MLE - "Buyers' Market"?

Deuce I totally agree with you about the money. Fisher, Skinner, and Eric Williams would be very good chemistry pickups that won't break the bank or hinder us from making further moves down the road once we see how Yao and T-Mac mesh together.
Just from Van Gundy's comments in looking for talent with value, it may be that we may not sign any free agents right out of the gate banking on some bargains ala Jim Jackson who'm we signed pretty late in the free agency game.

 

I'm all for a Eric Williams signing.
He was the heart of the celtics defense when they went deep into the playoffs.
He brings alot of gritty d.
I also like the idea of maybe getting Stephen Jackson.
He'de be a great fit. I dont see Jim Jackson getting as many minutes as he did last season. It be nice to have him coming off the bench with Taylor.
Our bench would probably be Lue/J.Jackson/Nachbar/Taylor/FA

But our most glaring need is a backup 5 who would give yao a breather.

I'm hoping Nachbar can find a nich with Mcgrady just like mcgrady found one with Mike Miller.

 

I could believe Fisher and Dice splitting the MLE @ 3:1. Fish getting 3-4 years, Dice 1 or 3 years.

If DFish Dclined then Arroyo and Dice or EWms might make sense, but at 1:1, 3 years each.

 

Looks like Van Gundy has learned his lesson from his New York Knicks days (signing marginal players to ludicrous contracts).

I can definitely see why Van Gundy is hesitant to commit too much to a point guard this soon. After all, we really don’t know how the current roster will play together. It’s too early to make any long term commitments. After thinking about it, I hope the Rockets do not sign anybody to a contract longer than 2 seasons.

I want to wait and see how good the defense is next season and if the Rockets can afford to have a weak defender at the point. I want to see if Yao and Mcgrady are good enough that all they need is 3-point shooters around them.

 

those would be 3 excellent pickups for the rockets. If they are able to land all 3 with the mid level exception more power to them

 

I totally agree with this take. That quote from JVG basically tells me that getting Snow is essentially a 0% chance unless Philly is willing to take on some bad contracts ie. Spoon. It also basically says that if players like Fisher or Barry want the entire MLE or anything close to that amount then the Rockets simply will pass them up. I tend to agree that the player that can be had for a very reasonable contract and be an excellent fit on this roster is Eric Williams. THAT is the player who would be a great fit in JVGs system and really be an intangibles type of player.

The simple question to ask is the following.... Tyronn Lue is under contract for what basically amounts to veterans minimum money. Can anyone seriously say that Derek Fisher is really worth 2-3 times that amount? I honestly dont see a huge enough improvement by Fisher over Lue to invest a multi year deal at 4 mil per season in Fisher. This basically means that I would be ok going with Lue and say Charlie Ward (who could probably be had for cheap) at PG than screwing up the whole salary structure overinvesting in Fisher.

The problem with this strategy though is that it would likely cost us a player like Brian Skinner. Typically, a big man who is still in his 20s and has the game of Brian Skinner will not be had for half the MLE. Skinner is really starting to develop into a player in the mold of a PJ Brown or Kurt Thomas and typically those types dont go for cheap. I feel the bargain in this type of position would be McDyess if he can stay healthy.

One other point on this.... The Rockets need to be very careful to ensure this frontline does not become too soft. Right now, there is not one player in the frontcourt that is a tough, physical presence like Cato was. This imo is the #1 area to address even before PG. If anyone wishes to dig up the stats, there was a DRAMATIC difference defensively in the games where Cato played last season as opposed to the 13 or so games he was out. During the games Cato was out, the Rockets fell quickly off their pedastal as the #1 defensive team in the NBA. Adding Eric Williams and Brian Skinner or McDyess (if he stays healthy) would dramatically address this issue, though.

 

610 reported that the Rockets contacted the agents for Troy Hudson, Derek Fisher, "among others." According to them, there is some concern by the organization if Hudson is the right fit for the team.

 

Hudson is a bad fit!

Arroyo is a better value.

 

I would take Hudson over Fisher anyday.

When you watch Fisher, he is incredibly mechanical. He doesnt do anything.

The difference between Hudson and Fisher is that while neither is a great playmaker, Hudson can create his own shot and Fisher can't.

Considering that the only thing Fisher does is stand there and shoot wide open jump shots, his horrid FG% is unforgivable.

Hudson has the capability to create some offense - and that's important.

 

Arroyo is by far the best choice.

 

Troy Hudson shoots 40.5% from the field. Fisher is 39.7%. Hudson is a 33% 3 point shooter and Fisher is 35.7% 3 point shooter. The difference in of 0.8% from the field is negligible. So technically they are both horrid from the field according to your definition.

I like Hudson. The only problem I have with him is that he breaks too many plays off. He's kind of a really, really poor man's Steve Francis. He can make plays off the dribble. He's streaky as hell from the outside But too many times, he jacks up shots when he should be giving KG the ball. The other thing that bothers me about Hudson is he played with Tracy McGrady in Orlando. I don't think their games really complemented each others then. I don't think things will change now.

But I do love his fearlessness. I love his dribble penetration. I just don't know if he's the right fit.

 

Hudson's only real redeeming quality is his ability to create his own shot(with the ball in his hands). That is the last thing the rocks need out of their pg.

Fisher plays better d, helps with spacing, takes care of the ball, doesn't need the ball to be effective, and is a better 3 point shooter. And from what I've heard from interviews, he's a great person to have in the lockerroom to boot.

Give me Fish over Hudson any day, esp if Fish is willing to take only part of the MLE.

 

Fisher is always wide open. When has he ever had to do anything. When you play with the best 2 players in the NBA, you should do a little better than 39.7%.

Stats lie.

 

Rarely do people shoot contested 3 pointers. The majority of 3 pointers that are shot in the league are open 3's. There are only a handful of players in this league that shoots contested 3's and makes a living off of it. Peja, Dirk, Ray Allen, and Reggie come to mind. And there's not much else after that.

 

IMHO, we can forget about Carlos Arroyo right now. Utah has something like $36m in cap space and they are not going to let Arroyo waltz into HOU for $3m.

 

Eric Williams is a free agent? He would be the ideal fit at small forward. I don't know if it's worth using one of our big assets on him when small forward isn't really a position of need for this team.

I completely agree with everything Da Man has been saying regarding the point guards. Troy Hudson is basically just Steve Francis without the athleticism. He's the last thing this team needs. I'de go with Arroyo or Fisher.

 

So what you're saying is the difference is Troy Hudson takes bad shots and Derek Fisher only takes the wide open shots he's supposed to take?