Now with Tyrone Lue in the fold and Tmac added to make the trade work for Steve and Co., JVG has his 2 inside-out superstars and can now do the really tough job and that's assemble a group (along with CD) of players that will complement these 2 horses defensively. If Detroit taught us anything, it's that the team "playing the right way" is what seperates the great from the champions. Jeff and CD's challenge will now be to build a team of players that never takes defensive plays off, doesn't do stupid things like turn the ball over or foul a player taking a 3 and plays what I will deem "effective parasitic offense" - meaning being a scorer only when the defense allows and feeding appropriately off of the #1 scorer in the NBA and the #2 center in the land. If you're name isn't Yao or Tracy, how do you play the right way for JVG? The answers are obvious - If you're a big man, you don't committ silly fouls, you get defensive rebounds, you play help defense and you get your points off of offensive rebounds. If you're a perimeter player, you do not turn the ball over, you stop dribble penetration and you hit an open J. It's that simple. So we know with some certainty that the Rocks will have the following players going into next season: Yao, Tmac, Jim Jackson, Mo Taylor (nobody wants him). What do you add and subtract? My thinking is that there may be some minor trades (ala Piatkowski for the backup PG in Cleveland), but I think free agency is where we'll see most of the activity. With all that said, who would I think fits this mold? Big Men possibilities- 1. Adonal Foyal - love this guy. He's ugly, offensively bankrupt, but plays hard every night and blocks shots. You could even team him up with Yao and no would score in the paint. 2. Z. Rebraca - restricted FA, but hits an open J, rebounds and is rugged in the paint. 3. Erick Williams - another rugged defender who can defend multi talented 3s. Lord knows Tmac's energy isn't going to be on the defensive end, we need a rugged 3 who's a team guy. This guy was Boston's glue before traded for Tricky Dick Ricky Davis. 4. Darvin Ham - another brute who can lock guys up. Also, need energy guys and he's a high flyer who can instill some defensive athleticism in the frontcourt. 5. Stro Swift - probably not likely that we'll get him, but possible. We need more shot blockers in Houston, between Mo and Juwon who never get off the ground, we have no one in the front court playing above the rim now that Cato is history. 6. Brian Cardinal - a versatile energy, intangible guy who can hit jump shots. Why isn't everyone after this guy? All he does is bring energy when teams need it most. He can be had for a tenth of what Moochie's making. Perimeter players - 1. Brent Barry - everyone likes this guy around these parts, which makes me believe Rocket fans aren't all idiots ;-) . Being from Seattle, I see BB alot and he's got a lot of b-ball left in him. He's a perfect fit for the Rockets and we should do everything to get him. Hits clutch shots and is a much underrated passer. This guy is a basketball blue blood and he's not mistake prone. Best of all, he'll stretch defenses, which this offense needs badly. 2. Carlos Arroyo - doubt Utah will let him go quitely, but another ball control PG who doesn't need shots to be effective. Has also shown the ability to be an effective ball hawk - see Steve Francis matchup. 3. Fisher - is an option, but I really hate this guy. Also, it's obvious he's not much of a defender after Parker and any Laker PG foe has been lighting his cryin'-floppin' ass up for the last 3 years. 4. Snow - my personal nemesis. When he played for Seattle, he once said that he owned the court at a local gym and needed everyone out so he could shoot. We nearly came to blows when I told him he sucked. F-him. He's right next to Pippen as a blood enemy. Don't like him as Bball player either. He's getting old and there's a reason why no one wants him and philly can't trade him for a warm beer. Anyways, my contention is that Houston needs a bunch of players that are most effective when NOT scoring or rather don't look to score and are smart, heady players with energy. If we had one good perimeter shooter (please Barry), we'd have 1 more than half of the NBA and 2/3 of the Western Conference, so let's focus on JVG guys.
First off Tranmerica34 thats one of the best posts I've ever seen on the board, congrats. Very valid points, however I do disagree with you that Mo Taylor is our starting 4 (I might be wrong but it seemed like you where saying that) Howard is our starting 4. I'd like Barry as the 1, we need someone who can hit open shots. T-Mac and Yao are both going to get doubled by most teams so that means lots of open shots. This team could be real, real good with a guy like Barry. Jim Jackson is a very good slasher and showed this year he can hit the three. Juwan Howard is also very skilled offensivley can is accuarte out to 18 feet. Ball movement will be key. Now on to gradyr .......role players.......role players.......role players............role players.....role players..F@#KING ROLE PLAYERS!!!!! I don't know how much you post around here...or how much you read...BUT....if you haven't noticed posts like yours where someone suggests adding another star are usually shot down....o BTW..........we need role players not stars...we already have 2 of the biggest.
