ok everyone, please stop dreaming about Swift, Chandler, SAR, Haslem, Boozer, Radmanovic, Walker, ... they arent coming to Houston for what we can offer, period. maybe I missed it but I never heard anyone mention the Birdman yet on this board. isn't he the perfect fit we're looking for? energy, heart, shot blocking, rebounding, athlelism. Either start him beside Yao or bring he in behind Howard would be great for this team. he's making $1.76M the past season and will opt out his contract to become an unrestricted FA this summer. Birdman to opt out of Hornets' contract I think he could be had for half the MLE, about $2.5M~$3M? I'd like to split our MLE to sign someone like Chris Anderson and Raja Bell and then trade Wesley+pick for a re-signed Jaric/Stoudmire (both will leave their teams and both Clips/Blazers would like a veteran 2 guard like Wesley with expiring contract + maybe a future pick consideration in return) Anderson and Bell, imo, are the perfect role players to build around Yao and T-Mac. Bell is a lock down defender with good size/youth/athlelism and he can bury the 3s. and Stoudmire is a good veteran point guard/third option to help for 3~4 more years. if Deke and Barry re-signed: Yao Ming, Deke Anderson, JHo McGrady, Bowen/pick Raja Bell, Barry Stoudmire, James 12~15th: Ward, Norris, Spoon, Baker (wow, all ex-Knicks )
We should go first for the best available PF we can get. Who knows, maybe we can get someone like Wilcox thru trade.. In a worst case scenario, I think our fallback list includes Marshall and Andersen
i thought most people here would like a Cato type 4? rebound/block shots/hutsle and just bring in Juwan when we need scoring from the power forward positon? imaging Bowen/Howard in the dunk contest . trust me you guys will LOVE this guy if we sign him for a cheap price.
He isn't any better than Howard. If you're going to make a change at PF you should at least make it an upgrade.
I have to compliment HardRock on this one. At least he's looking in the right places. Another name that jumps out is Kwame Brown but he has almost as much baggage as does Ron Artest. Physically he's exactly what this team needs but there are severe questions about his heart and his desire to play and be a serious pro. So far, that answer has been no.
i thought you were considering Harvey Birdman as legal counsel. that dude's reputation is solid and he absolutely OWNS the court with Mentok presiding.
A good backup, but not as a starting PF, he is too small, but he is a MUCH better version of Ryan Bowen. DD
HUH, never thought of that.. he would be good on the glass being able to fly and all.. For real though, I'm not sure about Chris.. I like his NRG, but that's about it... the NRG doesnt really help him get that many boards and he cant hit a shot to save his life.. He is a fan fav. BUT WE ALREADY HAVE A MOOCHIE here...CD will find us some good talent for a good price.. CD has been ON FIRE here of late I dont see why that would stop now..
I think he's not Bowen at all. He's got real athleticism...it's not just all effort. I like Bowen.. but Andersen is better. His shot-blocking and rebounding are actual skills in his case.
I concur, but he is not a starting player in the NBA, he is a nice energy player, but in extended minutes his weaknesses get exposed. He is a pogo stick type of player, and would do well in spurts, but as a starter he would be run down and not as effective. He is effective coming in when other players are tired. DD
I am cracking up at the Kwame Brown/Artest comparison by one of the posters. Artest is a proven star, Kwame is still trash 5 years in. Get a grip guys, if Artest EVER was a possibility as a Rocket, everyone on the team not named Yao/McGrady would be traded for him, and even that won't be enough. Artest is easily one of the most intimidating players in the league, the best defender, and an old-school tough guy. His problems are mainly due to the fact that he is in the wrong era, Artest would have been perfect in the "Bad Boy" era that embraced his type of game. He is the closest thing in the league today to a young Scottie Pippen who harassed Magic Johnson and the Lakers in 1991, leading to the Bulls first championship. There are simply fewer players in the league I like more than Artest, and if he EVER considers a paycut in the future to come and play with the Rockets, we are guaranteed a few championships in a 5 year span. His baggage is that he is intense, gives the middle finger every now and then, and just won't take **** from anyone. People are blaming him for the whole debacle in Detroit, but any man with any dignity would tell you that if someone threw something at you, you forget being anything other than a man defending himself. Screw the league, screw the contracts, screw everything else. All a man has in this world is his self-respect and his dignity, and Artest wasn't about going to let anyone else take that away from him. He definitely needs some help with his emotions, much like Rodman did. But that won't hold him back from being a difference maker on any team he is on. In fact, his emotions and intensity level is what makes him such a good player, he just needs to channel all that the right way.
Chris Anderson is a terrible basketball player. If he couldn't jump through the roof, he wouldn't be anywhere near an NBA court unless he bought tickets.
DD, You are right. Andersen is no starter and he knows it. In his statements to the press he's even said that he can give a team a real spark OFF THE BENCH! Some folks forget that alchemy is junk science. You just can't take turds and turn them into gold. We thought by paying MoTay big bucks he would produce, and all he did was provide positive drug tests. -P1st, S2nd
