We should at least make a fair offer for Barry or Arroyo. If we don't get them, it will cost the Jazz and Sonics a little more to keep them. Please don't get Snow. I'd rather keep Spoon for 2 years than pick up Snow's contract. His percentage is way too low to be any kind of outside threat so it becomes a 4 on 5 game. And don't get Fisher either. His open looks don't pay off like they should. He's hit some clutch shots in the past that gave his name more clout than his numbers back up, but I'd rather have someone who plays 82 games. I would hesitate to give him more than a 1 year vet min contract. So in summary, I'd rather start Lue than either of these 2. Let a near walk-on (Damon Jones) back Lue up and use this years money for a backup 5/4. Shop for a better 1 next year. If we can't get a quality 1, let's get a quality no-name 5/4.
It's not just about 3's. When you're open, you should make your shots, whether it's mid range, 3's, or 5 footers in the paint. Hudson shoots almost the exact same pct as Fisher without the luxury of Shaq and Kobe. He played well with Garnett but the Minnesota and Orlando teams never had the firepower the Lakers had - as evidenced by the championships. And although we don't need a PG to score often, your starter should have the ability to penetrate and break down the defense if necessary. Yao and TMac may be great but they're not at the Shaq /Kobe level yet. Fisher can't do any of that. As far as his defense - at some point, the refs are going to tire of his constant flopping. Flopping is often the result of slow footwork. Fisher was a pedestrian point guard on great teams. Let's get somebody with a little more upside.
Hudson is kinda like Nick the Quick, big game performer, quick with the trigger, very fast too. I love to have someone like him to play backup, but he wants out of Minny to be a starter.
I've been pining for Fisher ever since he opt'd out of his contract. But right now, i'd prefer Hudson over Fisher. why? 1. A 3rd offensive weapon. Granted, Hudson won't be needed to drop 18-20 ppg but it's good insurance to have when you have a PG that can be a 3rd option and put in about 10-12 ppg. And I can't really see Fisher being a legitimate 3rd option 2. Penetration. This opens so many things for the team on the offensive end. Hudson can penetrate and opponents know this. THey're not going to hound him or double team him, but he'll keep the opposing team on their toes. If TMac and Yao are in a shooting funk, Hudson can just penetrate and get the points. Then the other teams either choose to keep letting him into the paint on his way to 20 something points or they can send extra help, which hopefully, will tell Hudson that it's time to dish it out to the open man.
I think Tyronn Lue is a solid backup PG for Houston. He is the kind of player that can come off the bench and be a "game changer" in terms of changing the game tempo. He can lead the fast break and brings energy to the court. We have to ask ourselves what do we WANT out of our starting PG? What is important to us at that position? And can we get that at a good value price?
Out of the last 14 championships, only the Rockets with Cassell, the Spurs with Parker, and the Pistons with Billups had good penetrating point guards that could create their own shots. So that leaves 10 of the last 14 Championships with point guards that weren't regarded as "playmakers". Fact is, we'll probably have 4 players on the court at all times that are "plus" offensive players. All I want for a point guard is a guy who consistently hits the open 3, doesn't turn the ball over, and plays solid D. As long as we don't bring in Snow, I'll be fine with any number of guys. I think Fisher is a good fit. Fisher has good feet. He's not the quickest around, but he's quick enough. I don't like floppers. But it's not like he's Steve Nash who really can't stay in front of people, flopping away. Fisher gets in front of people with his feet. It's just that most of the time he's flailing away with minor contact.
I thought we already head a third offensive option. As well as a fourth offensive option and even a fifth offensive option off the bench. Isn't that what Jim Jackson, Maurice Taylor and Juwan Howard are?
Hudson averaged 25pts, 5.5assists against the Lakers in their 2003 PO series. KG specifically mentioned his injury as one of the reasons they lost to the Lakers this time.
