You can dream about getting Odom but it won't happen. He's the only player on that team, besides Kobe, with more than 5 cents.
We need another Big Shot Bob. I don't know where to get him, but that is what we need. He can shoot the three, did an excellent job feeding the post , and could play better than average D.
To answer the question about the type of 4 that Yao needs, I'm siding with the camp of scoring-type power forward who can at least gather a few rebounds per game and bother the great PF's of the West with his length. To harken back to the championship teams, we need a guy like Pete Chilcutt, a good 3-point/mid-range shooter who can defend and rebound. A player that hasn't been mentioned in this discussion is Udonis Haslem, the ideal power forward for any dominant center. He can shoot the mid-range jumper with consistency, defend (I don't think he gets abused by the great 4-men of the league, but I could be wrong), and rebound. Plus, he's not a slug on the fast break. I don't think he'll ever be available, but I think acquiring a player with his same skillset would be tremendous for Yao. jopatmc: I agree that this draft should net us a starter capable of being that third scorer we've been talking about this entire season. Whether we actually draft that player or trade for him doesn't matter. Bargnani is an interesting prospect, but if he or anyone else can't help next season, trade the pick and get the third scorer this team needs. What does everyone think of Brad Miller? I know his stock is pretty low (the last AP article on the Kings alluded to that since he had a mediocre playoff performance). He does have a monster contract, so we'll probably need a third team to facilitate a trade, but I think he'd fit well with Yao. He can shoot the outside jumper, rebound, block shots, and is long enough to defend PF's. If Miller's beat off the dribble, Yao can come in for some weakside help which his ideal role in our defense. His ability to pass also will create a great high post-low post game with Yao and the rest of our team will also benefit from his passing abilities. Some of you might be asking why would the Kings trade Miller...maybe they'd like to free up cap space to re-sign Bonzi (a younger player) and stay under the luxury tax limit. I know this is a pipe dream, but crazier things have happened.
Count me in on the Shelden Williams bandwagon. 6'9 and 245 lbs, long as hell, great rebounder and SHOT BLOCKER which alot people also need to realise is another need. He can step out to 14/15ft, and with time i think 18ft is easily a possibilty. (If Karl Malone and Charles Oakley could develop a J, then i think a workhorse like Williams could as well). Not to mention that he has i high IQ, and knows exactly what to do when it is required, he won't butcher any of JVG's sets. This guy can get us at least 8 second chance points a night because of his rebounding instincts alone. I was as impressed as everyone else with Yao's monsterisation in the second half of the season, but we don't know if he can keep it up, and if he does then thats great, we'll have a front court that could potentially average more points, rebounds and blocks than the Pistons frontcourt (i did the sums in another thread). I think we grab the enforcer and allow our third option to come from the SG position. Unless Rasheed Wallace falls into our laps, this magical power forward we all want will be hard to come by. Also not to mention the fact that Juwan was damn near automatic from 18, but Yao was still getting murdered down there, no help on the offensive glass, no weak side shot blocking help, nothing.
Yao needs an Otis Thorpe Dependable work horse. Selfless, decent rebounder, defender, mid-range shooter
Draft Sheldon Williams, trade Swift and Head for a starting vet for the backcourt ,whatever position we can get. I've suggested before we could possibly trade Swift for Antonio Daniels. 4's are too expensive on the open market. We can't get the trade assets to get one that way. Draft Shelden now to stockpile cheap size and brains for the future. Keep Jho (too hard to trade) and Chuck Hayes as insurance.
JVG finally admitted that we needed a 4 who could shoot. If JVG thinks we need a shooter more than a defender, that's good enough for me. I think we need speed more than power at the PF position. Stro was supposed to be that guy. . .
I think the idea Yao needs an "enforcer" at PF came from the mistaken idea Yao should play the high post much of the time. That idea has finally been blown out of the water.
Wait... didn't we already try the shooting PF with Juwon Howard? Finally someone said Otis Thorpe! I'm sorry to the first guy who chimed in from the old-school tilt, but Pete Chilcutt was absolutely worthless. Sorry man, but you just picked out one of the guys I hated most over team's past 20 years. As for Robert Horry, during the Championship years we used him primarily as a small forward, with OT banging. I believe we shifted him to PF only after the Drexler trade. I think the first question we should ask ourselves here is what is more important for the team? offense or defense? I don't really see how we could need a shooter at the 4! With T-Mac and Yao we have two guys that can not only get you a minimum of 20 points per night, but they also command a double team. With decent ball movement, we can get everyone open shots. We don't need another player on the perimeter, we need someone in the paint to get offensive rebounds. Juwon has put out an admirable effort, but he's just not the type of PF we need. By opting for shooting first and rebounding/toughness second, we will be putting too much of the burden on Yao. He is phenomenally talented, but the less wear and tear on the man the better off we'll be. The best scenario would be a tough big man who we could start at the 4 and the rotate to the 5 early in the first quarter to give Yao a breather. a la Otis Thorpe.
