I was looking around to see whats available for cheap and these are some of the the names I recongnized. Dont know the status on a couple of them but sure would like it if we could pick up 1 or 2 of them for cheap. Before going off on me consider that Im talking about vets for cheap to add depth temp while we look for the right peices. Nick Van Exel Old but could be good backup third scorer when needed. Jiri Welsch Young high bb IQ. Lorenzen Wright Dont know worth but would be good backup for Yoa and could play some 4. Kelvin Cato Same as above. Jonathan Bender Dont know what happendto him but is tall athletic and can play lots of positions. Anfernee Hardaway Iknow he hasnt shown much for awhile but as a backup PG/SG for the vet min he might be worth looking at. Reggie Evans ? Please add to my list if you know anymore.
I think Bender retired and I think you can add Keith Van Horn, DeMarr Johnson, Jumaine Jones, Deavan George, Qyntel Woods, and Darius Songalia
I really wish we'd make an attempt to get Songaila. A 6'10" 4/5 who can shoot from deep and rebound? The Rockets should be all over him.
Some of those guys are really scraping the barrel. I know that Dawson has been accused of being cheap, but it's not like the man is Phoenix Sun's owner Robert Sarver. The Rockets still have their MLE and the larger trade exception. Tracy McGrady is most likely going to miss a portion of games so i like the idea of adding some more quality pieces so the Rockets could compete when T-Mac most likely goes down.
The next move we make should be to sign Ariza away from the Magic. This is an opportunity to aquire a versitile player with youth, athleticism, and length. He even has "star" potential if he continues to develop his game. Novak, Battier, Snyder, Ariza, JL3 and V-Span should add excelent versitility and depth to the Houston Rockets. Although I think they've made plenty of mistakes already this offseason, the addition of those 6 players could significantly improve our team, and give us a chance to get past the first round.
What a great idea! Let's tank the season less than 15 games into it for an inknown commodity! Not smart.
Tell me why ? Why is everyone so big on him ? He averaged 4pts a game.. I just want to know why so I can understand and then I will cheer for Ariza to come to Roxs Town...
I've always liked Van Horns game. Its funny but it seems just like yesterday he was an All-Star. Can he still at least shoot ? I know in the Playoffs especially against Miami he struggled....
At this stage of FA, I'd think that we can split the MLE b/w Banks and Lorenzen. Then we'd be set. Alston/Banks/JL3 Sura/Snyder/Head TMac/Novak/Bowen Battier/Howard/Hayes Yao/Mutombo/Lorenzen
I saw him play a lot when he was at ucla (go bruins baby!) and he was a great athlete and was very raw and yes the "p" word was applied to him. I have a few friends who know Coach Howland really well and said that he was really upset when ariza left after only a year because he could have been that special player who can turn around the program by himself if he had stayed. Ariza is now entering I believe his third season which would have been his senior year at UCLA had he stayed. I honestly believe the NBA may have stunted his growth as a player, but he has been lost in the fold in new york with all the players there. He easily can become an excellent sf/sg off the bench both offensively and defensively. He can jump out of the building and attack the rim but needs to work more on his jumpshot. Defense is decent but he has the capability of being a above average defender if he works at it which I believe can happen under JVG. Its a low cost move, ariza has not done anything yet in the NBA to warrant a overpaid contract or even a decent contract. If the rockets can dip into their MLE to offer him a decent contract above min. He could be a good bench asset for now and the future. and if it doesnt work out, it would not be a huge hit against our cap.
First of all, he's 6'8". Second of all, he's 21. Third, he averages a steal every 17 minutes. That's simply amazing. He's an excellent defensive player already, and he's working to improve his shooting. 4.5 pts, 1 stl, 4 rebs, and 1 assist every 17 minutes. If he played 34 minutes he'd have 9 pts, 8 rebs, 2 stls, and 2 assists. That is some excellent production from a young player .... and he's only going to get better.
I really don't think he's that tall. He's probably about the size of Kenny Thomas, who is about 6' 8". With that said, I love his game. Start him over Juwan any day of the week.
I like Ariza, but where would he play? He's a great wing defender, but can't shoot a lick and needs to be around the rim to score at all. But we already have two guys who are best at the three--McGrady and Battier, so I don't think there will be many minutes there. I would much rather see the Banks/Wright or Banks/Jeffries deal, but I am not sure how that would work out either. We still need another shooter in the backcourt, but there isn't much availabe--that may have to come from the trade exception. And whoever it is that stated McGrady will miss a portion of the games, what does that even mean? And we should prepare for him to go down? Well, since he has missed double-digit games in all of 2 seasons during his 9-year career, I don't know why we assume this will necessarily happen.
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Jul1o, I understand what you're trying to say but that's not that impressive. Heck, Snyder had a greater highlight with his dunk against the Lakers. Essentially, Snyder and Ariza are of the same build but Snyder's game is more refined because he has a much better jump shot. Another athletic swingman should not be of our concerns at this point. We still need frontcourt depth.
One thing Ariza has is great rebounding instincts... you can never have enough good rebounders on the squad. However, I agree, the PG and the PF/C is more of a need than the 2 or the 3 at the moment, where TMac, Battier, Head, and Snyder can all be trusted to handle significant minutes, given the right matchup. Rockets have no true PG except Rafer, and no one to really cover more than 20 C minutes if Yao gets hurt. I'm disappointed to hear that Jarron Collins is signing back with Utah for a modest price (2 mil a year?)... at that price, he woudn't be a bad guy to have. I hope management have some sort of plan in their head, though.
