Clutch, I liked Mike James, but did not view him as a must, and truthfully was worried about his chemistry with Tmac and Yao....IE, would he dominate the ball too much ala Francis. I think he is good, but undersized and not necessary on this year's Rockets. DD
I'd like to interject and wonder if you remembered that Mike James DID play a portion of a season + playoffs with Yao and Tmac and had no problems whatsoever, DD. He waved off Tmac? Oh god, what an overused, overblown excuse to keep putting out there. As for as being undersized, the man scored 20+ ppg on 44% shooting from the 3. He might be undersized but he can score. Can Kill Bill or Lucas, with their undersized selves, say the same thing? James isn't a savior nor is he the end-all-be-all of the Rockets offseason, but you can't deny the fact that he: 1. Was a proven scorer 2. Played well with Tmac and Yao 3. Is a much needed spark of offense And was only commanding the MLE. I can't remember when was the last time when a 20 ppg 6 apg player that shot the 3 at a 44% clip not getting at least 9 mil a year.
I totally Agree, especially the part of a healthy Yao T-Mac. Their health is really whats gonna determine what kinda season we'll have. That being said, I'd still like to get a athletic PF to compliment the PF's that we have right now.
I like to wait until the offseason is over to evaluate the offseason because, well, it's not over yet: with the rest of the MLE, the TE, and some other trade opportunities, we have the chance to complement our younger and more athletic players, with some more experienced veterans. As a matter of fact, it's probably best to wait until the season is over to evaluate the moves our front office made because until then no one will know how things are turning out. Last year, people were bashing Miami's moves, while lauding San Antonio's and Houston's, adding in mild puzzlement over Phoenix and Dallas. Well, we can see now who had the best offseasons: the teams that enabled themselves to compete at a higher level due to the on-court play of the new acquisitions. The incessant complaining about the Gay trade (no pun intended) is gettting really old. While I can still grant that we at least could have gotten a switch of our second and their first rounders or some future considerations, I honestly don't think many people here have followed Rudy Gay that much. He is too thin and weak to play the four anytime soon, while his handle and lateral movement are not the best for the three just yet. He will be a very good stand-still shooting threat who moves well without the ball and can finish in the open court, but he is not the star many seem to suggest. He may (emphasize *MAY*) become a legitimate All-Star one day and he may (again emphasizing *MAY*) even put up 10/5 numbers this year. But he could not step in for us at the four like Battier will, he could never give us the experience, flexibility, defensive skills, effort, and leadership that Battier will, and he would force McGrady to play the two consistently, which not only has McGrady said he doesn't want to do but his back problems suggest he shouldn't have to chase smaller guards around the court all season long. These are all reasons why the Rox did not have Gay in their top-5. So chill out with the Rudy Gay obsession. I completely agree that we could have gotten more out of the deal, but as it is we got a player who will contribute immediately in numerous ways over the next few years on a relatively moderate contract. I don't like giving up a trade option like Swift, either, but our willingness to do so should say something about our confidence in the future trade prospects of the guy.
well-said, completely agree. I think more people will come around when the season gets going and we get to see Gay 4 times this year..
I think so far I need give the rockets a C+ for now. there really no "surprise" as we got vspan, we have his birth rights (thou i think we paid him a bit too much) no surprise as we drafted novak in the second round. only surprise was battier for swift and gay, which some of us still think we got robbed in that one. synder was the positive spin as he had him for cheap. who will be manning our 4? if synder won't be our starter?
D- They had a shot at Mike James. He's a big time player and the loss of him two seasons in a row is disheartening. He would have been awesome as a combo guard for the Rockets swapping between the 1 and 2. He's one of the top scorers in the game today even if he held the ball more than most like. Battier is a worthy addition that will improve the Rockets on both sides of the ball starting opening night. I don't like losing Swift because he could play some minutes at the 5. Spanoulis....I'll wait to judge him, but I doubt he'll be as good as James this year or next. Low cost option that was probably the best move after not getting James. I like guards that can shot a high 2pt% (.5000) with a respectable 3pt% (.35). He may be able to do this in the NBA after a season or twolike he did last season in Europe. JLIII....he may come in a do good, but I don't expect him to decide many games this season. Low cost with decent potential for future returns. Snyder.....good low cost pickup. If he messes up, t won't cost the Rockets as much. I see him like Swift. He has potential and if he doesn't pay off we'll package him with the first pick next year for Mike Miller. Novak....Yao Ming will appreciate the warm seat. May yield future returns, but don't expect him to be effective until he can play the 4 defensively. Hayes...exercising his option was a good move. The Rockets will do well if they can get him to play 25 mpg like he did for 5 mpg last season.
