"He's got a shot to make it," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "He's different. He's athletic, can really defend multiple guard spots. Phoenix was starting to use him at the one. That's where he'll be unique. He might have a chance to catch on in the league even he was just at the two just from his defensive ability.
DJ gives us a bigger guard who can defend the PG's and The SG'S of the league. something we've lacked bigtime. watching brooks and head try to defend those types has been frustrating as hell.
I'm reading a lot of high praise for Singletary from various websites. 20ppg, 42% shooting in the ACC Some pre-draft rankings have him as the 3rd best point guard behind Rose and Westbrook. He had a 5-1 Assist/Turnover ratio this past summer. I wonder if he would be a better fit for us than Aaron Brooks who's a shoot first PG. Brooks has been somewhat of a dissapointment, maybe we should've given Singletary a chance. Trade Brooks for Strawberry Alston, Francis, Singletary McGrady, Barry, Head, Strawberry Artest, Battier, Harris Scola, Hayes, Landry Yao, Deke, Dorsey Singletary and Dorsey in the NBDL for awhile
Battier's also with BDA sports. Maybe Duffy did play a part? It appears he'd rather be cut and look around for a better situation than sit around as a 3rd/4th option PG. The Suns had no reason to cut him for nothing. The Rockets can because of roster numbers and salary management. Duffy would be very aware of the Rockets goings ons...
if battier, hayes and harris can make the squad playing defense, i cant see why DJ cant make it. Its not like the PG spot is stack. Rox have rafer who we bashed every single game, AB who is still unproven, and SF3 with his injuries. And he do have 2 things that fill a need at the 1 spot. Size and defense. I know rafer are termed by many as a good defender, but i just cant see how his defense help to limit players. While AB is too small and SF3 with his injuries.
The problem is, who do you see Strawberry making the team over? If we resign Deke and Landry, that's a total of 15 players divided as such: PG - Alston, Brooks, Francis SG - McGrady, Barry, Head SF - Artest, Battier, Harris PF - Scola, Landry, Hayes C - Yao, Mutombo, Dorsey The only player I seriously see Strawberry knocking off is Harris. But Harris is a proven hustle player, while Strawberry has yet to prove anything other than the fact that he can't shoot at this level. 42% in the ACC is one thing, but so far, I don't think he's shown he can adapt to the NBA 3-point line yet. Neither am I convinced he can score against premier athletes, what with his sorry rookie shooting percentage.
I'm throwing my hat in with the Strawberry-will-be-cut crew. It seems to me that Strawberry told Phoenix he didn't want to be on the IR all season, so Phoenix was nice enough to move him some place since they knew they wouldn't play him. They figure Singletary can sit their bench for a season instead. Meanwhile, Morey sees a nonguaranteed contract, a chance to save a couple of dollars, and it doesn't matter on the court since neither Singletary nor Strawberry were in his plans anyway. Maybe one guy or the other will catch lightning in training camp and inspire the team to keep him. But, chances are remote.
DJ is a 6'5 athlete. He can guard PGs and some SGs. He will be given a fair chance to make the roster in training camp. I see him as a potential spot rotation player. He has the size to stay with PGs like D Will and J Kidd, and the quicks and length to stay with PGs like T Parker, S Nash, J Terry, and C Paul. AB is quick but very small, and we have no idea what Francis will be able to do. So giving DJ a shot (for free basically) is a wise choice. If he comes in with the attitude that he has a new chance to play in this league, that could go along way for him. Being in phoenix getting no playing time was hard on his confidence i'm sure. I'm not saying he will be 'THE' backup PG for us, but since we have guys like T-Mac, Barry, and Artest who can handle the ball DJ could come in for minutes to harrass the opposing teams PG and make them work for a little while. We wouldn't need him to be a facilitator for our offense. We have been saying for a long time we need more athletes on this team.... well there yah go. We now have a 6'5 athletic PG. Imagine DJ at PG, T-Mac at SG, Shane at SF, Artest at PF, and Deke at C. NOBODY scores easily on that lineup! Then let T-Mac and Artest create on the offensive end. That would be a nice lineup for a 4-5 minute stretch of a game. So if Francis shows up at camp again out of shape, I see Morey moving his expiring contract and giving DJ a real shot to make the roster. It's going to be a great training camp next month.
I think the addition of artest makes harris is expendable. that's not to say I don't appreciate what he brings to the table, but he is behind: mcgrady, artest, battier and barry for minutes at the 3 (which is his natural nba position). not to mention he would be a last restort at the 4... alston is the only reliable option we have at pg. AB has yet to prove he can consitantly contribute on both ends, and francis' future is anyones guess. even if barry or mcgrady is out there setting up the offense you still need someone on the floor able to keep up with the opposing 1. despite all of strawberrys limitations offensively he has proven that he can defend nba point guards...with the current layout of this teams roster, I would rather have stawberry as an insurance policy considering neither he nor harris is going to be in the 12 man rotation to start the season.
this is why im starting to think that he has a shot to beat out harris, or maybe head for one of their spots.
Another smart move for Morey and nobody saw it coming. He's good, very good, seems like he constantly tweaking the engine for the long term and short. At first I saw this as nothing more than a salary dump, for someone who's isn't gonna make the team anyway, saving money for the team. Which it probably is, but this could also be two-fold with a back-up plan too the Steve, Head and Brooks situation. If one of them doesn't meet expectations, you got Strawberry who really wants to make the team. Anyone one or comb of them could be used as trade bait, including Harris. It probably will come down to Adelman's call on what's best for the team. I haven't seen much of this kid play, but personally my money is on Strawberry getting cut.
Let' stop these "imagine this" scenarios until we see what this person can do in preseason. He doesn't even know the offense yet. Basically he was a low investment, high possible reward addition.
he'll barely make the roster, let alone see key minutes in the playoffs. and that's assuming we se utah for the 3rd straight year.
He will get an opportunity to dethrone Francis and Luther. If not then the waiver wire will await him. I think the organization is growing tired of Rafer and his antics though.
I don't see him making the roster unless somebody else gets traded or waived. If Landry and Deke get re-signed, then the team will have a 15-man roster. Even if they aren't re-signed, the team will most likely sign a big to replace them.
