The T-Wolves have Garnett. The Faker$ have $haq and Bryant. The Suns have Kidd and Hardaway. The Kings have Webber and Williams. The Grizzlies have Abdur-Rahim, Dickerson, and Bibby... ... And those are just a handful of the stars we're going to be facing for the next decade. Hopefully the Rocks will be able to pull off some more of their legendary draft/free-agency/trade magic next summer or we are in for a long drought. ------------------ WE WILL WATCH THEM FALL.
Francis will be great. Thomas looks good. Cato looks good. Anderson is good. Mobley is good. With one more player, I believe we're ready to contend (a sf). BTW, Dickerson and Bibby are decent players, but hardly anybody to fear. [This message has been edited by haven (edited December 11, 1999).]
Love the optimism, but if we screw up(or get screwed) in the 2000 draft it's going to be tough. Stevie's going to be great, agreed, but we're going to need more than him.
Ohh yeah the future of our players is good but we do need more. If we can get a good power forward and a great player from the draft then all i got to say is watch out.
Our future is squat unless we get some big people who can play, and have court awareness. Maybe in this year's lottery we can pick one up. DaDakota
Francis3, True my man, if we do not pick up a few quality veterans, or Hakeem begins to speak up. Then it will be a long time before these players learn how to win consistantly in this league. YEARS !!! DaDakota
I knew this team would suffer without Barkley. I dont think Hakeem can help any of the players. Hakeem is quiet, Barkley was the leader and told everyone on the team what to do. Players looked up to him alot. Francis and the other players were learning so quick. But now they have to wait to learn themselves and it will take a while.
Doug Collins during a Chicago Bulls broadcast: "I still remember the day we acquired Scottie Pippen. We had worked late into the night to get Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant. I remember how excited we were after pulling that off. Little did we know that that would be a championship nucleus for years to come." (not exact) The Chicago Bulls acquired their second superstar (Scottie Pippen) 3 years after they drafted Michael Jordan. They then filled the roster out with Horace Grant and BJ Armstrong. They built chemistry with this core over the next 6 years. They let the guys grow. They made minor acquisitions along the way, bringing in Paxson and Perdue. I believe the Rockets found their superstar in Steve Francis. They have their Horace Grant big man in Cato. They have in Shandon Anderson a nifty role player. I don't think that Cuttino Mobley is that other superstar, so the search for that will continue over the years. Don't give up on this team. The future is bright, it just takes time to build a core.
Of course it will take time, but there's no guarantee we'll ever reach the promised land again especially nowadays. Hopefully we won't become the 21st century's Utah Jazz. I'm not doubting the Rockets organization's personnel decisions, but rather factors they can't control. I guess Barkley's injury has just gotten me a little worried about the future all of the sudden. I just can't get the horrific thought of Stevie Francis coming down on his ankle wrong or our number one pick next year overdosing on heroin or trying to kill himself. [This message has been edited by AntiSonic (edited December 11, 1999).]
What does Toronto need now? If the rockets can answer this question without francis, The future is very bright. If not, the rocks need to move up in the draft.
Cab, HH, We need a dominant PF who has an all-around offensive game and the size and quickness on D to match. Maybe OT has a son in college we don't know about yet!
We are a player away from contending, a PF. Hopefully we can fill this in this years draft, or if that player is not avaialble trade the pick for a PF. At the same time it needs to be a dominant PF (I think). Hakeem can fill that role for the next year or two, but we must realize (like Charles) that he will not be around forever. We need a forward who can run and post up. If Cato comes around the posting up may not be as important, but we do need some offense. However to be a championship contendor we are still that PF, a couple years, and a superstar away. Our youth needs a couple years to mature. And hopefully within that time either Francis/Cato/new PF asserts themselves to the level of a leader and a superstar. We have enough young talent, but it will take time, to see who rises to the top as the leader of this team or if it comes from teh outside.
Ahem, thacabbage. Well put. I wouldn't sell Cuttino short though. He improved so much over this summer, I think he might be as important to his team as say a Jeff Hornacek. If there is more improvement in him he may surprise us all. I like our talent. I expected a lot from Cato and still do - I hope he doesn't need that much time to improve. Isn't he like 25 years old? Drew has really shown lots of improvement lately - guess he started hitting his shots. Stevie, Cuttino, Shandon, Cato and Dream for the last half of this season. That's okay with me! Carlos, Kenny, and Thomas deserve playing time too. Kenny Thomas actually may also be a very good player down the road. He is a power forward I think. Don't know how big he is but he can play on both ends of the court. Keep them together, let them grow. We the fans will suffer through this season if Dream coming back can't turn it around.
P.S. We will have cap room after next year when Dream retires. So Dream leaves, and we have money to get another good player. Probably won't be a Dream but...hopefully in 1.5 more seasons Cato, Anderson, Stevie, Cuttino, Drew, Thomas, Carlos and Hamilton (hope I didn't leave anyone out) will have matured and improved. One of your stars has to be a big man. I say another Otis Thorpe type PF also. Would be nice to get a Tim Duncan in the draft, lol. It worked for the Spurs. Penny Hardaway is too injured and never happy. I don't think Phoenix is really that good.
yeah, when Hakeem retires, we will have a lot of money to sign someone really good. WE have a good nucleus for our team, and all the really good free agents would want to come to us. I don't know whether we need another pf. We already have Kenny Thomas. I think he's pretty good. He has shown that he has a hard work ethic, and he can improve a lot from this season to the start of next season. He might have a Cuttino MObley inside of him. Plus, Kenny has already shown that he has skills. It's just a matter of building on them. So, I KNOW that we have a bright future.
Indeed we will have a bright future. New coach is needed. New Center/ PF thats athletic no 330 slugs. Trade Walt, Tony maybe another. Keep Drew, Cuttino, Francis. They are improving and we be even better next year. Kenny Thomas isn't good enough for a starting power foward. He is to inconsitent. He an't great but he is a ok player. Great back up Power foward though. Carlos Rogers is more of a SF to me.
To thacabbage - My first sentence was supposed to be "Amen" not "Ahem". Thanks. To BryceDrewFan - How can a fan of Bryce be against Rudy T as coach? Bryce wouldn't be playing if not for Rudy continuing to stick him in there when us fans were crucifying him. Of course, Rudy probably doesn't know we exist - I imagine the radio talk shows were roasting Drew also - but Rudy has stuck with him, and he is looking good. bballfanatic
What the Rockets need are some familiar faces in the lineup. Meaning players that are familiar with our type of system. One player no one mentioned that ya'll know I am a big fan of is Othella Harrington. While I know that he isn't going to carry this team, he knows the system, isn't afraid to get up and down the floor and is still young. I'm not sure what his situation is in Vancouver, but what could the Rockets give up to get him back. He is a quality PF and could easily start. The man is good for at least 15-20 points and 8-12 rebounds a game...in other words a great role player...something the Rockets have been lacking since the championship years. ------------------ There is no offense without a good defense.
