Teams can benefit from career ending but when a player is just injury-prone. He'll be another player taking up roster and cap space. That is worrying.
Well Luther is useless and Bobby is also not needed. We gotta trade those two but now the question is, who can we get? Is TJ Ford the right option? I'd rather go after calderon
So would everybody, but Calderon is a pipe dream for the Rockets. They are plenty of teams drooling over Calderon, including his own team the Raptors. The Rockets have no shot at him.
I think Ford is a definite upgrade over Alston but I'm not convinced he's the right fit for the Rockets. I think if you got Ford you would want a "PG platoon" of sorts with both Rafer and Ford complimenting each other. If you got Hinrich, you would probably need to move Rafer. PG will be tough to upgrade. Calderon is pure fantasy. If I was dreaming, I would acquire Hinrich in a deal that sent Rafer to the Bulls. I doubt that's possible -- we'll have to see what Hinrich's trade value is though with the 4-years, $36+ million left. I'd then like to see the Rockets trade up in the draft, possibly using Aaron Brooks as the bait to do that (if they're not able to acquire a pick for straight cash, homie). Russell Westbrook is not a great shooter, but he's young (19), big, fast, athletic and can defend. A Hinrich/Westbrook combo at PG actually improves you defensively... and the offense should be stronger. Even if no Hinrich and Rafer stays, Westbrook could be a nice pick as a trade-up target. <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6FP0ua5xFw4&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6FP0ua5xFw4&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XGzllXpnBf8&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XGzllXpnBf8&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> OK -- end dream.
It's ok Alston and TJ Ford would be good subbing for each other. Right now when Alston comes out of the game, we are toast. Watching that last game against Utah was painful. No Alston, no offense.
I'm much more interested in Hinrich than Ford, but would be happy to have TJ on the team. I'd look at Hinrich as a replacement for Alston, but Ford as a guy to split minutes with Alston. Evan
Rafer is a much better 3 point shooter than TJ I'll pass, unless we don't give up much (as in Jackson and Luther)
While I agree with you that PG is not our most pressing need, I disagree that we should just wait on Brooks to develop. In my opinion he will never be starter material. As for TJ, on a per minute basis (adjusting his 23.5 minutes to Rafer's 34.1 minutes) he is a fairly significant upgrade. Rafer Alston: 13.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.3 apg (2.45 a/t ratio), 1.3 spg, 39% FG, 35% 3pt, 72% FT Ford (adjusted): 17.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 8.9 apg (3.05 a/t ratio), 1.6 spg, 47% FG, 29% 3pt, 88% FT Just take a look at T.J.'s numbers last year when he got 30+ minutes (9 games for an average of 32.2 minutes): 18.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 9 apg (3.91 a/t ratio!), 1.2 spg, 50% FG, 24% 3pt, 79% FT Rafer's efficiency rating for 20-30 minutes played is 9.3, and for 30-40 minutes played it's 14.0. As for Ford, his rating climbs from 14.1 (20-30 minutes) to 20.1 when he plays 30-40 minutes. Bottom line is that he's a better scorer, better play maker, he's more efficient, and he's 7 years younger. The only drawback is that he is not a good 3 point shooter, but the counter to that is that he doesn't rely on it. He takes less than 1 per game.
Put me down for Hinrich. We have enough injury concerns with Yao and McGrady; we don't need to trade for another. Sure, there's a little relief if Ford's career is cut short, but that won't save the season he's injured in. Really, I think the Rockets need to put an extra premium on proven ironmen to provide some stability around our two oft-injured superstars.
The article says we'll be possibly looking for a PG this summer. The writer is just speculating that we're after Ford. We could might as well end up with a PG through the draft.
I like both Hinrich and Ford; however: I'd love a Ford/Alston combo and feel that it could be one of the strongest in the league at the 1. (rafer would be the best backup point in the league and would insulate us from Ford's injury concerns). I like the fact that Ford's contract is more reasonable in both length and salary. I love a guy with a 3.0 assist to turnover ratio, and I love a guy who can average 8 or 9 assists a night. As long as we get a good shooting 2 via free agency, his 3pt. % numbers wont be an issue. And I agree with Clutch: if we got Hinrich, we'd have to trade Alston. I personally think trading Alston would be a big mistake. His contract is reasonable, he's underrated, he's a good character guy who knows the system, he's perfect for team chemistry, and it seems like whenever someone counts him out, he proves them wrong. We've got to build on what we did last year with Rafer. He was instumental to our sucess. We should instead, not be so reliant on Rafer. We obviously need to add a quality PG because it appears that Franchise and Brooks are not the answer. Clutch! btw: Westbrook looks like a freak. Doubt we'll be able to move up far enough to get him. Is he a true point guard? What a stud!
sad but true.... As for Ford, damn I like this guy but I'm not so sure if he can play better than Rafer, really...