Yeah a pf would be great and I have been hearing bout Ariza but honestly I dint know bout at all so I went to Youtube and searched him up a little and I really like him now but can we get this Guy, it would not be bad cuz you continue to make this team young more athletic and ofcourse more exiting and dont get me wrong I like some veterans in a team its just that we had too many and speed and quickness was becoming an issue and we need to keep up with teams in our division and conference. Phoenix, Dallas, and San Antonio are just athletic,fast, for us but this new look of the Rockets might allow us to compete at higher levels and we cannot forget that our two superstars will lead this team and not the young guys yet still teams will have hard time matching up against our leaders and a new younger, faster more athletic Rockets team.
I am not too excited so far. I just dont see how are better than two years ago with these signing and battier trade. My only hope next season is Tmac healthy and Yao improved vastly. As for the role players, we are out matched by most of the teams in the west still IMO.
I agree too. I saw the clips of Gay basically just dunking a lot, and while that is impressive, Harold Miner used to dunk like that too. So did Stromile Swift. My point is that lots of guys can dunk, but that doesn't always turn them into solid NBA players. Heck, I used to be able to dunk too, but no one wants a 6'2" old white dude on an NBA roster. As for grading the off-season, too early to tell. I like that we are bigger in the backcourt, and I like that Stro is gone, but I think there is more in the cooker than we all may realize (at least I hope so).
if i were going to post here, this is exactly what i would say. but i'm not going to post here. what?
if you're looking for him to be more than a matt bullard/scott padgett type, you're asking too much. he will never be a great defender. he will come in off the bench to create mismatches with his shot. frankly, i'm fine with that. they need shooters and novak is a marksman.
LOL, why is that "crap"? Yao is the best center in the league and TMac is one of the top SF's in the league, if not the best. Both missed TONS of games last year. Why is assuming that, if they're both healthy, it will make a HUGE difference "crap"? Sheesh, no kidding. Thank you, neXXes. BimaThug, nice post. Completely agree.
Precisely. Question his motor, attitude, and college numbers. There is no doubt he SHOULD have been more productive with his skill set under Jim Calhoun. I've heard the talk about being on the floor with upperclassmen, and deferring to them, but come on, most of today's young "baller's" grow up deferring to no one. They 'get theirs' every chance they can. Did anyone see the look on his face as he slid down draft night? Didn't look to me like someone who appreciated simply being there.
Now it seems we have too many guards but too few forwards. Maybe we will see t-mac and battier a lot at 4.
Now we're in the day and time when a humble team player gets blasted for being just that. How much lower do you sink
I cant grade the offseason yet. I hope they still have a few moves up their sleeves (good moves). As for the Vspan signing I guess it was a move they had to make. I have absolutely no idea what he brings to the table so I guess we'll all find out.
STedd, I completely see what you are saying, but IMHO, Yao is a MUCH different player than the one that was in the Mavs series....and he will need a lot more touches to continue to grow and dominate. I think Mike James would have been a great addition, but he would have hurt the chemistry, which is why Chris Bosh wanted him out in Toronto...MJ helped us that year, but there was a reason we let him go, and yes, I wanted him back too, but only at the right price. I just think he is too selfish of a player and this years team will be better without him.....just a feeling I guess. DD
Great Post! Yeah MJ would have given the Rockets a chance to make up for their other blunders, but I guess the T-pups will have a nice back court next year. What I can't figure out is how JVG and CD see V-span as a player. One talks about his great size which he's not that big. I guess compared to our other guards he's big except Snyder. JVG goes on to talk about how he's a 2nd rounder without even giving the guy credit for his years spent in the Euro league. CD talks about his ball handling and passing which might be his weaknesses as a player because his assits/turnover ratio is not that good. Do they have the filtered glasses on or what?
