I have read all of the point guard threads with great interest. Bottom line, IMO there is no one out there that ideally fits the job description. Not Barry (not really a point, too weak on d, and sounds like he wants a long and big contract for an old guy), not Fish (shooting a question mark, very questionable assist guy), not Snow (no shot, old, expensive), etc. I was wondering about waiting a year. Two questions: Can anyone provide a link to the list of next year's free agents? Capologists, are we likely to be in a better or worse position for signing a point guard next year, or are there too many variables to tell? One advantage of waiting (besides not liking our current choices), is that while we all THINK we know what kind of point guard we need, we really don't know for sure. We are adding a superstar to the mix, and subtracting three starters. Yao will continue to develop. Lue and/or Gaines may surprise. Waiting a year is worth considering, depending upon who might come available and cap considerations. The fact that the TMac trade made us younger gives us more time than we had before. Rarely are so many pieces of a championship puzzle put together in one offseason. I don't want to get stuck with the wrong guy running the team or with a crappy contract just to get something done this year. Perhaps patience will be best. Thoughts?
I agree and made similar points in my MLE - Buyers Market? thread. This team is built for the long haul. We have to show patience to in getting the right role players.
I disagree !!!! Does Detroit Pistons mean anything ? We are one derek fisher and one rasheed wallace from being favorites in the west !!!! Another free agent out there no one is mentioning is Bruce Bowen who could bring some defense and a 3pt stroke as well !!! I would like to see Derek Fisher and Ethan Thomas ,if possible Brue Bowen in the mix.
Detroit is a perfect example of a team that added pieces every year. Dumars has been assembling that team since 2001. Check out the moves he’s made: Ben Wallace joins in 2001 Trades for Richard Hamilton and signs Chauncey Billups in 2002 Drafts Tayshaun Prince and Mehmet Okur in 2003 Trades for Rasheed Wallace in 2004 I would have no problem with the Rockets being patient. I would pass on some of the big name free agent point guards (Barry, Fisher) and sign some young , cheap point guards for the year (Mike James, Damon Jones). If it works out, great. If it doesn’t, well, at least the Rockets will have a much better idea of what they need at the point next offseason.
Thanks for proving my point . Detroit put their current roster together over about a three year period, the only key piece they added last year being Rasheed. I think point guard is a very key piece, and I don't see a Rasheed type player out there at point guard to fit our needs. [Edit: New Jack beat me to it] As far being a DF and Sheed away from being "favorites" in the west, I will disagree there too . I think Yao is at least another year away in terms of conditioning, leadership, and experience from being able to lead us to favorite status. Bowen and Thomas (who I like very much) can be discussed in another thread. Point guards only please.
So, what points will be available next year? The answer to that will help me, and most others decide whether waiting until next season to ink a 1 is the best idea. Obviously, if the outlook for next year's free agent point guards isn't any better than this offseason's, then I think now is the time to go after a player that the coaches think will BEST suit this team. I think Van Gundy will be able to plug in his type point this offseason without having to "learn" what kind of team this will be and what kind of point guard they need commanding it. We don't necessarily have to wait because his players will play the way he wants them to play on the court. Look at Steve. Jeff didn't really adjust to Francis' game, and I don't think he'll have to do so with McGrady and Yao. With those players, he'll be able to play more "Van Gundy Ball."
Actually, this thread was supposed to be about what point guards might be available next year and if our financial postion would be materially different. I guess I didn't make myself clear. I'm counting on a link to next year's free agent list soon.
I wish we could afford Steve Nash or Manu Ginobili. I know, I know. Ginobili is a SG, but, if you watched the guy enough, you would not that he is a great passer and a clutch shooter/scorer. Nash doesn't need an explanation of his credentials. Just wishing.
I don't have a link but I went on Hoopshype and did some exploratory investigation. I know of at least 3 PG's, none of whom are particularly great. Marko Jaric - good potential and cheap but horrid defense and somewhat injury prone. Jeff McInnis - reputation as a malcontent but solid. Larry Hughes - not a true PG but has begun to mature. His salary demands may scare teams away.
For an inexpensive point, how about Damon Jones? Isn't he an unrestricted FA? Of course, when I start to think in terms of reality (too bad Nash and Ginobili), I still lean to a Brent Barry/Reece Gaines pairing with Barry taking the bulk of the minutes this year and perhaps next year before turning the reins over to Gaines.
You guys are correct in that the current crop of FA point guards leave an awful lot to be desired. I am not enamored of any of them. The smart thing to do would be to use this year as a building year under JVG and try to find a PG in the draft or Europe but doing so raises several questions. First, Detroit has been held up as an example but the difference between Detroit and Houston is Joe Dumars. Dumars knew what type of team he wanted - what style of basketball he wanted them to play and THIS IS IMPORTANT! - had a plan for bringing this about. In Houston, you have Carroll Dawson as your GM and under CD, this franchise has stumbled and bumbled along in finding key players. There is no reason to believe that merely by adding T-Mac, that this situation will change anytime soon. In fact, T-Mac aside, there is really NO plan in place for assembling a championship team. They (Rockets) are very good at going after star players - they just can't draft players nor find sleepers here and overseas nor sign good free agents. In fact, if you step back and look at the T-Mac trade in a historical context, it's not much different in scope from when they went out and got Drexler, Pippen & Barkley. In each case they got the star they wanted but they gave a lot to get that star and only in the case of Drexler did things work out to their advantage. Second, T-Mac wanted out of Orlando because he was "sick of losing". The big question here is how much losing will he accept in Houston while the Rockets, specifically CD, stumble around trying to get the right mix of complementary players to surround him and Yao. How long will a guy who came here to "win championships" wait around before bolting once more? Expectations are now skyhigh in Houston (witness the T-Mac press conference, pep rally, coronation yesterday at the TC). You can bet that Uncle Les will be short stroking this into as many ticket sales as he can get. At the moment, times are VERY good in Rocketland. In a situation such as this, it has been my experience that "patience" is usually a commodity that's in very short supply.
It would be far better for us to get Damon Jones than to sign Fish or BBarry to an overpriced/overlylong contract. Good point in this thread. Very good point. Detroit was not built overnight. We can reasonably expect that this year, the Rockets will go from a 7 seed and first round flush, to fighting for a 4 seed and a serious threat to make it to the 2nd round.
I think Carlos Arroyo is a good pick-up. He is young He is cheap He is Athletic He is a good role player This would be a good temporary PG to have, who also has the ability to get better. If he does not then we can go for a big free agent.
The Pistons angle is so overblown. They've won won title. One. Let's see them win a couple more before we talk about "hustle and teamwork" being more important than talent.
2005 Free Agent Point Guards Jamaal Tinsley Tony Parker Charlie Ward Marko Jaric Jalen Rose Larry Hughes Antonio Daniels Bobby Jackson Damon Stoudamire Darrell Armstrong Erick Strickland Earl Watson Gary Payton Jason Richardson Mike James Tony Delk Jeff McInnis
as much as this list makes me ponder about a better future....we have one important question to answer: Will we have enough cap room to court any of these players...or any of the players that will significantly help this team? If we were under the cap, it's a whole differen situation.
