don't even mention him all the stupid trade threads on this BBS. Back in the late 90's the Rox traded Horry and Cassell, the only young players on the team at the time, because they thought they had a champion shot with Hakeem and Drexler still on the team. In return we got that fat guy Barkley and Cassell and Horry went on to have fantasic careers and both are still in the league. Head is best player drafted by the Rox in a long time. I love his game and we need to keep him no matter what. That Barkley trade still hurts me to this day...let's not do it again. Who's with me?
Luther is an improved player, a great shooter, a player who isn't afraid to take big shots down the stretch, but I think he's somewhat one-dimensional. He's not a good ball handler, not a good defender, and he's a mediocre finisher at best. His midrange game needs a lot of work. He does two things well -- he hits threes, and he rebounds well for his size. Horry was a very versatile player on both ends, and Cassell had a lot more game inside the three point line. I wouldn't put Luther in their category as far as his potential to be a winner just yet.
That's why we don't trade him so he can develope. I really like that he's not affraid to take big shots. If you have that mentality, you can do long way in any career...
Head has shown that he wants to be a big part of the future of this franchise. Without the addition of Rudy Gay, it is good to see that we have some young guys to look forward to after Mcgrady and the sad day Yao goes. Same goes for Chuck Hayes and Novak.
I dont think Luther can "develop" new dimensions to his game. he is a great shooter, no doubt about it, but like durvasa said, he is lacking lots of stuff and his TOs hurt the team. I dont have a problem trading him for, say, Troy Murphy (even though it wont happen.) I was a big Luther-hater last year and I've said that he is at best an NBDL player (I said that when he went on that 60 games slump, or what many people falsly call it, the rookie wall). but this year, he has really worked on his J and he can finish strong at the basket if he tries to be smart and not take it to the hole with 3 defenders underneath and get his a$$ blocked, like he did last game, twice. I think Luther should be limited to only shooting the open three or that cool play he runs with Yao where Yao hands it out to Luther. I think him trying to do so much is what hurt us in the past 2 games, but it's somewhat acceptable since Tmac is not playing. when Tmac comes back, I dont want to see him trying to do so much and getting all the TOs.
I agree completely. Luther Head was an awesome draft pick and is a great young player. I hope he has a long, productive career with the Rockets.
While I wouldn’t go as far as to say don’t trade him ever, I will say don’t trade him unless you’re absolutely, positively certain that he has topped out as a player. His trade value now is probably twice what it was during the summer when everybody was throwing his name around in trade ideas. How dumb would the Rockets look right now if they traded him this past summer for peanuts?
That may be the dumbest comment I've read on this board in a while. What about Luther makes you think he can't "develop" new dimensions to his game? Seriously...what anecdotal evidence do you have that would point to that? Is it that fact that in 4 years as a college player he got better every year, increasign minutes played, rebounding, assists, steals, etc. while still remaining a good shooter. Is it the fact that in only his second year in the NBA, despite getting fewer minutes per game, he is shooting better, scoring more, and rebounding more? Yes, his turnovers are up, and assists are down (though on a per minute basis, pretty constant). But the fact of the matter is, Luther focused this offseason on developing one key area of his game - 3 point shooting...um, I'd say that's been one freaking HUGE success. Luther obviously doesn't have Horry's size. Or Cassell's mid range game, bulk, or wily veteran smarts quite yet. But if there's one thing he has definitely shown to be true, it's that he can develop his game when given the opportunity.
I agree with ya, except the part about the only good draft we've had in a while...AHEM, a certain guy from China rings a bell
durvasa said it well. We should just remember the sky is not the limit for Luther. He won't get much better and we should considering a trade if it improved the team.
Agree. Luther has his probs, but theres nothing to say that he can't improve and he can be CLUTCH. I think he just belongs with the Rockets.
I def. concur with this post. I'm thinking of Luther as an investment - an honestly good investment with no downside. He's a nice, consistent player, who's still got upside. That doesn't mean he's untradable, but trade him only for something better.