We must get Foyle. The guy comes in the game for 5 minutes and blocks 2 or 3 shots. Then when the game is over he writes poetry (visit his website sometime). I wonder how much money it would take to sign him. He would definately help our interior defense and rebounding.
Since I live in the bay area I have watched foyle play alot. Probably one of the best backup centers ahead of Cato. He has been itching to become a fulltime starter, but always came off the bench behind Dampier. We would need to give him a starting job in order for him to come here, but he is far too slow to play the 4. Other then that he would be an excellent job as a backup and probably a starter, but without a starting job for him we have a slim chance of getting him. Also he had an injury plagued season last year, two knee surgerys if I recall corretly. On the bright side he started to play back to his oldself at the end of the seasons.
foyle would be a nice addition to the rockets. he can come in for 10-15 mins to relieve yao. dude can block shots from left to right. i would give him maybe half of mle for him. he's worth every penny imo.
I'd definitely make a run at Foyle. We also need to look into getting a SF. I'd make a run at Rodney White of Denver, & for defensive purposes, I'd go after Bruce Bowen of San Antonio. If I can't get Foyle at center, I'd take a long look at Mamadou N'diaye or Ostertag (if he'll sign real cheap). Also, even though this won't be very popular here, I'd see if Malone would be interested in giving it another run, with us. If the rumored trade for Snow happens, that'd leave us in a position to focus on depth at the 4/5 & possibly a starter at SF.
If we signed Adonal Foyle, Eric Williams and any of those point guards I'd be thrilled. I'd also love Rafer Alston at the point. He played well for Miami last year and has become pretty good at protecting the ball.
This list of FAs are meant to be somewhat of a realistic list of possibilities. Truth be told, the Rocks are over the cap and can either trade the trade exception or milk the MLE. If I had my drothers, I'd do everything possible to sign Barry if it took my entire MLE and try to trade Piatkowski and Nachbar for a serviceable bruiser in the mold of Etan Thomas. In terms of Mo Taylor, I don't think he's a starting 4 either and Juwon can open things up a bit with his ugly, loading-the-musket release mid ranged 40% jumper as the starter. My only comment about Mo with regards to the team is that we're stuck with him as we won't be able to unload him for any player(s) unless it means taking back an even bigger contract. Best case is that we milk the MLE for both Barry and someone like Darvin Ham and trade our trade exception for someone like Foyal in a sign and trade. We do that, and we have a solid veteran lineup with some youthful offensive variances coming off the bench in the form of Nachbar.
If Detroit taught us anything, it's that occasionally a caste of good but not great players will catch fire and beat a better team. Detroit has won a single title. LA has won 3, and was dysfunctional during at least 2 of them. let's not go crazy, here.
We need a PG and a backup C. The backup C doesn't have to be amazing, just someone who can block a few shots and grab a few rebounds. Like a Kelvin Cato or something . Trade Juwan Howard and AG for Calvin Booth and Antonio Daniels Sign Antonio McDyess Sign Eric Williams Yao/Booth McDyess/MoT/Spoon JJ/Boki/Eric Williams T-Mac/Pike Daniels/Lue/Gaines
Teamwork does win Championships. If nothing else, Detroit showed more obviously that people have long focused on the wrong aspects of Championship Teams. Even though stars get all the hype in the media, basketball is a 5 on 5 game. The best team will always win. One or two players cannot do it alone (please note that Kobe and Shaq were the only players in double figures in games 1-4). You have to have a good team. And they have to play well together. Detroit was definitely the better team. They could've played the Lakers 20 more times, and it still would've been tough for the Lakers to break through. It wasn't about catching fire. The Lakers were beat on both sides of the floor consistently. This Lakers team was nowhere near as good as their teams in years past. Dysfunctional or not back then, they won because they played basketball well together. Every World Champion has maintained this recipe for success. That's what's so great about team sports.
