I see a lot of posts on what the Rockets problems are and what the possible solutions are. A lot of people want to get rid of JVG, a lot of people want the Rockets to change their style and we all hold hope that there are some trades out there to upgrade the talent around the two centerpieces. To me there are two things that have to happen for the Rockets to be a playoff team today given the current state of their team and what we have to give up in trades. For this trade to work today, a) Yao has to be a better rebounder and scorer than he is, and b) Juwan Howard has to live up to his potential. Juwan Howard is the key to this trade. From just a pure numbers standpoint, the Rockets gave up 37 ppg, and 18 rpg in Cuttino, Steve, and Cato. Howard is a 17 and 7 player for his career and he averaged 17and 7 just last season. We know Tracy can give the team about 22 and 6. That still leaves a void in rebounding but with the addition of Sura that 4 or 5 rebounds per game void can be made up. There is plenty of hope for Sura from what we have seen from him in his few games thus far, but is there hope for Howard. Changing our style will not solve the Rockets problems. If the Rockets go uptempo they cut out their second best player, Yao. Plus the Rockets, as pointed out in the Feigen article, do not have a problem of getting shots, they have a problem making shots. The Rockets have been getting the shots they want, its not a matter of style, its simply a matter execution. And I say all of that to say this, for the Rockets to be a winning team today, Juwan Howard has to perform up to his ability, period. No GM is going to be stupid enough to take either him or Mo Taylor off their hands. There is no magical fix out there right now. All of us assumed this guy would be better and I’m sure the Rockets’ management felt the same way. I know this post is sort of redundant but I just wanted to try and put it all in perspective and simplify the multitude of problems we have seen. Juwan is the key, it all starts with him, and if he doesn’t change the Rockets are in for a long season.
the way i see this trade is as follows: steve and cat = tmac and lue i would do that trade any day. both teams get better. cato for howard seemed like offense for defense at the time. now i realize that is the part of the trade that made us take a step back. cato wasn't the answer at PF but at least he could rebound and play defense. with him we would still be one of the best defensive teams in the league and have an improved record.
After 20 games we can clearly see that T-Mac is a bad ass, 17and 7 Juwon Howard was big time overrated, Tyrone Lue is a decent back up, and Reece Gaines is a bust. You can also see that Francis is a bad ass, Cato is a quality center, and Mobley is a quality two guard. You could put aside the records of both teams, they really don't matter when evaluating that trade, only the players involved matter. Now pgabriel isn't judging the trade anyway, he's saying Juwon Howard was a big part of the trade and needs to step it up and he's right. I remember when the trade first happened the guy who told me it was a done deal said that Juwon Howard would be the key to this deal because McGrady and an average PG should produce as much as Francis and Mobley did, looks like he was right.
I really feel our team misses Cato more than Steve or Cat. I'm more than satisfied with McGrady and know that it was a step to make us a contender. I think we've become a more intelligent team and should continue to become more comfortable together. McGrady's never played with a strong inside force like Yao. I'm also very happy w/ Sura. He's a heady player that lets the offense flow better, though his lack of a 3-shot limits our ability to spread the floor. I think Yao is the type of player that needs a Cato; a rugged rebounder/defender to do the dirty work and limit his foul trouble. Yao did a good job defending Duncan and Shaq, but it hurts him to have to defend them and then be the offense on the other side. I would love to see a guy like Dale Davis on the team. I think Nene would be great but I don't think would be easy to get.
Agreed. I'd still do the trade no matter what. However, it really seems like Wisebrod actually knew what he was doing. We thought Lue/Howard/Gaines were gonna be able to come in and have an impact.
No one has stepped up. That's the problem. We had a 6 man team, and we traded away 3 of em. When you do that, you expect someone to step in and surprise you with their play, or at least perform better than they have in the past. So far, the only bright spot is Barrett. Yao, JJ, and Mo, the 3 players we kept, are playing below expectations. Tmac is playing about as well as I expected, and like you say, Howard has also been disappointing. I don't think you can lump it all on Howard though.
Don't forget about Lue/Ward, I honestly thought they would be able to atleast hold down the PG position til' we could get someone.
There is a reason that Juwon Howard is constantly traded from team to team. He sucks. His stats are way overrated.
PGabriel, you are largely correct, IMO. I thought Howard would really perform much better. So far, he is "stiff city." Can he step up? Will he improve? If he doesn't, we got trouble. But we already have alot of that and more may be coming. If we lose the next five games, there will be a core melt down , so all of this discussion may be academic. I still think a PF could be brought in from somewhere. But you are right, we have no trade capital. As a former JVG supporter, I am concerned that he and CD have mortgaged the team's future by providing retirement plans for an assortment of "Old Knicks." The three year deal for Ward is ridiculous, and Ewing is dead weight. It is one thing to have bad players, but bad players with bad contracts really sucks. At the moment, Orlando management looks like a bunch of geniuses and Rocket management looks r****ded. See the Yahoo Sports article on Orlando. I still would trade Francis for TMac, but we miss Cato, and I really liked Mobley. But time will tell. The Rocket's potential upside is hard to calculate at this time.
AGreed "at the moment". But even by the end of the season, I don't see Orlando holding up as well as they have, and I don't see Houston being quite this bad. Plus, yes, time will tell. Ewing is dead weight? Why does he even belong in this discussion? He's a coach..contract not towards the cap..you have no idea how good of a coach he is.. etc.
Rox should ask for Gooden in the trade. Even if he doesn't work out for Rox, at least he has an expiring rookie contract.
I thought the rockets would of been better off getting Gooden at the time too, but I don't think Orlando would of went for it. They were clearing out space there for D. Howard. They didn't want the 5 years of Juwan staying around. I always thought J Howard was garbage, but I was hoping you guys were right saying that he was good and would work out well here.
To me, Jalen and Donyell would be a pipe dream for MoT, Deke, Boki, and/or #1, TE, etc. I think this trade would give us a more uptempo team, with better shooting in Donyell, and it would be very interesting to see if Jalen could finally have that point forward/guard role that he has always coveted. It could be amazingly successful pairing him up with TMac or it could be painfully atrocious if Jalen tries to dominate the basketball. But Jalen andDonyell would have to improve our defensive rebounding significantly. Donyell is definitely a better rebounder than our current PFs, and Jalen is another 6'8" talent on the floor with TMac. All that being said, it is a pipe dream. I'd be willing to part with Boki and either the #1 or the TE to make these deals happen. Of course if the TE were involved it would be 2 separate deals. But I can't figure out any way to structure the deal so that Toronto would do it.
I thought I read somewhere that the Rockets have an out in the contract with Ward if they exercise before a certain date in December. Anybody else know anything about this? Gater?
i think there is a team option after next year. if JVG is coaching here we will still have ward. and when ward retires he will become our guard coach.
Considering Boki can't get off the bench here...anyone wanna try Boki for Steve Smith? The guy can take some of JJ's minutes (he's playing 22 mpg in Charlotte, can handle that much)...he shoots a great clip from the 3, has played PG in the past so he can pass (not suggesting we play him there), he's a heady player, he's a great guy, good locker room presence... Charlotte may jump on it for a young guy like Boki. They could evaluate him for the rest of the year and decide whether or not to re-sign. If not, he comes off the books just like Smith would..
