The Rockets roster is stocked. Who will make this team? As it stands the roster looks like this: 1 - Francis 6 - Norris 2 - Mobley 7 - Torres 3 - Rice 8 - Nachbar 11 - Morris 4 - Mo Taylor 9 - Griffin 12 - KT 5 - Ming 10 - Cato Spare Parts (IR) Brown Maddox Collier Sent Packing: Williams Langhi It seems logical that the Rockets could move a couple of players and still have a very deep bench. (2 or 3 for 1 deal)
Maddox and Torres will be on the bubble for sure. The only reason that I put Torres before Maddox was that I was not sure that Maddox could play the 2. I thought Maddox was a point guard.
It will be interesting to see what Nachbar does in Summer Camp. Especially compared to Rice. I still feel that Nachbar has more to give the team then Rice does.
I agree that he has WAY more to give then Rice..however, given how well Langhi played in the summer leagues last year, I wouldn't put too much stock in the production that guys get there...just hope they come out of the summer league healthy and in game shape.
I hope so...and it's MaDDox... rocket red--Maddox, contrary to his height, is not a SG. If you saw him play or saw his college stats you'll see his shooting percentages are HORRIBLE just horrible, but he can handle very nice and is a good assist man. If the Rockets take Maddox over Oscar that would be really stupid, but I'm pretty sure the battle is between Tierre & Tito...
How did we lose Kenny Thonmas from this roster? I mean, not even listed as spare parts? Add Kenny in and either Morris or Torres is out. Most likely Torres because they have not picked up his option yet.
Any roster that has Cato on it, would not be considerd stocked, but that's just my opinion. I would say the roster is quite full at the momment. Go Rockets!!
I get the feeling that management doesn't value Oscar Torres nearly as much as posters here do. He got some playing time and scored points, which is always big for fans. But, he didn't get playing time late and, I think, it is because he wasn't doing the other things Rudy wanted him to do. We had a similar situation with Sam Mack a while back and he ended up pricing himself out of the market. From today's Chron: From this I take: (1) They like Torres' shooting. (2) They like he's a big guard. (3) He'll have to earn a roster spot (which is why they didn't pick up his option). (4) Brown, Torres, and Maddox all are in jeopardy of not making the team. I wonder if we might not be best suited picking up a backup shooting guard on the free agency market instead. I'm reluctant to suggest it but maybe Larry Hughes?
I hope Torres is kept. And I wont forget that behind the back move tierre did last season, fooled the defender badly. from beyond the mark, dribbled one way, aroudn the back straight to hoop reverse layup in... it was so beautiful.
Hughes isn't what we need as a backup. No defense, or shot. We don't really need more scorers, we need guys who can play defense, and maybe hit an open shot or two, which is why we're looking at guys like Torres, Fife, and Mickeal. Here's the people who are basically locks for the 15 man roster Ming Cato Griffin Taylor Thomas Rice Nachbar Morris Mobley Francis Moochie That's 11 slots. Collier more than likely makes 12. I see 2 competitions. One is Maddox/Brown/Hill for the 3rd string PG slot, the other is Torres/Mickeal/Fife for the "backup" SG slot. I think 1 player from each of those groups will make it. The last player is a wild card-maybe another guard, or maybe resign Willis?.
Buckner was mentioned on ESPN and I could see that move. Buckner is a fiesty defensive 2/3 and he could be an asset to a team like the Rockets. That seems more realistic than Hughes and would still give Torres time to develop and learn the NBA game. I just don't see the Rockets making any big moves with free agents unless there is a trade in that process. Speaking of all that, I wonder just how the Rockets are going to work that whole PF thing. It's pretty clear that KT earned minutes last year as did Griffin. If Taylor continues to improve in his workouts and pushes hard in the summer leagues, they may not be able to keep him on the bench. It begs the question: do you trade KT or someone else? And, if you do, what do you look for in return. Personally, I don't think Taylor's contract and injury status makes him particularly marketable on the open market. Griffin is basically untouchable. KT, though the Rockets want him to stay a Rocket, could make valuable trade bait if they wanted to shore up the 2/3 swing man/defensive player position which, IMO, is still lacking quite a bit. If they could find someone to fill that position, I think they would have a very solid rotation with depth assuming no more major injuries.
Unless it is for a SG or including someone with KT . . you create a glut somewhere else. Pick a SF we have what 4 SFs [Rice,TMO,Nachbar and newguy] Pick another PF then what was the point Pick another C then we have 4 of them [Cato, Ming, Collier, New Guy] Pick another PG . . do we need three? [Moochie, Francis, New guy] --- not to mention we drafted one. What position beyond SG do you trade KT for? The problem is that we will not get ANY WHERE near the value for KT . .. at least not at the SG position . .. If we get quality every where else. . . it is just another glut. Rocket River
