Correct me if I am wrong, but don't they play completely different positions??? How exactly does Barry, a guard, effect a forward's, namely Maarty, ability to play with the Rockets?
The question you really should ask yourself is not whether Maarty is one of the top 15 players the Rockets have rights to, but whether he's one of the top 12; because if he's not on the active roster, I don't really see a point to stunting his development by a year AND increasing his time to free agency by keeping him on the inactive list. Don't talk to me about the D-League; until Houston buys a team and implements its system in full, I don't really consider that development, but rather extended try-outs. Maarty definitely doesn't have the proper game to flourish in that kind of environment. Here's a guy who's ready and willing to go overseas and improve his game; shouldn't the Rockets take advantage of that? Keep in mind, if Houston management is deadset on a big splash in 2010, (which I'm skeptical about), they will need lots of minimum salary guys who at least have a pulse; Leunen could be one of those guys if he is able to develop his body further overseas. Odds are, Leunen is not going to amount to any kind of player in the league. But in the off chance he does manage to stick, why not bring him over when you actually need him. To use a baseball analogy, it's like calling up a high A basestealer with an OBP of .310 in midseason when your team is in 4th place to serve as a pinch runner. Sure, he might be useful in certain situations, and odds are, he's not going to amount to anything, but you're basically wasting an arbitration year and taking away a year which he could be learning to hit & field, and at the end of the day, he's not going to make you any better or worse than you already are.
There both shooters. and will probaly play a similar role. even if we keep marty, he wont be you're convential PF. he'll be a spot up shooter. it's all irrelivent since we have no room foir him. he'll
I'm all in for developing him since he looks more polished than our other late draft picks but right now we got no space for him
QFT The rockets got rid of Novak because he wasn't necessary anymore. With the addition of Barry it made Novak not as needed when he was already playing sparingly. Then Artest gets added to the mix and we now have him as a 3/4. A rotation of Scola-Landry-Hayes-Artest at the 4, doesn't leave much room for Leunen.
I agree completely. Novak looked like a guy who was always the number one option and knew how to move around to get to his spot for a shot, but he had no clue on where to go off the ball, or how to assist the team if he was not supposed to come off a screen and shoot. Maarty seemed to understand when to move, where the seams were, and how to make himself an available target when he was playing off the ball, not to mention he could move his feet on defense, and put the ball on the floor as his opponnent tried to recover on offense. Luenan is already miles better than Novak...IMHO. DD
you speak of JJ Barrea and we saw Gustavo Barrera play for us in summer league exactly what I was thinking this whole time. Barry, playing or retired, has NO AFFECT on Leunen's status on this team. Barry signing had more of an affect on Novak and Head... one had to go, the other stays in my opinion. i liked maarty but i doubt he plays this year. exactly what a few others have mentioned - let him gain experience and playing time over seas where as here he would not. btw, i would keep head... he does help this team but we all remember him for his playoff performances. he shoots the 3 ball extremely well and people also forget that he moves/cuts well without the ball... something that is important in adelman's system. do i want him moved? yes but only if we packaging him with another piece for an upgrade somewhere else on the roster. hes not trash...
Not sure if somebody mentioned it, but Morey stated when he drafted Maarty that he would be signing with a team in Europe. This is even the better option. Let him hone his skills and bring him over when he is ready. With that said, I thought Maarty was the best player on our SL team. Sure Donte dropped 40 but after that, he didn't shoot that well. Maarty was consistent throughout all the games.
I like Marty, but if we're truly in win now mode, I'd rather see his spot be taken by one of those older veterans trying to hang on long enough for one more run at a ring. With Artest in the equation, you can never have enough good locker room presences. PJ Brown would be ideal, but I think he's out of reach. Don't flame me, but, Horry, anyone? Think about it. Would you rather have him in the game for a crucial 2 minutes or a rookie 2nd rounder?
As stated by others, great take on the issue. While Leunen might be useful in spots this season if he were to be a Rocket, those spots would likely be rather few and you are losing the opportunity of having him play more minutes on what is likely to be a somewhat decent European team at no cost to the Rockets in terms of salary-- but MORE important, in terms of roster spot and room under the luxury tax. Like I said, I am content to ride with Mike Harris for this season. The Rockets wing guys-- McGrady, Artest, and Barry each missed significant portions of last season. In case of injury, Harris might be able to play some useful minutes and a energy/power 3-man. He can also be a energy 4 man-- a bit like Chuck Hayes, but with more offense than defense. As far as the shooting 4 role goes, both Ron and Shane did that job decently last season (with Ron better physically equipped to defend stronger 4s--anad I think the problem with the Shane at 4 situation was that the rather limited Luther or the non-shooting Bonzi would have to take Shane's minutes at the wing). Each of them can shoot about 36-40% from the arc. Leunen may be able to shoot a bit better than that (though you never know... rookie playing against real life NBA defenders in the first year), but I doubt that Adelman play him as the shooting 4 over Ron or Shane at this point even if he could shoot 40+% from the NBA Arc.
why get rid of garbage to pick up more garbage??? dont realy know why you would even want him, he's not all that special IMO.
Don't we have 2 more at least partially guaranteed contracts coming in with Ron Ron? Ewing Jr. and some guard?
