Who said we were going to suck? We're going to be pretty good, possibly even great if Yao and TMac are both healthy and playing as well as they're capable of. That would be true whether this trade was made or not! This trade has made us less deep and less athletic, making two of our shortcomings from last year worse, and trades the future for a "win now" approach. That's fine if you're acquiring an impact player with championship level experience, but that does not describe Shane Battier. I am not a hater. I love Shane Battier and I'm glad he's a Rocket. But this was a stupid trade. The loss of depth and athleticism might be addressed later, but it might not, and it might lead to Yao and TMac playing too many minutes and therefore not staying healthy. Great franchises use the draft to bring in young talent that can grow into the type of player the franchise wants and contribute more and more as the established players decline. The Rockets had a chance to do that with Rudy Gay and chickened out. They talk a good game, about how they will roll the dice to try to win, but when the time came, they chickened out. Sure, we'll be good next year. We'll ge good as long as both Yao and TMac are healthy and playing well. If that satisfies you, fine, but I want more.
I think we all want more. A dominant Yao Ming and a healthy Tracy McGrady immediately put us up there with the best of the west. The rest will be determined by the other contributors we put out on the floor. I don't believe this was a stupid trade because Shane Battier's value is, in fact, that high (Slomile + Gay) especially for a team like the Rockets. Many feel that we've given up depth and athleticism. I feel that that depth is overrated if that depth does not perform well. I feel athleticism is overrated if there is no intelligence and passion behind it. Slomile was not a positive for the Rockets. Yeah, he was athletic. But there was no motor and no brain behind the physical gifts. Rudy is simply no guarantee, ladies & gentlemen. He's certianly not the guaranteed positive influence that Shane will be. I'm sure if there was no question about Gay's passion, there the Rockets would've had no question in drafting him. Shane's play translates to winning. Slo's effect is undeniably negative. Gay's influence is a real crapshoot if only becuase of his uninspired air. All emotions and glitz & glamour aside, this was a really good trade for the Rockets. Welcome home, Shane.
We'll see how Rudy Gay plays today in his first Summer League game. OK...I believe the Rockets will struggle next season. No excuses. Regardless, if T-Mac goes down in his first game again, or Yao breaks his foot again, the Rockets aren't one of the elite teams in the West. Spurs, Mavericks, Clippers, and the Suns round out the top 4. Utah, with a 2nd year D. Williams, Ronnie Brewer, Kirelinko, M. Okur (who will be more effective than Yao Ming), and Boozer, is better than Rox. Lakers, under another year of Phil Jackson's triangle, will be better. Hornets almost made the playoffs last year, and now they added a shooter and a post presence in Tyson Chandler. Sacramento took the Spurs to six games. And if it wasn't for a lucky BBarry's bounce, the Kings would have won the series. Denver, in the weak Northwest, will be battling Utah for the 1 spot. Here are the teams on the bubble: MN, GS, ROX, MEMPHIS If the Rox are five games or over .500 during the All-Star break, then I'll leave this blog
So how many playoff games have the Memphis Grizzlies won? I think it's ZERO? Battier only averaged 10 and 5. You don't think a rookie can put up those numbers?
Yes, and this is true with or without the trade. As I said before, I feel this trade will mean more minutes and more strain on TMac and Yao and more chance they will be injured. Those are good points, but you have to have both to make it out of the West and win a championship. I believe it was a stupid trade because Battier is overrated. We'll have to agree to disagree. Rudy is no guarantee, but neither is Battier. There are no guarantees. Sometimes you have to roll the dice to get better, and the Rockets were afraid to. They played it safe, but IMO that was the riskier choice.
How can you think Okur will have a bigger impact then Ming. That statement alone makes you lose any credibility with any statement. No one who watches or knows basketball thinks that. Tyson Chandler is also not a post presence, especially when they had to give up PJ Brown to get him. Yes the hornets have three young athletic guys to play center but i think if they are lucky all three guys together average about half of what Yao does. Who cares if Sacramento took the spurs to 6 games. The Rox took the Mavs to 7 the year before and that didnt mean anything. The west is wide open and if the rox can stay healthy they will be fine. If their top two players go down for significant games then they will suffer. Same goes for any team. Imagine the spurs without parker and duncan, the mavs with dirk and terry, the suns without nash and amare (without Nash phoenix wouldnt be a .500 team), the clips without brand and cassell. None of those teams would do any damage.
Now that the trade is official, please bury this thread. We don't need to slap people over the head that the Rockets gave up Swift and Gay for Battier. Time to move on.
How dare you suggest my thread be shut down. It will never be shut down. It will last forever and crush all opposing threads until it gains national recognition and propels me into stardom where I can then begin my plan of world domination. Man I have got to quit watching The Family Guy.
So you're content with surrounding Yao and TMac with WNBA scrubs? Haslem, JWill, Posey, Zo, Walker, Payton? Has beens and scrubs? Dude, at LEAST they HAVE BEEN, our supporting cast are all NEVER BEENS.
Memphis guaranteed for the lottery> Why because they lost their superstar Battier? Yeah I'm pretty sure they're all gonna fall apart without their glue guy...
