It seems most people agree that we need a strongman next to Yao. A guy that will rebound and defend - scoring optional. (unlike our softy forwards now) So, who would we want? AND, who could we get? By the way, MoT and weatherspoon are not tradeable because they are not worth half of what they are making (Juwan might be, but he is not worth much either). So, our only tradeable assets are the TE, draft picks, Jacjson and our pathetic bench. I like Wilcox with the Clippers, and he is available because he is stuck behind Elton Brand(who I would also like to get but we don't have enough to offer). - - -maybe our #1 and Boki? PJBrown? is he done? Kurt Thomas? What would Isiah want? Thoughts?
Wilcox has started every game this season. He plays alongside Brand, not behind him. Isiah Thomas has no realistic view of his players' value and would probably want much more than the Rockets are willing to offer for Kurt Thomas. P.J. may be available, so that's by far the best possibility of those mentioned. But probably not a high one; NO wants to try to rebuild and what from the Rockets would they want? A middle-low first and Boki? Probably not.
You know after watching the Sixers and Hornets games, I became convinced that we are one athletic PF away from putting everything together. One athletic PF that can get 9-10 rpg along with Yao getting 9-10 rpg would be huge. And very interesting thing that I noticed is that in the Philly game, when Iverson would drive the lane and dish off to Kenny Thomas, he would go up and slam it with authority. But in the Hornets game when Yao would get a double team and make a good pass to a cutting PF (be it Mo or Howard) he would put up a layup and draw a foul. That's nice and all, but a big time flush would be so much better. It fires people up and is a better percentage than going to the FT line. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that we have one of the least athletic PF rotation in the league. Mo used to be pretty athletic, but he's definitely lost a lot after his injury. And while athletic big men don't grow trees, they aren't totally scarce either. I mean guys like Drew Gooden, or Joe Smith, or Loren Woods might be good enough for our needs.
Tyson Chandler Chicago has a history of making stupid trades, how nice would it be if we could pry him away......
Mo has thrown down some monster dunks even after his injury. It is also much better to draw the foul and have a shot at the three point play, plus put another fould on your opponent then to just get the 2 points.
I think to get a banger- we will have to sacrifice. Trade one of our garbage contracts - we have several to choose from to someone with a higly paid -expiring contract. Maybe Tom Gugliotta- we trade for some combo of Taylor /Spoon / Ward. Mo still has 2 more years after this year -we can only ride his contract out, unless Seattle or someone unexpected wants him- I do not think possible, WE have to wait for these contracts to expire, while MC?Grady and Yao get 2 years older and more discouraged. Our power forward situation is a boat anchor around our neck in a deep river..
There's a guy over in Minnesota who is averaging 7+ boards 10+ pts, 1.3 Blocks in a little over 20 minutes a game. Last night this player got 11 rebounds 4 assists 1 block and 27 points, not to mention he shot 7 for 15 from the arc and is 4th in the league in 3PT field goal percentage. Oh how I hate JVG.
And what administration drafted this young player and let him basically run the streets unsupervised? And what franchise wanted to distance themselves from the PR associated with a potenial felon? And what EC team signed this guy to backup KMart and cut him? It's going to rain today....it must be Van Gundy's fault.
Why the hell does everyone assume EG would have progressed the same here? Or even at all?? A change of scenery is sometimes necessary. It sucks the way it went down, but it very well could have been the ONLY way for EG to resurrect his career. Be happy for the guy and move on. If we re-signed him and he ended up screwing himself up even more, everyone woudl badmouth JVG and CD for keeping him around, letting him be a cancer on the team, paying him too much (since you'd say ANything would be too much for someone who doesn't play), etc. Enough
I am not happy we didnt keep Griffin THROUGH his medical therapy to see how he would respond here after his treatments. But what you said above in my opinion is a valid point and I might be able to accept that.
The problem is the Rockets just don’t know how to develop young players. That's why I'm upset. Because the Rockets did such a poor job of developing Griffin where it reached to the point where they had to cut him for nothing. Steve Francis never developed under the Rockets. Griffin never developed under the Rockets. Yao has apparently regressed while playing here. Nachbar hasn’t improved one bit. Taylor is still as bad a rebounder as when he first joined. The Rockets just suck with young players. There’s no gradual improvement. There are a lot of players that I wonder if they would still be stars if they if they played here. Would Rashard Lewis, Amare Stoudamire, Tashaun Prince, or Richard Jefferson be the players they are had the Rockets drafted them?
I kind of blame Rudy for all this because he's too cool. He tried to treat all his players like professional, responsible, and fully-developed adults even if they didn't deserve to be treated that way. That's why vets loved that big pushover.
