Thats the first time I ever heard that argument. Kidd can excell with any athletic players that can finish, i.e. Shawn Marion, or especially Tmac. Jefferson, on the other hand wouldnt look nearly as good without Kidd (best passer in the game). Kidd and RJ definately have a symbiotic relationship, but Kidd has at least proven what he can do with other players.
okay, that's it...I've had enough, the guy is about to have major knee surgery, he has 90 million dollars left on his contract, god only hows how many years left as well. he was just recently in the past couple years, an mvp candidate...and you're even going to mention him as someone we can trade for after just getting tmac? some of you people really need a cat scan.
initially so did I, but you never know with some of the people on this board, or any for that matter.
Explain to me who the guys' body is falling apart? He's played to full seasons in a row & stepped it up for 37 games when AI went down. In fact, I think a guy like Snow can stay in the league well into his 30's and still be productive and I use Marc Jackson as an example. Eric Snow is in his 9th season in the NBA & if he can give the kind of production that Jackson gave after his 9th season, then I'd take the salary cap hit. When Jackson was still in New York, the last time he saw significant minutes, he was still averaging 8PPG & 7 APG, and that was in his 15th year. I'll definetely take that from a starting PG who's role is to give the ball to T-Mac & Yao and not turn it over. Also, Eric Snow's game doesn't call for athleticism. Jackson and Snow are very comparable atheletically, and both players can hit the 12-18 foot jumper in the lane. The reason Jackson has played so long is because he is efficient and knows what he does best. When you get older you learn how to play smart & not necessarily harder. People say Snow can't hit the 3, but who cares? Next year the Rockets should not rely on the PG to hit 3's. Isn't that what Jim Jackson, McGrady, and Nachbar are for? Snow is still a career 43% shooter from the field & his ability to dribble inside the arch & draining the small jumper is just as effective at beating the double teams as launching from downtown is. Worst case scenario is that Snow gets injured and sits on the bench with that contract, but that's a risk we take with Barry or Fisher, though at smaller salaries. I'm much more worried about getting Mo Taylor and Weatherspoon's numbers off the books. Once they are off I can deal with having one bad contract, because it won't be crippling to our ability to attract cheap FA who want a chance to win with Yao & T-Mac. People are so enamored by Eric Snow because he's the "name" of a recently emerged popular prototype. The 'out of nowhere, hard working, defensive minded, good decision making, unselfish point guard.' Everyone's looking for an Eric Snow now. Why overpay for the name when you can just find your own version on the cheap?[/QUOTE] The only guy I can think of that would fit that bill that may come cheap is Carlos Arroyo. I'm not sold on the likes of Speedy Claxton or Rafer Alston, and if I'm not sold on them I'm not sold on Arroyo. Bottom line is that if you want someone to run this newly formed Rockets team I'd rather take a waiver on a veteran PG who does fit that prototype, and who we actually know will produce something. The Rockets can't take a waiver on a cheap PG who we think may fit the bill and get the job done. That kind of player can come next year and be groomed for the future, but not to run this team from the get-go. And if we were just looking for that "prototype" then I believe Tyronne Lue would be starting. The difference is that Snow is 6'3" and a leader. The only thing Lue can lead is a parade for the Mickey Mouse cartoon hour. You remember how pathetic Mark Jackson looks when he enters the game and can't hit an open jumper to save his life? That's going to be Eric Snow in a few years except the only difference is that he'll be making $6million. [/QUOTE] Perhaps Snow will turn into Jackson in his 19th year, but I think Snow takes care of himself a little better than Jackson did. It looked like Van Gundy called Jackson from the buffet line when we picked him up. If Snow can stay in shape then I feel he'd still be a nice guy to have on the bench, despite the salary. Again, my concern is getting Taylor and Spoon off our books. By the time Snow is done we would have gotten rid of Taylor, Spoon's, Howards, and Jackson's contract. I think that would provide enough cap space to make significant improvement to the team. On that note, I still say we try to pry Dalembert away from Philly if they want us to take Snow
I actually would not totally rule out something like this. I think JVG will end up surrounding Yao and T-Mac with hard working, tough minded role players that really understand the game and dont make many errors. The type of system JVG was trying to run last season did not really involve the PG taking many 3 pt shots. In addition, the Rockets would have a backup in Lue that is very capable of making the 3 ball. The PG in JVG's system needs to be someone that is an excellent on the ball defender and can set other players up w/o making many mistakes. Eric Snow fits these criterion extremely well. Juwan Howard is a ton to give up for Snow, but it may make more sense doing it this way than simply taking on Snow's salary via the TE. I seriously doubt the Rockets would take on 5 yrs at 30 mil in new salary. Even though Howard is a very steady scorer and above average rebounder, who would likely do extremely well under JVG, the Rockets do have the flexibility to deal him if necessary. They could easily go out onto the FA market and plug a Brian Skinner or Antonio McDyess (or both even) into the frontcourt to go along with Mo Taylor and Yao Ming. If Mo Taylor really has worked hard in the offseason, this may not be a bad idea to ensure the Rockets are physically tough on the inside. Ideally, Philly would deal Snow for Weatherspoon, but I seriously doubt they do this. Another name which has not been mentioned much, but I feel could get attention from the Rockets is Eric Williams. They reportedly attempted to trade for him early in the season, but that did not go through. Williams would be an excellent role player to plug into this rotation, adding size, defensive toughess and shooting ability which would enable enable the Rockets to move JJ to the bench. Imagine having a perimeter trio of the 6-3 Eric Snow with the 6-8 McGrady and 6-8 Eric Williams. That trio would be awesome defensively and would really be great in terms of entry passing and ensuring the ball gets into the post.
Let's not pickup a aging pg that shoots in the low 30s and has a long term contract for MoT money. I don't understand why you'd think that would be good for the Rockets - short or long term...
Just say no to Snow. Snow can't hit a jumper to save his life. But that's not what bothers me. What bothers me is his penchant to choke at the end of games, especially playoff games? I remembered the Boston/Philly series last year, he just made terrible mistakes at the end of every tight game in that series. Loosing his handling while dribbling to the front court. Badly missing open jumpers. There is a reason Philly could never score enough points to win a champhionship. And Snow is a big contributor to that fact. The only thing that made Snow valuable to the Sixers is that they need a big, passing, defensive minded point guard to pair with Iverson. There is not exactly a lot of those around. You need to surround Yao and McGrady with good perimeter shooting. Period. Or else, we'll the become the Lakers of the last two years. Kobe and Shaq being suffocated without any consistent perimeter shooting to make people pay for the double teams (outside of Fisher). That's why Kobe couldn't consistently take it to Prince in the Finals. The Pistons took away the lanes by consistently abandoning every Laker outside of Shaq to cut off Kobe's path to the basket. Outside shooting is paramount to opening up the offense for Yao and McGrady.