EXACTLY. So who do we have? Battier? Ok. Umm.... Juwan? Offensively maybe... Uhh.... Rafer? Maybe.... Uhh.... JL3? Bowen? You do realize that some of our starters are going to be bench players on other teams don't you? If your bench doesn't perform well, you don't have depth. Having depth means having players who can perfrom well off the bench. Get it? Besides, having a glue guy is overrated if you have nothing to glue together. Yet he is still loads better than other big men who are paid TWICE a much as he does. The point is not that we should have kept Stro. The point is we could have gotten more for him. No guarantee of what? Being a superstar? Being a guy who can take over a game? A guy to take the winning shot??? Do we really need another guy like that when we have TMac and Yao to do that? Battier is a guaranteed good roleplayer. But your expectations of Gay are extremely high, while your expectations of Battier are mediocre, and that is just unfair. We drafted him at #8, not #1. For your reference, Battier was drafted even higher at #6. All we need from Gay was to be a decent 3rd option doing 12/5/3 a game. Nothing more. If he turns out to be TMac 2, then it's already a bonus. Yeah Shane sure has a proven track record when it comes to winning. 0 for 12 in fact. Let me put this straight. Shane Battier is a good pickup, but Gay/Swift for Battier is a HORRIBLE trade.
First off, let me say that i just saw Battier's one-on-one interview on Rocket's homepage, and was very impressed with how well he articulates and presents himself. Not!!! What a snob! Just because you graduated from DUKE doesn't mean your sh*t don't stink, SHANE! "I'm intelligent enough to guard 4s," Shane Battier, our Rocket's scholar. First of all, you lose credibility with the name Yao # 1. Oh please. What is he number one in? Getting posterized on ESPN? Last time I check, I think Shaq has a fourth ring just recently? Yao Ming 05-06 - 22.3 pg, 10.2 rpg, 51 FG% Mehmet Okur 05-06 - 18.0 pg 9.1 rpg, 2.4 APG 1st game Okur - 20 pts 17 rebs 4 blks (Yao didn't play) 2nd game Okur - 14 pts 11 rebs Yao - 27 pts 8 rebs 2 blks (Yao almost fouled out in this game) 3rd game Okur - 20 pts 12 rebs 4 ast Yao - 5 pts 2 rebs 1 blk (he injured his foot in this game) Okur is surrounded by more talent than Yao; that means Okur would have increased his PPG and RPG. And Okur is only one year older than Yao and PLAYS MORE MINUTES. Okur will be more effective as a 5 in this new run-and-gun league. He doesn't get winded easily. We'll see about that. Tyson Chandler's resposibility with Hornets is to rebound and block shots. Chris Paul is an elite PG who can find open guys, especially when they're under the basket. What's your definition of fine? 1st round and out? They're were supposed to win the championship 2 years ago and should have beaten Dallas if it weren't for Yao's disappearing act in games 3 and 4. The Rockets are not deep! Without Mike James, Rox's backcourt are liable defensively, which means that Yao will pick up cheap fouls again. Are Yao and T-Mac going to play 82 games, 40 mins +? Because that's what the Rockets need from them if they want to crack the 50 win mark. I think D-Wade and Shaq, they're not! D-Wade and Shaq are the real dynamic duo. Of course, but if all those guys are healthy, can Yao and T-Mac alone beat them? Since when has JVG become the greatest coach in the world?
Heh -- how funny would it be if, just to torment us, Clutch left this Sticked for the duration of Rudy Gay's 12-year, All-Star career.
I feel that nix101 is like charlesbony, but with a deeper seated disgust for Yao, T-mac, the Rockets, CD, JVG, and everything that is connected with the Rockets with the exception of this board, since he knows that he would be banned then he can't post his ridculous replies. For reference on who is charlesbony, see the yahoo houston rockets board, hardcore t-mac fans.
THE LATEST! July 14, 2006, 12:25PM Rockets make deal for Hornets guard Snyder By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle The Rockets moved to fill their void in the backcourt on Friday with a deal to acquire shooting guard Kirk Snyder from the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The Rockets did not have to give up a player to add Snyder, sending cash and future draft considerations — likely no more than switching second-round draft positions — to the Hornets. Rockets officials could not comment on the deal until it is completed later this afternoon. Snyder, the 16th pick of the 2004 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, played 68 games in each of his two NBA seasons, moving into the starting lineup with the Hornets last season. A 6-6, 225-pound shooting guard, Snyder, 23, averaged eight points on 45.3 percent shooting, playing 19.3 minutes per game last season, averaging 9.7 per game in his 45 games as a starter.
This one deserves its one thread. This is clear a Moreyball move because JVG said he does not like knuckleheads.
As for Okur having more talent, that means he should have better numbers not worse. Teams dont double and triple Okur. If he was on the Rox instead of Yao he wouldnt command half the attention or put up half the numbers Yao does. As for Tyson Chandler I am sure he will turn into a 20 point scorer now that he has Chris Paul on his team because Heinrich, Gordon and Deng all really suck. What run and gun league has this turned into. The last three championships are the pistons vs. lakers, spurs vs. pistons and mavs vs. heat. Of those teams only the Mavs were considered running teams and they didnt sniff the finals until they started playing D and being good in the halfcourt. Just because of the suns success everyone thinks every team has to suddenly score 130 points to win and that is just not the case. My point with the first round exit is you give kudos for the kings taking the spurs to 6 games but losing in the first round. Then you blast the Rox for losing in 7 in the first round to the Mavs. You cant have it both ways. As for Yao and the foul trouble, if he learned to stay out of it most of last year with the guys he was playing with, he will be fine this year. Let me ask, are you even a rox fan?
That was before last season. Last year, JVG was obsessed with getting someone with "an edge". A quote I found from Brian Robinson from soniccentral.com, as printed on ***************: The Rockets will be fine as long as they don't exceed the one knucklehead quota.