I tend to agree with this take that Hudson would be a bad fit. Troy Hudson shines when he has the ball in his hands and can dribble, create and play pnr basketball. I tend to agree that he displays many of the characteristics of Steve Francis except w/o the crazy athleticism. Considering the makeup of this team, Tracy McGrady needs to have the ball in his hands a LOT to be able to do his thing. The last thing this team needs is someone that will take the ball out of his hands. Also, I dont really buy the 3rd scorer thing. Yes, Hudson would provide a legit scorer, but the Rockets already have 3 very legit options in Yao, T-Mac and Howard. Mo Taylor will still provide a nice scoring punch off the bench. This team as is should provide a significant offensive upgrade over last season's; I dont think putting the ball in the basket will be a huge issue. I think we can safely say that Hudson can be eliminated for the fact that he probably will not fit, and Snow can be eliminated for the salary fact. I also would eliminate Brent Barry as a PG option b/c his salary is likely going to be too high for what this team wants, and he simply cannot matchup defensively against most PGs in this league. The Rockets no longer have Kelvin Cato on this team, therefore putting additional strain on the lacking interior defense by constantly getting burned at the point of attack is not a good idea. Barry may work as a 2/3 tho if the salary isnt too excessive. That essentially leaves Derek Fisher and maybe Charlie Ward. Basically, if Fisher is not willing to sign for about half the MLE, I would think an offer for the veteran minimum will be extended to Charlie Ward, and the Rockets will make due with Lue/Ward at the point until something better comes along. Also, unless Eric Williams's former coach Jim O'Brien puts some ridiculous offer on the table, I would think Williams can be had for a reasonable Jim Jackson like salary. Clearly, Williams did not fit in with the Cavs, and they have chosen to go a different direction by acquiring Luke Jackson as the SF. I honestly feel that PG is not the biggest issue on this team even though it seems that way. This team can get by one season with Lue and Ward if they can fill their other needs. This team will be in a much larger world of hurt if their frontline remains as soft as it currently is with the loss of Cato. The interior defense needs to be re-bolstered. The Rockets absolutely need to maintain their ability to be an elite defensive ballclub. Their shoddy defensive performance the games Cato was out last season is simply not going to cut it.
MManal, very good points! If the right 'value' for a PG does not come along we should just stick with a Lue/Ward as a tandem and look for a PG next offseason. We dont have to get desperate here and OVER pay just because we think we need a "name" at that position. And you are right, our interior defense and toughness need to be addressed as well. Williams would help there, but I know you are thinking about Skinner.
I just don't see hardly any difference between Fisher and Lue. Lue is a better shooter, a better penetrator, just as good a flopper, and unlike Fisher, Lue has the quickness to keep up with the faster guards in the NBA. He’s had experience playing with a big man (Shaq) and has a lot of experience playing with Mcgrady. If Lue was playing in a big market like LA, people would talk about him the same way they talk about Fisher. Not that I think Lue is a starting caliber point guard. He’s a backup, just like Fisher is.
Dollars will decide whether we should get Fish, BBarry and/or E. Williams. As much as I would like to have E. Williams (and I like him a ton), signing Fish and Bbarry (who could come off the bench) would give us greater flexibility. Fish, Barry and Lue could all play the point Tmac, Barry and JJax could log minutes at the 2 Tmac, Jjax and Boki could handle the 3. Of these 6 players, only Barry is a poor defensive player. JVG could match up very well with any team's roster defensively, and would have a nice array of shooters to put on the floor. Signing E. Williams instead of Barry or Fish would take away one PG option, E Williams is just not that suited to play SG, and would cut down on Boki's minutes. I'm not saying that Boki should get major minutes, but 10-15 sounds ok to me. We need to figure out whether this guy can play. Much of this depends on the dollars. If Barry wants a lot of money, forget him and get E. Williams. But Barry and Fish would give us a lot of weapons and options. If we can get 2 out of BBarry, Fish and E. Williams, and also get a Skinner-- all for reasonable dollars -- I think we are instant contenders and will have home court advantage . . . this year. But nothing, I mean nothing, should be done that compromises our ability to sign players when Tmac and Yao hit their primes in 2-3 years.
I think that resigning TMac and Yao won't be a problem because we can give them more money than any team. It's just we have to put together a formidable team that the BOTH of them can work with. And I agree with y'all that we shouldn't just sign players for the sake of having 'name' players. I think Fish and Hudson are ours to lose because they 'reportedly' have interest in playing in houston. It just depends on whether or not other teams will OVERPAY for their services..and it seems like that's unlikely. I like eric williams as well but I think Boki will show us that he's a competent forward that can log good minutes with good defense with a dash of offense. If I had it my way, I'd sign either Fisher or Hudson and sign a big like Skinner or *crosses fingers* S&T for Dalembert. After that, I'd call it a day and wait for David Stern to hand us Larry O'Brien.
Scoring is only secondary Fisher knows how to get the ball to the open man Hudson is a low assist point guard.
I would like for Boki to get a chance also, but it is a risky proposition. If the 2/3 positions stayed as is, Boki would have to be capable of 30 MPG in order to ensure JJ does not get run into the ground. JJ at his age should not have to play 40 MPG again. T-Mac will likely play 38-40, JJ should be limited to around 30-32 which leaves a good solid 25-30 left over. I would be very concerned if Boki is penciled in to those 25-30 MPG. Nothing against the guy, but he has not shown enough to prove he can handle that kind of PT. In addition, JVG is the type of coach that tries to keep a tight rotation, therefore, there need to be more players he can trust so the few he does do not get run into the ground.
And Fisher is a high assist pg? He's not a great passer. He's not great at anything other than being mediocre.