If you read my post earlier you'd see i am in favour of an 'enforcer' PF, but there is one concern. Power Forwards today are taller and quicker than they have ever been. I can't imagine Otis Thorpe chasing around the Nowitzki's and Amare's of the league. That's where the danger comes in. I still want Shelden on this team, great teams make the opposition adjust to them. But i can see other people's logic as well. Whatever translates to wins is all good with me.
Come on, man. Give Chilcutt a break ...without him, I don't think we get out of that 1-3 hole to Phoenix in '95. He played phenomenally in the final game. Everyone remembers Elie's game-winning shot in that Game 7, but Chilcutt played well. I think you put too much on the importance of offensive rebounds. While I agree getting those is a nice bonus, JVG emphasizes transition defense, meaning all of our guys including the PF must run back on defense rather than crash the boards. I think this is okay because it gives Yao space to get offensive rebounds which he's getting more adept at doing. The benefits of getting a power forward in the Haslem mold is that there's no weak cog in the offense which doesn't allow teams to outright double Yao with their PF and completely ignore our offensively-weak PF. Although Yao has become a better player, defensive fronting still gives him fits. Teams need to respect our PF's outside game in order to free up the lane for Yao to operate. Howard would be a good fit if only he was five-to-six years younger. An Otis Thorpe-type would be good to have on our team, but I think his type has become more and more obsolete in this faster, hand-check enforcing league. Guys like Boris Diaw are eating up traditional PF's like Kwame Brown. Offensive rebounding is a team-oriented skill; having active and athletic players at all positions makes you a better offensive rebounding team. Being a better shooting/scoring team is the ultimate protection for Yao and McGrady. It lessens the scoring burden on them, allowing JVG to rest them even when the team is struggling offensively. While Yao or McGrady gives players open looks by just being on the floor, we need players around them who can actually make these open shots. Players who can score consistently without having the ball in their hands, whether they're PF's or guards, are what we absolutely must acquire this off-season, period.
So tell me, what does Shelden Williams do that OT didn't do? What does he bring to the table that could slow down the Dirks, KGs and Shawn Marions of the league? What would he do in our offense that would make those guys work on defense? I can't think of anything except "pedigree" and "IQ". Why did he hide this 15ft jumper so much in college? Seems like his favorite position on offense is on the low post with his back to the basket. Does he run the floor well? Can he handle the ball at all away from the basket? Does he have a quick first step? Why would anyone bother guarding him if he isn't close in? If we somehow draft Williams, I hope he does well. But we have other, much larger needs like a SG, perimeter shooting, perimeter defense, etc.
Did you read what i said? I said Williams, like Thorpe would have trouble guarding the Dirks and Amare's of the league and that it is a genuine concern that people on this BBS have and thats why they would want to pass on him. I said i'd love to have Shelden on this team and i would, he'd be a major upgrade over all of our flower forwards, but whatever leads to a win is fine by me. Is everyone PMSing today?
Come on dude,what about that $100 to the tip jar?I say Williams puts up 12 and 8 as a rookie. Shelden is a power player(which you know) who dwells in the interior,yet you ask questions that are more guard oriented.He's a topflight defender/rebounder at any level and showed last year his ability to up his game when it counted most against the best competition. Williams is probably one of the safest picks in the draft.
In the end, simply because of the presence Yao commands defensively in the paint, I think getting a defensive presence at the 2 spot is more valuable than 4 spot. With Yao snatching up every loose ball near him, Hayes coming off the bench and McGrady+Sura hopefully back next year, the Rockets have enough rebounding fire power to get by. Defending 2 guards and cutting down on penetration is a much bigger problem for this team. While Tracy is capable of handling this assignment, a long term solution would be nice. Initially I thought Bogans could be this man, but he is clearly a level below the likes of Bowen, Ross, Hassell, Buckner, Pietrus and Wells to an extent. And to the guy that talked about trading for Brad Miller... NO! JVG will kill himself trying to watch Miller 'defend'.
Fair enough on Brad Miller...just trying to think outside the box, although Miller's defensive weaknesses can be masked with team defense and his offensive prowess would be a godsend on this team, but it's a long shot. Just some food for thought on the whole PF debate: On the TNT telecast tonight, Kevin Harlan said that 70% of Brand's scoring come from jump shots. Can Brand guard a guy like Diaw? No, so you double team with quick perimeter players and then rotate. Having a competent offensive player at the 4, even a boring but consistent jump shooter, will do wonders for the Rockets. Ronny, I agree that perimeter defense is a greater concern for this team than rebounding. This is why we lost to the Mav's last season. We had no answer for guard penetration or bigger guard post-up's.
My bad. I just completely misread your last paragraph. My offseason rant, just like last summer, is that SG should be our #1 priority, by trade, MLE or draft pick. I'm also open to the idea of trading the pick for a starter but my gut feeling says we shouldn't.
