Any word on Lonnie Baxter? He was a monster in the summer leagues, and the highlights that D.o.D put up he looked very good. He would be miles better than Weatherspoon or Baker. DD
I've always been a fan of his since college, so I hope he stays. He was the man for the Terps. Baker ... Da'Spoon ...
As it stands now, I expect him to be in training camp but that is the best he could get from us unless we find a way to creat roster spot for him. I believe we have reach the 15 player max or will be after we resign all our players plus another vet with the BAE. That is one of the reasons why the Rox Org. is looking for a 2 for 1 deal now according to Doc Rocket (a view to creating roster space for players like Baxter, Braggs or maybe Glover). We could also go the route of buyout or waiver as well.
I am not familure with the new CBA but can't we cut Baker or Ward if we wanted to add Baxter. I know that we would still be liable for their saleries and it would still count against the cap but if the Rockets wanted couldn't they follow that scenario? Isn't that what happened with Matt Maloney under the old CBA? BTW, using the one time luxery tax exemption on someone like Baker would also free up a roster spot.
I'm sure Baxter will get invited to training camp, Glover could be invited as well. I could see us picking up Baxter and waiving Spoon or Baker, he'd be a much cheaper 3rd stringer that anyone we have.
AHHH sorry guys let me just post the article: Stoudamire Out, Baxter In -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Bill "The Rocket Guy" Ingram for *************** Jul 31, 2005, 13:16 The Rockets will apparently miss out on Damon Stoudamire, but have made some roster space for Minnesota Summer League star Lonnie Baxter. Who is this Baxter and why is everyone looking at him? Find out in today's Rockets Report! Bill "The Rocket Guy" Ingram Basketball News Services According to Aaron Williams, agent for Damon Stoudamire, talks have completely fallen apart with the Rockets in terms of putting his client in a Houston uniform next season. He wasted no time, however, in moving on to the next suitor. The Memphis Grizzlies are working on a three-team deal with the Miami Heat and another team that would send out troubled point guard Jason "White Chocolate" Williams and open a space for Stoudamire in the Grizzlies' starting lineup. It's unclear where Williams would actually end up, but the Grizzlies will certainly need to move Williams to create some cap space and avoid the dreaded luxury tax. This officially closes the book on Damon Stoudamire coming to Houston, but is that a bad thing? The only way the Rockets could afford to bring Damon in was if the Blazers were willing to take on of the deals the Rockets offered. Two that we know of involved sending Juwan Howard to Portland in a sign and trade, while another was a re-signed Stoudamire and Ruben Patterson to Houston for Vin Baker, Charlie Ward, David Wesley, and Bob Sura. The Blazers stuck to their mantra, which is that they will take on no additional salaries, and as a result the Rockets weren't able to offer Stoudamire either a roster spot or the kind of money he will land by signing elsewhere. Considering the fact that the Rockets already have four point guards on their roster (Sura, Ward, Mike James, and Moochie Norris), it's difficult to feel too bad about losing out on Stoudamire. The Rockets can now use the roster spot that Stoudamire might have landed to sign free agent Lonnie Baxter, who was the talk of the Minnesota Summer League. Baxter was the king of double-doubles in Minnesota, and the Rockets were pleasantly surprised that he was able to stand out so dramatically. Baxter has had a couple of stints with NBA teams, but has not been able to crack a lineup anywhere. He now has the Rockets thinking that perhaps all he needed was a little playing time. Josh Redetzke of NBADraft.net was in Minnesota and I had a chance to chat with him about Baxter's play. Here's what he had to say: "Obviously the competition in a summer league isn't that great for a player who has had a few years of NBA experience. However, one of the advantages is that the opposing players aren't just going through the motions, they are playing as hard as they can to try and win a job in the league. This can help us gauge just how good a player is apart from their competition's skill level. While nearly every player gave it their all, Lonnie was someone who played hard AND played in control. Low post scoring was difficult with all the pounding and double teams, but Lonnie kept his composure and used shot fakes and his strong frame to create space, and he always made the shot, never rushing it or forcing it. Lonnie also displayed an excellent outside touch. It wouldn't have mattered if Ben Wallace was guarding him, he would have still made those types of shots. He was also great at getting to the free throw line. He caused contact nearly every time he drove or made a move in the post. I hadn't followed his NBA career all that closely, but it seems that Lonnie was never give a real shot to be an every day contributor. If he found a team that would give him 20-25 minutes a night consistently, he might put up much better numbers than he has. The problem could also be mental. Perhaps Lonnie did a poor job of running the offense or learning defensive sets in the NBA, something that would be harder to judge in a summer league, which is a little more one-on-one. Regardless, I think he definitely finds a team now, and hopefully that team will make him an important bench player. He definitely deserves a shot." Stromile Swift is expected to make his presence official on Tuesday, when teams can begin signing free agents (unless it gets moved back again). If Baxter can contribute at all for the "real" Rockets the way he did for their summer league team, they should finally be set at the power forward position. Juwan Howard's status is still somewhat up in the air, but the doctors say he will be ready to play come training camp. Will he be playing for the Rockets? That's a good question. He took a while to figure out his role in the Jeff Van Gundy system, but right before he got hurt he was playing well and was a big part of the Rockets' late season success. Had he been available for the playoffs they might have gotten past Dallas. In other news, Ryan Bowen has accepted a contract offer from the Rockets, while Scott Padgett is expected to sign with the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
How can you trade for a non-NBA player? There also a reason he's not in the NBA. He's an undersized power forward who couldn't make the roster of NBA bottomfeeders. While we may not like Baker's and Spoon's contracts, Baxter is not a better player than either. Summer leagues are not exactly indicative of a player's projection onto the NBA.
rockets interested in scott skiles leaves bulls and pulls a george foreman and guess what.....will sign for the LLE.source: imonlyjokinglol.com i want baxter on this team, he was a monster in the summer league!
I am prety sure that homeboy was joking about the trade for Baxter thing. Regarding Baxter, I dont think anybody is expecting us to sign and actually play him. However, given what we have our bench I could see how Baxter could be an improvement as the 12th man or a player on the IR. If he doesn't get invited to the Bucks camp I would love to see Chris Owens get invited to ours. I doubt he would make the team, but I would love to hear how he is playing now. I really thought he had a future in the NBA before his last knee injury at UT. Guy was just a crazy strong athlete...
I don't know the guy, but do know his sordid rep....but this board was pretty much down the middle on Yao..... DD
I am pretty sure (and will bet my house) that Lonnie is better than the current Vinny Baker. The Vin we saw this past season would not even be able to dominate in the WNBA talk less of any NBA Summer League. Vin is finito.
Lots of players have to work their way into the right situation to find the right fit for their career. Billups got cut/traded four times after being a top five pick in the draft.
