I highly doubt it. Players stats tend to inflate in Phoenix b/c they play WITH Nash. In Banks case, he'll be on the floor to spell Nash, so there will be a ton of pressure on him to keep up the pace of the Phoenix offense. I don't see him doing to well myself. I think JL3 would have been a better fit there personally, but looks like the Rockets didn't want to let him go.
The system, the approach of the coaching staff, and learning from Nash will likely result in an increase in production for Banks, regardless of whether or not he's primarily Nash's backup. There's a good chance he'd see plenty of minutes at SG anyway, considering Phoenix's tendency to create tiny lineups.
True, but the entire Phoenix system still plays at a high pace during the brief stints Nash goes out, though they don't do it quite as effectively, and for a team that plays no defense, that spells disaster. That, combined with the fact that he will undoubtedly get some time ont he floor with Nash, I'd expect Banks' numbers to still be good.
No big loss. We're probably looking at Spanoulis anyway to be our combo guard. Banks has a low Roland rating and his Fair Salary value last year wasn't that good. Plus he's short and we are trying to get taller. Pretty sure that he is not worth 21 over 5 years.
Really? I missed that. I think I'd rather bring over VSpan for < $$$ and <years and see what he can do. That isn't as risky as signing banks for 5 years and VSpan has a chance to be better for this team.
Boy, this hurts. Banks chooses to go to a team that already has a 2-time MVP at the point and a backup point guard (Barbosa) that averaged 13 points a game last season (more than anyone in Houston outside of Yao/Mcgrady). The rich get richer. The Rockets really need use next season to make themselves a more attractive place for free agents (particularly young free agents). Winning alone is not going to do it. We’ve got to win while proving that we can develop young players and elevate their games. Snyder, Spanoullis, Lucas, Novak, and Hayes all need to get significant playing time and have good seasons. I think the whole Swift debacle may have really hurt us this offseason in our pursuit of James and Banks.
Well, obviously he’s proven enough for the Suns to offer him a 5-year contract. It’s hard to argue against the Suns recent track record of finding unproven talent. If the Suns like him, he must have talent. And as unproven as Banks may be, he's still much more proven than Spanoullis and Lucas III, the only two free agent acquisitions we'll likely have this summer.
I wouldn't have minded Banks but not for 5 years. That's a big gamble when the guy really has only had one good half season and was traded twice in his first three years in the league. Phoenix either made a very good move or a very bad one, but either way they are stuck with the move for five years.
Didn't Boston actually trade Banks twice? I think he was originally included in the Gary Payton deal to the Lakers, but for some reason the trade was held up and Banks was replaced with another player. Kind of like the Horry and Bullard trade for Sean Elliott.
This article was upped before Banks's annoucement. Rockets unattractive destination after last season's horror run? http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/15070480.htm Rockets still need an upgrade, ie someone who's an option to play better defense at the one when need be.
That's two players now that have turned down our MLE. I get the feeling that we will never be an attractive free agent destination so long as JVG is our coach. Even with no state sales tax. In this day in age, we need a players' coach (like RudyT was) to attact free agents.
I'm holding out for Watson! No, I'd just rather see Lucas get the floor time he wouldn't have if House was on the roster.
League MVP or not, Nash is the Suns MVP. When he's out they don't do well. Personally, I think Nash makes their offense tick and Banks will have a very tough act to follow.
I doubt that we offered him the full MLE - if we did then it makes the decision not to give James the "trade kicker" look even stupider.
I don't see how the Rockets could have had a standing offer to Kill Bill and a full MLE offer to Banks at the same time as reported. If Kill Bill was gonna take a chunk of the MLE to sign, then the most they could have offered Banks was either the remainder of the MLE (3.2 mil a year to start) or the TE (up to 4.3 to start, but perhaps they had other plans for the TE). The article says the Rockets had the MLE "available", doesn't mean they offer it to him. In fact the earlier reports were that Banks had been waiting for someone to offer him the full MLE and wasn't finding any takers. I doubt the Rockets or any other team thought half a season of semi-decent ball was enough for the full MLE in the long term. Seems like they saw Mike James as the only guy worthy of the full MLE. As for "attractive destination", I'm not sure you want the guys who don't want to and cannot fit into the Rockets system anyway. Quite content with having Battier and Snyder added to the roster. I don't get why people b**** whenever a player goes to another team, there are plenty more out there via FA or trade.
