I am pulling HARD for Cato now. Damn Willis trade! :(

We need a tough player. Willis IS a tough player. We need depth. This doesn't have anything to do with Cato, in fact it HELPS Cato. He has someone he can learn from, and doesn't have to worry about losing his job. Willis isn't going to play 30 minutes a game every night, and he isn't the future of this team. But he will help us for the next year or 2 definitely. Willis was playing with a lower back injury in 96-97 and he was actually a big help vs Malone in the 98 playoffs. The guy is a career 10 rpg player and he is grabbing 10 rpg in the preseason, including 18 against the Mavs. The guy isn't nearly as bad as you claim he isn't and just because he had a few bad playoff games doesn't mean he can't help the team. He isn't the star of the team, and he wasn't the reason we lost those playoff games. Besides if you go by that then we better dump practically everybody on this team because they haven't even got to th playoffs or produced consistently. Judging Willis on a few bad games is ridiculous. And saying he doesn't have any game is crazy. And calling him the most overrated Rocket ever when he did his role as a role player is the craziest thing I have ever heard. Hey if you go by that boxscore of Game 2 and the rest of those games in the WCF in 1997 you might as well have traded practically everybody on that team!

 

Serge Zwikker is a big body stiff. Kevin Willis is not. Willis can contribute alot of rebounding and good shooting from the 5. He's not the greatest defender, but he's no slouch. Willis is good for a block or two a game. He's not the solution, but is a good fit for now.

I really hope this kicks Cato in the ass and gets him motivated. Maybe Kevin will get Kelvin into the gym.

 

You worry too much. His '96-97 stats:

96-97 HOU 75 32 26.2 .481 .143 .693 1.90 5.50 7.50 .9 .56 .43 1.59 2.90 11.2

11.2ppg, 7.5rpg, 1.59bpg. Not exactly horrible, even though that was a relative slump for him. If he gets minutes (give him 35 mpg - he can take it), he will get around 15/12/2. I for one would be very happy with that.

This is an excellent addition, especially considering that we lose pretty much nothing.

 

Dude this trade kicks ass!!

Willis is the anti-Cato. Willis is a leader, a hard worker, a class act, a tough guy who will play through pain, has an offensive game not reliant on the alleyoop dunk, a team player, and he's durable. I wouldn't be surprised to see Willis starting at center and Cato languishing on the bench again at some time during the season. Great trade CD!!

 

one word can some this all up:

awesome

he is fairly big, rebounds(yes!), and will be a team player. Do not underestimate that last part, it was the whole reason for the trade in the first place.

 

This is an awesome trade, I just hope it doesn't stifle Cato at all -- he's had a solid preseason, and has shown signs of life. Hopefully adding Willis won't cause him to relapse back into his coma.

 

There were times when all of us said the same about even Hakeem. Not to compare him to Hakeem, but everyone has their moments...

This is a solid addition. Willis will add to the frontcourt in rebounding and scoring, in blocking and defending; he will not demand the ball, and he will not hog it. We lost nothing in trade (a 2nd rounder ) and gained someone with a virtual millenium of experience and maturity compared to our current starter - Kelvin Cato.

Good Lord, how could you not be happy with this serious upgrade at the 5 spot?

 

I still possess horrible memories of Willis' performance against the Jazz. If I saw him miss that jump hook one more time at an excessive distance, I think I would have had apoplexy.

I don't like Willis at all. That said, he came cheap, and with Houston's front court situation, the deal probably helps a bit.

 

I really don't understand why everyone's so excited about getting Willis.

I mean yeah he's a warm body and he's strong, but seriously, he's not going to make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

I think we'll end up seeing him start at PF before we ever see him start at C.

 

i think that was a good trade. willis came very cheap and he is a good rebounder. he gonna help us a lot.

 

There's just no pleasing some people. Even when only a second rounder is lost - no players, all other picks safe - for a veteran C/PF. Coincidentally the positions we're most lacking at.

I'm far more interested in how Willis feels about being a Rocket again than how either haven or BGM feels about Willis being a Rocket again. Anyone have any info on that?

 

Sorry treeman, I'm still ignorant on how to credit a quote.

Let's see, we lose MoT right after we sign him, gain a med exception, sign Jackson to an offer sheet with it, get screwed by Golden State, then get Willis right at the med exception expiration deadline for a second round choice.

So we're expected to be happy with acquiring a guy who can give us some rebounding, scoring, leadership; who fit in well when he was here before; who will costs us a second rounder at a time when we're full of young players anyway; whose contract expires after this year(so I've read); when we had no realistic expectations(salary cap-wise) of getting any USEFUL player without trading one of our player(s).

HECK YES WE SHOULD BE HAPPY!
CD made something out of nothing. How this guy doesn't have a shelf full of Executive of the Year awards is truly amazing!

 

Remember his hook shot? UNSTOPPABLE! I still hope he has it. Having a big strong veteran rebounder/shotblocker/post up player just made the rockets about 20% better IMO.

 

No problem, SA Rocket. You got the nuts & bolts right, and that's all I care about. It's an excellent trade.

Our alternative was NO trade/acquisition at all. Mason was not going to come here, and frankly I like Willis more than Clark for a year. And we would've had to give somebody up for Clark.

I simply do not understand how anyone can criticize Houston's end of this deal.

We: 1) Acquired a much needed presence in the frontcourt, 2) lost only a future second round pick, and 3) made a conference contender weaker (add the Nugz to the raped by Rockets list - wait - they're already there!)

I am happy with this deal. Very happy.

 

I totally agree treeman. One more thing that I hope Willis will provide is some hands-on tutoring for Griffin since his future seems to be at 4/5. Griffin is much more gifted but Willis' experience could be immensely helpful in his development. Something along the lines of Moses taking a young Hakeem(Akeem) under his wing would be nice. And, to the naysayers, no I'm not suggesting Willis is on par talent-wise with Moses but he can still fill that type of role.

 

I'm sorry I'm not creaming my pants over Kevin Willis treeman. This was a good deal just because we didn't have to give much up, but Willis is not the same player we had a few years ago. This dude is 39 years old and even admits that his skills are diminished. Last season, he shot 44% from the field which is pretty low for a guy that's supposed to have an inside game. Yes, he's better than nothing, but let's be a little realistic on what he can actually offer at his current age.

 

And the negative of this deal is?

We are that much better than we were yesterday. I think it's a significant change, you appear to think it isn't...

Kevin Willis is not The Answer that will get us to the finals. IMO he will get us a #6 seed in the WC. I am quite happy with that, considering that before yesterday the best we could realistically hope for was a hardfought #7-8...

He will help us to get there.

 

Because of Willis' age, I don't see him playing much more than 20-25 minutes a night most nights. Granted he keeps himself in excelent shape, but it still makes no sense to overplay him. I'd imagine that Cato's still going to start and get plenty of minutes (28-32) as long as he plays somewhat consistantly. BUT, we now have a legitimate backup center, and when Cato gets hurt, we won't be stuck watching Collier for 40 minutes a game.