Eddie was treat poorly by his last coach her thats when he had his major problems. Van came in with an iorn fist and all players don't respond to that they sometimes rebeal. He didn't care enough to help and just cut his ties with any player that didn't like his style of handling players. If you invest 3 first round draft picks in a player, you do not give up on a player as easily as they did with nothing to show for it. And IT IS VAN GUDYS FAULT, Rudy and most other coaches would have handled this diffrently. As far as pfs available fitting our needs, in our acessablity: * Tyson Chandler (best option-may have to take on A.Davis$$) $ Stromile Swift (good but free agent next year) % PJ Brown (too old), ? Troy Murphy( might be too hard to get) ~ Kenny Thomas (too moody why he's gone now) # Kurt Thomas (not another Knick) " Karla Malone (enemy number one) = Austin Croshere (too $ and too soft) > Vladimir Radmanovic (is he what we need?)
I would go after Chandler and Antonio Davis for a T Spoon, Howard or MoT & draft pick combo-Chicogo looking for a vetren scoring pf and to save money, Davis has a monster contract The other best look would be try getting Poesy(stuck on bench) and Swift(not resigning their) from Jeff's old pal
How does Chicago save money? Ya, they get rid of AD, but would add 7 more years of FAT contract in MoT and Howard.
Howard is a reasonable priced pf who has averaged 17 points a game for his carrer and T spoon will be coming of the books next year, they also would gain a draft pick we do not need a mid to low round draft pick that will just ride our bench. There will be plenty of point guards in the free agent market next year and we will be set at pf and center.
Well well well. The "If Only" crowd is definitely in the house and still whining over poor Eddie...again. So he's doing well in Minn, eh? I say big deal! What all of the EG syncopats conveniently choose to overlook is that Griffin ONLY shaped up when he got his a** kicked out of the league and he was faced with actually having to work for a living. That sort of "reality programming" can really turn around a person who's used to a privileged existence. If we had a GM who possessed an ounce of a clue about NBA talent, we would have never traded our starting PF (Cato) and try to replace him with Juwan Howard & Mo Taylor. Consequently, this discussion would not be going on because team rebounding would not be the black hole it is today. Of course, a COMPETENT GM would not have flushed away 3 No. 1 picks down the drain for this guy in the 1st place but that's a discussion for another time.
This is sooooo true it hurts. In any other business heads would roll for crappy decsions like this one. DD
But, you know what? The laws of capitalism catches up with everyone in business, and the Rockets are a business. If things continue as they are like declining attendance, things will change.
posted in a different thread but applies here as well. Is this a KThomas trade thread or which possible PF's could we get to help us at the 4 spot. I mentioned a few that we could use at the 4 and could possibly trade for.. *disclaimer - not every center in the league can come in and play PF for us and struggling teams are usually more willing to make changes. AMcDyess - is a risk but could be had for the right pieces. Detroit has enough defense and may need a scoring PF at some point. (CWilliamson mode) dont rule out Detroit and their plethora of big men as a potential trading partner if something should happen to their backcourt. KThomas - since this thread seems to be dedicated to the younger CSpoon I guess he should be mentioned. CWebb - Sac. has been looking to move him and his huge contract but has no takers. If we can move some of our large contracts Mot/CSpoon he would be the perfect compliment to our big two. Say what you will about the guy (lost a step. blah blah blah) he fills a need and is better than our 4 PF's put together. If things get really sour between Peja and Chris expect CWebb to be moved somewhere. EBrand - Sooner or later the Clippers will revert to their old form and move their big contract players for more rookies (or expiring contracts) and continue the vicious lottery cycle. If they continue to be a lottery bound team I dont see any reason why Sterling would continue to want to pay Brand's salary. RLaFrentz - Celtics are hurting for big men and could be willing to move their 6-11 PF/C for some low post scoring and more depth. (example - Raef for Jhoward/CSpoon) hehe I can hope. SAR - He's out there but im not really interested in this guy.. puts up good numbers on bad teams and not really what were lookin for especially for his price. EGriffin - We could probably swing a deal to bring him home or wait for his contract to expire and try to sign him. I think he still owns a home here and if we have a good showing in the playoffs might be more inclined to try it again. (hope he feels like he owes us) PJBrown - Hornets look like they are ready to call it quits and might be a willing trading partner. Fills a couple needs reb/def/size Should be worth a call. (age is a factor) TMurphy - just signed a big contract with GS maybe we can lure him away by promising GS first crack at signing Yao next year. LOL TChandler - By Midseason they will be looking to rebuild if they dont show any hope of making the playoffs. Im worried about this guy its a contract year and he's still not showing much improvement and I know alot of people here are enamored with his size and age. Nene - I hope Denver keeps struggling and they decide to move this guy for some shooting.. I know we dont have anything they would want but maybe we can work a threeway. J
