 is built for this kind of basketball. If they can successfully implement Yao into this equation, allowing him to hit the jumper at the elbow as he trails the initial break, a fast-paced Rockets team could work. If the jumper isnt there, he simply rolls into the post and the half court offense begins. Of course, our defense would be pretty weak. Not really sure how to correct that, but a 1-3-1 zone would look pretty good with this lineup.
I watched Rashard Lewis last night at Fonde. He was spectacular although the level of competition was less than NBA. He hit shots, made some wonderful passes, had a few monster slams, blocked shots, etc. He was EXTREMELY energetic. I saw new Rockets Kirk Snyder and JL3 there as well. After the game, my son wanted his autograph as he was wiping himself off and ready to bolt right after his team's frustrating loss. I asked him to sign the card and he reluctantly stopped to do so, but then I said, I've always enjoyed watching you play....I wish you would come back here to Houston....And that's when his whole entire countenance changed. He loosened up and said, "Man so do I. I am really trying hard to do just that!" He gave a smile and left. I realize it's really always about the money and he will go where the money is. He would be a good option if Tracy's back doesn't hold out or Les wants to dig deep, I'd love to have this guy on the floor as a Rocket. We could create a ton of mismatches on offense and that's really what the NBA game is all about. On defense we could figure out something.....
Rashard Lewis is a 20PPG scorer on efficient shooting, he also rebounds about the same as Battier. Of course we would trade Battier (and filler for him). The more interesting question is if Tmac continues with back trouble, our team is struggling, and we are concerned if he will ever come back to full form, would we trade Tmac for Lewis as principals (plus filler and picks from Seattle)? If both teams are going far south and we want to rebuild around Yao, you never know. However I would say both teams have to get off to horrible starts for anything like this to be done, be it Battier+ for Lewis or Lewis+ for Tmac. But the gap Lewis is better than Battier is near the level Tmac is better than Lewis--don't mistake this. Hopefully the Tmac-Yao-Battier trio gets off to a great start, in this case Lewis any time soon would not be in the picture, but you never know.
If that is true and he is really trying to come to Houston, then this is what will happen if we are interested in him: 1. He will tell Seattle he is opting out of his deal and he is not interested in re-signing. 2. He will also tell Seattle that he will not commit to re-sign with any team except the Rox. 3. Seattle will then look to move him to us for the most they can possibly get out of us. 4. If we are interested, we will send them Juwan, Head, and our 2007 first rounder. That's about all we can do and it's about all they can expect to get especially if Rashard states publically that the only team that he will re-sign with is Houston. Any team that traded for Rashard at that point would have to go into a trade realizing that he was a rental or else hoping he was just blowing smoke about his contract and not really going to opt out. 5. If we made the trade, I'm sure it would be under the assumption that he DID NOT opt out, at his insistence. Rashard has to know that there is not the money on the free agent market to give him a significant increase over his current deal. And he has to know that we probably would not commit more than the 3 years remaining on his deal to him in a new deal anyways. I'd do that deal just to get rid of Howard. It would make us an interesting offensive team. I guess maybe we could outscore other teams, although I can't imagine JVG playing that way. Can't see Rashard being able to guard anybody.
Me three! What a bone headed decision it was not to draft Rashard. Reminds me of a time the smart people in the Rockets organization decided not to draft a fellow by the name of Clyde Drexler.
Would either side do a Lewis and Ray Allen for T-Mac, J-Ho, and Head? If so, would it be a good thing for the Rockets? Yao, Battier, Lewis, Allen, Alston
