Quit trying to bring in another superstar...we don't need them. Our team is shapping up nicely and adding a solid vet at PG and C will be fine for next yr.
On the contrary, if we can bring in Tim Duncan, Lebron James, and Mike Bibby to go along our core of Yao and T-Mac, I'd be all for it. The problem, of course, is that the Rockets don't have the players to get, really, anyone good. Our most realistic trading pieces are Howard(good player with a decent contract) and Boki(low-paid player who still has "potential"). That's NOT going to net you much on the market.
I wouldn't go as far as saying nothing is wrong with this team. There are some holes that need to be filled, no question about it, but I'm not saying it's a must. Only time will tell.
This team only needs a rebounding/shotblocking C, and a very decent PG. Not a HUGE problem. In fact, we have Gaines who may or may not blossom into the PG we need, and there's Wilks, who is not all that bad. His only problem is his range. As for backup C, tehre are many many options - Steven Hunter, Keon Clark, Kevin Willis, etc... It won't cost us more than a few million or so, and it will be perfectly fine. Just adding those 2 players will more than likely lock us in as a top 4 team.
I agreed with you that we have 2 major pieces set, and we just need to find good role players to fill the roster. Without a starting PG and a backup center, I think we're going to be in trouble once the season starts. If nothing happens in free agent market, I think we still have a good team but we're extremely thin in the bench, if god forbid there's a injury to one of our star players, we will go from No4 in west to No 8 in the west so fast we will want to kick the TV.
Top 4 team in the West in case you didn't get that. Assuming we get some stiff C and a decent PG. Let's say, for argument's sake, that these players are Jerome James-calibre and Mike James-calibre. Yao/James Howard/MoT/Spoon JJ/Boki/AG T-Mac/Pike/Gaines Lue/James/Gaines That team, in my opinion, is 4th after the Spurs, Wolves and Kings. Assuming things bounce just right, I can even see 3rd for us. If MoT comes to camp in great shape, Falsone has really improved Yao's fitness, T-Mac doesn't miss much time, Boki fits in, Pike bounces back... It's simply a matter of having the second best C in the league and, IMO, the best SG in the league. We have the role players who are smart enough to take advantage of them (JJ, JH) and we have a solid bench, excellent shooting, and defense.
3rd seed not gonna happen. Now with 3 divisions in each Conference we'd have to win the Division to get one of the top 3 seeds. Barring an injury to Duncan, that aint gonna happen.
"In case you didn't get that"? You didn't say that . Could be, but I wouldn't count out Dallas, the Lakers, Phoenix and Utah just yet. But being optimistic, it could happen, yes.
The Rockets aren't there yet, but they better get there quickly. Jim Jackson and Juwan Howard are playing as good as they've played team ball in their careers, but that will last at most 1 or 2 season, then their play will begin to deteriorate. I'm thinking that Gaines might have impressed the Rockets enough not to pull the trigger on the Fisher signing. Gaines is a tall point guard who was lost in the Magic bench last season, hopefully a good change of scenery was all that he needed. A first round pick that played well in college and was highly touted. CD and the rest of the management have stated that nobody on the market whom was available to them represented a significant upgrade over Lue/Gaines/Wilks.
The question you have to ask yourself is; Is this team, as it stands today, good enough to prevent McGrady from opting out of his contract? You do realize that he still can, don't you?
I don't know, Dallas has taken a pretty large blow. Here's their team now: Booth/Podolkzine/Bradley Walker/Nowitzki/Najera/Laettner Nowitzki/Howard/Finley Finley/Stackhouse Daniels/Harris That team looks a bit weaker than last year, and I believe they were 5th last year? The Lakers, I think, are a possibility. But them making the top 4 would require that Kobe truly puts in a Jordanesque season. 32/6/6 with good defense and good percentages from the field, ft line, and 3pt line. I wouldn't put anything past Kobe, but to bank on someone putting up Jordanesque numbers for an entire season is risky. Phoenix if they get Dampier. Utah, yes, I would definitely be worried about. They have excellent depth, and can do pretty much everything. Sloan is coachign them and they were only 3 wins below us last season, and now they added Snyder, Humphries, Boozer and Okur. To me, though, the biggest danger is Denver. Carmelo has been putting in the offseason work - he's bulked up and has worked on his shot a bit. They added K-Mart, who fits in perfectly with their line-up, and are bringing back the rest of the team. Basically, take away Chris Anderson and Francisco Elson from last year, add K-Mart and an improved Carmelo. That's excellent. Realistically though, I see us as the 4th seed. I think we'll beat out Denver for it. But just looking at all thos teams, I have to say, this is probably the most difficult conference in the last decade or so. I can't remember there ever beign so many good teams in one conference, it's an absolute shame only 8 teams can make it.
I'm pretty sure he'll waive that right or negotiate an extension before the season. I will never forgive the Rockets if McGrady walked.
True, and one still cannot completely rule out Memphis either. We could end up anywhere between 3 and 7 seed, in my opinion.
A coach who knows something about offense and utilizing the best scorer in the league would help tremendously...
The building blocks are completely great. The pieces around it aren't so nice. Given the two cornerstones' ages, we have time to get those pieces. The panic is absurd.
Aux contraire, these coaches you speal of are ill equipped to deal with zone defenses as they ten to just throw the ball into the star's hands and wait for things to happen. Now that we have zone defenses, this type of plan doesn't work. Instead, I'd rather have a coach who can motivate our 2 star players and focus on improving their presence on the court, especially defensively where they are both lacking.
Is Rudy a master motivator of young stars? One could say that Mobley was a success, Griffin a failure, and Francis in the middle. Rudy certainly didn't have trouble trading away Horry and Cassell in exchange for a vet. Overall, not exactly a great record. JVG certainly brought out the best in Spree and Houston. He did bungled Francis, but Yao made great progress under him. I don't think it's a convincing argument that Rudy will bring more out of Yao/T-Mac than JVG.
Rudy is not a developer. He can't develop a team, he's a veteran's coach. Now, as our team gets older, JVG becomes less suited to this team. In fact, I think this will be JVG's final productive season. As for now, I'd much rather have JVG than Rudy. Yao and T-Mac need to get the toughness and work ethic down. Then when they've become solid veterans, Rudy can do what JVG can't - instill the confidence to drive it all home.
