I'm ambivalent about Luther. He's a great 3pt threat but that's about it. He plays so-so defense and let's not forget, his passing and ball-handling skills are horrendous. Even in the preseason games, he's got a few boneheaded turnovers. I remember last season, every time he gets a turnover, I would just cringe. I don't mind keeping him on the team, but if we HAD to cut somebody, I wouldn't feel sorry letting him go.
And when we don't have the funds to resign bonzi or steve next offseason, it would suck to know we got rid of luther.
Players sometimes make mistakes in team defense. I see it all the time. But Luther's one-on-one D is not too bad. there was a time when he single-handedly stopped somebody who was trying to shoot for a win and knocked the ball away. I think it was against the Dallas' caveman, Stackhouse.
I agree...I think trading Luther will be worth our "why". He will not be able to contribute within this style of offense "why" he has no ball-handling skills. Why" he does have some value in the skills he does bring to the table, spot-up shooting...that's it...just spot-up shooting, he just there just is no room for non-ball-handling 6-2 player "why" you got three SF, MJ, and RA.
One of my favorite highlights of the season too, but I think that play was during the home game against Sacramento. IMO his defense tends to be Phoenix-esque overall. He would be great for them actually. Run around all day, spot up and wait for Nash to find him.
If we get rid of one of our two best young players and best three point shooter just to make room for Steve Francis I will be pissed.
Luther is after T-Mac and Novak the best shooter on this team but IMO can't create his own shot. Also the best 3pt shooter on our team and served us better than Wells who you all appreciate now. I'm not saying he will play better than him but Bonzi and Alston are all the sudden fav players so we think we need to cut good players that served us very well last year ex. Head. Don't get me wrong either I don't hate I actually love Bonzi and Skip but you favorise them in front of the players that played pretty well last season. So I wouldn't cut Luther or trade him or waiwe him just keep him,he's young,can shoot,can dribble,and could be suprise this year. I still remember when he scored 30 ( career high ) on GSW last year in 25-30 minutes when T-Mac injured his back. So from all of this I CAN SAY KEEP LUTHER HEAD
Luther's shooting can be really useful sometimes. The other shooters on this team all are very sticky. James, T-MAC, Francis, and Rafer all can have off nights. Head can be a savior at those nights.
What a horrible thread. Did you not hear how Adelman raved about Luther being a great fit for his offense? He cuts hard, moves without the ball well, and is our best 3 point shooter. He also has the most potential to improve his value with the team even though he is very valuable right now. Also, Wells isn't 3rd string SG, he's 2nd string, behind T-Mac or Battier. I guarantee you Head will get more minutes than Francis.
Trading luther now is really short sighted...yeah we have a lot of guard depth this year but next year figure bonzi to be gone, francis more than likely opting out if he has a good year then what? luther in the two preseason games alone has shown at least to me that he is changing from a spot up shooter to a more diverse offense player. besides right now something that Morey values is that luther is worth more than the value of his contract and you will not get the same type of value for that price back from any team unless their GM is crazy. keep luther i say
How about, JL3, Kirk Snyder, Jackie Butler and Carl Landry/Steve Novak for Ricky Davis? Minnesota is wanting to trade Davis and they are looking for young talent. Houston cuts down and gets an expiring contract.
cmon guys. i know a lot of people here in Houston love Stevie, but if you want to win, I'd rather keep Head over Francis. Francis' game doesn't fit RA's system.
i love luther but, i wouldnt mind trading him if we get something of value his game is kind of sloppy hed be useful in the regular season but, i doubt he will contribute in the Playoffs
rafer is the one with the increased value, morey should trade him before the regular season starts and rafer starts sucking again!
trading luther for a late first round pick makes zero sense. it's not like we have a durable team. your line up of steve, t-mac, and bonzi at the 2/3 could all easily miss 15 to 20 games this year. last time I checked 2008 first round picks can't contribute in the 2007 season. like it or not we need luther's clutch sharpshooting. and he isn't as worthless as you make him out to be. he showed a lot of improvement from year 1 to year 2. I don't want to just give away a player like that going into his 3rd year.
seeing as the only lineup that matters is our projected playoff lineup, which will look something like alston/james/francis tmac/francis/james battier/bonzi/tmac scola/hayes yao/scola/deke so yeah trade him.
I disagree, having a second first rounder in next years draft is better than having a one trick pony who will see limited time. As far as Bonzi goes we have Snyder who is young and seems likley he can fit that role and it's not like James, Francis(if he is still here) and Alston will be over the hill next season. You would still have a young Brooks and two first rounders to spend on a full sized 2.
how does Rafer have increased value? One good preseason does not change much. He is what he is, his value to the Rockets is pretty high since the only other legit true point is a rookie